Castle Ride

No. Current government guidance states that spectators are no longer permitted at sports events.

Current government guidance states that spectators are no longer permitted at sports events. Non-riders will not be permitted within start/finish area. If you are being picked up, then please keep your driver informed of your ETA so that you can be quickly collected and move away from the area.

Yes, there will be a photographer out on the course throughout the day capturing pictures of riders. These will be available to purchase from www.21cphotos.com 

We recommend that you have appropriate cover for you and your bike.

Yes, for most common bikes. Spares are chargeable.

On the day you will be given a contact number for our ride control, who will help with any issues.

Free parking is available at a number of car parks in Sovereign Way TN9 1RQ close to the start/ finish venue. There is very limited parking at the Castle.

The ride closes at 6.00pm. Slow riders may be picked up and moved on.

You must wear a cycle helmet to take part.

You must be at least 16 on the day of the event to take part; if you are under 18 you must be accompanied by an adult.

There will be fuel/hydration stops, which will have strict distancing and hygiene controls in place. We will only provide pre-wrapped food items. Please bring a few extra of your own supplies as a back-up.

Toilets will be available, which will also have strict hygiene procedures in place that all will need to observe.

We will allocate you a ride time. We will be limiting the number of riders per 15 min slot to approx. We will put a process in place should you wish to alter your time slot. Please arrive as close to your start time as possible.

You will be automatically transferred to the Classic route as shown on the main page. If this does not work for you then please email cycling@action.org.uk to make alternative arrangements.

Yes, just let us know and we will sort that out for you. Dates for next year are still being finalised, so you may need to bear with us for a little while.

Yes. We will expect all to observe the national guidelines for social distancing. From 4 July, government guidance on social distancing is that if you cannot keep a two-metre distance, you should reduce the risk to yourself and others by maintaining a one-metre distance where possible and take suitable precautions.

We have dispensed with registration desks. Your timing chip will automatically book you in as you cross the start line. We will have back up scanners in place to ensure that we have captured all participants on the ride. Please do not ride without a chip and speak to a member of staff if you have forgotten your chip.

You will still need to follow the national guidelines for a minimum social distancing of 1m.

Yes, medals will be available for you to collect. But we won’t be able to present these personally.

This will be sent you by SMS text message as you cross the line to the mobile number provided when you entered. We will also aim to publish a link to rider times on our website within a couple of days.

If you have been feeling unwell in the 14-days prior to the event with any COVID-19 symptoms, you must NOT attend under any circumstances.

We will still look after you and our mobile mechanics will get you on the road again. But if it’s terminal we will transport you back to the finish. This may take a little longer than usual as we will need to follow the guidelines for transporting passengers in vehicles.

If restrictions on movement and guidance around social distancing temporarily differ from those applicable elsewhere then we will respond to this accordingly. If localised restrictions prevent us from delivering the ride, we will inform you immediately.

Individuals who reside in an area where localised restrictions have been imposed should follow the guidelines issued. You should not attend this ride if your location has been locked down. Please contact us to sort out the next steps.

What a lovely treat! When you buy as a gift you are entering the same registration process as normal. However, once you have chosen the route/distance then you'll be prompted to answer, 'who is this registration for?' Please select 'someone else...'

The email address you input here will be the email to receive all event correspondence. So you may want to choose to use a different email address, if you want to keep your gift secret. 

After you have paid you will received a confirmation of the event entry (to the email address you entered as above) so you can gift this to your rider.