Sorry if this seems like a blatant plug for the event but as a lot of you have bought tickets I thought I might as well ask on here. We have a meeting tomorrow to finalise the details for this years BBB. This is your last chance to have your say.

Are there any changes you want to improve the Big Bike Bash from last year?

This year we will have a planned schedule of events and remember to bring it with us.

This year we will have insurance.

The zip wire, climbing wall, high rope, pedalos and kayaks will be better signed and organised.

The camp site will be up near the chalets so everyone gets brick built toilets and showers.

Any other stuff?

Strippers.

Is the coffee man going to be there?

We had a girl in a bikini doing back flips into the lake last year. Does that count?

Only if she serves good coffee

Coffee man is confirmed.

Coffee man doesn't do back flips as it upsets the coffee grinds

Only if it's loose fitting as comes off as she hits the water 🙂

There were kids present at the time. Retire to your tent and imagine.

Some decent vegetarian food for J and K

I will have a word with food lady. She is there tomorrow. Please give some simple suggestions and i will try to get them added to the menu.

can you move it to another weekend so i can come?

Surely a decent caterer will have their own options already worked out?

Last years lot could only come up with a fried egg sandwich.

Pete – please make suggestions. They will come up with their own ideas but if there is something you would like I will suggest it. Last years veggie options were severely limited I agree.

Bean chilli. Veggie curry. Some non meat sandwich options.

Rice, chips and baked spuds can go with these and the meat based meals.

Falafel/Salad/garlic or tahini in a Pitta are simple enough. Good veggie burgers. Second veggie chillis and curries as mentioned by Pete.

Some non meat sandwich options.

How about the "Frankie Boyle vegetarian option" ? 😀

I can't remember what I ate last year, but I do remember sitting down and eating something which I'd bought – and I don't eat meat.

a chilli for the Friday night.

Some good suggestions, but the only complaint I heard from last year was the lack of a schedule. Get timings for events. Make some simple posters and stick them up, then run the events on time or as close as possible to it. Nobody expects Germanic precision, but you had some great events that people missed or that didn't happen (Pint to Pint??) last year.

Sales / Swaps tent for all the odds and ends ( tyres ) that need new owners

Skillz demo by Martyn Ashton or anyone who can wheelie , manual, trackstand, endo stop , bunny hop etc

2 pint take home containers

Midgets with trays of coke on their heads.

I like the 2 pint take away containers, and I've already bought them.

sharks! no no! sharks that can shoot lasers out of their eyes too!

somewhere nearer the rest of the Uk to hold the event? Its right on the edge, 1000 mile round trip from here.

]I have to admit I am still tempted.

Sweet potatoes. Wrap in foil. Leave on flames till you've forgotten about them. Remember. Eat. Done.

Come on TJ it will be wicked. You can do a top gear like race. you on public transport. Jojo on car and onion on his tourer 😀

Other than that as suggestion I'd like someone to lend me
A tent
2 sleeping bags
and a bike for the SO (size 16 with brakes easily swapabled from uk to French style).

What who is saying I should ask the moon on the stick too… I am coming from far away you know…

MrNutt – I will release some Bear Shark Octopus hybrids into the woods for the night ride –

Is that okay?

Schedule – tick
2 pint beer containers – Tick
Veggie food – Tick
Monster creature released at random – Check
Immunisation area for northerners* – Tick

Any more we can do?

* TJ – If you do come down you can stay at the camp site for the week before or after if you want to make a holiday of it. I know there are a few families planning on doing this. You will just have to pay for the camping on the extra days which can be booked directly with Avon Tyrrell.

Do we have to pay Avon Tyrrell for an extra day if we turn up on Friday afternoon ?

Friday night included in the price.

Menu for food posted up later this week

Band listing posted up later this week

Beer and Cider list posted up later this week

Ta Juan and BBB – I have just realised I will be in Holland that weekend anyway – pity.

The bar will also be open from Friday afternoon, to help people unwind from there travels.

Apparently there is only 1 of the lodges left. It is a 6 berth and should be booked directly with Avon Tyrrell if you want it.

Menu for food posted up later this week

Band listing posted up later this week

Beer and Cider list posted up later this week

Pulls up chair in anticipation……. 😛

Big Bike Bash Beer List
Art Nouveau 3.9% (Art Brew)
If you like your hop content high, but your abv low, this golden session ale is ideal. We've packed it with four different hops to make this beer full of flavour despite being just 3.9%.

Hip Hop 4.3% (Art Brew)
A clean, crisp single hopped golden ale. Take a journey into the fantastic variety of flavours different hops provide. These beers are designed to showcase the hip hop used and the hop is named to let you know which one you're experiencing. The base recipe and abv is always the same.

