"Is autumn the new summer?" asks events promoter Trail Break, possibly rhetorically. And they might just be right - it might not be all that warm right now, but the weather's not half bad and trail conditions are really rather fine across much of the UK.
All of which brings us to Trail Break's substantial winter events line-up. "A poor summer's not good for the industry in terms of getting new people on bikes," says Trail Break spokeschap Martin Harrison, "but people still want to ride. I think the message is: Keep riding all year round, because you never know when the best rides will come and you want to be ready for them when they do!"
He's right, you know. In a largely random climate such as, for example, the one in which we live, it pays to be vigilant, ready to respond to the call of decent weather whenever and wherever it may occur. That, and fill your diary with winter bike events to motivate you into action should the weather not quite play ball.
The next Trail Break Southern Trail Ride event is on Saturday 17 November, running on the North Downs and starting from Bramley, near Guildford. The non-competitive Trail Ride format has been running for nine years, offering a choice of distances, fully waymarked routes, support and catering. They're certainly a great way to get a guaranteed decent ride in parts of the country with which you may not be entirely familiar.
The day after (that's Sunday 18 November, calendar fans) will be one of Trail Break's Navigator Race series from the same start point. It's a chance to put some of that new-found familiarity to the test with some orienteering-style action - you get 3.5 hours to amass as many points as possible by visiting checkpoints. There's no set course, so good navigational skills as well as decent pace are essential - they're the thinking person's bike race.
Trail Break has been running Navigator Races since 1993, it says here, a fact that scores highly on the "make us feel old" chart. This kind of event is really good fun - if you've never tried anything like it, Trail Break's offering is a perfect place to start.
The Bramley events are, of course, just the start for Trail Break's winter season. Here's the full list - the Saturdays are all Trail Rides, the Sundays are Navigator Races:
- 17/18 November - Bramley, Surrey
- 1 December - Woodcote, Oxfordshire
- 12 January - Shackleford, Surrey
- 23 February - Letcombe Regis, Oxfordshire
- 15 March - Kintbury, Berkshire
There's also a Trail Ride on 27 April at Princes Risborough, Bucks, but without a Navigator the day after. So don't show up there with a map and compass on the 28th...
Full details and online booking can be found at www.trailbreak.co.uk, or for more information, call 0118 976 2491. Further Trail Ride information is at http://www.trailbreak.co.uk/trail_rides/ (online booking is available), while Navigator Race details reside at http://www.trailbreak.co.uk/navigators/ (more online booking). Need more? Trail Break's 2008 season is approaching a state of fully-plannedness - all the events are at www.trailbreak.co.uk/calendar.
