Bucks Off Road Sportive - a brief history

The Bucks Classic started off 16 years ago when, after members of the club had taken part in the Hell of the North Cotswolds for a few years the club felt that there was a call for a similar event nearer to London.

As the event was going to be in the County of Buckinghamshire it was decided the event was going to be called the Bucks Classic, and was renamed in 2009 to the Bucks Off-Road Sportive. Although based on the Hell of the North the club wanted to improve on the HONC (as the event is popularly known) and the main problem club riders had with the HONC was the lack of directions arrows and the lack of singe track so that was the main priorities  to find some more challenging trails and to mark the whole route, no mean feat when you go along 100 km of twisting bridleways and small lanes.

The event started off with one route of 30 km, which then rose to 40km, and then with the input of top route designer Steve Keating 100 km with two shorter versions of 70 kms and 30 kms. The event has grown over the years and moved its headquarters from the Denham Country Park to the near-by Martin Baker social club and now the Chiltern Sports and Social club which allows riders to shower and make use of a fully licensed bar as well as a cheap supply of refreshments. 

The 10th anniversary event featured an even harder route as the full distance rose to 121 km which must make this one of the hardest off-road sportives, if not the hardest one day event on the calendar. However the club wants to encompass all standards so there were some shorter distances to choose from. 

In 2008 the bar was raised further with the long distance raised to 132 km. 

This year with the new route guru Wayne Cook taking over the reins   there is going to be 3 distances, as we have raised the bar even further with the distances being 50km,100 km and the marathon 150km , the toughness of the 100 and 150 km events should not be underestimated, although the hills in the Chilterns are not as high as those in other parts of the country the constant undulating climbs certainly take their toll and the single track can be tough going in places. 

To assist people on their way we will have 3 refreshment stops for the 150 km route to keep you going , 2 stops for the 100km and 1 stop for the 50 km route

So what are you waiting for round up your mates and get those entries in. Although entry on the day will be available subject to pre-entries we strongly recommend you pre enter to avoid disappointment 

This event has become one of the MTB events you must do so we strongly recommend you pre enter to avoid disappointment.

Info for Riders

The Bucks Classic started off 16 years ago when, after members of the club had taken part in the Hell of the North Cotswolds for a few years the club felt that there was a call for a similar event nearer to London.