TweedLove offers thrills on two wheels over the festival's 11 days

One of Britain’s biggest cycling and mountain biking events kicks off tomorrow with a programme of events and music in the Scottish Borders.

TweedLove will feature free and paid events and launches with the Kids Mini Downhill at Innerleithen.

Attracting hardened racers and recreational riders from throughout the UK and Europe, the festival is still largely organised by volunteers and members of an enthusiastic local cycling population.

New for this year is Sunday’s POC King and Queen of the Hill, Glentress, a major new all-mountain enduro, with riders competing on a series of timed stages throughout Glentress Forest and featuring a very long and varied final descent stage.

There will also be a bikers’ bivvy night, with riders carrying lightweight camping kit with them on an overnight adventure up into the hills.

A mountain bike skills and event programme for women will feature a number of subsidised skills sessions, as well as more advanced training for prospective racers and free women-only classes and guided rides.

There are also events for children of all ages. The Mini Mash-Up is a town centre balance-bike race for the under-fives.

The Crank It Up concert night on Saturday 2 June will see Scottish indie band We Were Promised Jetpacks headlining.

Festival director Neil Dalgleish said: “There’s so much riding on offer at TweedLove this year, you’d be totally exhausted if you tried to do it all.

“There’s nothing like this festival anywhere else in the UK, and there’s nothing like some of the events we have on offer either.

“More than anything, TweedLove is about how good riding a bike makes you feel, and what better way is there to spend that precious extra time we have off for the Queen’s jubilee?”

The festival runs from 26 May to 5 June. More details are on the TweedLove website.