Not long to go now to the Marin Rough Ride (1 June, East Radnorshire), and the organisers have finished buffing a couple of rough route edges to a delightful sheen.

The full route is 80km (or 50 miles in old money), but they’ve added a 40km bail-out option. At a quarter distance there’s an escape route, so if the full loop is looking a bit much you can take a shortcut from there and pick up the last 20km of the full route without doing the middle bit. You won’t have to decide how far you’re riding in advance – just see how you feel when you get there. And you’ll still get all the finisher’s goodies including, importantly, the food…

And there’s more. Negotiations with a local landowner have got the organisers access to a sizable tract of private moorland, allowing them to include some virgin MTB territory that has some of the best views and tracks in the area.
Need further encouragement? The event campsite features easy access to the town and pubs, and legendary event caterers Wilf’s on hand for late night food and early morning breakfast. What more could you ask for?
Details, entry forms and stuff at www.marinroughride.co.uk