Video: Bristol Oktoberfest 2015

A couple of weekends ago, hoardes of people descended on Bristol’s Ashton Court to sample the delights of the excellent, singletrack heavy terrain, and to generally revel in a great deal of Bristolian Awesomeness. And beer. Here’s what went down:

Can’t see the video? Click here.

In a statement, a possibly still inebriated spokesperson emailed this:

“You like beer, right? You like bikes, right? How about swilling them together into a tasty, Bavarian flavoured bike race on Bristol’s trails? Yep – that’s Oktoberfest.

Paul and Mike run Bikefest in the summer and then Oktoberfest at the end of the season as a more relaxed and slightly less strenuous day of racing. You can race solo, or in pairs or find 3 friends and go as a team. If you’re feeling fit you can race for 8 hours and if you’ve got places to be you can pop in for the 4 hours. Either way, you’ve got plenty of great riding on all weather trails and the infamous Le Mans start which is probably the most fun you can have at a bike race! The froth on Oktoberfest’s pint is just how easy it is to race. The trails are great fun, there’s no big hills and you’re never too far from the event village (and the Lough Bus!). It’s all just on the edge of the city so the customary after-race curry is just a quick spin down the road.

Racers raced, winners won and the edible pretzel medals were wolfed before most champs had even left the podium. There are results here but for the most part the winners were bikes, beer and tired legs!

Mike, Paul and the team would like to thank the racers for supporting the event and Halo Wheels and Heritage Volkswagen for making it happen. Prost!”

Barney Marsh

Barney Marsh takes the word ‘career’ literally, veering wildly across the road of his life, as thoroughly in control as a goldfish on the dashboard of a motorhome. He’s been, with varying degrees of success, a scientist, teacher, shop assistant, binman and, for one memorable day, a hospital laundry worker. These days, he’s a dad, husband, guitarist, and writer, also with varying degrees of success. He sometimes takes photographs. Some of them are acceptable. Occasionally he rides bikes to cast the rest of his life into sharp relief. Or just to ride through puddles. Sometimes he writes about them. Bikes, not puddles. He is a writer of rongs, a stealer of souls and a polisher of turds. He isn’t nearly as clever or as funny as he thinks he is.