Gower Cycling Festival (18-25 September 2010)

A Gower first
This Cycling Festival is a first for the Gower and is being organised by Wheelrights. It has been inspired by the highly successful Gower Walking Festival which each year attracts a large number of walkers to this lovely area: Britain':s first designated area of outstanding natural beauty.

If walkers are attracted why not cyclists? Is not this a good area for cycling? The Gower Peninsula is some 12 miles (as the crow flies) from west to east and 5 miles from north to south. There is a wealth of variety and interest in this small bit of land; a short cycle ride can take you from one end to the other. This variety includes the topography. It is not boring: the long flat sweeps of Swansea Bay and the gentle incline of the Clyne Valley cycle path are relieved by ups and downs on the Peninsula. The hills, however, are not long, but some are sharp. (For the ":gentle": rides to be gentle you may need to get off and push up the steeper hills!)

The rides
We have organised 18 rides ranging from easy (gentle) half day excursions to more challenging rides. Most are in the Peninsula, but the longer rides take you further afield to the north and east.

Who should attend?
We aim to cater for a range of abilities: from families with small children, through those who cycle a little but are not very fit, to the more experienced. We are also providing a couple of mountain bike rides: an easy one and a more challenging ride for experienced mountain bikers. (Both take you up the Gower ":Alps": from which there are splendid views.)

To get here
For information on how to get to Swansea click here. Once you have got here details of how to get to the starting points for the rides is given in the programme pdf file below.

The programme
Details of this event are provided here as a pdf file (click: Festival programme). You may have received the flyer advertising this Festival. The information in this file is essentially the same as that on the flyer, except that if changes to the programme become necessary up-to-date information will be found here.

Accommodation
To find out where to stay visit: Mumbles TIC, Where to stay in Swansea/Mumbles/Gower.or for a list of B&Bs, etc.: Gower Holidays. In addition Sally Lyne has two bungalows for rent in N. Gower suitable for a family or small group.

Booking
We are offering a ":Festival Pass": which entitles you to take part in as many rides as you wish. This works out cheaper if you plan to take part in more than five rides. Rides can be booked in advance and Passes purchased (price £:10, £:5 for children under 16) by completing and sending in a booking form. As this is a Word document it can be filled in by editing the form, but, as we don’t have on-line payment provision, it needs to be printed out and posted with your cheque. Advance booking is recommended to ensure a place on a ride, but you can simply turn up at the start and if you don’t have a Pass pay the £:2 (£:1 children) ride charge then.

Route descriptions
For those who prefer to do their own thing we have prepared detailed route descriptions of four of the rides. Two of these are ":gentle": rides and two ":moderate":. They provide a good coverage of the Gower Peninsula. To download them (as pdf files) click the respective ride numbers, ie: Ride6; Ride8; Ride12; Ride15. They are identified in the Festival programme).

Contacts
For more information contact David Naylor (Phone: 01792 233755, e-mail davidjohnnaylor@tiscali.co.uk) or Nick Guy (Phone 01792 476178 outside working hours).

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Page updated on 30 July 2010.