10.05.12 - Pennine Bridleway Guided Rides

Bill Brady has just sent us this years program of guided rides taking in the the Pennine Bridleway and some of the other great riding available in and around the Lancashire Pennines.

Bill is the Pennine Bridleway ranger covering the Mary Townley Loop and beyond so if you want to ride the routes with someone who really knows them he's you man. If that's not enough Lee & Cragg Quarries legend Tony Lund will also supporting some of the rides.

Five guided rides have been planned:

• Mary Townley Loop - Wednesday 20th June 2012
• .....more.

23.04.12 - Free Car Parking for Volunteers at Gisburn & Beyond

Work is now underway on the new car park at Gisburn with the area having been marked out and cleared of trees. The power lines running along the road have now been buried and the telegraph poles removed and a significant amount of stone has been dug out up in the quarry for surfacing the new area. The forestry team were out brashing through the route of the new singletrack links last week in preparation for the trail building contractors coming on site this week.

Car parking charges will come into force once the new car park is completed (the pay and display machine was delivered last July!). Charges are being set at a very reasonable rate of £3 per day with monies raised going back into trail maintenance and.....more.

22.04.12 - Colne Valley MTB Challenge

The Colne Valley MTB challenge has been running since 2004 and is back again for 2012 on the 13th of May. The 30 mile route is a mixture of demanding off road terrain, local roads and lanes, set around the picturesque, post-industrial countryside of the Colne Valley in Huddersfield.

The course travels through the heart of the “Last of the Summer Wine” and “Where the Heart Is” country.....more.

20.04.12 - Hope Cross Country Race Series 2012: It's Back and Open For Entries!

The long awaited Brownbacks 2012 XC MTB Series is now open for entries.

Now in it's fourth year the grass roots race series sponsored generously by Hope Technology, Leisure Lakes, Big Bear Bikes, Cooksons Cycles and DHP11 amongst others is has a new 4 race series in this Olympic sport. Dates for 2012 are 27th May, 1st July, 2nd September, 14th October.

The Hope XC Series is designed to allow riders of all standards compete and enjoy themselves in a dramatic venue. Lee Quarry with it's excellent Rowan Sowell designed trails, cheeky "off piste" sections and the presence of high exposure against the scenic backdrop of the Rossendale Valley is....more.

10.04.12 - CTC Leads Mountain Bike Rides

The CTC has been taking mountain biking much more seriously in recent years and in particular has been campaigning on the access issues we face. They're also running a number of led rides locally highlighting some of the top riding spots across the area. Burnley and Pendle CTC are aiming to organise one mountain bike ride per month and have three pencilled in.

14th April at Lee Quarry
19th May starting at Hurstwood 
9th June at Gisburn Forest

The pace of the ride will be tailored....more.

25.03.12 - Mary Townley Loop Repairs

Bill Brady's (Pennine Bridleway Ranger) been busy up on the Mary Townley Loop carrying out repairs on some of the sections that have been suffering as a result of the popularity of the route. He's been working on the section above Gorple reservoir and has had contractors in repairing the horrendous boggy section across Deerplay Moor bufore the road crossing. Anyone who's ridden the later section in the winter will know.....more.

25.02.12 - Gisburn Forest Car Park Is Go

After a rather quiet start to the year news wise things are really picking up for 2012. Funding has been secured for the first phase of development of a small visitor hub at Gisburn Forest. The Hub will be created in the forest near to the Stephen Park outdoor centre and is intended to make visits to the forest more enjoyable and memorable. In line with what many visitors showed support for during a recent online survey (thank you to all of you who responded, the excellent response helped considerably with the funding applications) , the scale of development will be relatively low key. The first phase of work will include the creation of a new car park (100 spaces), 500 metres of multi-user trail, a bike skills training facility with blue, red and black grade features and circa 1500 metres of.....more.

23.02.12 London 2012 hopeful to host Mountain Bike Masterclass at Lee Quarry

Current UK National Mountain Bike champion and two time U23 World Mountain Bike Silver Medalist, Annie Last, will be holding a Skills Masterclass for women at Lee Quarry, Rossendale on Saturday 3 March 2012.

