Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Rides and Touring => Topic started by: Kim on 12 February, 2018, 06:30:17 pm
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http://www.mildenhallfestival.bike/
This just landed in my inbox:
After our first year back to the full three-day format at our new venue in 2017, we are now planning for this year’s Festival.
Compared to previous recent years we were blessed with glorious weather for the whole weekend and everyone that attended went away happy. We have though taken on board the feedback we received from those that stayed on the main camping field and are working with the farmer to improve the state of it.
We have also listened to the feedback about camping at the Festival on the Monday night and we are delighted to announce that from this year you will be able to stay on the Festival site until Tuesday morning.
The dates for this year’s Festival – Saturday 25th – Monday 27th August 2018
We are currently finalising the programme for this year’s Festival and expect to have the Information Leaflets available in time for Easter, at which time the website will be updated too. Both will include booking details for the camping and caravans.
The state of the main camping field was something I gave specific feedback on (for those who weren't there, it was a very stubbly twig-infested field - hazardous to walk on (particularly in the dark), very hard to cycle on and potentially damaging to all but the sturdiest of groundsheets), so it's good to see they've taken that on board.
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That's good news. Having the option of Monday night is good too.
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I really ought to go to this. As I've been saying for the last four years or so.
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I will do my best to be there.
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The Monday added is excellent news for those of us riding to the event, as attending the Monday activities would otherwise mean cycling off into the sunset afterwards.
I will be missing it this year, off to Shrewsbury instead.
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Me and Apollo are going all being well :)
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Missed this last year, may cycle over.
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I am hoping to be there but may cycle up just for the day as currently in the early stages of planning a French Foray for the following week.
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Bookings have now gone live on the website. http://www.mildenhallfestival.bike/camping.html
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I will once more be at Shrewsbury Folk Festival.
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I have not been to the new location. How accessible are food supplies etc? (sub text should I go heavy and bring the car or cycle over etc etc).
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There's a Little Shop in West Row that can reasonably be ignored on the basis that it'll be shut or out of stock when you need it. There's the Jude's Ferry pub, which I haven't visited, but looks a bit gastro. Can't remember if there's a chip shop?
Basically, it's a ride into Mildenhall (for which there's a decent cyclepath route) for anything not provided at the rally itself.
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Ta
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Ok. I've rashly booked a cycle camping pitch so we'll be there, lightweight-ish. :D
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In the new location all lightweight campers are put together where as the car campers are in another field on the opposite side of the arena. I and some others you know will be on the lightweight section.
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Can't remember if there's a chip shop?
Yes, there is and a Pizza/burger place next door, although I didn't use that last year. The pub was ok and I think they may have had a beer festival on last year.
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At some point I appear to have booked a motor pitch and a car to park on it...
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Hmm! I haven't been to Mildenhall for a while... perhaps I should this year!
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At some point I appear to have booked a motor pitch and a car to park on it...
Hmm. Cubs away, it seems.
I wonder.
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At some point I appear to have booked a motor pitch and a car to park on it...
Hmm. Cubs away, it seems.
I wonder.
Oooh, go on, go on, go on!
For information, there are loos in the village hall that are open long enough hours that portaloos can be avoided if required.
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We are on a car pitch this year as that was the plan re work and a week off afterwards.
We are now be going on the bikes instead as have booked train tickets from the ALC meet the weekend after.
Plan is to cycle between the 2 again.
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For information, there are loos in the village hall that are open long enough hours that portaloos can be avoided if required.
And last year there was an open-all-hours block of proper-toilets-with-sinks-in-a-trailer, along with the showers.
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We are on a car pitch this year as that was the plan re work and a week off afterwards.
We are now be going on the bikes instead as have booked train tickets from the ALC meet the weekend after.
Plan is to cycle between the 2 again.
If you want to switch to a lightweight pitch, email Mark I am sure he will accommodate you.
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Oooh, go on, go on, go on!
I'm struggling to plan more than a few hours ahead at present (see also my utter fail at getting down to the rally!) so end of august is unimaginably far away - and possibly clashes with another vague plan.
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Booked, hopefully I'll be there for Friday afternoon. The plan will be to pack up on Monday or Tuesday & then hie me to Harwich to get a ferry to forrin parts, while we are still allowed in.
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I shall try and get up on Saturday 25th (probably by car) as I am off to Warsaw on the Sunday.
