Marlow Red Kite Ride

Featured in Cycling Weeky’s Best Sportives near London, the Red Kite Ride this year takes place on Sunday 5 September 2021.

Organised and run by Marlow Riders, the Red Kite Ride is run by cyclists for cyclists. The sportive gives you a taster of the Chilterns, a top UK cycling destination. Beautiful rolling countryside, home to the graceful Red Kite, provides challenging climbs rewarded with sweeping descents.

We have consulted British Cycling and they have advised us that from 29 March, events run by BC affiliated clubs can have a maximum number of 600 riders. In view of this and the Government’s roadmap for coming out of lockdown restrictions we should be able to run the sportive pretty much as normal. We will continue to monitor the situation, and if the event is cancelled due to COVID-19, all entrants will receive a full refund, or have the option to roll their entry over to 2022.

We are now open for entries. The price has been held at £35

Routes

We have three distances, 50, 80 and 100 miles, each with well stocked feed stations and toilet facilities. All routes take you through quintessential old English villages and countryside (filming locations for Midsomer Murders, Vicar of Dibley, Lewis, Miss Marple, Jonathan Creek) and return to Marlow via the Grade I listed Marlow Bridge.

Charities Supported

Each year our club members select local charities to benefit from the proceeds of the event. In the eight years that the event has been run to date, we have raised well over £70,000 for local good causes.

Our supported charities in 2021 are:

Samaritans Slough Windsor and Maidenhead

Thames Valley Air Ambulance

Wycombe Homeless Connection

Younger People with Dementia

Marlow Sports Club

More details on the charities we support

Marlow Riders and Location

The home of social road cycling in the Chilterns, Marlow Riders is an inclusive club, with something for most levels of cyclist, and about a third of our members are female. Our ethos is Cycling for All, no-one gets left behind on our rides, and there’s usually a coffee and cake stop, or a beer at the end!