Pics © Steve Toze

Dates for the Kona Bikefest series have been confirmed today, with the Bristol Bikefest taking place on 7-8 June and the Cheddar Bikefest on 27-28 September.

Last year over 2,000 riders attended the events, with the relaxed atmosphere and challenging courses proving a big draw. The Bristol Bikefest has been running for some years, with 2007 seeing it joined by the freshly-revived Kona Cheddar Bikefest run by the same organising team.

7-8 June 2008 - Ashton Court, Bristol

The course will remain unchanged from last year, with a 10km route around the Ashton Court estate. Following the same format as last year, Saturday will see teams and solo riders competing in the 12 hour event, while Sunday is set for the 6 hour event.

Both days are aimed at the experienced rider as well as the newcomer. Both days will have solo, pairs and teams of four categories. All team sizes can be entered in the competitive, fun or singlespeed category. There are mixed teams in the running as well.

Besides the race action there'll be a great musical line-up, with live music and DJs running from early evening, late into the night on Friday and Saturday. On top of that there will be an extended food village and a colourful event village with a broad selection of the latest bikes and kit.

Last year the event was oversubscribed, and the organisers are expecting an even bigger turnout this year. To avoid disappointment make sure that you get your entry in as soon as possible. The first 350 riders will get a free limited edition Kona Bristol Bikefest '08 t-shirt and all entries received before the 1 May get free camping so get in quick as it fills up fast. Space is limited at the event, as anyone who's tried to get a van on to the camping field anytime after Friday evening will testify.

27-28 September 2008 - Broadway House Caravan Park, Cheddar

More than 800 riders enjoyed the successful rebirth of the Cheddar Challenge in the form of the Kona Cheddar Bikefest in 2007 and helped to put the Kona Cheddar Bikefest firmly on the UK events map.

The unique location, the demanding yet enjoyable course and the same relaxed atmosphere which made the Bristol event so popular made the Kona Cheddar Bikefest the ideal season roundup.

The 2008 event will return with a reworked course and with an even bigger and better event village setup. We are currently working on a rather substantial extension of the course. The plan for 2008 is to keep the basic structure and all of the old favourite Cheddar bits while extending the loop and reducing the severity of the main climb.

The event will also grow in duration, with the Saturday event running for 10 rather than eight hours, thus introducing a hint of night riding to the last few laps. Sunday will get a bit longer too, going from four to five hours, plus there'll be a three-hour Novice event running alongside.

With the extra couple of hours on Saturday, the night time trial will be moved moved to Friday evening (start and, more importantly, finish outside the bar) allowing all the keen racers and night riding enthusiasts to check out the course under race conditions with the extra challenge to ride it in complete darkness.

All the details on both events including downloadable entry forms can be found on the updated Bikefest website www.bike-fest.com.