Another year has gone by and it is almost time to get ready for this year’s MERIDA EX 3-day Enduro presented by Shimano. From the 6th to the 8th of September we will be back in beautiful Exmoor for this year’s enduro madness and we wanted to give you a few more details about the event.
Location:
We will once again be based at the Allerford & Selworthy Community Hall, Hare Park, Allerford. The postcode is TA24 8HL. We will be marking the venue from the main road and Allerford is small so you will not miss us.
The event opens:
The event will be open for camping and arrivals from lunchtime on Thursday (5th). If you can avoid arriving before then, it would be super helpful, as we will be in the middle of setting up.
Food at the event:
Officially, our ‘all-inclusive’ event food starts on Thursday evening. So if you arrive before then, please make sure you have some snacks, etc., with you. Also, neither Porlock nor Minehead are far away if you need to pick up some last-minute items.
Briefing:
The event briefing for THE MERIDA EX can be found by clicking here. Please read it carefully before you arrive at the event so that you know the small print, what to bring, what to do and what not to do. The race rules and regulations can be found here.
EXPOSURE LIGHTS Night Stages – bring your lights:
EXPOSURE LIGHTS are also back on board to support the super popular and very memorable night stages that will take place on Friday evening. As in 2023, there will be 3 tracks to ride at night, starting with a roll-out from the venue. The night ride will be paired with a shorter day session, but rest assured you will get plenty of riding and stages on the opening day of THE MERIDA EX presented by Shimano. Please make sure you bring adequate front lights for the night enduro stages and rear lights for getting to and from the trails and any road sections.
E-bike details:
We have a fairly large e-bike category at THE MERIDA EX presented by Shimano, and we have a few extra pointers for riders in the e-bike category. First of all, the e-bikers ride the same course and stages as the rest of THE EXers. But they have their own category, so there is no assisted vs. non-assisted racing in THE EX. Other than that, here are the other details that are specific to the e-bike category:
- Only regulated bikes (maximum assisted speed of 25 km/h / motor limited to max. 250 watts) can take part in the event. We will check every bike and disqualify any bike/rider not riding within the above limits.
- THE EX is very demanding in terms of terrain, and battery management will be a crucial part of the event. Please keep this in mind throughout the day as there will be no ‘top up’ charging stations on the course on Friday (day: 19km / 700m of climbing – night: 15km / 600m of climbing) will not have a ‘top-up’ charging station on course. You may wish to consider riding certain sections without motor support to conserve the battery for the final part of the ride.
- We will have a top-up station on Saturday (37km / 1,600m of climbing) at approximately 17km and on Sunday (25km / 1,200m of climbing) at approximately 15km. Each rider will be given approximately 30 minutes to top up. Please make sure that you hand your charger (with your name and race number on it for easy identification) to Paul Newman, who will be in charge of the charging station.
- If you have a second battery, we will not restrict you from using it and will take it to the feed station for you. Please contact Paul Newman for details before the start of the ride.
Course:
We will be setting up the course pretty much till Thursday afternoon (as we are doing it all by bike, and it is hilly down there). If you want to go for a spin when you arrive, please talk to either Paul or Michael for some tips on where to go.
Here are the basic stats for the three days:
Friday (afternoon):
19km – 1,100m of descending – 700m of climbing – 5 special stages (one of which is non-competitive)
Friday evening (EXPOSURE NIGHT ENDURO – no uplift – riding out of the venue):
15km – 600m of descending – 600m of climbing – 3 special NIGHT stages
Saturday:
37km – 1,850 of descending – 1,600m of climbing – 10 special stages
Sunday:
25km – 1,350 of descending – 1,200m of climbing – 6 special stages
Schedule/timings for the weekend:
For simplicity, we have put together a schedule that we intend to stick to. However, as this is a ‘live’ event, please keep in mind that some items might move closer to the time.
