Ashton Mountain Biking History - The Early Years

Since the keep fit classes that they had been attending in the village hall were only being held during the winter, they were looking for a way to keep fit during the summer months and decided that cycling would be the way to do it.

So one night a week, on their road bikes, they would cycle all the back lanes around Alderton, Winchcombe, Stanway, Stanton and up onto the Cotswolds.  There were no pub stops, it was back to Clives for tea, coffee and biscuits, and perhaps a beer.

The group soon swelled in numbers to around a dozen, riding the Heart Foundation ride from Bishops Cleeve and the Home Farm Trust 50 mile rides from Bidford on Avon. That era of road rides probably finished with the 100 mile Enduro ride around Salisbury Plain which nearly killed JM !

Gradually, the road bikes began to be replaced by Hybrids and off road bikes, and the real fun started when the group started taking to the tracks and tackling rougher terrain.

Clive arranged guided rides in the Forest of Dean, and gradually more people joined for what was becoming a popular weekly event.

The rest as they say is history...

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