Over 400,000 bikers head for to the borderlands every year to test their skills along the 7Stanes network of trails in southern Scotland, at Glentress, Innerleithen and, just south of the border, around Kielder Forest.

And recent announcements, backed by a £19m investment fund, aim to establish the Scottish Borders as the mountain biking capital of Europe. It will help create the world’s first Mountain Bike Innovation Centre to support businesses and help them to develop world class products and services for the cycling sector.

IT’s investment that builds on the huge success of staging to flight events in the borders, including the recent UCI World Championships.

One of the most popular events on the mountain biking calendar is the Tweedlove festival, a week of open races, guided rides, ride-outs and a hugely popular apres rides social programme of film and concerts.

For the perfect cycling experience the Tweed Cycleway wends its way from Biggar to 
Berwick-on-Tweed, an 89-mile journey that takes in Peebles, Melrose, Kelso and Coldstream.

Experienced cyclists in search of an exhilarating new challenge are in for a real treat with the arrival of the UK’s newest coast-to-coast cycle route across the south of Scotland. One of the longest routes in the UK, the Kirkpatrick C2C stretches almost 250 miles from Stranraer to Eyemouth on Scotland southeast coast.

Other popular choices include the 4 Abbeys, Coast and Castles and the Border Loop covering 250 miles of rolling hills and country lanes. The Southern Borders Loop offers a shorter 50-mile ride through Hawick, Bonchester Bridge and Newcastleton.

Northumberland National Park is home to a fine selection of cycling trails including the Sandstone Way from Berwick-on-Tweed to Hexham.

There’s more at:-

www.tweedlove.com
www.cyclesscottishborders.com
www.northumberlandnationalpark.org
www.ssdalliance.com