It’s two weeks before the Ritchey Bikefest powered by Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport and things are starting to hot up. 

What is going on over the weekend?

In 2012 the Ritchey Bristol Bikefest powered by Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport will return once more to the fantastic event location of Ashton Court, Bristol. But this year we got something new.

Tested during the Oktoberfest and given some star ratings the June Bikefest will also run on the new Ashton Court course in 2012 – from beginning to end. The infamous 12-hour team/solo endurance race will take place on Saturday the 9th June and will be followed the day after (10th June) by the 6-hour team/solo event and the 3-hour ‘novice’ event.

Both days are aimed at the experienced rider as well as the newcomer. We will have solo, pairs and teams of 4 categories on both days. All team sizes can be entered in the team open, team ‘old gits’ (average age of riders needs to be 40+ years) or single speed category (please note – no single speed category on Sunday). There are obviously mixed teams and pairs in the running as well. Exception to this rule is the 3 hour novice event will have teams of 2-4 and a solo category.

Entries to the Ritchey Bristol Bikefest 2012 – 12-hour event will be closing next Wednesday

The entries have been flying in over the last couple of weeks so we will be closing the entry on Wednesday (6th June 2012) at midnight. There will be day entries available for all Sunday races and for teams of 4 for Saturday but there is a £5 surcharge for entering at the event. Make sure to get your entry is now to avoid paying the extra £5 and to make your signing on procedure more straight forward. To enter go onto our entry page to get all the details of how to enter the events.

Scrunchies / new start layout

We will give out scrunchies to all the teams and pairs as the race baton for the weekend. The team rider on course has to wear the baton and hand it over to the next rider in the transition area.

The start will also be run differently this year with a long stretch of wide track and ‘no corner to cut’ before heading into the 1st section of single track. This will probably not sort out the 1st lap traffic jams completely but help stretching the field out a bit more while taking the ‘short cut’ option out.

Signing On Times, race start times and bar opening times

Race registration will open at 5pm on Friday till 8pm, then Sat from 7:00am till 8:30am. For Sunday you can register from 7:30am till 9:30am on Sunday morning or during Saturday afternoon if you are around. The Saturday 12 hour race starts at 9:00am sharp and the Sunday 6 / 3 hour event starts at 10:00am sharp. The bar will open at 5pm on Friday and on Saturday and at lunchtime on Sunday.

Kids race on Saturday

There will be the Mini Bikefest kids race held on the Saturday starting at 1:00pm. Classes are under seven and over seven. Parents can enter their children on the day before 12:30pm by coming to registration in the main marquee and registering on the line. Our skills partner Pedal Progression will be on hand to give the little racers some tips and the entry will be free of charge.

Music, drinks and food on site

12 hour racing is not just about riding your bike fast…there is so much more to it. To make the weekend complete we will have once more live music on Saturday night as well as our Bikefest DJ playing some tunes on Friday evening as well as Saturday afternoon. The Bikefest bar will be open on Friday afternoon/evening as well as on Saturday afternoon/evening and will have a broader selection of drinks available in 2012. Ian in his Drop-Off bus will be serving food starting on Friday evening all the way through the weekend.

Enter the NoTubes Oktoberfest at the Bikefest and….

Get a free NoTubes t-shirt worth £20. We are going to bring a huge amount of the early entry gifts for the NoTubes Oktoberfst to the Bikefest. So if you are keen to get your free T-shirt, simply enter the NoTubes Oktoberfest over the Bikefest event weekend and take it away there and then.

Every entered rider will receive a T-shirt – so if you are entering a team of four (which obvioulsy means paying for all four) then you will take four T-shirts away. But be aware that this early entry offers runs out on the 15th June 2012 – so not much time left.

Just go to the registration marquee when you have a few minutes over the weekend and place your entry. Make sure you take extra cash or a cheque book.
For all other info on the Ritchey Bristol Bikefest including directions, rider briefing, facilities and general event deails, and entry facilities (secure online entry and downloadable entry form) please go to www.bike-fest.com.