Our shocking revelation that 48% of riders will admit to making cute ickle baby cats cry is the result of an “exhaustive” poll carried out on our Facebook page. Other frankly astonishing findings from our survey revealed that a worrying 21% of cyclists have punched a cow whilst riding and more than a quarter (29%) have hurt the feelings of a sensitive child. Less surprising is the ‘fact’ that only seven per cent of cyclists have kissed a girl and liked it while pedalling.

Look at its face. Now make it cry. (istock)

Yep, our survey of, ooh literally 28 people was rubbish and proved nothing. A bit like the the IAM’s survey which has drawn a uniformly negative response from journalists and cyclists alike. Kaya Burgess, writing in The Times, and The Guardian’s Peter Walker are among many who’ve already poured eloquent scorn over the IAM’s shonky sensationalism.  Here at Cycling Plus we believe that every road user should obey The Highway Code and, therefore, we say simply don’t jump red lights. However, we can’t help but feel the IAM missed the real headline  – 31.8% of drivers questioned in the same poll say that they also jump red lights. Surely, the Institute of Advanced, erm, Motorists should be highlighting this figure. The facts are incontrovertible* – a pedestrian, cyclist or car driver is far more likely to be seriously injured or killed by a car jumping a light than a cyclist. In chasing cheap column inches the IAM has missed the mark by a massive margin.

* According to the Department for Transport (DfT), in 2009 no pedestrians were killed in Great Britain by cyclists, but 426 died in collisions with motor vehicles out of a total of 2,222 road fatalities

Standing in the noisy throng of spectators amid the overcast yet mild Yorkshire evening of the Dalby XC World Cup’s Pro Sprint Eliminator, I decidedly ‘got’ the new discipline. Plastic pint in hand, a load of mates around me roaring and shouting at a previously alouf racing discipline turned almost sexy and infinitely more accessible. This would be worth a watch next season.

Round one of the new XCE series rolled off a purpose-built start ramp at the Houffalize World Cup. The ever-shifting two-wheeled chameleon that is Brian Lopes took the victory on a short punchy track which saw riders hunched low over their front tyres snarling for air. It may have lacked the festive vibe of the Dalby event but it was a good start.

When I sat down after lunch on Friday with a much-needed end of week coffee to watch the replay of the second round from Nove Mesto though, I couldn’t help but feel deflated. The course seemed to comprise entirely of tarmac whilst the only real ‘feature’ was a fire-road section with a ditch dug in the middle of it. The lengthy run-in to the finish past the vacant grandstands told it’s own story.

The Tweetosphere promptly erupted – Lopes (who finished 29th) queried whether the UCI would ever run a road race on a 90% dirt track before vowing to race on. The most vocal criticisms however came from the 4X community who still feel aggrieved to have gotten the chop from the World Cup roster at the end of last year. The knives were pointed squarely at the lack of action, the tarmac course and the lack of any real spectacle.

A certain US mag was even prompted to declare that the course had been designed specifically to prevent a Lopes win. Anti-US and anti-Lopes sentiment dripped derisively from the article which was generally lambasted for its blinkered and unsubstantiated claims.

So what happened?! Did the UCI simply drop the ball? Were the Czech organisers not arsed about the new format or was there just nowhere to build a decent course? Only those involved in the events planning know the truth but one thing that is obvious is that Nove Mesto represented a massive step backwards for a discipline which needed a seasons-worth of leaps forwards.

It’s been a weird old few weeks here at MBUK towers, mainly spent lubing our bikes after riding to work in the torrential rain. But we did manage to get out and have an amazing time at the new DH centre at Blaenau Ffestiniog (read all about it next issue) and venture up to the Yorkshire Dales for some wild riding in big rock gardens…

Unusually it was dry the whole time we were up north, and coming back down south we were greeted to torrential rain- but since then it’s been hot, cold wet and dry all at once.  Let’s hope this is the real summer on it’s way. Anyhow, Here’s a gallery of the recent antics…

Sam headed to Fort William for his first go at downhill racing at round two of the Halo BDS.

Things didn’t go as well as he might have hoped…

Put together by the team behind Procycling magazine and Cyclingnews.com, and featuring the best cycling writers in the world, this year’s guide is available to pre-order now!

This year’s massive 228-page official programme comes packed with detailed maps and profiles of each stage, stats for every rider, interviews with the stars, expert analysis and a lot more.

In addition to the official programme the souvenir pack also contains:

- a highlights DVD with all the best action from last years Tour.

- a massive wall planner for filling in the stage winner and jersey holders after each day’s racing.

- classic book extracts with dramatic stories from some of the legends of the Tour, featuring Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Mark Cavendish.

- the official, fold-out, full-size race route map to stop you getting lost on the roads ofFrance(should you be lucky enough to be there!). Looks great on your wall too!

The Official 2012 Tour de France Souvenir Pack, containing the Official UK Tour de France Programme, goes on sale in all good UK newsagents on 1st June, priced £9.99, but is available to pre-order online now including FREE delivery.

*Only available to customers in the UK.

Having made good progress throughout the mainland it seemed that in no time at all we were heading down the A75 towards Cairnryan and our Stenaline crossing to Ireland.  The crossing was a breeze and I think the 3:30 AM start to take my girlfriend back to Newcastle airport helped the time fly by.

