Sep 23
Final Details
Camping
Campsite opens midday on friday and all riders and their party can camp for free and enjoy the weekend. There are showers, toilets, water and catering on site. You are welcome to stay on site until Monday morning.
What's Going on
Friday is Cross Country Race practice and then Team Relay racing at 1800 on friday Evening. Saturday is the final round of the British XC Series with Britain's best racers taking part and overseas riders from Ireland, Belgium, Czech Republic, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the 2004 Olympic Champion Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesja all taking part. Andrei Burton will be doing trials displays and in the evening there are free under 12s races and floodlit cyclo-cross racing followed by a live band and a few drinks...yes you have access to all this so please make a weekend of it. Registration for Sunday's ride is also available all day on Saturday.
Sunday
The Newnham 30/60 will start at 1000 and all riders will need to have registered on site and collected their number board by 0930 on Sunday Morning. There will be two service stops on the long route (1 on the short route) with mechanic support from Elite Tech services and Certini and water and food top ups. Please carry as much water and food as possible as the service stops are there to help, not provide a 3 course lunch. The route is waymarked and uses a mix of public and private land and a couple of small road sections. Please ensure you carry warm clothing as the conditions on the moor can be quite changeable and carry a tool kit to help you repair any mishaps along the way. All finishers will receive a T-Shirt and there is a cream tea at the end also.
Getting here
Take the Plympton turning off the A38 and follow the signs to the British Mountain Bike Series, the postcode is PL7 5BN but it covers a wide area and we do not reccommend using Sat Nav within 2 miles of the venue.
We hope you enjoy the weekend. we now have 470 entries and the online entry system will be available until Thursday evening for any last minute entries...there will not be any available on the day.
Sep 22
Entries now 460 and we have left entry system open to allow people to enter without the uncertainty of trying to grab an on the day entry. Final details will no be posted when entries close on Thursday evening. Directions to the venue and racing schedule for saturday is at www.britishxc.com
Sep 20
Entries now 420 and will close on Monday evening. Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesja (2004 Olympic Champion) now confirmed for Saturdays' XC racing. Local band V8 now confirmed for saturday night after the Cyclo-Cross racing. Don't forget campsite is open from friday lunchtime so make a weekend of it. We will post final details of the weekend, directions etc on the website on Tuesday evening.
Sep 1
T-shirts to all finishers....Yes all event finishers will receive a souveneir event T-shirt so those of you who have been keeping the Newnham 90 shirts since 2001 will have another for your collection. Team relay event has been added to the weekend on friday evening, there will be live music on Saturday evening. Entries now over 300 so entries on the day look unlikely. Mike from Elite tech will be providing mechanic support at the first service stop. Don't forget the floodlit cyclo-cross action on Saturday evening. Joolze Dymond will be the official event photographer so expect to see a big gallery after the weekend.
Aug 15
Certini have agreed to supply mechanical support at the service station on the moor. Entries now 50% full. Campsite will be open from Friday Lunchtime with British XC series practice friday and series finals on the Saturday...Oli Beckingsale and Liam Killeen are confirmed entrants.
March 26
Newnham 60 online entry and entry forms will be available on this website by March 31.
March 9
Course outline now sorted...online entry and entry forms coming soon. Looks like the saturday night Cyclo Cross action will be floodlit for your pleasure. We have decided to reduce entry fees this year and will not be providing a T-shirt. Event will be retitled Newnham 60, we should be able to produce this loop without any course repetition.
Feb 6
Course meeting planned for next week. The aim is to produce a 60k top quality loop that will be the main distance and a shorter 35-30k loop for beginners/families. This will ensure we can use the best of what is on offer in and around Newnham and avoid the confusion of doubling up sections. Joolze Dymond confirmed as official photographer so a huge gallery will be available. This year you will have the final round of the British Cross Country series to watch on the Saturday plus Andrei Burton trials demos, Cyclo Cross racing, free under 12s races, more trade stands and more for the family. We aim to have entry forms and online entry available by the end of Feb....apologies for the delay.
