With Pete on Trans Caledonia duties, our man Ollie went from long term marshal to racer at the final fling of The Ex Enduro.
The Merida Ex Enduro has been a staple of late summer multi-day enduro racing for ten whole years. Mike and Paul, plus their team of excellent humans have finely-crafted a community that travels to Exmoor to be part of something much bigger than just a bike race.
Our man Ollie reports from their swansong.
Photos by Paul Box.
The Ex Enduro is a three day, multi stage enduro race, based out of allerford village hall, in Exmoor. Organised by Mike Wilkens and Paul Newman the event is now in its tenth year. This event is unique for many reasons – as you’ll discover below – and it truly is one of the most special events in the UK’s diverse bike events calendar, and I think that’s down to the family behind the event.
Read on to find out exactly what it is about this event that makes it so special – and why it’ll missed by so many.
I’m Ollie, I work at Pedal Progression in Bristol as a mountain bike coach and mechanic. I first experienced the Ex in 2023 when I marshaled, and then again in 2024, 2025 and now 2026 for the last hurrah.
This was to be my fourth time at the Ex, so I was familiar with the overall vibe of the event but this year was different. I was actually going to race. I would get to experience the full event as a competitor rather than a marshal, and all thanks to Wideopen’s Pete Scullion being otherwise engaged with the Trans Caledonia.
Pulling into the car park of Allerford village hall I felt a familiar feeling of homeliness, akin to pulling into your parents driveway after a long time away. It’s like time stops here. This little village green nestled in the foothills of Selworthy and Porlock is like a crystalized treasure. I could already see last years’ events playing out again inside the hall before I entered. Gary the timing wizard would be already at his makeshift desk, surrounded by boxes of timing chips with his eyes locked onto a computer screen. Box – the event photographer – would be in the corner rooting through endless bags of camera gear. Luffy would be behind the counter of the kitchen, either blitzing through veg prep or pulling shots of espresso.
I could pretty much guarantee that Paul, Mike and Tracey would be darting around the place with either a charismatic grin or furrowed brow on their faces as they made good the final preparations before the first day of racing. This event really does feel like a family affair. Everyone knows their place and mucks in together.I don’t know any other events where you’re so shoulder-to-shoulder with the organisers and it honestly puts all their hard work into perspective. You really do get the impression they do this for the love of it.
Before I could even make it to the hall I was stopped several times by other familiar faces of previous years’ marshals or returning racers from previous years. Quickly “popping in” to sign on turned into over an hour of meet and greets and catch-ups with friends. As a slow trickle of riders and marshals trickled in and out of the hall.
Fast-forward to Friday and I find myself amidst a flood of riders along with Meridas’ Jon Woodhouse who is in charge of the Merida demo fleet. Each day starts with an uplift to the start of the stages. 80 riders and their bikes congregate in a bustling huddle on the green outside the hall as bikes and racers are packed into vans. Meanwhile I’m twiddling my fingers, anxiously waiting for my loaner bike to arrive which has been delayed somewhere on the motorway. Jon is certainly not twiddling his fingers. Jon has several press bikes to prep and when mine turns up we have minutes to get it set up before jumping into a mini bus to get riding.
On the way up to the start I find myself with MBUK’s Tom Marvin, Offroad.cc’s Liam Mercer and Guy Kesteven of GuyKesTv. If half the ride is the trail and half is the company I already know we have all the ingredients to make this a good one.
The first day of racing consists of seven timed downhill stages and boy were they good.
Stage one, “Luccombe” was a perfect introduction to the type of trails we’d be riding over the weekend. Beginning in the ferns before opening out into a treeless plain with a skinny brown singletrack line, hemmed in on either side by tight overreaching gorse bushes and heather.
The pedally top section gave me a chance to familiarise myself with Merida’s eOne-Eighty e-bike and I quickly realised that the button for changing power modes was certainly not the power button… With a switched off ebike and already burning quads I got on the pedals as best I could and tried to flow and pump through the rest of the first stage. At the bottom I decided that I would definitely remember to leave my bike switched on for stage 2.
The next few stages contained enough variety and features to really get me back into the flow of the riding that Exmoor is so famous for. The previous nights’ light rain had left a slick mess of off camber roots to contend with, but the moisture in the loamy forest floor of some of the later trails made for the most sensational, silent riding and along with the densely packed conifer trees made me feel as if I were roosting my way down secret lomers on Vancouver’s north shore.
My personal highlight of the day was stage 5. Killer, a flowy, undulating trail with some impossibly tight switchbacks which made me very happy to be using an ebike. Exmoor is known for its steep coombs and this track definitely had steeps! Signs of local trail fairies work were evident – a few tactically placed berms were extremely welcome additions on some of corners where the grip vanished and hammering into the support of a berm was the only option to stay upright.
After dispatching six trails we rolled back into Allerford to complete an extra special 7th stage at the event site. Mike’s pre-event rider info email had told us to bring our “sense of humour” for the days’ last stage and when I found myself lying face-down on the grass to start it became clear why. A literal sprint starts over to a waiting dirt jump bike, followed by a lung-busting blast around a slalom track littered with obstacles.