Thursday: 5th September 2024
– Event venue/camping opens at lunchtime
– Guided ‘warm-up’ ride (approx. 2 hours) leaving around 4:00 pm (as always, participation is at your own risk)
– Snacks and drinks from 6:00 pm onwards
– Signing on will be open in the afternoon/evening
Friday: 6th September 2024
– Signing on opens around 9:00 am
– 10:30 am pre-ride ‘yoga session’
– 11:30 am official briefing/welcome
– 12:00 noon – start of the ‘day’ ride
– Food/snacks at the end of the day ride back at the venue
– Approx. 7:00 pm – ride out and start of the ‘night stages’ from the venue (please make sure you have adequate night riding lights) followed by a BBQ just meters from the finish line of the 3rd and final special stage
Saturday: 7th September 2024
– 8:30 am pre-ride ‘yoga session’
– 9:30 am official briefing
– 10:00 am – start of the ride
– Approx. 7:00 pm – THE MERIDA EX dinner party presented by Shimano and Exposure Lights, including live music
=> EXTRA: Make sure you ‘keep some ponies in the stable’ for some more night racing during our dinner party. We will have some exciting prizes from Race Face and our other partners up for grabs…so it will be worth it. More details over dinner.
Sunday: 8th September 2024
– 8:30 am pre-ride ‘yoga session’
– 9:30 am official briefing
– 10:00 am – start of the ride
– Snacks and drinks back at the venue
– Approx. 4.00 pm final presentation and end of the event
Extra things:
As you can see from the schedule, we will be running our very popular pre-ride yoga classes again. So, if you fancy a little ‘pre-ride’ stretching, then make sure you are ready to ‘stretch’ in the main marquee at the times we have given in the schedule above. We also intend to go for a little spin on Thursday afternoon. So, if you are up for it, you might want to drop us a quick email at ride@the-ex.co.uk to get an idea of the numbers. The ride is at your own risk. There will be no marshals or medical assistance for this ride.
Reduce waste:
We are really keen to reduce the amount of rubbish the event creates. So, as well as asking you to do the obvious and not leave any rubbish on the trails, campsite or event site, we are looking at a few more things to reduce our impact. Once again, we will be using proper cutlery and crockery throughout the event, but we would like you to bring your own coffee/tea mug to reduce the number of paper cups we have used in the past. We will have most of our drinks in kegs and bladders to limit the number of cans we have to recycle, and we will give everyone a compostable cup on registration, which you can either return to us after the event or take home. This will further reduce the need for plastic and/or disposable glasses. Hope we can all do a little bit to help!
We aim to recycle bottles and cans from the bar and feeding stations, so please make sure you use the recycling bins provided.
Protection:
If you haven’t done THE EX, you might not be aware that our terrain is rather technical and steep. Our courses don’t have any sudden drops or big jumps, but the riding is undoubtedly challenging. So, with that in mind, we strongly recommend that you bring at least knee pads to the event and also consider any other protection that you feel is appropriate. Helmets are, of course, compulsory, but there is no requirement to wear a full-face helmet.
RideGuard number board:
As in previous years, we will once again be using the fantastic RideGuard fenders as our unique THE EX number board. So, after they have done their job during the event, they will look pretty good on your bike, keeping water and dirt out of your face.
Sponsors:
Besides the crew from MERIDA BIKE and Merida Bicycles UK, who has been with THE EX as a title sponsor for the last four years, we have once again the Shimano team joining the fun. Both teams will be at the event and always be up for a chat.
BONTRAGER will be with us, showing some of their latest riding gear, while Race Face will have some of their latest protective gear and other products on display.
Exposure Lights will once again be part of THE EX, supporting the night racing action and the delicious Horner Farm BBQ that follows. They will also be showcasing the latest in lighting technology.
Once again, we have the support of the Bristol Beer Factory to ensure that all-important post-ride ‘re-hydration’ is taken care of. We will have a selection of beers and ciders (including the popular Clear Head – non-alcoholic IPA).
And finally, we have the support of the National Trust, who have worked closely with us since THE EX’s inception and have made it possible for us to run our little event.
Thanks to all our sponsors – the event would not be possible without their help!!
So that’s it.
If you have any more questions, please drop us a line at ride@the-ex.co.uk.
We hope you are as excited about the event as we are. We can’t wait to see you all in Allerford.
Thank you
Paul & Michael
The Bikefest Team