Article Date: 02 March 2011

Categories: Live | Visit

The 2011 TweedLove cycling festival takes place in the cycle-friendly Tweed Valley in the Scottish Borders from Saturday 11 - Sunday 19 June.  Organised by locals, the event showcases the best on and off road riding in the area and lots of the the events are FREE!

This year some major new events will be added to the busy roster of open races, big guided rides (both on and off road), film (including a film-making competition) and concert nights, dual slalom and barbecue and a series of informal ride-outs, where local riders host visitors on some of their favourite (and lesser known) trails. 

The Glentress Seven is the flagship event for TweedLove 2011; seven hours of fantastic riding on some of Glentress's finest trails, plus new and off-piste sections, only available to this event. With a party at the event village like the forest has never seen before, the Seven will be rocking!  TweedLove has a road cycling programme too, with a new evening town centre event in Peebles and a big guided 'sportive' style ride.

The Tweed Valley is an area with hundreds of miles of the country's best trails, tracks and roads. So it's not surprising that there are a remarkable number of resident bike nuts in the valley, of both the mountain and road variety, to whom biking is a big part of life. It is their enthusiasm, generous support and community spirit that makes TweedLove such a great success.

To keep updated with programme information and entry details you can:

• Sign up for email updates
• Visit us on Facebook 
• Keep checking the TweedLove website 

Many of the events in the TweedLove programme are free and open to all but some have limited availability so please get your entry in now.  Last year at TweedLove lucky winners found themselves with a new Kona bike, great hotel and guest house stays, loads of spanking new Endura kit, a whole menu of slap-up meals, haircuts, hot shaves and more!

TWEEDLOVE EVENT PROGRAMME (Details correct as of Monday 01 March 2011) 

Saturday 11 June
The Glentress Seven - the mountain bike event Glentress has been waiting for!
Entry costs: Solo : £36.50_Pair : £67_Trio : £87_.
Start time: 10am

The Glentress Seven is a new seven-hour endurance mountain bike event for solos and teams of two, or three, being staged at Forestry Commission Scotland's 7stanes Glentress, the UK's best trail centre, on Saturday 11 June 2011.  This event will kickstart this year's TweedLove festival in style and is aimed at both the casual trail rider and the more skilled speed merchants from all over the UK.  The course features normally unavailable trails and new sections of singletrack created specially for the event; and the emphasis is very much on great trail riding and having a lot of fun - do as little or as much riding as you want. 

There'll be a real festival feel to the event base and transition area at The Hub in the Forest, with teams preparing bikes and riders and refuelling before heading out for another lap. Out on the course there should be a few surprises around the forest to put a big smile on your face all day. The real star of the show is the course though, with great riding right round the lap. There will also be heaps going on in the event village and full catering facilities are available on site, along with toilets and changing facilities in the Forestry Commission visitor centre.

Sunday 12 June 
Skinny Tweed - Free Event

No fat tyres for this one, just top road riding and good company - it's just a brilliant biking day out.  A free guide-supported road ride round a beautiful circuit of quiet country roads, with stops for food and a very sociable demeanour. 'The Skinny' sums up the TweedLove ethos of welcoming riders from all over the UK to the great riding in the Tweed Valley. 

Tuesday 14 June
Peebles Town Centre Criterium + Free Family Ride before race
Family Ride is free.
Entry costs and full details available soon.

This is a major new criterium-based road event for a summer evening in Peebles. But it's really two events in one - families, and anyone with a bike who wants to join in can ride round the course for a 'victory' lap first, before the start of the main event and the serious matter of racing kicks off. The circuit will be short and spectacular, with high speeds and tricky corners for the top riders and big crowds who will be cheering them on.

Wednesday 15 June
Hawaii Tweed
Glentress
From 5pm. 

Barbecue night at Glentress, with the famous Trailfairies' Dual Slalom and big dirt jump airbag providing some spectacular action. The sounds will be pumping, there are free bike demos (first come first choice!) and there will be a friendly guided ride-out on the forest trails and more. 

Thursday 16 June 2011
Celluloid Tweed Film Night
The Eastgate Theatre, Peebles
Entry £7.50
Full details available soon

A major new mountain bike film release at the Eastgate Theatre in Peebles, with a film comp open to all bike-related films and a Prize Draw with a cracking prizes. Info on how to get tickets and how to enter the film competition will be announced soon.  See last year's winners over on Tweed TV.  Last year this event was a great night and sold out, so early booking advised. 

Friday 17 June
CrossLove - Pumptrack and cyclocross race 
From 6pm
Full details announced soon. Enter on the evening.

Are you any good on a pump track? Is your flow silky smooth, your transitions top class? Either way, come and see how you get on pumping (not pedalling) round the track. This event will be just a laugh for some and incredibly competitive for others. It's all about having a great time, just leaning on bars. A new, 'turn up and ride' cyclocross race will cater for fans of skinny wheels with knobbly tyres.

Saturday 18 & Sunday 19 June 
Natural Tweed
Free Event - limited places. 

It's almost a legend already and it's only been going for a year. TweedLove's great big epic monster of a free mountain bike event will take you places you probably haven't been before (but you'll want to go back to), and onto some stonkingly good natural trails around the Tweed Valley.  This year we're hoping to make it a two-day event, heading up the river to add some lovely riding west of Peebles. Each day the route will start and finish at Inerleithen or Peebles, and shortcuts are possible on some sections so you don't have to commit to the whole thing.  We give you a map, some directions and send you off on a big trip of discovery, some big climbs, some ripping descents and scenery to massage your eyes and take your mind off your sore legs. The routes will be way-marked and guides will be in amongst the riders too.

Saturday 18 June
Crank It Up Night
Announcement of artist, venue and ticket details soon.

This is another big new addition to the TweedLove line-up and part of our promise to keep everyone riding bikes and having a good time -  a concert at the (almost) end of the week.  Sorry we can't announce the line up yet but we can tell you that we are VERY excited about who we've got lined up for this.

Local Ride-Outs will take place throughout the week.  Dates and venues to be announced.   There is free entry and a big hallelujah for our access legislation.  These rides express exactly what TweedLove is all about. Local riders share some of their favourite trails on these friendly, informal rides. Just turn up and come out riding on some fantastic mountain bike rides around the Tweed Valley. Last year we had various rides from Innerleithen, Peebles and Selkirk - none of which were based on any established Forestry Commission bike routes. This year we'll try to do even more.  Routes vary according to the weather and who turns up, but we'll aim to have rides to suit all levels of enthusiasm. We'll be running the popular women-only rides too.