Barbury Castle 3.9% (Three Castles)
Balanced, easy drinking pale ale with a wonderful aroma and a hoppy, spicy palate.

Vale Ale 4.3% (Three Castles)
Golden coloured smooth ale with a fruity palate and a strong floral aroma.

Stoned 4.4% (Three Castles)
A Straw coloured well hopped beer with bitter overtones and an intense Citrus flavour that lingers to the end. A refreshing summer ale.

Chesil 4.1 % (Dorset Brewing Company)
"Melt in the mouth" Pilsner style summer beer

Pure Gold 4.8% (Itchen Valley)
A light effervescent beer with initial bitterness coming from the choicest Czech hops, leading to a sweet full malty flavour, complimented by strong aromatic hop notes gathered from American speciality hop.

Hambeldon Ale 4.5% (Itchen Valley)
Golden coloured bitter that's hoppy, citrussy and floral, but nevertheless a powerfully flavoured beer which, at the same time, is clean, thirst quenching and refreshing

Queens Revival 3.8% (Moor Brewery)
An immensely hoppy and refreshing bitter, brewed to celebrate the revival of the brewery, and meant to revive you when you need it. Light in colour but not flavour thanks to a blend of Pale, Lager, Crystal and Wheat malts. The hops are a blend of three American varieties, with American yeast providing a crisp finish. For a beer relatively low in alcohol it has a very full flavour and drinks well above its strength.

Peat Porter 4.5% (Moor Brewery)
As soon as you smell it you will know this is one decadent porter. The rich aroma is from the healthy dose of Chocolate malt, blended with Pale, Crystal and Wheat malts. Bramling Cross hops add fruitiness and earthiness to the beer, which is fermented with an English yeast.

The Cider will be coming from Mr Whiteheads cider farm and also Burrow Hill.

The Lager and Wheat beers will be from Mean time, and Wooden Hand (Unless we run out and then it will be whatever we can get our hands on, apart from Stella).

Wine will be sorted nearer the time, but will come in Red, White and Rose versions.
Soft drinks will be picked up at Macro a couple of days before, but will include Coke, Diet Coke a fizzy orange of sorts and a lemonade type drink.

DJ before and after
Saturday
Batch 88 start 7:00 for 1 hour set
The Blue Screen of Death come on about 8:30 for 1 hour set
The Juice start at 9:30 for a hour

Sunday
Chill out to our very own MrNutt

Possibly some extras TBC

Events List
The Big Bike Bash is a whole weekend of mildly organized chaos. We have lots of planned events but we can guarantee that some random stuff will just happen as and when we think of it. In fact last year quite a few of the competitions were started by the guests themselves. This is exactly what makes the Big Bike Bash so special. Any time a particular course isn’t being used for an official event then feel free to use it for fun or your own competitions.

I have tried to write approximate descriptions of the events we have planned to give you a flavor of what will be happening. This year we are also planning on having an Events Schedule so you don’t need to miss anything. If there is a particular event that you want to do and it isn’t listed here then let me know when you turn up and I will see what we can do. Some will be official with prizes and stuff but other will just be for fun.

We were amazed and a little overwhelmed by the number and the standard of the children racing. This year we will have a number of different races including a second more challenging children’s circuit for the older ones.

Most events are run more than once so if you miss the first round on the Saturday you should make the second round and final on the Sunday.

Lake Jump
This is a great event. No categories, no age groups just perform the most stylish jump as to win. Last year no-one had ever done a lake jump before and about 70% had never done any kind of jump. No-one cared, everyone enjoyed themselves, even the bloke on a shopping bike with balloons tied to his handlebars. If you don’t want to get your own bike wet don’t worry as we will provide something – last year was one of the guests BMX.

XC Racing
There are a number of different XC races being run on the super swoopy permanent trails at Avon Tyrrell. We will, of course, be customizing these a bit to make them even more fun. There are various categories and when I get the schedule planned you can decide which suits you best. Basically there is a category for the real racers and then other categories for mere mortals and beginners.

Devil Take the Hindmost
One of the best spectator races last year was the ‘Devil Take the Hindmost’ race. This was on a shortened circuit passing in and out of the arena. As the bikes crossed the Start/Finish line we shot the last few riders (water guns only!) and they were eliminated. As more riders were eliminated the last few were really sprinting for the line each time. It was a great spectator event too as you could see the riders jostle for position as they raced through the main arena.

