2009 will see the ever-popular Hell of the North Cotswolds “reliability trial” celebrate its 25th anniversary. The event, promoted jointly by Winchcombe CC and Cheltenham & County CC, was first held in 1984, the brainchild of the late Pat Smith and Tim Groom. They’d ridden the legendary Paris-Roubaix and wanted to bring the flavour of that event to the Cotswolds. HONC has run every year since, with the exception of 1986 when deep snow caused it to be abandoned.

HONC has grown steadily to the point where it now generally sells out – there’ll be a limit of 1,100 riders for 2009, with entries in advance only. The event will be held on Sunday 5 April 2009, with a mass start from Winchcombe at 9am. 100km and 50km routes will be on offer, on a combination of Tarmac and bridleways, with everything from technical rocky single track to rutted, possibly muddy, tracks. You’ll see all sorts of bikes represented – when the event got started it was the preserve of the “rough stuff” tourers, these days its dominated by MTBs but for our money a ‘cross bike is the weapon of choice.

You’ll need a bit of navigational nous for HONC, as there won’t be any waymarkers on the course – you get written instructions and a printed map, and there’ll also be a tracklog available to upload to a GPS if you’re so equipped. The top tip is not to just follow the people in front in the belief that they know any better than you…

Entry fees will be £13 for over-18s and £6 for youth (under-18) riders. Proceeds go to charity, with over £3,000 going to various charities including Cancer Research and the Air Ambulance last year. Online entry will open on 1 January 2009 at www.honc.org.uk, which is also the place to go for further information.