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I am still debating whether or not to take the car. I should cycle over there, but real life keeps interfering.
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I am thinking about riding the ez3 trike towing the single wheel trailer. I could take the trice but It is not giving the range it used to and I would need to charge both batteries on arrival. Decisions decisions :)
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Considering a weekend trip down from Sheffield on Friday, staying in a local B & B to do the 200 kms or possibly my first 300 kms!
Is it worth the trip?
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I did the 200 a couple of years ago, well worth it. This year I'm going to do the 100, but ride out there and back. It's rolling rather than hilly to the south and east of Mldenhall, nothing much more than about 4% sustained.
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Looks like I'm going to go on holiday to Hertfordshire's Finest Hotel for the bank holiday weekend... one of the proprietor's of which is a recent convert to cycling. Last time I went to stay he ended up buying a rather nice hybrid, and now I'm even trying to persuade him that he should try one of those hertfordshire audaxes from Stevenage in the autumn. Anyhoo, sounds like we might well be up for a day trip over - which day would be the one to go for to give us the best chance of seeing ppl?
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On the Saturday, Audaxy types will be, er, audax-ing. It seems to be the day forumites go for a social ride too.
Sunday tends to be the main dossing about day when there is most happening.
Monday's when many people are packing up and heading home.
So probably Sunday if there's a choice...
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^ Seconded.
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All camping places now booked , will that mean queues for facilities etc ? A lazy social ride would be nice , hopefully the world's Second Fastest Unfaired Woman will have mercy & won't leave us in her dust .... ;)
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Bringing the motor due to domestic requirements. So can be heavy. I second a lazy ride, particularly as right knee has now started to play up. Must be rust! Is Will or Wobbly up for organising something?
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As I am riding the sun ez3 I will be nice and slow :)
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Remind me to put myself on your tail end Chris (bar pot holes that is!). Is there a nice pub tucked away somewhere in Thetford Forest?
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Just a reminder to attendees who haven't been to Mildenhall Rally for a couple of years, It's at a new site - West Row village hall.
Cannardly, I don't know of any nice pubs in Thetford forest - it's not too easy to get there on minor roads, either.
Looking at a couple of routes to the South - towards Newmarket, but I don't have time to check them out as I have a couple of days with grandsons Thurs & FRi.
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The pub we tended to use for the WARTY style ride was the Queens Head in Hawkedon. There is an equally good one in Stansfield, nearby. TBH the QH is very upmarket with lots of Range Rovers and horsiculture. The food's good though - not that I have been there for a while. There are closer pubs if you want a shorter ride, but the first official YACF Poohsticks championship was contested in Glemsford, the protagonists being Delthebike, Nutkin and myself. Modesty forbids me from saying who the winner was*...
From memory, the route from Mildenhall was about 60 miles round trip, and the road up from Glemsford is like a little bit of Derbyshire that got lost. It's a lot better than the official audax 100k route.
I was wondering about coming up for Sunday, bringing my bike on a train, but since there's a rail replacement bus between Shenfield & Ipswich, I won't bother. After all, who would think of going anywhere on a train on a bank holiday weekend?
*You have to throw your stick into the water in a twitchy sort of way.
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HK and I are aiming to be there for all of it, medical conditions permitting. I'll be driving there after work on Friday, HK may be riding up.
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I am becoming doubtful having booked a spot, my leg is giving me
some a lot of gyp and shows no signs of easing up. I was supposed to be on a group ride today but had to demur. Ho hum.
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We will be in the car, Dawn is having knee issues also at the minute which is stopping her cycling :(
Will bring the bikes anyway even if they are just be used to go into Mildenhall shopping.
Popping into Kevin's on the way though to try out something stupidly light.
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I just took barakta out for an experimental trike ride, to see if he migraine felt like cooperating with this cycling lark.
She's now also in the b0rked leg club (hip edition). :(
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I am becoming doubtful having booked a spot, my leg is giving me some a lot of gyp and shows no signs of easing up. I was supposed to be on a group ride today but had to demur. Ho hum.
Just come along, chill out & keep Barakta company in the Crocks section. :( As long as you can stagger to the pub in the evening....
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As long as you can stagger to the pub in the evening....
Therein lies the flaw in the new site.
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As long as you can stagger to the pub in the evening....