Through a hay bale gap – barely wide enough for the pedals – and finishing on a see-saw that took riders straight through the main event marquee. Watching riders return from a day on the hill to finish on the obstacle course was great entertainment, and that was before the barbecue was fired up, the beers started flowing and the evenings’ band started playing – once again, a unique way to end a day of racing but I’m certainly not complaining with free beer, music and food.
The unique part of the Ex is its all-inclusive nature. Once the ticket is paid riders don’t need to reach for their wallets again. That means breakfast in the morning. Lunch provided en-route and dinner served to all 80 riders, every night, along with beers, coffees, snacks and all the entertainment along the way. I think this goes a long way to making the event feel more like a laid back, friendly gathering and much less of a corporate trade show. The post ride slump is celebrated and many groups of riders would mingle together and soak in the golden rays of the sun as it crept down the sky and behind the hills of Allerford.
Day two was the big one, with 1750m of climbing spread over 9 stages. Trying to describe all the stages in detail would be futile – there was so much variation but the general vibe of the trails can be split into 3 varieties: Open moorlands, snotty, rooty tech and my favorite of all; dense, ancient forest with a bright green carpet of moss laid atop spongy loam.
Whilst all the riding is all natural there is a dizzying variation in the trails around Allerford and Minehead and much of it is totally hidden. An event like the Ex is such a wonderful way to see all the best bits an area has to offer – you really do come away feeling like a local. Whilst we’re here it’s probably worth shouting out the Marshals – many of whom are indeed locals. Without their comprehensive knowledge the event would not run so smoothly. Many marshals will man more than one stage in the day and from previous experience it can be very hard work to keep ahead of the pack to get set up in time.
The other highlight of the Saturday is Traceys’ vintage tea stop, which can only be described as stumbling across the mad hatters’ tea party. Riders flock to Mike and Tracey’s quaint little cottage to shovel all manner of quintessentially british tea-party scran into their mouths. Scones, cakes, sweets, cans of pop, sandwiches – all washed down with home-brewed tea and coffee. When most riders are used to feed stations which might offer a few bars and some water, this set-up is literally legendary in comparison. The effort that the organisers put into this event is undeniable. The tiny cottage kitchen is literally packed to bursting with event staff as they shuttle out drinks and food.
Saturday night is also very special. Riders congregate in the main marquee for a table service dinner and it’s down to the marshals to wait on tables. Having spent the last 3 years doing this it felt wrong to have my friends wait on me, so I joined in too and made sure all riders were fed with a much needed chilli con carne to replenish the calories they’d spent on the hill. Again, many races finish after the last stage but the Ex is different. Eighty people coming together under a marquee creates such an atmosphere and makes the idea of sitting around a camp stove in the dark seem daft in comparison!
Saturdays’ post-dinner entertainment came in the form of roller racing – for those who are intrigued take a look at the event video. Riders go head-to-head to sprint their way to victory and as matter of personal pride I had the 2024 title to reclaim. Beating Jack Webber-Hesp (One of my fellow marshals) felt like a hollow victory but the stiff competition from others and nearly blacking out in the final made me remember this game as no place for prisoners. I’ not sure if my roller racing namesake will live on outside this event but the family of people who coined it know Pork Loin’s story and that’s enough for me.
Fast forward to the final day and once again the weather in Allerford is perfect – it’s almost like it knows this is the last Ex – no rain, just clear, blue skies again. Riders help themselves to a cooked breakfast buffet and recount last night shennaginas over a hearty breakfast. 7 stages and around 1100m of climbing stand between us and the end of the final Ex Enduro.
The trails are once again absolutely sublime and I finally feel like I’ve finally got the measure of Allerford’s impossibly tight switchbacks. The stages in the last day take us past the vintage tea stop again before pointing straight up The Vominator. One of the most brutal climbs I have ever completed (last year I wasn’t on an eeb, I promise!)
We crest the hill and pedal over to one of the most beautiful view points of Porlock and the surrounding landscape. I’m reminded why this place is so special. The sky is expansive and the land is folded and wrinkled as it tumbles its way down to meet the sea. The view makes the 10 minutes of headbutting the bars up the Vominator worth it.
The final stage takes us down the main hill that sits behind Allerford village hall. We roll up to meet the marshal posted at the start and all of a sudden a strange feeling comes over me. It’s a feeling of hesitant wistfulness – I know I can come back here and ride this trail again in the future, but that’s not the point. I’ll probably never do it with this party of people again.
Jon, Joey, Jack, Tom, Liam, Guy. Not to mention all the people who are waiting for us in the hall below. Mike, Paul, Luffy, Tracey – I could go on.
Families can be very different – I know lots of folk with families that wouldn’t fit the traditional definition. Families that might not have parents, or families which might not even be related. If there’s one thing that a family shares – no matter their background – it’s how their members gather for ceremonies. Funerals, wedding, birthdays, religious events, comiserations…
I don’t know if a 3 day multi-stage Enduro race can be considered a religious experience, but I can tell you, for sure that the thing that makes the Ex so unique is that it’s made possible by by a great family of people who share a true love for bikes. I don’t know if this full family will reconvene again, but I know that the hills of Allerford, Porlock and Minehead will be ready to welcome us back if we ever do.
