Solstice Series: Unsupported Ultra Cycling Trials in the UK
Solstice Series follows the turning of the year through four unsupported cycling trials. Each season asks something different. Winter rewards judgement and route craft. Spring asks how wisely you spend your time, effort and ambition as conditions change around you. Summer tests how far you are prepared to carry on. Autumn sets the remaining light and time against you. The trials are individual, but the journey is shared. Across the seasons, familiar faces return, strangers become companions and the hardest moments have a habit of becoming the stories that remain. Complete all four core trials and earn passage to the fifth and final trial beneath the Perseids meteor shower, reserved for those who have travelled through the seasons.
Why the Series is different
Solstice Series follows the turning of the year through four unsupported cycling trials. Each season asks something different. Winter rewards judgement and route craft. Spring asks how wisely you spend your time, effort and ambition as conditions change around you. Summer tests how far you are prepared to carry on. Autumn sets the remaining light and time against you.
The trials are individual, but the journey is shared. Across the seasons, familiar faces return, strangers become companions and the hardest moments have a habit of becoming the stories that remain. Complete all four core trials and earn passage to the fifth and final trial beneath the Perseids meteor shower, reserved for those who have travelled through the seasons.
The Series
Shown in seasonal order. Check each edition’s date below: the listed trials span different years.
Winter · Core trial: Solstice Alleycat
2026 edition · 19th December, 2026
Free-route checkpoint trial. Ten checkpoints released in advance, visited in any order within a ten-hour winter window.
Ten checkpoints, ten hours and no prescribed route. On the shortest day of the year, every checkpoint is a choice between points, distance and the daylight still available.
- Distance
- Variable · typically around 160KM
- Location
- Warwick, Warwickshire
- Format
- Checkpoints Upfront Alleycat
- Entry
- Availability via Eventrac
Spring · Core trial: Equinox Omniloop
2027 edition · 20th March, 2027
24-hour 3D time trial. Three fixed loops from Ashton Keynes, ridden in any order and repeated for points.
A 24-hour 3D Time Trial from Ashton Keynes with three fixed loops, variable rider-chosen distance and points awarded for every completed loop.
- Distance
- Variable · rider’s choice
- Location
- Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire
- Format
- 24HR 3D Time Trial
- Entry
- Availability via Eventrac
Summer · Core trial: Solstice Sprint
2028 edition · 22nd June, 2028
1000km fixed-route journey from Warwick and back, ridden unsupported across the longest days.
A 1000km unsupported journey from Warwick and back, following a fixed route through the UK. The longest days give riders more light to work with, but eventually the question becomes simple: how far are you prepared to carry on?
- Distance
- 1000KM
- Location
- Warwick, Warwickshire
- Format
- Fixed Route
- Entry
- Availability via Eventrac
Autumn · Core trial: Equinox Sun Race
2027 edition · 25th September, 2027
Free-route coast-to-coast-to-coast trial from Tynemouth, between mandatory checkpoints, within 36 hours.
Leave the east coast at 0600H, cross the country to the west coast and turn back towards Tynemouth. Riders choose their own route between the mandatory checkpoints, but the movement of the Earth sets the deadlines.
- Distance
- Approximately 450KM
- Location
- Tynemouth → West Coast → Tynemouth
- Format
- Free Route
- Entry
- Availability via Eventrac
Destination: Perseids Prime
August 2029
Invitation only, after earning all four core Trial Passes.
Summer companion
Solstice Super Sprint
2027 edition · 19th June, 2027
500km fixed-route summer trial from Warwick and back. A standalone companion to the Sprint.
Companion trial. Does not count towards Perseids Prime and cannot replace a core trial.
500KM · Warwick, Warwickshire · Availability via Eventrac
From the Journal
Solstice Alleycat · 2026
A map with no answer
Ten checkpoints, ten hours and no prescribed route. The Solstice Alleycat begins with a map, but the decisions belong to the rider.
Solstice Series · 2026
Beneath a sky of falling fire
The four trials were never separate. On the thinking behind Perseids Prime, and the landscape waiting beyond the seasons.
Questions
What is the Solstice Series?
Solstice Series follows the turning of the year through four core unsupported cycling trials: Solstice Alleycat in winter, Equinox Omniloop in spring, Solstice Sprint in summer and Equinox Sun Race in autumn. Complete all four and earn passage to the Perseids Prime, the fifth and final invitation-only trial.
Where does the Solstice Super Sprint fit?
The Solstice Super Sprint is a standalone 500km summer companion to the Solstice Sprint. It can be entered in its own right, but it is not one of the four core trials and does not qualify a rider for passage to the Perseids Prime.
What is the Perseids Prime?
The Perseids Prime is the fifth and final Solstice Series trial, held beneath the Perseids meteor shower. It is invitation only, with passage earned by completing all four core seasonal trials.
Do I have to complete the whole Series?
No. Each core trial can be entered and completed as an individual experience. Riders can also return to the same trial in future editions. The wider Series journey is there for those who choose to complete all four different core trials and earn passage to the Perseids Prime.
Can I complete the same trial more than once?
Yes. Riders are welcome to return to the same trial in different editions. Each running will bring different conditions, routes or decisions, while completion of all four different core trials is required to earn passage to the Perseids Prime.
What does unsupported mean?
Riders are responsible for themselves throughout the trial. There are no organiser feed stations, following support vehicles or private outside assistance. Publicly available commercial services such as shops, cafés, hotels and petrol stations may be used.
How do I enter a Solstice Series trial?
Each core trial has its own entry route. Select Enter on the relevant trial page to view current availability and complete registration through Eventrac.
Where do the Solstice Series trials take place?
The trials take place across the UK. Solstice Alleycat and the two summer trials start and finish in Warwick, Equinox Omniloop is based at Ashton Keynes, and Equinox Sun Race crosses the country from the east coast to the west coast and back.
What happens in extreme weather?
Weather is part of unsupported riding, but extreme conditions require a different response. We monitor forecasts and assess conditions for each trial against our Extreme Weather Plan, which is shared with riders in the Rider Handbook. Depending on the circumstances, measures can include pausing the clock, restricting riding periods, postponing the trial or, in the most severe conditions, abandoning it. Riders remain responsible for their own judgement and safety throughout. Before setting out, and as conditions change during the trial, each rider should assess the weather and road conditions for themselves and only continue where they are confident that they are suitably prepared, equipped and able to ride safely.