The first Bristol Cycle Festival kicks off this weekend with a mountain bike challenge that celebrates 15 years of the UK's National Cycle Network.
The Cheddar Adventure takes place this Saturday (11 September) and offers a choice of 56- or 29-mile routes on a combination of traffic-free paths, quiet roads and off-road sections. Both rides start from the CREATE centre in Bristol city centre.
The longer route takes riders to Cheddar and back, taking in the Ashton to Pill path and the Strawberry Line, climbing the Cheddar Gorge and heading across the Mendips. The shorter option heads to Nailsea instead. Both end with a party at the Tobacco Factory in Bedminster.
Entry costs £20 (all proceeds go to sustainable transport charity Sustrans) and places can be booked at www.sustrans.org.uk/events. A mountain bike is essential as some sections won't be suitable for road bikes. Registration takes place from 9-11am.
Work on the National Cycle Network began in 1995 when Sustrans received £43.5 million of lottery funding. Today it covers 12,600 miles and is used for 1 million journeys each day. It passes within a mile of over 55 percent of the population.
