Big Rides and a Big Night Out
Rob Howard / 08.04.2005
The 7th year of the Merida 100 Mountain Bike Series gets underway this weekend with a world first, the 'EXPOSURE LIGHTS BIG NIGHT OUT'.The Merida 100 events are non-competitive long distance rides which feature both a short course (approx. 50km) and a long (approx 100km) course option, with the main event in July at Builth Wells also offering a roughly 75km route.
The events take part over a full weekend with the Saturday used for registering, having a good look around the event village, and getting the last few things sorted for the big ride on Sunday. The entry fee of £25.00 includes free camping from Friday night through to Monday morning, finishing T-shirt, service stations around the course, bike wash, pasta party and a prize draw.
2005 starts with the Exposure Lights Big Night Out, the first ever night time race, which covers a 44km course, and takes place this coming weekend on the 9th April from Builth Wells. This will run alongside the Spring event which takes place on Sunday 10th.
Another different event this year, in addition to the 5 regular Merida 100’s, is the "On Holiday in Austria" Merida 100 in July. It’s a chance to ride in some fantastic Alpine scenery, and last year some 90 riders traveled to take part.
The dates of the 2005 events are as follows:
- 9-10th April Night Enduro 'Exposure Light's Big Night Out' (9th April '05) and Merida Spring Marathon, Merida 100 Round 1 (10th April '05), White House Farm in Builth Wells
- 28-29th May Merida 100 Round 2, Rugby Club in Rhayader
- 2-3rd July Merida 100 Round 3, White House Farm in Builth Wells
- 9th July Merida 100 "On Holiday in Austria" in Bad Goisern
- 30-31st July Merida 100 Round 4, Rugby Club in Selkirk
- 17-18th September Merida 100 Round 5, Rugby Club in Ruthin
Full details are on the series website at http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk, and you can register for details there and get the series guidebook.
We’ll have news and pictures of the first event next week.