Annie is currently riding for the Milka-Brentjens MTB Racing Team and training hard towards her 2012 season goals of medalling at the London Olympic Games and winning her first World Championship. Annie is passionate about her sport and has ambition to.....more.

22.02.12 - ACCESS 101

An informal event with riders, clubs and access experts for anyone interested in protecting and enhancing access for Mountain Bikers.

We all know access is important but to most of us it is something for other people to worry about. But as individuals and groups we can do an awful lot to preserve access where we already have it, and to support initiatives where we want to improve access. To inform and support riders interested in access issues PMBA and SingletrAction have invited Colin Palmer (CTC), Dave Anderson (Singletrack Mag) and David Goode .....more.

19.02.12 - New Lee Quarry Trailhead

As some of you may have seen in the Rossendale Free Press (which isn't free and costs 60p) plans are moving forward for developing a permanent trailhead in Futures Park to create proper facilities for the riders coming to ride the trails. PMBA got an update on exactly what is planned at our meeting last week from councillor Andy MacNae, Rosendale's portfolio holder for Regeneration, Tourism and Leisure. Andy also happens to be one of the driving forces behind PMBA as well which is nice.....more.

16.02.12 - Temporary Gisburn Trail Closures

The 8 bike trail (red route) between location posts 18 and 19 will be closed from Monday 20th February for circa 3 weeks. This section starts alongside Black Hill quarry and goes over Sheep Hill to the long length of boardwalk. A diversion will be in place along the fire road, as marked with red dots on this map.....more.

14.02.12 - P.M.B.A. Update

Things have been a bit quiet over Christmas hence the lack of news snippets on here. However the new year's well underway and things are beginning to hot up MTB wise across our patch so we thought we'd give you a quick taste of some of the things we've been working on. More news will also follow shortly on some of the bigger projects we've been involved so keep coming back over the next couple of weeks......more.

20.12.11 - Lee Quarry Dirt School - Available to Book NOW

Dirt School Lee Quarry style is now open for bookings. In conjunction with Back on Track and Ride On, we'll be in Lee Quarry for one weekend only! Including coaching from professionals including Ruaridh Cunningham, Andy Barlow, Rowan Sorrell and many other excellent riders the day will include bike set up and equipment advice from the experts at Ride On. Subsidised by Lancashire County Council this has to be the best value coaching day you'll ever see in this country.

Are You?
•A regular rider whose reached a plateau in their progression? 
•Wanting to keep up with or even beat.....more. 

17.12.12 - Gisburn Forest Update

Things have been progressing at Gisburn over the last month of two. Here's a round up of what's been happening:

XC Trail

The XC volunteers have finished another half kilometre of trail. Although not officially open it is rideable but be aware it is a little loose in places. The section completed so far is like a less extreme version of the end of Hully Gully, closely hugging the steep sides of a river gully, using the terrain to create a fantastic swooping trail.....more.

12.12.11 - British XC Olympic Team Train At Lee Quarry

Lee Quarry has been hosting Team GB hopefuls as Head Coach Phil Dixon puts them through their paces. Grant Ferguson, Kenta Gallagher and Annie Last, British Cycling's Olympic Development Riders took a break from their punishing fitness training, swapping miles on the road bike and hours in the gym for a session on the pump track.....more.

07.12.11 - Haglofs Open 5 at Lee Quarry Event Report

Well what a difference a month makes. From brilliant sunshine at the Long Mynd last month to rain, wind, snow, hail, thunder & lightning in brutal winter conditions at Bacup, Rossendale. This event was a little different to the standard Open5 as guest planner, Emma Van Der Gucht, produced tough but well thought out run and bike score stages on the moors and quarries south of Bacup.....more.

25.11.11 - Right's of Way Upgrade - Darwen

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council are actively looking to improve the rights of way network on their patch and are currently working on gathering evidence to support an upgrade on a section of trail south east of Darwen.

Margaret Jones, a Public Rights of Way Officer is currently looking for people who have used this route and can provide feedback on a user evidence form which can be downloaded.....more.

