Hay Bike Fest 2014

HAY BIKE FEST IS BACK - BIGGER AND BETTER!

This three-day event celebrates the fabulous opportunities for mountain biking, road cycling and leisure riding around Hay.

Hay-on-Wye proves it’s not just about browsing bookshelves in April as the town hosts its second, weekend-long festival of cycling.

The booktown’s inaugural Hay Bike Fest took place last year and is gearing up to return bigger and better in 2014 with a packed programme of events across all disciplines.

The Black Mountains and the Radnorshire marches provide the settings for guided mountain bike rides and off-road cycle orienteering. Tarmac lovers are catered for with a road sportive boasting 100–mile and 60-mile loops.

And guided leisure and road rides taking in quiet Herefordshire country lanes complete the programme, alongside skills sessions for kids, bike maintenance classes and a festival hub in the grounds of Hay Castle.

Kicking off the weekend on Friday 25th April is a dual slalom race for all-comers.

Bikeability skills training sessions for children will be run on Saturday April 26th in Hay town centre, while off-roaders can take their pick of guided rides suited to everyone from beginners to experts.

Roadies get their turn on Sunday April 27th with the High Above Hay sportive, featuring a descent from the highest tarmac road in Wales - the 551m high Gospel Pass in the Black Mountains.

Sunday will also see British Mountain Bike Orienteering bring an event to Hay for the first time.

The festival hub will provide a space to meet fellow riders, browse the stalls and talk bikes with exhibitors - or to simply recover and refuel at one of the food stalls or bar.

It will also host the Timbuktu Turbo Challenge, where sponsored cycling fans on four static bikes will aim to clock up between them a staggering 6078km - the distance between Hay and its Malian twin town.

Hay Bike Fest runs from Friday April 25 to Sunday April 27th. Visit website link for booking rides and local info.