Fancy a 79 mile cycle ride? Maybe just a 47 mile route? Why not sign up for the New Forest Rattler.
The New Forest Rattler is a cyclosportive set in the beautiful New Forest National Park. Fresh air and stunning views along with long winding roads, hills, dips and flats. Cycle through ancient forests, avoid cattle and ponies on the way and pass through picture-postcard villages.

Details as follows..

Date: Sunday 22nd August 2010

Address: Moyles Court School Ringwood, Hampshire BH243NF.

Registration: 7:00am

Setoff: from 8:30am

Cost £18.00 to include hot drinks, parking, 2 feed stations en-route, pasta based soup & roll afterwards with a hot drink and a certificate. 25% of registration fees will go towards The Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

For further information and registration details please visit
New Forest Rattler

Bring your horse, pony or mountain bike to Burley on Bank Holiday Saturday 1st May and enjoy a ride through the beautiful New Forest National Park, starting in the picture-postcard village of Burley.

Mainly off-road, the routes are sign-posted with Marshals to help along the way.

The route on horseback is 8 miles long and either 8 mile or 22 mile routes for cyclists.

All ages welcome!

Sponsored by the New Forest Rotary Club.

In aid of the following:

Naomi House Children’s Hospice
Rose Road Association
Gift of Sight

Minimum sponsorship (or entry fee) £10 adults, £5 children or £20 family.

Start time: 10am

Location: Dan Tanner’s field next to the Queens Head Pub in Burley BH24 4AB

Learn More

If you are looking for new bits for your bike you could roll down to the Cycle Jumble at Burley Village Hall, Burley. You will find everything from nuts & bolts to rare and exotic Italian vintage cycling gear!

Cycle Jumble
Burley Village Hall
Pound Lane
Burley
BH24 4EB

Saturday April 24th
10am to 2pm

Admission 50p

To book a table contact Jim Hatton 01425 280889

Sunday April 18
Brockenhurst College,
Lyndhurst Road,
Brockenhurst,
Hampshire.
SO42 7ZE

The first sportive in the Wiggle Super Series has 2 route lengths (83miles / 56 miles).

Learn More

Get on your bike for Marie Curie Cancer Care. Enjoy either a 12 mile “leisurely” route or the “challenging” 30 mile option. Both tracks start and finish in Burley. The route follows some classic New Forest gravel trails but with some road sections. Along the way expect to see ponies, donkeys, cattle and deer.

Sunday June 6, 2010
Routes 12m or 30m

Register online. For further information telephone: 020 7599 7337 or email: londonsoutheastevents@mariecurie.org.uk

Marie Curie provide care to around 30000 terminally ill patients and their families – entirely free of charge. Raising just £20 sponsorship will provide one hour of nursing care in a patient’s home.

View images of the 2008 Marie Curie New Forest Bike Ride.

Cycling along one of the many mies of approved cycle tracks in the New Forest can be a fabulous thing to do. On a sunny day and on a well maintained mountain bike, well it just doesn’t get much better than this. My bike has Specialized Armadillo ‘puncture resistant’ tyres as the Forest tracks are hard on tyres, but even so I carry a spare tube, tyre levers and a pump, just in case.

Cycling back after a particularly pleasant early morning jaunt in the forest, I got a flat tyre. I replaced the punctured tube, after checking the inner tyre wall for thorns or other spiky objects. Unfortunately my replacement tube was holier than the Pope. The air was coming out faster than my CO2 cartridge could pump it in. After a few choice expletives, I fumbled around in my wedgie saddle bag for my patches. Oops, it would seem I must have left them on my road bike!

5 miles from home, I gave my wife a rather sheepish call to ask her to rescue me in the car. Having said that as I was waiting 3 or 4 passing cyclists offered help and patches, so I probably would have been good to go. However, I was fortunate to be near one of the busier parts of the forest, just imagine being without mobile phone coverage and in a remote spot. You might have to wait a long time, or face a long walk pushing your deflated steed.

Next time, I will have 2 new inner tubes and patches as well as my normal toolkit. I suspect this won’t be the last of my punctures in the New Forest.

A speeded up cycling video following Castle Hill Lane starting from the Ringwood Road in Burley Street and ending up in Pound Lane, Burley.

Cars and horse riders also share this track, so watch out and show consideration for other users. Also, as it is a gravel track be careful when approaching corners and especially on the downhill sections as it can be difficult to stop!

Castle Hill is the site of a historic old fort and also the infamous home of the Burley Dragon. It affords lovely views of the National Park, and can also be used as part of a longer route if you turn right at the end, then turn into the Burbush Hill Car Park where you can follow the disused railway track.

Venue: Burley Manor, Burley, The New Forest, BH24 4BS
Date: Sunday 28 September 2008
Time: 11.00am
This event is organised by a Cancer Research UK supporter.

This looks like being a fun day out for all the family, and one that will hopefully raise some cash for Cancer Research.

Two courses: One 8.5 mile ride plus a 20 mile ride for the more adventurous.

Learn More about the Burley Cycle Challenge

The National Park Authority are proposing a scheme to make some car parks “dog free”. This comes from their draft Recreation Management Strategy and is causing a bit of a fuss from New Forest dog walkers.

I don’t have a dog. I used to own a Rottweiler though, and I know they do like a good walk! I have only had one bad experience with a dog in the Forest. I got chased by one when cycling. This was from a dog from a local farm, and not really related to the walkers ban issue.

Apart from that my experience of dog walkers has been pretty positive. Most of them are considerate to me, especially when cycling. I suspect there will be irresponsible dog owners who use the Forest, but it is a real shame when this minority will potentially curb the freedom of the vast majority of responsible dog owners and their four legged companions.

The New Forest Dog Owners Group (NFDOG) was started to protect the rights of dog owners. Here is their New Forest Dog Walking Code.

• If you cannot control your dog you must keep it on a lead
• Your dog must not be allowed to disturb or chase livestock or wildlife
• Keep your dog to existing tracks when birds nest on the ground
• Prevent your dog fouling on footpaths and around car parks
• Groups of dogs can be intimidating – keep them under control
• Be considerate to other forest users
• Keep well away for any work taking place in the forest
• Prevent excessive barking by your dog

Here is a publication from the NFDOG regarding this draft from the NPA.

Went for a nice cycle ride this morning. Headed out for the Bratley Plain, just north of the busy A31. Listening to my iPod helped drown out the traffic noise. Cycling along I saw a nice view of ponies grazing in the purple heather. I stopped, got my camera out, and then saw three stags, who had just seen me. Fumbling with the camera, I was too slow and the three deer made a dash for the cover of the nearby trees.

On the way back I noticed some orange and yellow fungi, just along the road to Burley.