How do...

How do bikers…

So then, just 6 weeks to go before the off! I must admit, what with all the coming and going this end, I’ve almost clean forgotten that at the other end of this bike ride is one of the greatest festivals known to man… Ace. Me? I’m going to be down the front for De La Soul, First Aid Kit, Hot Chip… and Chas and Dave (natch).

Before all of that, though, a few very important announcements – and things tofill you in on. Please take the time (I’m going to try and be and concise as I can) to have a read through. It’s all stuff you need to know!

Firstly (trumpet fanfare) some excellent news to give you a major incentive to raise as much money as you can. Bestival have stumped up two free tickets (yes, that’s TWO FREE TICKETS!!) to Bestival 2013 to whoever raises the most money for Cancer Research UK. So get your Just Giving page sorted (see below), get those emails out to family and friends – and bag yourself and a mate a free pass to
next year’s shindig!!

Leading the pack at the moment is Glen Orford with a whopping £260.99 with Sophie Holloway close behind on £250. Can you catch them... yes you can!


If you haven’t already set up a Just Giving page, then please do sort one out asap. It’s very easy indeed – just visit the Just Giving website and set up a personal page, remembering to set a fundraising target of £200. Then, click on the Bike to Bestival team page

https://www.justgiving.com/teams/BiketoBestival2012 and click “Join Team”.

There may be some of you out there who have set up a JG page, but aren’t yet listed as one of the Bike to Bestival team. Basically, if you’re not listed on this link, then your money is not going to Bike to Bestival – and you can’t win dem tickets!!

So please take a moment to make sure you’re properly hooked up!

A couple more bits and pieces…

Could you email us with, first of all, any special dietary requirements we should know about.

Second, could you send us your mobile phone number and an emergency contact. Obviously, these will be kept completely between us – but we need to make sure we have these details with us…

Next… Get out on your bikes! Myself and Dom have been trying out the first day of the route of late, and in terms of whopping hills etc, you’re pretty much clear… But you will still need a good level of bike fitness to complete the trip, particularly on the slightly longer first day. Any questions, as ever, do
drop us a line or take a look at the training tips on the blog.

And in the meantime, if you’re going on a practice ride, why not post it up on our Facebook page and get other B2Bers to join you?

Finally (phew!), if you’re one of those Twitter peeps, Sophie has asked if you can tweet us @biketobestival. Just another way to keep you in the loop – and help to build up the excitement as the 4 September approaches! Can’t flipping wait…

That’s just about it for now – but further announcements coming up very soon, so do keep ‘em peeled on the blog and on the Facebook page…

Toodle pip all,

Warren

So... hands up who wants to play on the main stage?

In my quieter moments, I've always considered myself to be a fairly moderate, modest kind of fella. In louder, more honest times, I realise that that's probably a load of old tripe. In fact, it definitely is. I'd like to out myself to those who don't already know me as a raging show-off.

So when I was out for dinner the other night with my good mate (and member of the Bestival boiler room) Duncan, and the subject of getting the Bike to Bestival gang up on stage to belt out a couple of songs came up, I felt the old rock-star tendencies stirring. I've always fancied one of those Freddie Mercury Live Aid moments, getting a bit of a "daaaaayyy-oo" call-and-response thing going with fifty thousand compliant people...

A first meeting with some likely bikers in Camden the other week got the juices flowing, too; among the 20 or so folks who've signed on the dotted line at this point (with quite a few more to come, we hope), there's clearly some talented (and very keen) musicians.

So this is me putting my cards on the table: over the coming months we'll organise a couple of socials (at least) where we can settle in to a decent pub, get the instruments out and etch a (short) set-list to delight the Bestival massive. We've had a fair amount of correspondence from those of you outside of London asking that these be at the weekend so that you can make it down - so that's what we'll be doing... And if you can't make it, but still want to be part of the greatest travelling band ever to go on tour from London to the Isle of Wight on bicycles, never fear: we'll make sure that the songs we pick are easily relatable via chord sheets and the odd instructional video...

Any ideas for big, group numbers, by the way? Let us know, let us know! Leave a comment here, head over to our Facebook page or drop us an email.

In other news, happy to say that we're booked into a campsite for the evening of Tuesday 4 September. It's a really wonderful place, set deep in the rolling Surrey countryside... Just triple-checking that we've got the distances right and that we're not setting too heavy a task for the first day's ride; but I'll post details of our rural haven very shortly.

Happy biking for now... and if you haven't signed up for this corking adventure yet: why the flip not?

Bike to Bestival tickets now on sale!!!!

Hi Guys,


The BiketoBestival tickets are now on sale!! We sent out the link to those of you who expressed an interest a few days ago, and got to meet a few of you at the pub the other night.

The FAQs are on an earlier email, so please just take a minute to read them all. You need a ticket to bestival and you need to be over 18 are the key things to remember. If you have any questions then plaese email us at biketobestival@bestival.net. My phone number is on the ticketing page, and I'll be off-grid, or camping as Sophie likes to call it, until Tuesday.

http://www.wegottickets.com/sct/3mF5pybtbj

Just a reminder that we are raising money for Cancer Research UK.  Once you have your ticket we will send you an invite to the Just Giving Team page. We ask that everyone who is fundraising aims to raise at least £200,however if you want to do 10 times that, knock yourself out. A glittering prize to the person who raises the most.....watch this space!

To keep up with our news, keep an eye on the blog and facebook/twitter. All the links are below...

We can't wait to meet you all!!

Thanks

Warren, Dominic and Sophie - Bike to Bestival 

http://biketobestival.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.justgiving.com/teams/BiketoBestival2012
http://2012.bestival.net/news/bike-to-bestival

Tickets now available for Bike to Bestival from www.WeGotTickets.com