The Marlow Red Kite Ride will take place again this year on Sunday 6th September 2015.  Entries will open in March.  Please check back here for details, or follow our twitter account @redkiteride for updates.

In previous years we have had some great feedback.  Much of the feedback is available on the Cyclosport web site here

News from 2014

Updated results for 2014 are available here Marlow Red Kite Ride Results 2014 v2   Photos of the event are available from SportivePhoto

Naomi Riches completes 80 miles:

Paralympic gold medallist Naomi Riches didn’t quite know what to expect when she entered her first sportive at the weekend. “It was quite a journey, I got through two pilots but only managed 80 miles. Next year I’ll manage the 100,” she later wrote on Twitter.  See cyclosport for the full story

 

Raffle prize winners
Thanks to everyone who bought a raffle ticket.  The winners were:

GoPro Hero3 camera     Simon Moore
Signed 2014 Commonwealth Games Gilet     Martin Siertsema
Hospitality Wasps Rugby tickets     Mark Venning
2 First Class Great Western train Tickets     Richard Rees-Davies
Meal for 2 at The Frog in Skirmett     Debbie Heath
£50.00 meal vouchers at The Chequers Inn in Fingest.     Richard Ellis
£50.00 voucher for Cyclecare in High Wycombe.     Niomi Barham
2 sports massage sessions with the Lotus Centre – prize provided by Lorna Kennard    Paul Mander

Acknowledgements

There are many people to thank for helping run this event.  In particular we would like to thank

• 5th Marlow Bridge Scout Group for the loan of equipment
• Great Marlow School for loan of tables
• Saddle Safari (our local bike shop) for pre-start suport
• Dawes Cycles for loan of the tandem used by Naomi Riches
• Gary Sinclair from HS Sports
• Mark Doel from British Cycling for the site presentation material
• Mark Venning the bike outrider
• BMW for lending us the lead car
• Rob Taylor of Western International Market for supplying the bananas for the third year
• Muc Off
• Rebellion Brewery
• Sainsbury’s for the bread rolls
• Lynn Johnson at Dun and Bradstreet for the parking facilities
• The Drummond Clinic
• The Police bike marking team
• Socomec and Impact equipment for donating the Red Kite Ride banners
• Hawes Group for the loan of the barriers
• Kevin Easterbrook, RAF Cycling Association for the pop up tents and banner
• Panos Oktaras, RAF High Wycombe for the hot water boiler and thermos flasks
• Mark Harvey from Take3tri for the bike fit discount
• All the raffle prize donors
• Above all, the volunteers especially the friends and families of Marlow Riders who gave their time to make the event such a success

Announcement of 2014 event

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.

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