This weekend (May 2nd) sees the return of the Buckinghamshire Classic, an established off-road 100 km event which attracted nearly 200 riders in 2003.

The ride starts at Denham Country Park in Buckinghamshire, which is located 1/4 mile from and signposted from junction 1 of the M40 and is only 2 miles from Uxbridge. Uniquely for an endurance off road event the start is within the M25, but don’t let that fool you. With over 4000 feet of climbing and riding times likely to be in excess of 6 hours, this is a tough event and is considered harder than the recent Hell of the North enduro. There’s plenty of car parking at the start and free refreshments are provided halfway round, including high energy TORQ bars. For those who cannot read a map, you will have no worries as the whole course will be well signposted and a detailed easy to follow direction sheet will be provided as insurance. There is also a fun riders 30 km route for those not quite up to the full distance.

Although a number of those riding the event use it for some hard training, there are plenty of country pubs and village shops scattered along the route as refreshment stops for those who fancy a leisurely day out. Full details and a downloadable entry form can be found on the www.westdraytonmbc.co.uk website. Pre entries close on the 30th, but entries will be accepted on the day.