The weather had gone from wet and wild to cloudy and mild, however the nights were still predicted to be cold and we need to move fast through the Emerald Isle and make it in time for our return leg on the Stenaline Fast Ferry.  Our first stop was a small but fun trail on a private estate at Blessingbourn, the owners of the estate were kind enough to let us bivvy out in the woods next to the pump track. The trail here is short and sweet, a lot of thought has gone into making the most out of the landscape and the overall feel of the estate is unlike no other.

With yet another trail ticked off of the list we headed west to Galway and our second stop, Rosscahill. A small area of pine plantation sits next to a loch, there are a multitude of natural trails around this forest all of which are technically challenging and a huge amount of fun to ride. After a quick spin here we loaded the car once more and headed south stopping off in Tipperary for a swift Guinness before camping out near our final Irish trail centre Ballyhoura.

We rode 3 loops of fine fun flowing singletrack then headed back towards Belfast. With one trail left to do before I enjoy a nights sleep in my own bed, I woke to blue skies, sunshine  and a hearty breakfast. The regular Sheds locals were in attendance to ride out with Frazer and myself and we enjoyed a leisurely ride around Mabie Forest. After a lap of the red route and a bite to eat back at the Shed it was time to hit the jump Park. I left the forest in the evening sun and savoured the flavour of a job well done as I headed back home.

Here’re a few numbers from the trip;

52 Trails

678km

27 days total

64 hours riding over 24 days

3 Rest/travel days

6760km of driving

112 Mulebar’s

You can read the full feature of Clive’s UK adventure complete with Frazer’s awesome shots in an MBUK near you soon.

Here are some helpful links to allow you, the viewer, to check out our pick of last month’s interweb viewing.

Foxy business
Californian dirt merchants Fox have some of the finest two-wheeled talent on their team sheet. Here, they all meet up, go really fast then ride mini-motos.

Spanish Soda
Martin Söderström AKA ‘The Machine’ has just travelled to the street-riding Mecca of Barcelona for 11 days of, well, riding the streets. It’s a bang tidy little edit, too.

Massive Kiwi
Long, flowing blonde locks, a sunkissed tan… no, it’s not the Art Department’s new secretary, it’s a huge Kiwi fella called Kelly McGarry. The last suicide drop is HUGE.

Hart and Soul: Part 2
The second instalment of MTBCut’s look at the rise and rise of a certain young lad from Redcar – Danny Hart. Stirring, emotionally charged stuff.

Bikes, babes and whips
We sent a camera to experience the recent Masters Of Dirt Tour stop at London’s Wembley Arena. Go behind the scenes with Sam Ren here.

Syndicate get it done
Our pick of the post-Pietermaritzburg team videos. Santa Cruz Syndicate battle the odds to bring Minnaar home to victory in his backyard.

MBUK 277 is on sale now!

First rides: Guy Kesteven hits the trails on Santa Cruz’s Tallboy LTc, a full susser that rewrites the rulebook, plus Cotic Rocket, Vitus Blitz 1 and Jamis Dragon 29

Bike test: Just starting out? Then take a look at our big value hardtail bike test.

Ultimate skills guide: The first in our new series helping you to master the trails with our expert advice.

Ride guide: Head out to Swinley Forest, the M25′s secret biking nirvana.

Handmade heaven: Report from Bespoked Bristol full of amazing hand-built bikes to drool over!

Plus: summer clothing mega tests, how to prep your bike for when/if the sun shines, the top 10 trail centres in Wales and loads more. Pick up your copy today!

If you haven’t seen it yet, MBUK 277 is in the shops now – and it comes with a free guide to Britain’s 50 best trail centres!

Trail centres are more popular than ever in the UK, and there are lots of reasons to love them – whether it’s because of the all-weather trails, convenient locations, beginner-friendly routes or the availability of tea and cake and the end of a long, muddy ride.

Their well made, well maintained trails offer a guaranteed buzz on every ride – something you can’t always rely on in the great outdoors.

If you’re wondering which trail centre you should ride though, that’s where our guide comes in.

It’s been fully updated for 2012, and within its pages is all the info you need on what we consider to be Britain’s 50 best trail centres. We tell you how to get there, what facilities are available and, most importantly, what the riding is like.

It covers all the classic centres, including Glentress and Innerleithen in Scotland, Afan and Coed-y-Brenin in Wales, and Dalby Forest and the Forest of Dean in England.

The focus is on cross-country style trails, but we’ve included some class downhill locations and bike parks too, so the likes of Chicksands, The Track and Wharncliffe Woods are not left out.

The trail centres range from family-friendly, something-for-everyone locations like Glentress, Ae and Dalby, to truly challenging trails such as the Dark Side at Mabie, the black trail at Stainburn and the downhill routes at Cwmcarn, to the more mellow riding found at Penmachno and Ashton Court in Bristol.

You’ll also find a bonus section full of bike set-up tips, a guide to essential riding kit and a handy how to section on trailside repairs and fixes.

So don’t delay – go get your copy today! You can also subscribe to MBUK at www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk.

Available from the App store every Wednesday, Cycling News HD will bring you a detailed round-up of the week’s leading races, analysis and comment from the experts alongside incredible photography of the week’s key racing events. The weekly digital magazine will also bring you an in-depth look at the week ahead’s racing with comprehensive guides for all the major races, plus regular interviews with the pros.

Issue one is available now click here to download your free copy