We're not totally sure about caravans, but we reckon that motorhomes rock. Especially and particularly when combined with bicycles. Added comfort and something resembling a real kitchen for those 24 hour races, instant event HQ and a supremely flexible holiday accomodation option. Want to do a roadtrip around the best Welsh, Scottish, English, or - in for a penny and all that - UK trails? Can't beat a campervan. All of which brings us neatly to the Earls Court Caravan and Outdoor Leisure Show (1-6 November, um, Earls Court). All the major manufacturers will be there, and there'll be the Towsure Accessory Superstore too, with loads of handy outdoor accessories on offer. Chuck in live outdoor cookery demonstrations, the Earls Court City Farm and - no, we're not making this up - the World Tent Pitching Championships and it has all the makings of an entertaining day out. Visit www.caravanshows.com for details and ticket bookings, or call 08701 288288.
Fancy a not-quite-new Santa Cruz bike? SC UK is selling off the demo bikes its been using at this year's events, dealer demos and so on. They're obviously a bit used, but they're fully serviced and have a full two-year frame warranty. And they're considerably cheaper than brand new ones... Details at www.santacruzbikes.co.uk/demo_sale/index.html.
Mixing bike and watersports action will be the Animal Poole WindFest (Sandbanks, Poole, 15-18 September). As well as the UK windsurfing freestyle final, Round 2 of the kiteboarding British Tour and the Slalom Challenge windsurfing race, the Super X National Championship and the F2 Spped Challenge, there'll be the Animal/Brawn Mountain Bike show featuring trials ace Martyn Ashton and an intriguing windsurf/kitesurf/MTB race between Kimmeridge Bay to Sandbanks - who can get from one to the other the fastest? Obviously the bikes have the advantage of being able to cut across country rather than go all the way along the coast, but (a) they're slower and (b) they might get held up waiting for the Sandbanks ferry...
Anyway, there'll be all sorts of other stuff - volleyball, kite flying, lots of kit to drool at, evening entertainments and, as tradition dictates, lots more. Get full details at www.poolewindfest.co.uk or www.animal.co.uk.
