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OktoberFest and RunRider 2013 Round Up

What a weekend and what a great ending to the Mountain Bike Season 2013. After a hugely popular Ritchey Bikefest in June this year, expectations were once again high for the 4th outing of the Stan’s NoTubes Oktoberfest. Two years ago the event benefited from the opening of the popular all weather course in Ashton Court. But even with the course now successfully running for 2 years the Oktoberfest managed to attract once again huge numbers of riders to take part in the unofficial season finale.

As at so many events in 2013 the weather had its impact on the event but luckily not on the course or the atmosphere around the event village. The day started of grey and wet but within the hour after the start the sun started coming out helping to turn the day into a glorious cycling day and the perfect season finale.

Almost 1200 riders took part in the Stan’s NoTubes Oktoberfest powered by Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport showing how much love is out there for the relaxed atmosphere of the Bikefest events as well as for the Ashton Court course.

Event video

 We captured the race action and the general atmosphere in a little video. Enjoy!

 Photos & Results

 We had our event photographer Jon Brooke out on course who took almost 4,000 images throughout the day. Have a look on his site www.rightplacerighttime.co.uk to view and to purchase the images. The results from the weekend can be found on www.timelaps.co.uk. 

 We’ll be back next year

 With two great events in 2013 and a superb course on our side we will certainly be back with some more Bikefest fun in 2014. The new venue with his shower and changing facilities and all round bad weather capability has secured the future of the Bikefest for years to come. However we have been looking at other venues in the areafor some new ventures – so watch this space for some exciting 2014 event news. With regards to the Bikefest and Oktoberfest we have some provisional dates and it looks that we will return with the Bikefest on the 7-8th June 2014 and with the Oktoberfest on the 11th October 2014. Please keep an eye on www.bike-fest.com for updates.

But that was not it

2012 saw the 2nd helping of the VDO Bristol RunRider Off Road Duathlon which saw more than 150 athletes tackling the two challenging courses on offer. Following in last year’s footsteps the 2013 RunRider returned on the Sunday of the Oktoberfest weekend giving solo athletes and pairs the chance to tackle the almost 45km long Classic, the ‘tamer’ 28km long Standard or the more beginner friendly Mini RunRider.

 The weather gods which were extremely kind to the Oktoberfest run out of good weather so that Sunday was not just a challenge due to the demanding running course but also due to the slightly demoralising weather. As soon as the afterparty of the Oktoberfest came to an end the rain started to hit the venue and the course, giving the RunRider an extra level of toughness.

However going by the tired yet smiling faces coming over the finish line the weather couldn’t break the spirit of the more than 200 duathletes. The race started off at in impressive pace and it would not take long before the 1st runners come back into the transition to change to the bike or to start their 2nd running lap.  It was interesting to watch from the sideline how much the order changed during the race when the duathletes changed from running to riding and back again. After just over 1½ hours the winner of the Mini RunRider came over the line with the last athlete on the classic (long course) completing after just over 4½ hours on the trail.

Event video
Similarly to the OKTF we also send a camera team out (into the rain) to put on film (or rather on card) what the RunRider is all about. Enjoy!

 
Photos & Results

 You can find images of the RunRider on www.rightplacerighttime.co.uk or on our RunRider facebook page and the results can be found either on www.timelaps.co.uk. 

More RunRiding in 2014

We had a great time at the RunRider and going by the feedback we have had so far most of the ‘RunRiders’ too. We will be back with the 4th outing of the event in 2014 on the 12th October (provisional date) Please keep your eyes on the RunRider website (www.runrider.co.uk) for updates. 

 A big THANKS! 

Finally we would like to send out a BIG THANK YOU to everybody who came to our events in 2013 and made it another season to remember. Another big THANKS goes out to our sponsors – in particular Ritchey, Stan’s NoTubes, Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport and VDO. Without their help we wouldn’t have been able to put the Bikefest show on the road.

Hope to see you all in 2014!
 

Click any of the images below for a larger view / slideshow