Bristol Bike Fest this weekend

This weekend is the Kona Bristol Bike Fest, a two-day mountain biking party, held at Ashton Court, Bristol City Council's 850 acre woodland estate.

It's the brain child of Paul Newman (right), owner of the Zero G brand (the folk that run the Specialised Concept store and the Giant store, as well as general bike shops in Bedminster and Downend). He's been running the event for five years now, attracting mountain bikers from all over Wales and the South West.

Bristol Bike Fest pits all types of mountain bikers against each other, with all categories riding the course at the same time. Men, women, teams of two and four, bikes with gears and bikes with only one gear (single speed) all battling to just finish, let alone place well.

I've taken part for the past two years and I'm gutted that I won't be able to take part this year. As a cathartic exercise I thought I'd try and sum up why you should go along and either spectate or take part:

At 9am on Saturday hundreds or riders will nervously leave the Bike Fest village and line up at the bottom of a meadow, 100 metres away from their bikes, ready for a "Le Mans style" start.

Paul will read out a list of rules and begin a countdown from 10. Before he gets to one the riders will be off, sprinting uphill towards their bikes, trying to get that crucial advantage on the first lap.

That first lap is always fast and furious, with people looking for that half-inch gap so they can squeeze past the person in front on the tight, twisting single track path.

As always the course follows a clockwise direction, heading north-east from the start/finish line, alongside Beggar Bush lane, then south towards the estate entrance gates. At this point the trail opens up as the route runs alongside the golf course. Faster riders tend to make a break for it here, picking off slower riders before the trail heads back into the woods.

Past the right turn to the golf course car park and through the barriers then a right turn up the stony slope before heading downhill into the wood on single track again.

If the weather is dry, riders zip along this section, fly through the bomb hole and pop out the other side onto the meadow, where 10 minutes earlier they were lining up for the start. On the other hand if the weather is wet this section is gets pretty slippy, causing riders to hit their brakes hard to avoid the awkwardly placed trees.

The open meadow section runs for 200m along a flat and smooth trail but it always seems to leave me struggling to pick up speed. It's wide enough to overtake though so many people crank the pedals round here, trying to gain a place or two.

Next comes two short sections of single track divided by a quick section of fire trail. Catch your breath and save your legs here because, if the course runs as it did last year, you'll have a very steep bridge to climb, constructed from wood and scaffolding over a bomb hole. Last year the slippy effect of rain and mud meant it defeated many riders, me included.

Once you're on top though you fly down the other side, pop out onto a fire trail and follow it downhill on a steep and fast section towards the bottom of the estate, parallel with the B3128 road. Hit the brakes because there's a sharp 90 degree left here, followed by a deeply rutted and tree root-strewn downhill section where many a rider has come a cropper.

It's best to go slow here but when there are hundreds of riders breathing down your neck it encourages you to take risks. Sometimes, especially for riders unfamiliar with the course, you'll miss that slippy root or that huge divot and you'll be on the floor before you know it. If you want my advice, take the first lap's downhills easy. Push it on the uphills instead.

Anyway, once you're through there's a short meadow section before a long, energy-sapping uphill on fire trails. If you're strong and you've a light enough bike you'll find yourself overtaking lots of people here. Cross-country bikes rule on this section. Heavy downhill bikes don't tend to climb well. Get a good lead, away from the bunch and you'll find the next section is easier.

Commonly known as the Timberland trail, it's a quick out and back, towards Longwood Lane and back alongside the quarry. This is one of my favourite sections because it flows well and you can build up speed (if your lungs will let you). Heading towards Longwood Lane feels slightly up hill so when you come back past the quarry you'll find your speed picks up naturally. Keep your hands off those brakes as much as possible and you'll whizz round the flowing corners.

Finish the quarry section and keep going here because you're about five minutes from a breather. A short, sharp climb up a rocky slope comes next. Get half way up and you do a U-turn (making it seem so pointless!), coming back down a parallel rock garden. Set your suspension to bouncy!

Then make a sharp left through a fast forest section. Again, careful in the wet here. The greasy compacted mud only likes the nobbliest of tires. Turn to the left again and you'll have a couple of tree roots to overcome before popping back out onto the meadow. You'll be able to see the start/finish line to the north but a dog leg takes you away, south, then east in a circle so you come back in on the flat gravel path that runs through the site.

Finally, time to catch your breath. Cross the start/finish line and tag your partner if you have one. If not another lap awaits. And another, and another.

The Saturday event takes 12 hours, after which the climbs on this course begin to feel tortuous. I have deep, deep respect for those riding this as a solo event.

A few years ago I distinctly remember seeing a rider called Rob Holbeche, after 10 hours of riding solo singlespeed, lay down on the ground and ask for cold water to be poured over him and his aching back. After a minute he was back up and on his bike. That year Rob won his category by more than 30 minutes, riding over 110 miles of challenging off road.

This event is not for the faint-hearted, but then again it isn't all about super competitiveness either. There are plenty of novice riders taking part, either on the Saturday or on the 6 hour Sunday event.

The thing that most sets this event apart from other competitions is the friendly banter and all-round welcoming atmosphere. All abilities are welcomed and encouraged. Especially on the uphills. There's been many a time when a 'mountain goat' has climbed past me and said "Good climbing son, keep it up, fantastic work. Similarly, there's been times where slower riders have heard me coming up fast and pulled over to let me through. A great atmosphere for all.

If you're going to spectate, bring a chair, some sun cream and be sure to bring some cash to splash out on the food, drink and clothing stalls. The range of discounted bike-related gear is often excellent.

If you're racing, I'm very envious. The weather looks fantastic, I heard the trails are in good condition, and yet again it's almost a sell out.

Definitely see you there next year!

Ben Hillsdon

PS. If you're intrigued enough to want to take part, check out this Youtube movie of the first lap: