Is this finally the sun we have been waiting for? Let’s all hope so. With the trails drying out quickly and the vegetation doing overtime the conditions out there getting better by the minute. Less than two weeks from now the 2nd round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon round will kick off in Ruthin on the 24-25th May – hope you can make it.

Preparations are in full flow for the second round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series, heading to Ruthin, North Wales on 25 May 2008.

As usual there’ll be a 20km Mini Marathon and longer 55km, 73km and 92km options to choose from – the 73km course seeing the biggest increase of single track this year. Find out more and get your entries in now.

The biggest change to the Merida MTB Marathon series this year is the addition of the Gore Bike Wear Road Sportive Series, which debuts on 24 May using the same base as the MTB Marathon.

Sportives are, essentially, the road cycling equivalent of MTB Marathons, swapping dirt for smooth tarmac and offering a similar choice of challenging long routes. Find out more and enter on the website.

It sounds like a good way of getting two long rides into one weekend too us, but if you’re reading this and thinking to yourself ‘But I don’t have a road bike,’ simply fit a pair of inexpensive slick tyres to your MTB. There’s even a £10 discount for entering both the MTB Marathon and the sportive.

Gore Bike Wear – Try B4 U Buy: Besides being title sponsor to the road event the guys from Gore Bike Wear will be on site again with their popular ‘Try B4 U Buy’ concept. The guys giving everyone the chance to try the latest gear before you buy. Everyone can test ride their products when you ride the event. Go along to the Gore Bike Wear tent and experience for yourself what the real difference is.

As in the last few years our friends from Cycle Active will be with us again in 2008 running their popular skills courses and rides over the weekend. But this year they will go one step further by adding the Cycle Active TT (Total Training) to their program.