The beginning of the season is creeping up on us with the first event of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series being less than four weeks away.

ELBNO

The April event (14-15 April, Builth Wells) has been the opener of the Merida Series since 2005 and will once again invite everybody to take part in the awe-inspiring Exposure Lights Big Night Out and/or the Spring Marathon. 2007 will see a refreshed course with plenty of singletrack and sections even the experienced Builth riders have not yet ridden. For further details on the April event go to the event page: http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/events/exposure.php or straight to the entry page: http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/entry_forms/entry_forms.php.

You should bring your own lights for this event. There will NOT be lights to hire but the guys from Exposure will have some event special offers on the day plus their charging station if you need to top up your own lights. Some of the route will be on road so make sure you have a working rear light as well. All riders taking part in the ELBNO will go into a free draw to win one of two Exposure Joystick lights (http://www.use1.com/exposure/products/exposure_joystick/index.php) worth £165 each. The draw will be done just before the start of the “Big Night Out”.

Chain Reaction Cycles voucher – make sure you enter early!

Our retail partner Chain Reaction Cycles (www.chainreactioncycles.com) will be adding vouchers to all signing on bags for riders who enter the events in advance. The guys are offering a £10 discount voucher for orders over £75 – not bad we think! So make sure you fill in the entry form and send it off before you get to the event otherwise you will not qualify. Please keep in mind that it takes roughly 3-4 days from you posting the entry form/entering online to us being able to add you to the pre-entry list. So for the April event make sure you enter before 10 April otherwise you will not be included.

Entries

All events are still taking entries. The Penrith event is attracting huge numbers and we might get to the maximum of riders rather soon. So if you want to take part in any of the events and in particular in the Penrith round better make sure you enter soon…and don’t forget there is a nice £10 discount voucher from Chain Reaction Cycles to be had!

Aviemore round – the Outsider

You have probably heard about the recently announced line-up of The Outsider event in Aviemore. If not have a read here: http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/home/news1.php#20072. The event is filling up quickly and has catapulted itself to the top of the music and activity festival rankings. Please don’t forget that if you want to take part in the Merida Marathon at ‘The Outsider’ that you need to buy at least the Saturday only ticket. Keep in mind that all Merida Marathon riders will get the Friday night given for free. So buying the Saturday only ticket will get you entry to Friday and Saturday – which is enough for taking part in the marathon. But we reckon while you are there why not make a proper weekend away out of it. Further details on The Outsider as well as line-up updates can be found here: http://www.outsiderfestival.co.uk/ and here: http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/events/aviemore.php. Make sure you don’t miss out on the ‘Early Bird’ ticket offer which will come to an end at the end of March.

Penrith round – Cumbria Bikefest

To keep the Cumbria Bikefest festival entrance as smooth as possible please make sure that you bring your entry confirmation with you. All Merida Marathon participants have free camping at the event. Guests will be asked for a £5 camping contribution which is a 50% discount on the normal price.

Salzkammergut Trophy 2007

With spring being officially here summer can’t be too far away. So if you fancy an unforgettable trip to one of the best mountain bike marathons in Europe hop over to Austria to enjoy the Salzkammergut Trophy. If you haven’t heard about this fantastic event check out the ‘history’ page: http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/history/2006_bad.php and the event page: http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/events/bad_goisern.php. We can organise the whole trip for you the only thing you have to do is to book your flights. And there are lots of super cheap flights out there. From London Stansted with www.ryanair.com from £8.99, from London Gatwick with www.britishairways.com from €39, from Coventry with www.thomsonfly.com from £26.99, from Manchester with www.thomsonfly.com from £66.99 and from Dublin with www.ryanair.com from £49.99.

So check these offers out right away and get yourself over to Austria. Besides that the distance on the various courses have been updated with the ultra marathon now being 208.7km (7006 meter of climbing) long, the classic marathon being 109.7km (3582 meter of climbing) long, the half marathon being 53.1km (1663 meter of climbing) long and the mini marathon being 23.7km (701 meters of climbing) long. So clearly something for everybody.

www.mtb-marathon.co.uk.