Just found out they have changed the 6 hour endurance to 4 hour!!!

apparently due to weather conditions. seems pretty sunny from where i’m sitting.

either way, they didnt change the 12 hour event, feel like a 2nd class rider for only doing 6 hours.

i realise its only 2 hours less, but then if its only 2 hours, why not do the whole amount.

i have driven down from derby for this event, so feel quite annoyed.

rant over

They are recommending parking away from the event village too and riding to the event. Great if like me you are doing the 6hr (sorry 4hr) solo and have to carry all that you need?????????????

yeah, i’m in the same predicament,

i’m expecting a mud fest, else I’ll be annoyed

we are trying to prevent cars getting stuck in the soft ground at the event village.

seems resonable to me… its not like you need alot of stuff for a 4hr ride.
its been raining all week here – apart from today! however more rain is expected tomorrow – the ground is pretty soft already.

Not there myself but looking at the pictures in the Bikefest pictures thread, all the riders are clean as a whistle? Is it really that bad?

You are correct in the fact that you do not need a lot for a 4hr ride, food, some clothes to wear before the event and somewhere to store it to put back on after the race. It is the fact that it is now 4hr that annoys me more. Would the MountainMayhem knock off a couple of hours because it was muddy??

The trails are mostly all-weather. Unfortunately, the rest of the site has not had this done to it. It will be a quagmire all around the actual trails themselves, which will screw with access / parking etc.

why does that change the length of the event?

do we get a third refunded? £33 each seems a lot to pay for 4 hours, while today’s lot got to have all the fun in the sun.

they do a great job every year, and i can’t knock the team that puts the event together, but that doesn’t stop me feeling short-changed….

I know I’d be asking for my money back.
I’d be livid.

i’m guessing theres nothing to stop you riding an extra 2 hrs if you want to….

You could ride the extra 2 hours for free anyway, anytime.
Your meant to be paying for timing, st johns, insurance, the whole event package.
You wouldn’t pay full whack for a car and expect them to take the engine out just before you pick it up would you?

We stopped riding it a few years ago, organisers seem to be more interested in lining their pockets than anything else….

And if the land owners stop the organisers from running a 6 hr event and reduce it to 4hrs, the organisers would have to pay for all those things any way….
Getting any race organised with on board land owners has always been dificult – If i ran BBF to keep it running i’d try to stay in the good books of the land owners.

just back from the 12 hr, 12 laps of the bmx track was enough, boy the course has changed in the 3 years I’ve done it, but that’s a different debate

there are load of boards and matting around the main campsite, we were also told to move our support stuff off the “long grass” as it was protected, even though we had been positioned there the last 2 years running,

i think they get a lot of hassle from whoever manages Ashton Court, they should have just moved some campers to the rugby pitch, its nearly empty, but i guess they have their reasons

BBF will have an agreement with BCC for the use of the course for 12 hours on Saturday, so why would BCC want the 6hr cut when the 12 is still going ahead.

As blazin said it’s not value for money anyway, I haven’t ridden it for 6 years now.
Rip off race.
For comparison, I rode a three day race last weekend which cost a whole £16 to enter, £33 for 4 hours is not vfm.

MonkeyBoyic, what are the trails like there today? The pictures you took suggested that they were dry? can you suggest why the reduction to 4hrs is needed?

I’ve responded to the email that Paul Newman sent through to riders, asking why the reduction in time? no response yet.

No logic at all as far as I can see, if conditions are a problem why keep the full 12hrs for today when there are also far more riders riding?

I’m going to stop local and boycot the Bikefest, fingers crossed I will get my refund on the race entry.

Trail condition was fine – they have just spent a shed load of cash on them to try to keep them dry, but, like others have said the usual camping and parking areas were quite moist.
I’m sure the organisers will give you your cash back.

I will be asking for a portion of the entry back Most definitely!. I don’t even get an email. Was told by a few mates.

Heavy rain forecast for early pm which the land owners are concerned will turn the camp/parking areas into the Somme. Not a lot they can do about it really, is there.

As others have said, the decision has basically been taken by the estate, not the race organisers, according to statements posted by Paul on Facebook. There is alternative parking at the rugby club off Beggar Bush Lane, and it’s a 5 minute ride to the event from there.

I hear a rumour that the playing field next to the event area may be converted to parking, which would make things a lot easier for the event in future years.

And flatfish, you paid £16 for three days of pushing your bike through swamps and sleeping in the world’s fartiest bothy, each to their own eh? 😉

No swamps this year and no bothies either. 😉
There was a bit of pushing though, I’ll give you that.

I’m just jealous. 😉

As i understand it the estate management have instructed Paul to cut times down today in order to clear the event arena before the rain hits later this afternoon. Anyone who was nearby on Friday will have seen how bad things were (vehicles stuck, howling winds etc) and also how quickly it changed to fairly dry and ok on Saturday. Make no mistake we were in warm sunshine yesterday but the grass was sodden round the campsite and it wouldnt take much rainfall to end up a total mess up there.
Paul is obviously going to comply to safeguard the events future, it was moments away from being cancelled entirely on Friday morning. A situation in which everybody loses.

Having got back from being there friday night and Saturday I can totally understand this decision – the campsite/carpark was a horrendous mess – cars were getting stuck and digging huge trenches all over the place, the area was wrecked. The race course was dull as anything, but bone dry and rode fast, but you don’t want any more water on that site before getting the vehicles off in my opinion – makessense to me…

As BigDaddy says, and it’s all good and well moaning yesterday when it was sunny but forecast wasn’t good and if it’s estate owners decision you can’t blame BBF guys. If you think it’s a rip off don’t race, plenty of other people don’t think so.
As for the course being dull ..tell me what race you’ve done with a course as much fun as that? Did you do Trentham Gardens Mountain Mayhem 24 hour? that was rubbish but still enjoyed the riding. BBF is the most technical and enteratining I’ve raced on it, giant BMX pump track, loved it and my first solo effort finished 13 laps so well chuffed.

If you think it’s a rip off don’t race, plenty of other people don’t think so.

As I said before, I haven’t raced it for 6 years now. 🙄

you haven’t but hundreds of other people are paying the money and racing therefore not considered a rip off…

More fool you.

told to move our support stuff off the “long grass” as it was protected, even though we had been positioned there the last 2 years running,

just cos you got away with it the last 2 years doesn’t make it ok. In fairness, the PA probably drowned out the skylarks.
“Much of the estate is so ecologically valuable that most of it is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and at County level is a Site of Nature Conservation Interest. “
From http://www.bristol.gov.uk/node/2592

If it’s that much of an issue… why hold it there?

This is the UK, we’ve had a dry few weeks followed by a few wet days, if that’s enough that they have to shorten the race then perhaps they ought to find a new venue!

Expensive? Probably (although if you’ve spent £3k on a spangly bike then an extra £33 isn’t a great deal really). Great atmosphere? Definitely.

If you find the course dull you probably aren’t riding it properly.

Yes agreed on the course, I thought it was great, certainly not dull. I wonder if the novelty would wear off as a soloist, if you weren’t pushing as hard in the singletrack.