06/07/2016 - Northern Grip Mountain Bike Festival in Ramsbottom, Lancashire
It's so good to have Sam back out there... but be gentle with him please, we don't want him broken again. Right... the return of #wheresamwednesday ! Over to Sam...
A big thanks to everyone who came along to the Dalby Forest demo day, the weather held off and lots of fun was had on both the Rockets and the hardtails. Our next outing is just less than 2 weeks away at the Northern Grip Festival.
Taking place over the 23rd and 24th July is the inaugural Northern Grip Mountain Bike Festival in Ramsbottom, Lancashire. I will be there on the Saturday with the demo fleet, and you can borrow a bike to thrash round some of the great local trails that have been marked out for the festival, some of which are usually out of bounds! Here's the lowdown on the event:
"Northern Grip is an annual celebration of mountain biking and mountain bike culture with the inaugural festival taking place in Ramsbottom on Saturday 23rd & Sunday 24th July 2016. The festival combines riding on some of the North West's finest fells with a focus on post-ride activities in the festival hub located in and around Ramsbottom's Civic Hall.
...As we run into the evening the party vibe will take over as we hand over to our bands and DJs to take us into the small hours. Award winning gastropub the Eagle & Child will be performing breakfast duties on Sunday before we head out onto the hills for one last big ride.
Northern Grip organiser Tom Whitehead said: 'Northern Grip isn't going to be just about the fun riding to be had on the amazing hills and trails around Ramsbottom. The festival hub at the Civic Hall will have a full programme of activities with film screenings, live music, DJs, Q&As with extraordinary riders, bike demos and, of course, great local food and ales. We'll also be throwing in some memorable surprises throughout the day.'"
It's set to be a great weekend, and with tickets costing a mere £25 you'd be daft to miss it if you live in the North West. All our demo bikes are free to ride, just bring photo ID, credit card/car keys and ideally your own pedals and you're good to go. There's an all day group ride on the Sunday and less expo stuff, but if you'd like to take a bike out on the Sunday let me know and I'll sort you out. Sadly my arm will prevent me from joining in!
If you're attending the festival and would like to reserve a bike for a certain time on the Saturday, drop me an email and I'll get you booked in. Otherwise just turn up and find the Cotic stand.
For all the info you could possibly need, check out www.northerngrip.co.uk
Tickets can be purchased there, but hurry up as there aren't many left.
I'm also looking to fill some gaps in my Calendar over the August Bank Holiday. I will be in Scotland over that weekend (26th - 29th), so if you're north of the border and want to demo a bike, give me a shout and we'll get something planned.
See you on there.
Sam.