RIDE THE ROMAN CHALLENGE!
The next Annual Mountain Bike Ride through the Northamptonshire countryside will be held on Sunday 14 October 2012, starting from the Village Hall, Chapel Lane, Hackleton, Northamptonshire NN7 2AH.
The event is organised by the Hackleton Branch of the Women's Institute as a fund raiser for village projects. The booking site is not yet open. This will happen on 1 April 2012.
In 2012 we plan to repeat all the routes from last year, including the Maximus.
In 2011 we had a record number of bookings and we had to turn away riders in the week before the event. We are at or near the maximum number that we can accommodate in the Village Hall and car park, so please book early for 2011 to avoid disappointment.
Click on this for the location of the start finish point for the event.
Map
The gallery photographs from 2010 are available on this web site. These are all low definition. If you would like higher definition or the original image from which they were cropped, please send an email using this link: Click here
For the Roman Challenge there are three routes available:
Family Route
This route is suitable for anyone who can ride a bike. If you would like a leisurely ride, perhaps with the kids, through the lovely Salcey Forest, this route is for you. The route includes a short ride on public roads, to the start of the forest track, but it is then mostly on all weather tracks around the forest, before retracing your way back on the road to the Village Hall for your free refreshments. The tracks are mostly flat, with a few undulations to get your heart rate up a little. A thoroughly enjoyable ride for all the family. This route is 8 miles.
or:
The Gladiator Route
If you prefer a more challenging day, dare to ride the Gladiator Route. Warning - this is for fit mountain bikers who are strong riders, as it takes in 30 miles of off-road riding on varying terrains including the Salcey Forest tracks mentioned above, but also four or five crop fields, canal paths and field-edge grass tracks, as well as various bridleways. This route is not hilly or particularly technical, but it does require a good level of fitness as it is tough! You will have well and truly earned your buffet when you get back! Warning - this route takes a few hours to ride! We made two minor changes to the route in 2010, just to keep you all interested but this route will remain the same for 2011. This route is 32 miles.
or:
The Gladiator Maximus Route
In response to suggestions in 2009, we prepared a loop extension to the Gladiator route in the Milton Keynes area as an option for those who want to ride a bit further. This was used in 2010 by about 30 hardened riders. We expect only those few who are prepared to leave spot on at 8.30am to do this route or they will miss the period of the refreshment stops in the afternoon. The extension will be on a self guided basis, but is well signposted by the permanent markers. We will provide a map, but there will be no RC route markings.
The extra loop is 12 miles approximately and allows Challengers to see parts of Milton Keynes that they didn’t know even existed. It follows the Millenium Circular Route (in some parts also sign posted as National Cycle Network route 51 and 6). Also, for much of the route paths run adjacent to the bridleway. So tired riders can ride the whole extension on tarmac whilst the hardy souls can do a lot of bridleway tracks. On the route the riders are treated to a close up of the famous concrete cows as well as going under the rail line on a boardwalk which runs through the middle of a tunnel. There is even a large dinosaur sculpture to marvel at. There is a nice muddy water splash for those that fancy a cooling off. The paths are well marked with the red Millenium Circular Route signs and highlighted on the map.
or:
The Chariot Route
If you want more of a challenge than the family route, but can't quite manage the Gladiator Route, then the Chariot route is for you - not too long but far enough to know that you have been out for the day! This route was called the Goldilocks route up to 2009, but decided to change the name to reflect that it is a serious ride and not a picnic outing. There was one minor change to the route for 2010 but this remains unchanged for 2011. This route is 22 miles.
Further details are available on the Resources page.
Bike Hire
We have offered this service in the past, but uptake has been low. If you need hire, please email. The least we will do is put you in touch with the bike hire company. Charges were around £15 in 2008.
Refreshments
On your return to the Hackleton Village Hall, you will be able to enjoy a ploughman's buffet, and our famous WI home-made cakes. The cost of this is included in the entry fee. If you have special dietary needs, please send us an email, or include it with your snail mail booking.
 
Finishers Certificate
All finishers can have a certificate for your ride. Please tell us when you return on the day, before you eat!
Paypal Bookings will open on 1st April 2012.
Please book your place now – limited places are available. Adult: £12 Children over 5 and under 16 on the day: £5
Children under 5 in reasonable numbers go free.
Book on-line: pay site now up and running - pay with PayPal on the booking page
Closing date for entries: Sunday 2 October 2011, and we will then close the paypal site.
If you've missed this deadline, please e-mail to see if we can accept your entry. The ladies need time to bake the cakes!
As bookings are now closed, please do not post anything to us without getting prior agreement.
Name & Address
Names of riders
e-mail address (please do not forget this, as we need it for news and updates)
Qty Adult @ £12
Qty Child @ £5
Cheques payable to: “Roman Challenge”
Send to:
Roman Challenge 72 Main Road Hackleton Northants NN7 2AD
Bookings will be open from 1st April via PayPal or snail mail. If you would like to be on our emailing list please let us know. If you booked or rode in 2009/2010/2011 and you gave us your email address then there is no need to tell us again.
Money Raised
Money raised will be used for local community projects.
Timing on the day
Gladiator and Chariot routes start time is 08:30 - 09:30
Family Route start time is any time from 08:30 to 12:00
We will be closing at 17:00
Photos
Be sure to arrive in plenty of time to sign in, and to have your photo taken by our photographer.
Photo images will be available to download after the event.
Contact Us
Click here
 
Last updated 26 October 2011 | 
