Eroica Britannia 2016 - anyone signed up?

[kevin clark]

The camping was a bit of a joke not being able to park the car by the tent you don't get that with other campsites I've used.

I've never been to a festival that lets you park by the tent.

I agree on the rest though, much more commercialised this year, a bit too big. And we had to queue in Tideswell for an hour to get our food. The whole experience just wasn't as enjoyable as 2015.

I'll probably keep going but only because of the location. I have loads of friends and family in the area. I would like to see alternatives pop up though, might give EB something to think about.

Try http://www.sportivelikes.co.uk

Weekend vintage festival 8-10 July - L'ancienne is on Sunday 10th July

Le Trois Lacs - 81km + 1215mtrs: Now we’re talking! A proper, old school challenge. Don’t be fooled by the stats, on vintage steel, this will be a proper day out. A stunning ride, with lakes, iconic passes and a castle thrown in for good measure. If you’re looking for a gold medal, you even have to do the final 3km loop to the famous Sir John Barrow Monument at the end…outstanding!

 

[ian.r.mcdonald]

Interesting reading the above comments.

Being local I had no travel or accommodation expenses and didn't queue on the A6 and took to the lanes to bypass Bakewell and parked up at Great Longstone and cycled in with my partner. We had to queue at the ticket office for 20/30 mins on Friday afternoon.

The show itself?....to me it seemed to have lost its way and become a "lifestyle" event with some bikes! The goodies in the bonk bag were bit of a let down compared with last year too.

The ride?....I enjoyed it but the lunch halt at Biggin was a huge disappointment, again compared to last year at Hartington. Both the food and location weren't up to scratch, with no option of a hot drink. Again the Chatsworth halt was a let down!

Will I go next year?.....yes probably as it's on my doorstep!

Have a look at Chris Boardmans goodie bag,he posted a photo on facebook, although training for ten years,winning an olympic medal and tdf wins is perhaps a bit too much effort to get an extra key ring and some minatures of gin!!!!

 

[Deleted member 24574]

Re:

Well just finished washing and cleaning after a very muddy weekend.

Had a great time; nice to meet some people from here and enjoyed plenty of banter with other riders and saw some great bikes.

That said the event did not live up to the previous two and not just because of the mud ...

The mud was a problem and I thought they could have done a lot more to deal with it ... a bit of a poor effort.

The event has shifted from cycling to lifestyle but I don't really mind that because if that finances the event so it can happen it is a small price of pay for the cycling fans. These guys are running a business so that isn't a problem as far as I am concerned.

The goodie bag was a bit of a let down. I guess they didn't have such willing suppliers.

I had quite a different view of the ride this time. Previously I did the 100 and both times was in the leading few and so all the food stops were quiet and well stocked ... even when the route merged the food stops were excellent and you were quickly served.

This time I did the 55 and then the 30 with my wife.

I rattled off the 55 early and was the first rider at all the food stops; surprising them but I got some grub and was quickly away.

When I got to Chatsworth the usual gate wasn't open so I guessed I was too early so would miss out on the final stop on the lawn in the grounds ... then I found the food stop just after Chatsworth and this year the ride through the grounds was missing. That was a disappointment.

When I rolled back into the showground to finish the 55 there was nothing doing as I guess they were not expecting a finisher at 10:15 ... no bother I rode to the start for a gentle cool down on the 30 with the wife.

When we got to Tideswell I was quite peckish and could not believe the queues to get food ... it was ridiculous ... we quickly gave up and moved on.

When we got to the next one at Eyam? it was much the same so I grabbed a few bits of cake and off we went again.

My wife was on a 1964 Moulton Mk.1 which weighs a ton so I had to push her up most of the hills and we got plenty of plaudits as she pedaled the beast past many walkers with a little bit of assistance.

When we got to the final stop, Hadden Hall?, this was very nice and we had a few beers but I didn't see any food. Sat on the lawn and had some nice conversations in the sun ... the Italian guy, Luciano? started chatting to my wife and he couldn't believe the weight of the Moulton ... he was impressed with her riding round on that.

Then back to the finish which left you in the middle of a muddy field with no way out but to wade through mud ... Luckily my wife had packed 4 sandwich bags and a roll of PVC tape so we made makeshift wellies.

So; the ride was quite different and for £60 a head the food stops were frankly a bit of a joke. Previous years have been superb but this year not ...

For all the problems we still had a great time; I'd recommend the event to others but next year I think we will try one of the overseas events such as Eroica Limburg as that is probably a shorter drive for us than Bakewell.

The organisers have had 2 good ones and one not so good ... they were unlucky with the rain/mud but that was known and they could have done more.

I'll do my longer write up as previous years in due course.


Edit: One thing that did annoy me was having spent about £200 on the van pitch and two ride tickets they wanted another £2 for a programme ... why not charge another £2 and put them in the goodie bag ... I didn't buy one.

 

[ian.r.mcdonald]

Re:

good write up and reassuring to me that others had similar experiences. I think (to be fair) that I have missed the fact that it is now being sold as a "family festival" whilst i (we) are looking for a cycle event. Glad to have been part of the first two which were really good , with bills to pay i dont see them matching them in the future. four years and i get a guaranteed place in Gaiole for the real ride!

 

[SantaHul]

Yeah I've probably come off a bit negative but I did enjoy myself, just not as much as last time. I don't really mind the whole "lifestyle" thing either as long as the bikes are the main thing (as they were). Tbh if it was just a bunch of bikes nerds stood around talking about their bikes it would get a bit dull, it's a festival not a museum.

Talking about the bikes, I never got chance to test ride mine at all, going over the start line was the first time it had been ridden in around 50 years. It was stuck in top gear but otherwise held together (just about).

I'm the guy in the top left holding a green bike. It's a 1947 Raleigh Lenton Sports (the handlebars kept moving hence the weird angle).

 

[Spokesmann]

Finished the medium 55 route with no bike or rider troubles... Ill post up some images soon and a bit of blurb for them thats interested. My overall impression is a positive one though, might be back next year for the '100'.

More soon.

 

[phoog]

Re:

I'd like to start a "who had the most surreal moment over the weekend" competition, and then declare myself the winner . . .
Me - look there's Chris Boardman
My 13 year old - I bet he starts singing "lady in red" that's the only song of his anyone's ever heard of . .
Me - I think you're thinking of someone else .
My 13 year old (15 minutes later, over by the Mavic display) - no, it was definitely Chris Boardman, I'll go over and ask him if he's going to sing it
Me - errr ok . . but wait till I get my phone ready to film it

 

[Deleted member 24574]

Re: Re:

My 13 year old (15 minutes later, over by the Mavic display) - no, it was definitely Chris Boardman, I'll go over and ask him if he's going to sing it

... and how did that pan out?

 

[phoog]

Re: Re:

My 13 year old (15 minutes later, over by the Mavic display) - no, it was definitely Chris Boardman, I'll go over and ask him if he's going to sing it

... and how did that pan out?

Unfortunately we'll never know, as my Mrs stepped in to stop it at the last minute on the grounds of child cruelty . . gutted !

 

[Deleted member 24574]

Re: Re:

My 13 year old (15 minutes later, over by the Mavic display) - no, it was definitely Chris Boardman, I'll go over and ask him if he's going to sing it

... and how did that pan out?

Unfortunately we'll never know, as my Mrs stepped in to stop it at the last minute on the grounds of child cruelty . . gutted !

Disappointing ...