Want to score yourself a free ticket to Bestival 2018 while raising money for our Earn-a-Bike programme, all from the comfort of your bicycle seat? Our good friends at the Door & Rivet Café have teamed up with Rob da Bank’s famous festival to offer an awesome two-day supported bike ride to the festival for 30 seasoned Bristol cyclists who want to reduce their travel emissions to the festival.

The only requirements are a good level of fitness, advanced cycling experience and a road-worthy bike – which you can pick up from our shop in Stokes Croft. Pop to check out the fully serviced second-hand bikes we have for sale!

‘We’re always going to love people who really put the effort in to make it to the party, so Bike to Bestival gets us all very excited,’ says festival founder Rob da Bank. ‘This pro-rider Bristol leg is raising money for two brilliant charities, so there’s plenty of opportunity for all you adventurous Bestival types. So, bust out your spandex and saddle up to support some great causes on your way to our Jurassic Coast knees-up.’

If the opportunity to take part in this beautiful ride wasn’t enough, the 30 successful entrants will also receive special reserved camping along with a ticket for the festival on 2-5th August, as well as a Bike to Bestival t-shirt and support from the Bestival team to set up and promote their fundraising pages.

The campaign follows last year’s successful Bournemouth to Bestival cycle-ride, with the West Country chapter now being organised by the wonderful Door & Rivet Café in Stokes Croft.

This year, the Bournemouth ride will be raising money for the mental health charity CALM, while all the money raised from the Bristol ride will go to The Bristol Bike Project.

James Lucas, co-founder of The Bristol Bike Project says ‘It’s fantastic to see Bestival taking the initiative to organise a ride to Bestival, getting more people on the saddle and reducing their environmental impact. We’re stoked that our good friends at Door & Rivet are organising the Bristol ride, and that the money raised will support our Earn-a-Bike programme helping marginalised people from across our city get out on two wheels.’

Simon Gunning, CEO of CALM, says the ride will help to highlight the benefits cycling and general fitness have on those struggling with mental health issues. ‘We’re wishing all riders well and look forward to championing CALM at Bestival 2018. Events like this allow CALM to raise awareness of the fact that suicide is the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK. Cycling is of huge benefit to general wellbeing on top of physical fitness and can be especially powerful when groups come together to take on a collective challenge.’

The ride from Bristol will begin on Wednesday 1 August with a stopover at a campsite en route, arriving at the festival on Thursday 2 August. Bestival marshals will accompany riders, but it is a tough route and only experienced applicants can be considered. Participants for each ride will be required to pay a £50 administration fee and raise a minimum of £200 for The Bristol Bike Project.

Registration closes on 25th April and successful applicants will be notified by 1st May. Interested riders can make their applications here or head to bestival.net for more information.

Cyclist Kiall Douglas Wheatley of Door & Rivet Café in Stokes Croft is a previous Bristol Bike Project volunteer who will be helping to raise money for the project.