23.11.11 - Dale Trails Become PMBA Sponsor

You may have noticed a new logo on the right side, Dale Trails is the latest mountain biking business to support the work PMBA is doing by becoming a PMBA corporate sponsor.

Dale Trails is run by Al Bowker, an experienced mountain biker.....more.

18.11.11 - Dirt School Comes to Lee Quarry

We are going to be holding a Dirt School Weekend in Lee Quarry 14th/15th January. We will be having three coaches (have a look at the web site for their CV’s) from Dirt School. Rowan Sorrel (Back On Track) who has designed and built a lot of the features at Lee Quarry, Gisburn and Healey Nab will be one of the three coaches so who better to teach people how to ride there than the guy who built most of it. Craig from Ride On will be there to coach and offer advice on bike set up and mechanical backup. Craig will also have some demo bikes available.....more.

15.11.11 - Gisburn Forest Wins MBR Readers Trail of the Year

Thanks to all of you who voted in the recent MBR poll to find their readers favourite trail of 2011. We won! Polling around 20% of the total vote Gisburn came first with double the votes of the number 2, Stainburn Forest (congratulations to the SingletrAction team). Lee Quarry followed up in a respectable third place......more.

13.11.11 - Rossendale Cycle Forum Meeting Minutes

The first meeting of the Rossendale Cylce Forum was held on the 20th of October to discuss all things cycling in and around Rossendale. It was attended by a number of people representing the different cycling disciplines locally, people involved with the bike trade as well as other interested parties who could see that encouraging cycling would also provide a boost for local communities. A number of the P.M.B.A. team attended.....more.

11.11.11 - Open5 Series Comes to Lee Quarry

Lee Quarry will be hosting a round of the Open5 series on December the 4th. Open to anyone over the age of 18 (14 - 17 year olds can also compete in some circumstances if accompanied by and adult) with a number of categories the events combine mountain biking, orienteering and fell running. Events take place across the country and we're particularly pleased Lee Quarry has been chosen as on of the venues this year. Event design will be by Emma Van Der Gucht who planned last series highly acclaimed Slaidburn epic. She will be assisted by local area guru Tony Lund.....more.

08.11.11 - Mountain Biking Access E-Petition.

P.M.B.A. is pretty keen on improving access for mountain bikers whenever possible especially given the piecemeal and often contradictory access rights we currently have. We're working to try and get a voice on the various access forums across the region but there are other people out there trying different approaches.

Rob Sutherland has created an e-petition on the government website that we.....more.

05.11.11 - Lancashire Cycling Strategy Workshop

Lancashire Cycling Steering Group are holding a Lancashire Cycling Strategy Consultation Workshop on Monday 21 November 1.00pm - 4.00pm at Preston Town Hall. The Lancashire Cycling Steering Group was reformed in October 2010 and includes representatives from a broad selection of agencies who share common objectives about cycling. The Steering Group is governed by Terms of Reference which you can download.....more.

26.10.11 - MBR Online Trail Centre Poll

Mountain Bike Rider magazine is once again running an online poll to find this year's readers favourite trail. Gisburn, Lee Quarry and Cragg quarries are all in the running and need your support. As I'm writing this Gisburn is currently in second place behind the Monkey Trail at Cannock Chase, last year's readers favourite. Knowing the dedicated team at Chase Trails they'll be getting everyone they can to vote for Cannock and we want you to do the same for our trails. Lee Quarry is currently running in fourth place behind Llandegla!!!! with Cragg some way down the list. Show your support for your local tails and vote for them on the MBR website. 

Here's some inspiration.....more.

23.10.11 - Gisburn Update

16.10.11 - New Rossendale Cycle Forum

Lancashire County Council is setting up a number of cycle forums across the county. The first meeting of the Rossendale forum will take place this coming Thursday (20th of October) at the Rawtenstall Railway Station Cafe starting at 6pm and finishing at 8pm. According to the forum's terms of reference it's two main aims are:

1. More people cycling more often in Rossendale, both for transport and leisure, supporting the local economy.....more.

07.10.11 - HOPE XC SERIES RACE 4 (2^nd October) REPORT

The final race in the 2011 Hope Technology sponsored series saw over a hundred riders taking on the challenge of the quarry trails. The weather held to keep the trails dry and the racing for both the race win and the final push for series glory was tight in all the categories. 

