All pics: Jon Brooke

All done for 2008 – but there is more to come in 2009. The Merida MTB Marathon Series 2008 has come to an end with an almost sunny finishing round in Penrith. Nearly 1,100 riders made their way to the Lowther Deer Park near Penrith to be part of the last two events of the 2008 series. For the first time this year the event was blessed with good weather throughout the week which made for a far more enjoyable riding weekend.

The riding got goin on Saturday with the final Gore Bike Wear Road Sportive. Almost 200 riders turned up to enjoy the fantastic roads around Penrith which offered probably the most challenging ride of the season. The route took the riders through the Lyvennet Valley before crossing the wild open moorlands that surround Shap and then across the Eden Valley. One of the biggest challenges for the day was the steep ascent of Strawberry Hill before heading back to a well deserved cup of tea at the event village in the Lowther Deer Park. Luckily enough this time round the weather was on our side with ideal riding temperatures and the odd spot of sunshine. Riders took from just over three hours to almost nine to complete the 40 mile course.

After the road event came to an end on Saturday afternoon the mountain bikers started to descend onto the event village at the Lowther Deer Park. Over 800 riders picked up on the promising weather forecast and made their way to Penrith to enjoy the challenging courses which set themselves apart from the other rounds of the series. Course designer Chris Ford from Cycle Active showed once more what riding in the Lakes can be like. With a fair amount of surface water around, the riders came back muddy but smiling – it didn’t rain and we had bright, warm sunshine for most of the day.

Jon Brooke and his partner Lauris Naglins, our long standing event photographers, were out on the valleys and hills around Penrith taking pics of everybody. The guys took pictures on Saturday’s road sportive as well as on Sunday’s MTB marathon. Jon has a new website this year – http://www.rightplacerighttime.co.uk/ – and you can find your photos there to view or buy. We have made some further updates to the www.mtb-marathon.co.uk site, too.

With the 2008 season now being over and done with we are eagerly working on our 2009 plans. We will hopefully finalise everything in the next few weeks and will let everybody know via our website, the newsletters and announcements in the press. We would like to thank once more our great sponsors in 2008, in particular Merida Bikes and Gore Bike Wear for their ongoing support. Further we would like to thank High5, Ergon, Lizard Skins, Schwalbe, What Mountain Bike, Exposure lights, the Bike Chain, Purple Extreme, Buff, CrankBrothers, Fibrax, Fizik, Formular, Salzkammergut Trophy, Our Scottish Borders, USE, Topeak, CTC, PPG and last but not least the great skills coaches from Cycle Active.

Above all we would like to thank all the riders who came to the 2008 event and who made them once more a big success. We hope that we can welcome you all again in 2009. For news and updates on the 2009 event please keep an eye on our website www.mtb-marathon.co.uk.