October 2
Newnham 90 will return on September 27 2009...more details soon.
May 20
Results are here. 416 riders started, 399 completed at least 50k, 91 riders completed the full distance....ouch. News on any galleries soon.
May 19
Dry here, still bringing in tape and arrows and gel packets. Thanks for all feedback so far. Apologies for times when food/drink was low at the feed station...boy you lot can eat....! Results will not be up until Tuesday evening/Wednesday Morning...Sorry.
May 14
BIG News.... Nicholas Vouilloz will be at the demo day on Sunday on the Lapierre Stand...bring your autograph books. There will be no Newnham 50/90 entries on the day (please do not ring for an entry as we don't have any!) but you will be able to register for demo rides on the day...bring two forms of ID...
We just had an hour of Thunder and Lightning in Plymouth!
May 13
Entries now at 400. We have been able to get 20 more number boards and 20 more T-Shirts, and have enough Cream Teas, so can take another 20 postal entries but that will be it. Event Starts at 1000 for all distances...ignore anything else you have seen. Steve Toze finished stage 1 of his www.alongwayinmay.com challenge in 6.5 hours so needs a 4 hours 10 in the Newnham 90 to be on target...ouch. No Fig Rolls for feed station i'm afraid..apparently the Italian crop failed...talk about World Food Crisis! Don't forget the Short Track and Go Ride on Saturday and Demo Day on Sunday, please support them or they will not happen next time...and they're all free! Thanks to Tom Pedder from Certini who will be tail bike rider on the 50k loop and will be able to keep any of the rear riders going. A few fast ones entered for the 90, can anyone break 4 hours, Phil Morris, Geoff Beetham, Jay Horton, Simon Young, Pete Dawe, John Pugh... Extra cream on your scones if you do and maybe even an extra scone!
May 8
Entries now at 340. Don't forget pre entries close on monday May 12 and then we will display how many (if any) on the day entries are available from there. We have had to place orders for Cream Teas, T-Shirts, Toilets, number boards etc so there will not be many places available. Course work continues with the first course poles being banged in this Sunday. Steve Toze from event sponsors Shred magazine will be attempting the 90k as part of a 3 week challenge...Dartmoor Sportive on the 11th, Newnham 90 then the Plymouth Half Marathon on the 25th, his aim is to finish all in under 12 hours and he's rasing money for Barnardos, if you would like to sponsor him then take a look at the website www.alongwayinmay.com. We still need about 6 more event marshals...if you know someone who can help then get in touch martynsalt@aol.com. Main sponsors Trek will be bringing about £2000 of spot prizes for the main event and the Shred Short Track (which will take place on Saturday evening) before the Pasta Party and live music. As part of the Demo day on Sunday Red Bull will be there with some freebies and there will also be For Goodness Shakes giveaways. Don't forget if you take one of the bikes out for a free test ride you'll get some more freebies including a free Buff www.bikedemodays.com to book your time slot.
Lastly please remember to carry any spares or fluids you may need for the ride, conditions can change and the feed stations are there for back up only. All rides will go off together at 10am.
April 24
The Bikedemodays tour will be at the event on Sunday but many of the brands will be there setting up on the Saturday including Gary Fisher and Trek so there should be plenty of chance to get a demo ride.
The course crew have already begun the strimming and this Sunday is work party day in one of the 'secret' bits. A few more things to confirm. Red Bull will be at the event giving out plenty of freebies and generally add their weight to the days proceedings. After the Shred Short Track on the Saturday Night we have booked top local band The Big Naturals...with a set list that includes the Undertones, Sex Pistols, Foo Fighters, The Verve and Stereophonics it should be a good evening. If you are coming for the weekend and bringing the kids then with the support of British Cycling go-ride South West Coach Jodi Vickery, we will be providing a go-ride demo day for kids to come and have a go at different cycling skills tests and competitions. Bikes and helmets will be provided to those who haven't got them with them. Linked with Dont Push It Cycling Club Bude, and Exeter Mountain Bike Club.
