Saturday saw adult riders battle the rain and mud to complete a 25-mile course with eight stages all in aid of the Great North Air Ambulance Service. They were supported by an event village which had sprung up in the heart of the forest thanks to the hard work of the Beast volunteers and the team from Wet Rock n Ride bike shop in Hartlepool. The riders were fuelled by local pop-ups from Barista Sisters hot drinks, Chicken Ting food and Caps Off brewery.
Sunny Sunday was the kids’ turn to show how it’s done in the one- or two-stage Hammers Jam, with volunteer organisers and marshals from the Hamsterley Trailblazers charity, who support track maintenance, trail building and offer kids’ MTB coaching sessions.
Fiona and Gary Ewing from Inspiral Cycles, Bishop Auckland’s independent bicycle shop, and Trailblazers members for 20 years, were proud to hand out bumper prize bags to the 25 fastest young riders of the day, supported by some international bike brands. Fiona remarked, “All the kids were beaming from ear to ear with their race times. Whether they were 5 or 15, it was the first opportunity many have had to compete in a ‘proper’ event, with electronic race timings and a professional photographer capturing their achievements in over two thousand action shots. It’s been great event and we hope to return again next year”.
The Beast was also an opportunity for Gary to show off his own mountain bike brand, Auckland Cycle Works. Named in honour of the 1890s bicycle works in the town, a subsidiary of the Lingford Gardiner Company iron foundry and engine works, Gary saw two of his Marra full suspension mountain bikes racing in the Beast event – one powered by his own legs and the other by talented local rider, Jamie Sharp. Jamie clinched fastest time of the day on two of the challenging stages and Gary was proud with second place in his age category, with the chair of Hamsterley Trailblazers, Alex Talks, in first.
Gary said, “It has taken nearly four years since patenting my prototype full suspension system to build some top-quality race-worthy mountain bikes which are competing with the best brands out there. It was great to see Jamie racing the Marra and we have many more events over the Summer where people can get to watch the bike race up close and understand how it works. It was a great way to round off national Local Bike Shop Week and a wonderful opportunity for Inspiral Cycles.”.
Bishop Auckland's local community newspaper.
South West Durham News covering news across County Durham.
