The Allerdale Bike Challenge is an annual series of five cycle events which explore the local lanes around Allerdale District. It’s open to riders of all bike types from lightweight road bikes to mountain bikes, from recumbent bikes to tandems. The format is a 2 hour score event using SportIdent timing on tarmac roads & lanes, with a maximum of 25 controls available to collect but with penalties for late return; get the timing very wrong and you can lose all your points! Events are held in May and June on Wednesday evenings with start times from 5.30 – 6.30pm.
For 2026 the five event venues were Dean Village, Allonby, Watchtree Nature Reserve, Greystoke and Uldale. Riding was primarily on quiet country lanes with busy roads mostly out of bounds. Occasionally the roads were a little bumpy (beware potholes), sometimes with hints of grass down the middle, and there is frequently the odd tractor or two to negotiate.
Border Liners participants rode well across the 2026 events. Best 3 to score, Raymond on his new e-bike pretty much cleaned up with 4 straight wins out of 5. Alan Hartley gamely attempted to take on Tom Gibbs from Lakes MBO but the challenge was mighty, so whilst falling short he still squeaked into second overall.
BL Results:
2nd Overall – Alan Hartley
1st W40 & overall ladies winner – Isabel Berry
1st M40 – Jeff Powell Davies
1st W80 – Karen Blackburn
1st E-bike – Raymond Wren
2nd M60 – Keith Tonkin
2nd E-bike and first lady – Christine Kiddier
You can find details of ABC events, maps and results on Facebook and results and event reports on the British Mountain Bike Orienteering (BMBO) website. Look out for ABC events in 2027. They can be fun to participate in, can be taken seriously or relaxed and are low cost. You can ride with a friend or go it alone. Why not take on the ABC challenge?
2026 season was sponsored by Palace Cycles who donated vouchers for the winners.
Border Liners Orienteering Club 