EXMOOR EXPLORER

Keen mountain bikers from all over the country will be converging on Exmoor in a few weeks’ time for the Exmoor Explorer Mountain Bike Marathon, organised by Team Zoyland, on Sunday 6 August.

This year’s event starts and finishes in the grounds of the National Trust’s Dunster Castle with the famous flapjack tea stop somewhere along the way. There are two routes to choose from, the short one is about 25 miles and the longer 40 miles. They share the same paths on the first section so riders can decide how fit they are feeling at any stage up to the start of the longer route.

The course is unknown to the riders until about a week before the event, except for Chipps Chippendale and Keith Bontrager, who are internationally famous in the mountain biking world and recently rode parts of the course and declared it “a treat”.

The event attracts people from far and wide and provides a welcome boost for the local economy with many of the 400 riders bringing support teams and families to enjoy the fun.

A spokesman from organisers Team Zoyland said: “The Exmoor Explorer is not a race, it’s a long distance off-road reliability trial across Exmoor’s challenging terrain and it’s great that so many people come back every year.”

The event is limited to an entry of 400 riders and there are still a few spaces available for this year. Riders must register before they can join the event, more details and registration forms can be found by visiting: www.exmoorexplorer.com

A percentage of the registration fee is donated to organisations that help in the running of the event and towards conservation projects including Exmoor National Park Authority’s CareMoor for Exmoor initiative. Part of this year’s course is on tracks through Horner Wood which the National Trust has prepared using money raised from previous Exmoor Explorer events.