Night Racing
If you thought the trails were good during the day then try them at night. You had better bring some good lights. You are in the middle of the New Forest so there is minimal light pollution and it is dark, very dark. There are owls, badger, foxes and other creatures loose in the woods at night. Did you know that badgers chase bikes? They have metal teeth too! Let’s hope your lights don’t fail while you are out on the trail…

Pleasure Loop
This isn’t really a competition. It is just to encourage you to ride the trails even if you don’t want to race. While people aren’t racing then go try the trail. It is a really good course and it would be a shame if you didn’t have a go. If you do find yourself on the trail when a race starts don’t worry, just move to the side of the trail when the racers come past.

Pedal Free Racing
The simplest race for the youngsters is the pedal free challenge. Kids with push along bikes can ride around a short flat grass circuit with their parents cheering them on.

Childrens Challenge
Once they are pedaling we will have the first of the childrens challenges which is also reasonably flat but weaves between trees and over dirt. This is the same circuit we use for the trailer bike challenge.

Teen Trail
New for this year is the advanced childrens challenge. This is a longer circuit with more hazards so they will need to concentrate a bit. This is also a great circuit to use if you are new to mountain biking and want to try something less than the full adult circuit.

Drag Race
Sorry to disappoint some of you but this does not involve men in womens clothing (although that will be allowed). This is a sprint from a standing start, straight up a grass track. This might be head to head or against the clock.

Tractor Tyre Drag
This is similar to the Drag Race but uses tyres being dragged along behind the bikes as a handicap system. This proved amazingly popular with younger brothers, sisters or partners as it allowed them to race as equals against people who would normally beat them. Different size tyres for different abilities.

Track Stand Competitions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Track_stand
How hard can it be to simply balance stationary on your bike? Well, probably harder than you think, especially when the judge starts throwing things at you.

Wheelie Competitions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheelie
How far can you pull a wheelie? It is easy, you simply ride along, lift the front wheel and keep riding. What could possibly go wrong? Well quite a lot really when there are barrels in the way and water guns involved.

Trailer Bike Challenge
This involves people with trailer bikes (tag-alongs) racing around the childrens track. We thought that this would be a nice sedate event for parents with young children but some parents are more competitive than others. There was a side line in trading children for the best weight distribution at one point last year. The competitors will need to bring their own trailer bikes for this event.

Bunny Hop
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunny_hop_%28cycling%29
This is the high jump for bikes and involves people trying to bunny hop over a bamboo cane. How high can you fly?

Bike Limbo
This involves riding under a bamboo cane. How low can you go?

Giant Slalom
We have a nice course set out with a number of barrels and you simply slalom between them.

Pint to Pint Racing
Inspired by point to point racing but involving beer. Adults only. This is not an official event and we definitely don’t condone riding while under the influence of alcohol but you must admit it is funny to watch.

Foot Down
A small cordoned off area where riders try to block the other peoples progress. Whoever puts their foot down is out of the game. The last one riding wins. Great fun to challenge your friends at.

Zip-wire across the Lake
You have watched James Bond scream through the sky on a zip wire. We have that and add the thrill of doing this over the lake with the promise of a big splash if anything goes wrong!

Pedalos
Mixing pedaling with boats. Great fun and a pleasant way to relax in the sunshine.

Canoes
I am not certain if they are canoes or kayaks but they are good fun to zip around the lake on. Life jackets will be provided and will be worn.

High Rope Course
Imagine walking along a narrow plank or swinging rope bridge, sound fun? Now stick it 40 feet up in the trees. I know people who pay do this as a specific day out, we just throw it in as part of the weekend.

Climbing Wall
There is a tower with various different climbs of different difficulties. Suitable for adults and children. We might even have abseiling down the tower if we can sort out the ropes etc.

Craft Table
There comes a time in every childs weekend when they are a little tired and just want to sit down. The craft table is ideal for this and it can clearly be seen from the beer tent if the grown ups want to refresh themselves while their children play. Parents are obviously responsible for their children at all times so please don’t just dump them at the craft table and expect someone else to baby sit them for hours though.

Watching
This was amazingly popular. With so much going on there was always something to watch. The competitors like to be encouraged so Watching can be combined with Cheering for extra points.

Sitting
Some people got this event down to a fine art. Especially those outside to food a beer tents.

Laughing
I heard a lot of this over the weekend and expect a lot more this year. Why do women find it so amusing when men crash or fall off their bikes?

Do you have a list of the trade stands yet?

Not yet.

The sponsors page isn't totally up to date either so I need to get that sorted.

I can confirm vegetarian options on the menu and hope to get a menu posted up soon.

Any trade stands in particular you would like to see?

Blimey, you're not mucking about, are you??

Will there be a special 'Arguing' section/event for STWers? Perhaps one-on-one or even team arguing, on a range of topics; possibly including Religion, Politics, Immigration, Tyre choice, SS V Gears, How To Cook Steak, etc?