Aaron Gray seems rather stunned to find himself at the helm of an inaugural mountain bike event, the Muckmedden, which set to be held in Pitmedden Forest, on the Perthshire/Fife border between Abernethy, Newburgh and Auchtermuchty, next month. Just 12 months ago, Aaron – who describes himself as a “humble floorlayer” – had a vague notion to encourage more people to come to Pitmedden to enjoy the trails that he rides with his mountain biking pals. He thought it might be “nice to organise a mountain biking event, to have a bit of music playing in the background, to add in an MC giving a running commentary on the event and some good food.”

“And all this,” he adds, “Under a shining sun…well, it’s not going to be raining in my daydream is it?!”

While Aaron knew there would be great appetite for a new mountain biking event in Scotland he had absolutely no concept of what the organisation of such an event would entail. He says: “I didn’t know how many many hoops I’d have to jump through before this could all happen. Unwittingly, the more I looked into what was required to put on an event/race, the more I was ticking jobs off the list of things to do.”

A year later, however, and Aaron is the proud owner of a to do list with 12,071 ticks next to it. He has a big thick pile of risk assessments, insurances and permissions certificates. And on April 22, the first Muckmedden mountain biking event is going ahead thanks to his dedication.

Why you’ll love the Muckmedden

Aaron reports: “The trails at Pitmedden are amazing and not so many people know about them. I love riding the trails here and I also like entering races for fun of a more competitive nature so I think other people do, too.

“I wanted the whole vibe of Muckmedden to be approachable and chilled out, with a choice of entering as a solo rider or as a tag-team of up to three riders.

“I’d class Muckmedden as Real World Trail Riding/Mini Enduro/Technical XC. The course is mostly on singletrack, it’s pretty physical and contains some tricky sections, some of which won’t suit complete off road novices, but there is always the option to get off and walk if you’re not happy riding something.

“I have tested the course on a wide range of riders and thankfully they all enjoyed it no matter what there ability was.

“So whether you’re at Muckmedden to win, or just enjoy the trails, you’re very welcome to ride at your own pace on the day. The only pressure is from yourself.”

The Muckmedden will also include a race for kids aged 11 to 15, called the Muckmedden Lite, and there will be free mountain bike skills training on offer. The Muckmedden course is also designed so that there are some exciting spectator spots within a couple of minutes of a toilet or some hot food.

For all the different categories and more details about the whole event see www.muckmedden.co.uk