The Club was officially launched on the 1st of February 2010 by a group of volunteers who were working on the Croft Trail. See the Croft Trail history. At that time they had run out of material and money. With official recognition and a constitution, the club could apply for grants and manage funds in a organised and accountable manner.
Friday night rides at the trail became a regular fixture and other club events were organised. When spring came round in 2010, the membership built up quickly.
The Club has been through good times and bad since then, but the Club’s mentality remains the same: we aim to be positive, enthusiastic, and welcoming to new members. As it was then our motto most definitely remains… Get on with it!
2008
Phil and Tom get involved in working on the newly started Croft Trail, then managed by Nationwide Cycling Club. Rafe, Alan and Jodie get involved.
2009
Phil officially takes over the management of the Trail, and significant work is carried out as more people get involved, including Pete and Kat. At the end of the year, work stops as the group has run out of money.
2010
MB Swindon is founded to fund the ongoing work at the Trail, and also starts organising Club rides. Over 160 tons of material is used at Croft.
2011
The Club wins an award at the Swindon and Wiltshire Sports Awards, and is featured in MBR, MBUK and the Swindon Advertiser. Plans made for adding ‘The Triangle’ section at Croft.
2012
The Club continues to grow as membership gets over 200. Some of the members take a trip to Morizne. Some of the older sections of Croft are resurfaced or rerouted.
2013
Ride leaders receive First Aid training as membership continues to increase. The club takes part in several commercial events and organises trips in the UK and abroad.
2014
Gravity and Enduro race teams are launched and compete across the country. Tom and Rafe stand down from their Committee roles as Secretary and Treasurer.
2015
Membership tops 350, the biggest the Club has ever been. Hargroves hold a Demo Day at Croft. A second MTB club – the Enthusiasts – is launched in Swindon.
2016
We join other local Clubs in the Ride of Silence around Swindon. We also ‘compete’ at Octoberfest and other events. Phil stands down as Chairman. Membership falls for the first time.
2017
The Club continues to organise rides and maintain Croft, where the woodwork in particular needs attention. Membership falls to 230 and it becomes difficult to recruit new Committee members.
2018
Wednesday night rides account for most of the Club’s activities, as it becomes more difficult to find ride leaders to organise weekend rides. The committee is down to three members.
2019
A new Committee is elected and start making plans for the Club’s 10th birthday in 2020. Friday nights at Croft are revived over the Summer months.
2020
After we hold a 10th Anniversary recreation of our first ever ride, the Pandemic wipes out everyone’s plans for the year, and we all spend months riding alone!
2021
Our activities are still disrupted, but Midweek rides are reinstated regularly and a major build day is held at Croft. Many of of the Club’s old members disappear from the scene and new ones become regulars.
2022
Midweek rides continue throughout the year but there are not many rides at weekends (though these are very popular). We begin work to recruit new people to get involved in the running of the Club.
So what next?
We are definitely in a period of rebuilding after the Pandemic.Lots of new people got involved in ’21 and ’22, but we’re always looking for more volunteers to help guide the Club forward. If you’d like to get in solved, get in touch with us.