Therein lies the flaw in the new site.
How much do we need to bribe you per pub trip :D ?
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Ok will give it a go if I can as is one of the last summmer events but please bear with me. Not sure how I would be on a bike . Will make the effort if we go for communal meal. Taxis have been used on previous occasions. Can put something in the back of the car ref pub locality. Not sure how free cars are to come and go, used to be frowned upon at the Rally.
Incidentally spent an hour drilling out cleat screws on Exustar sandals only to snap the last one off at the plate, added to which the sandal sole strip (fibreglass?) dividing the plate has snapped.....sigh. Cant complain they don't owe me anything but are othewise in excellent nick. Cheap Chinese screw extractors do not work on hardened Shimano cleat screws DAMHIKT. Bugger!
Leg is driving me nuts. ::-) Cleats on sandals were such that feet were slightly outward facing. All other shoes point feet slightly inwards and are at max etension away from cranks.
Have removed, lubed with copper ease and refitted all other cleat bolts. Will replace with stainless in due course. (this has the disadvantage of making hard to drill out or extract).
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I shall be Audaxing on the Saturday, I should be recognisable. I have a beard and glasses, or you could look for the Cruzbike
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I am sure YACF tops will be on display Dave.
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I am sure YACF tops will be on display Dave.
I have a neck warmer thing of yours that I won by dint of being the last one out or something at a previous forum event! I'll see if I can a) find it and b) remember to pack it!
Does anyone know what the situation re parking for day visitors is likely to be?
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Does anyone know what the situation re parking for day visitors is likely to be?
There's a village-hall-sized car park outside the village hall, some of which is reserved for disabled users (and probably organisers/exhibitors and such). There's another one of a broadly similar size associated with the playground / tennis courts a little further away. It's the sort of really boring village where parking on a random road ought to be achievable, too.
The organisers may be using some camping field as a day car park too, not sure if that has cyclocross-related restrictions as per the Mildenhall site, but presumably that would only be on Monday.
It'll be reet.
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For the nth year running, I am intending to be there next year. This year, painting. ::-)
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I don’t think I’ve posted on this thread yet, but I’ll be Mildenhalling.
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I can't make it this year, but the Tharp Arms is a nice village pub in Chippenham, a bit south of West Row, and the La Hogue farm shop that does good breakfasts and probably good, organic, well cooked other meals on the tiny road just south of there.
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I can't make it this year, but the Tharp Arms is a nice village pub in Chippenham, a bit south of West Row, and the La Hogue farm shop that does good breakfasts and probably good, organic, well cooked other meals on the tiny road just south of there.
Thanks for the info. That's what I was planning if forced to lead a ride, but I haven't visited either stop.
Wowbagger's Glemsford ride, of several years ago sounds a bit ambitious (60 miles :o).
It is tempting to see how the nervous racehorses in Newmarket react to the usual 'YACF parade of recumbents with flags'. :demon:
West Row, Mildenhall, (if I can find the cycle route...) Worlington, Red Lodge, La Houge, Chippenham, Freckenham, West Row looks a possible short route? (Edit: about 17 miles)
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We'll be in our pointy orange tent, and I'll have the Circe tandem with e-assist, so we're fairly easy to spot if anyone doesn't know people and wants to say hello. If there is a bouncy castle type thing again, we're not likely to be allowed far from that.
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I've been to La Hogue farm shop a couple of years ago;fair coffee and an enormous slice of good cake, so fair vfm. Note that this road leads from Chippenham to the A11, but one cannot cross, only turn left to go NE (direction Naarge).
I am double booked for the weekend - west to St Ives for touch rugby national champs, or east for cycling (well, I'd be cycling either way) - is there a favoured date / time for a ride amongst the gathered YACFers?
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Thanks for the info. That's what I was planning if forced to lead a ride, but I haven't visited either stop.
Wowbagger's Glemsford ride, of several years ago sounds a bit ambitious (60 miles :o).
It is tempting to see how the nervous racehorses in Newmarket react to the usual 'YACF parade of recumbents with flags'. :demon:
West Row, Mildenhall, (if I can find the cycle route...) Worlington, Red Lodge, La Houge, Chippenham, Freckenham, West Row looks a possible short route? (Edit: about 17 miles)
If you wanted something a fraction longer (30ish miles), I'd go:
West Row, la hogue for breakfast/ coffee / cake, back towards Chippenham then across to Kennet, briefly towards Herringswell then right to Kentford, Moulton, Newmarket (for the great downhill into town across the severalls) then snailwell, the Tharp arms and back to West Row. I'd treat the bit from Chippenham to La Hogue as a dead end and not go anywhere near the A11, it's too fast and nasty for me.
