Tidworth Freeride takes off this weekend

The Bike Park, which features seven trails and numerous jumps, drops and berms for riders of all ages and abilities, has already been attracting enthusiasts both from the nearby garrison towns and from civilians.

With the future of the site put in the balance by concerns that the trails on site were too challenging, CTC, the national cycling charity stepped in to support Tidworth Freeride. CTC now welcomes the Park to the CTC Bike Park Network joining four others in the charity’s partnership mountain bike sites across the UK.

The Tidworth Bike Park will be officially opened by Lt Col David Barron, the Deputy Commander of Tidworth, Netheravon and Bulford Garrison on behalf of the Ministry of Defence and the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) which is running the site in partnership with CTC and Tidworth Freeride.

Phil Potts founder of the Tidworth Freeride Club says, “This is a milestone in Tidworth Freeride's history. I’ve never doubted that we’d be back riding officially on the site and there are so many people to thank for making this possible.

It’s great to see the hard work put in by our volunteers rewarded in this way and we look forward to working with CTC and DIO to get more people riding here."

Phil Potts,
Tidworth Freeride Club founder

"Far too many people have helped for me to name them all individually, but we are especially grateful to 26 Engineers Perham Down in the guise of Staff Sgt Justin Lane and his men who have helped build the car park.”             

Rob Fuller, CTC’s Development Director said, "Tidworth Freeride Park has been a 'proving ground' for the local downhill and freeride biking community for nearly 10 years.

"Built by hand from scratch it demonstrates what’s possible when volunteers work together. We’re so pleased that we can support the group and that the site is now one of the CTC's formalised bike parks, offering a challenge to riders of all levels, amongst the woodland of Salisbury Plain.”

Richard Brooks, the DIO’s Senior Access and Recreation Advisor said, “The opening of the Tidworth Freeride Bike Park demonstrates how local groups and communities can work together to deliver a community resource. Together we have made the park accessible and created a valuable, local recreational resource for mountain bikers of all ages and abilities.”

Whatever your style of riding, Tidworth FreerRde Park gives you the opportunity to develop your confidence and skills, offering a selection of progressive tracks built for riders of all ages and abilities. There are jumps, drops, berms and step downs, a Dirt Trail Arena featuring everything from small tabletops to large doubles, and a full-on set of dirt trails, all meticulously shaped and maintained by the volunteers.

This weekend’s opening is the first of what looks set to be a busy events programme on site. 

Find out more about what’s happening at Tidworth Freeride and the rest of the CTC Bike Park network.