The Marlow Red Kite Ride 2014 will take place on Sunday 31st August.  Entries are well ahead of last year and we expect all places to be sold out by early August, so we encourage anyone entering to book soon.

After the sellout success of last year’s event entries will again be restricted to 600 participants.    The entry fee remains at £25 and featured distances are 50, 80 and 100 mile routes.

It is our aim as organisers to provide a rider experience that exceeds expectations so we highly value all feedback from participants and their families. We are therefore planning to enhance our after event activities at the Marlow Sports Club and will provide more details on this nearer the date of the event.

We wish to encourage families to visit the area and spend the day or weekend in the Thames Valley and Chilterns.

In 2014 we will be raising money for Cyclists Fighting Cancer.  We chose this very worthwhile charity because of its links to cycling and because sadly a number of our members have been recently touched by cancer.

This is the third year of the Red Kite Ride and we have been greatly encouraged by so much positive feedback from you the riders. So we will do our best to provide all those taking part with a day out that you will remember.

Theresa Sholl from Milton Keynes leads the way through the ford at Twyford. Picture courtesy of Sportive Photo

The routes for our three rides have been planned by Course Director Willi Moore, a former Olympic track bronze medallist and a member of the Marlow Riders, organisers of the Red Kite Ride. This year’s routes are likely to remain unchanged from the 2013 event that included the much talked about ford crossing at Twyford.  This is a 40 ft wide stretch of water – the river Loddon – towards the end of all three routes that proved a popular feature in last year’s event.

Full details and photos of the 2013 event can be found elsewhere on this website.

For 2014, all three rides start and finish at the Marlow Sports Club, very close to the banks of the River Thames. Free car parking will be provided a short ride away and secure facilities will be available at the start line for anyone wishing to leave any baggage.

Start times will begin at 7.30am and all three routes will be closed at 5pm.

The routes pass through some of the most picturesque landscapes in the Chilterns and Thames Valley. The long climb out of Marlow is often marked by the sight of many red kites soaring overhead as all three distances enter the famous Hambleden Valley, scene of so many Hollywood movies and tv dramas such as “Midsomer Murders” and “The Vicar of Dibley”.

All three events pass over one of the highest points in the Chilterns at Christmas Common with the two longer routes then enjoying stunning views over Oxfordshire before the long downhill to the town of Watlington.

Whichever distance you choose you will be sure of a friendly welcome at all of the well-stocked feed stations which will be approximately 25 miles apart