The Leisure Lakes Racer category were off first and Jiri Klekner (Wheelspin Cycles) stormed into an early lead with race 2 winner Tom Albutt (Joyriders MTB Holidays) pushing hard to keep in contact. Chasing hard after a broken chain in the first five metres and trying to overcome 8 lost minutes, John Hopkinson.....more.

04.10.11 - Rossendale Pennine Adventure Opens for Business.....more.

12.09.11 - Healey Nab Update & Dig Day.....more.

07.09.11 - Tim Royle Video 'Gisburn Forest - The new Hope Trail'.....Video.

05.09.11 - Chase Trails are in the FINAL of the National Lottery Awards.....more.

29.08.11 - Hope Freeride Trail and Other Gisburn News....more.

26.08.11 - Lee Quarry Update.....more.

24.08.11 - SingletrAction Chainless Challenge.....more.

22.08.11 - HOPE XC SERIES RACE 3 (21st August) REPORT.....more.

15.08.11 - Brownbacks Donate to the Mountain Rescue.....more.

05.08.11 - RPMRT Mary Townley Loop Challenge.....more. 

01.08.11 - Lee Quarry Plans Visitor Centre (online survey).....more.

31.07.11 - HOPE XC SERIES RACE 1 (24th July) REPORTmore.

28.07.11 - Pennine Bike Park -  A new Centre is Born?.....more.

27.07.11 - Gisburn Mid Week Digs.....more.

17.07.11 - PMBA Online Membership is Here.....more.

12.07.11 - P.M.B.A. at The Singletrack Weekender.....more.

06.07.11 - New Map for Lee and Cragg Quarries.....more.

03.07.11 - Gisburn Gets Planning Permission For Extra Facilities.....more.

02.07.11 - Manchester Mountain Bikers Become Founder Members.....more.

01.07.11 - Hope XC Series 4 Race Dates.....more. 

29.06.11 - Billinge Hill Unauthorised Trail Building.....more. 

21.06.11 - Gisburn Facilities Expansion - Your Views Needed....more.

15.06.11 - Hope XC Series Race 1 (5^th June) ReportT.....more

06.06.11 - Massively Subsidised Bikeability Training.....more.

05.06.11 - Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue At Gisburn.....more.

31.05.11 - Lee Quarry Complex Expansion Plans.....more.

17.05.11 - Hope / Brownbacks Free Coaching.....more.

13.05.11 - Gisburn Forest News.....more.

11.05.11 - PMBA First Aid Training.....more.

05.05.11 - Entries for Hope XC Series 2011 Now Open.....more.

26.04.11 - Expansion Plans for Gisburn Forest.....more.

22.04.11 - Hope XC Race Series 2011 Launches.....more.

21.04.11 - MTB Commissaire Course.....more.

19.04.11 - Lee Quarry Update.....more. 

07.04.11 - Lee Quarry Repair Dig Day.....more.

06.04.11 - Gisburn Repairs Updates.....more.

03.04.11 - PMBA First Aid Course.....more.

31.03.11 - PMBA Founder Members.....more.

28.03.11 - Website Update - Events Calendar.....more.

26.03.11 - Riders needed at Lee Quarry to be on the Telly.....more.

21.03.11 - Lee & Cragg Update.....more.

17.03.11 - Pay and Display is Coming to Gisburn.....more. 

15.03.11 - Singletrack Weekender Entries Now Open.....more.

06.03.11 - Cyclejunkies Raffle Result.....more.

03.03.11 - Dig Day at Gisburn, New Trail Section.....more.

18.02.11 - Construction Underway in Lee & Cragg Quarries.....more. 

13.02.11 - New Trail Section Open at Gisburn.....more.

12.02.11 - MBR Trail Review.....more.

06.02.11 - New Website......more.

05.02.11 - British Cycling at Lee Quarry..... more.

01.02.11 - New Trails Planned at Gisburn.....more.

09.01.11 - Gisburn Update.....more.