After what seems like an eternity of grim weather, the sun has broken through (well, it has here in London, at least) and suddenly there’s a renewed motivation to dust down the mountain bike and hit the trails.

Almost coincidentally, prolific event organisers Trail Break have just reminded us about some of their exciting upcoming rides. A summer of events looms large and springs into action with a pair of Southern Trail Rides this month.

The first takes place this Saturday 6 March and heads to the first of two classic venues used this month, Cranleigh. That’s followed by Duncton on Sunday 8 March.

The Southern Trail Rides were the original open hill marked trail ride events, first developed and staged by Trail Break 12 years ago. Since then they’ve hosted an impressive 120 such events, with the formula tweaked to perfection.

The secret ingredient, says Martin from Trail Break, is their “simple ethos of just riding.” It’s also about routes, as Martin continues “the best routes are planned in great areas and clearly signed and mapped for you, with a choice of distances to suit your tastes.”

Everything else is taken care of; free SIS free energy drinks, hot food, drinks and snacks. For GPS users routes can be downloaded in advance, and new for this year is electronic timing so you can see your ride stats as you cross the line, using Trail Breaks in house transponder timing system.

Looking ahead, the series continues through the year and is boosted by four epic Southern 100 enduro’s from April onwards. At Princes Risborough on 24 April, Trail Break are joined by Summit MBC, who will be lending their local knowledge and capable support to present the Summit 65, a challenging 65k circuit that sits alongside the regular Trail Ride routes. Featuring the best of the Chilterns relentless hills, the Summit 65 is going to be a fittingly testing and entertaining starter to the enduro season.

Summit will be doing their bit for the next generation of riders at Risborough too. As a registered BC Go Ride club with Clubmark youth training accreditation, they’ll be leading a fully guided youth ride out on the Trail Ride short course.

As the spring moves into summer, the enduros bloom into full Southern 100s, with 100k and 60k rides featuring along with regular Trail Rides at Duncton on the South Downs (May 8), the Ridgeway and Marlborough Downs from Swindon (June 19) and back at the other end of the Chilterns from Woodcote near Reading (August 16). And filling out the schedule is a regular Trail ride from Reigate on 3 July.

Check www.trailbreak.co.uk or phone 0118 988 6041 for details and entry for all upcoming events.