April 10
Route plan now altered a bit. We've dropped 2k of road from the first loop and tweaked it a bit and it now stands at 51k...second loop is coming in mid 30s so full route looks like being about 85k at the moment ~(with only 5k of road). Keith Clark and Mike Crossman are pre riding it today and then we'll have the final distances and plan nailed.
We have 5k of new offroad riding never used before in this event in some Private Woods. For those of you asking for a pre published route, we can't i'm afraid as there are quite a few bits that landowners do not want people riding before or after the event...sorry. Thanks to the Bike Cellar who will be there Sat/Sunday as the event trade stand making sure you can get any last minute supplies and will also have their workstand for any last minute repairs. The National Demo Series Bikes are getting pretty booked with over 250 test rides already reserved, if you want to get on something specific on the Sunday then book it now...it's free www.bikedemodays.com. For the racers out there don't forget the Saturday evening Shred Short Track and also we may have news soon of an XC race event at Newnham on July 13...we'll let you know when it's confirmed.
only 5 weeks to go....
March 27
Route plan now finalised, this will mean about 7k of road over the route but avoids some of the doubling up of previous years. The tricky rocky descent behind the quarry gets in twice but with two differing routes approaching it. Amazingly there are no are only two river crossings in the first 50k and these both appear in the last 2k of the loop so your feet won't be wet for long but there are 4 more in the last 40k of the 90. We look like we'll be able to access some private land never used before for this event which will provide some more interest. Thanks to Certini who have agreed to provide neutral tech support up at the Checkpoint on the Moor with more support available from the Trek guys back at the event arena. If you are planning to test ride one of the 100s of bikes on display at the event then you should really book it as many are already booked out and you can reserve them for free at www.bikedemodays.com. Shred magazine will be there re invigorating the Newnham 90 favorite of Short Track on Saturday evening and it looks like the event pasta party will be complimented by some free beer courtesy of event sponsors Trek. Many of you have asked about camping and yes it is free for your guests. There will be hot/cold refreshments from Cafe Jackets, Hot Showers, toilets and drinking water all available on site Saturday and Sunday.
Remember we won't be taking entries on the day for this event so if you want to take part then pre enter now...
Feb 7
Well it's been a 3 year gap but now after popular request it's back. We've been wanting to do it again for a few years but a mix of access issues, having two children (my wife not me...although that would have explained the belly) and trying to make a living made it impossible. With Trek's support and a bit more free time it's now back and the aim for this year is to try and recreate the original concept...great off road riding, good facilities, super friendly atmosphere and a few surprises along the way. There will be no big events around it this year but we are bringing back the Short Track for Saturday night and I think we're going to create a bit of inter county rivalry with it. We've also managed to secure the final leg of the National Demo series for Sunday so you'll have a chance to test ride a huge range of demo bikes after you've had your cream tea, take a look at www.bikedemodays.com to see what's on offer and book a free test ride. We're going to have a band on Saturday night this year...we thought a bit of classic rock might go down well but we're still open to ideas. Keith Clark is busy nailing down the route and it looks like we may have access to a couple of bits of Private Land that we couldn't get before so expect a few new trails on the way. The entry fee has had to be set at £28 because of VAT but don't forget for that we include camping (for you and your guests), pasta party, live music, showers, water, T-shirt, parking, well stocked feed station, neutral support on course, first aid and the all important cream tea. We will record everyones start and finish time but it's not a race so you won't get a finishing position or prizes for being the fastest, in fact you're more likely to get a prize for being the slowest / ugliest / hairiest / smallest / tallest / fattest / handsomeist / muddiest / smiliest....
If you have any suggestions about the event then please don't be afraid to contact me ...thanks