The sixth MTBMeetup took place over three days at Coed Llandegla Forest in North Wales from the 26^th  - 28^th July 2019. MTBMeetup is a not for profit, social mountain biking event held each and every summer. It's purely an event for mountain bikers to get together, ride, meet new friends, have some good food and a cheeky beer or two.

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The event which usually takes place in May switched to a new date during the summer holidays to avoid clashes with other bike festivals. The organisers kept the format the same as previous years, a completely free to attend event, with independent traders and bike manufacturers displaying stands in a village set up around the One Planet Adventure café.

Everyone had a great time meeting people they know only from social media, engaging with customers, meeting the retailers and enjoying the free beer and cake. Attendees commented how the event had a relaxed and inclusive vibe. The now infamous raffle saw an incredible prize haul and helped us raise over £2200 for Prostate Cancer Research.

Riders completely took over the Llyn Rhys campsite for the weekend which helped create a festival atmosphere with fresh pizzas served during the evenings.

Wales delighted with a fine sprinkle of liquid sunshine for most of the day on Saturday but the rain didn’t dampen spirits too much. Riders hit the trails for sessions in the morning and afternoon. We had a six hour natural trails guided ride on the hills around Coed Llandegla, ladies groups and skills courses on the pump track.

MTBMeetup isn't a commercial enterprise, it's a group of friends getting together to organise a free social event which raises loads of money for charity. Charitable donations exceeded £2,200 and over 1500 people attended this year. The gathering has found the right level, tone and pitch which sets it apart from other UK bike events. It stays true to its ethos of being a bunch of people getting together to ride bikes, a true cycling festival.

Eastwood Media created a video of the event which can be found here - https://youtu.be/n5jxHyFiIZc

If you want to find out more, check out the website here - www.mtbmeetup.uk/

And for next year's dates we recommend you like and keep an eye on their Facebook page.

Photo Credit - Chris Davies Photography.

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