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Just entered the 200k (but not camping) so maybe see some of you aound?...
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Looking for something to put in the pot should the need arise, I came across a request provided by Torslanda which includes the words Cassoulet and Canard. Mmmmm. Je suis contente.
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We're hoping to be there! Day trip on Saturday, stay somewhere nearby as we're seeing friend in Cambridge Sunday afternoon.
That's vague but looks like plenty of familiar faces to catch up with.
I lost track in the thread what rides most are on (we're not planning on audaxing, even though this will break our 9 month rrty)
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We were planning on getting there Friday evening and doing Saturday's 200 but I had to rescue HK during her commute home today, so things are up in the air at the moment.
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Looking for something to put in the pot should the need arise, I came across a request provided by Torslanda which includes the words Cassoulet and Canard. Mmmmm. Je suis contente.
Sounds to me like you're in hot water!
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On the slow train from Liverpool to Norwich, getting off at Ely. Only 2 carriages & not enough luggage space. Luckily I got to the bike space before they filled it with bags.
Edit: the train has coaches A & B. The people who have seat reservations for C & D are not happy.
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Those trains are a PITA, never enough seats for the level of usage. At least you managed to get the bike on there.
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It's just started raining here. It has now occurred to me why.
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We're within tent. The rain seems to have stopped for now. The field is greatly improved on last year. Hopefully tomorrow will be dry, even if barakta isn't up for much in the way of cycling.
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I’m in the other field which is fine for tents. A cool night had me wishing I’d brought a warmer sleeping bag.
The tent is soaking with condensation, but the sun will soon fix that.
Tea is on while I ponder an important question. Porridge, bacon & eggs or both :P
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The calm before the storm...
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The drips before the storm...
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HK and I have completely wimped out and are watching the rain come down in NW London
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Aaand it's raining. Occasionally horizontlly. The grass track racing seems to be going ahead - chapeau!
In other news, I have a Eurohike Tweed 4-person car camping tent with me at the rally which is 'free to a good home'. Standing room, two 2-person sleeping compartments, one of which has a bit of mould on the upper part. Fly in decent enough condition for a ~12 year old rarely used (probably about 4 times) tent: one small tear (low down, not a big deal if it leaks) which has been patched, and it could do with a bit of airing. The bag is torn, but the zip's okay.
Let me know if you can make use of it...
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Aaand it's raining. Occasionally horizontlly. The grass track racing seems to be going ahead - chapeau!
In other news, I have a Eurohike Tweed 4-person car camping tent with me at the rally which is 'free to a good home'. Standing room, two 2-person sleeping compartments, one of which has a bit of mould on the upper part. Fly in decent enough condition for a ~12 year old rarely used (probably about 4 times) tent: one small tear (low down, not a big deal if it leaks) which has been patched, and it could do with a bit of airing. The bag is torn, but the zip's okay.
Let me know if you can make use of it...
Idea if nobody wants it (I don't!): maybe a local-to-you cycling club would like it as a mobile HQ, audax control shelter, race organising/changing/etc room, etc etc?
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I didn’t sleep well last night & was yawning my head off by lunchtime so have spent the afternoon snoozing.
Annoyingly my right knee is starting to twinge, which isn’t good as I’ve 2 weeks touring planned!
Lovely to see CrinklyLion again, who paid us an all too brief visit earlier.
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Idea if nobody wants it (I don't!): maybe a local-to-you cycling club would like it as a mobile HQ, audax control shelter, race organising/changing/etc room, etc etc?
That's the backup plan. Barakta knows a local group (not cycling related) who may be able to use it.
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And it's now weirdly warm. Going to have to downgrade the sleeping bag...
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It's 17°C here, which is much warmer than it's been all day.
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...and we're home. It was dry and reasonably warm this morning.
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Last night was very warm.
I pottered down to Kennet station for a train to Ipswich, from where I rode to Shotley, busy road but courteous traffic. Currently digesting fish & chips & pondering a 2nd beer at the Shipwreck.