Glastonbury Festival Cycling

[eTim]

Has anyone cycled to/around/inside the festival?

I'm off next Wednesday to Glastonbury festival, working my ticket for a friend that runs a food stall, 6 hour shifts each day then free to do what I like

As a Glasto virgin (camped at Reading Rock festival a few times) I've been working on a strategy for getting in and out and avoiding the queues (I've heard horrendous stories of the queues to get in and out). Drive to a small village around 4-6 miles away and park down a quiet residential street (I've already identified this bit). Pull the Haibike out of the back of the car, don a large rucsac with all my gear in and cycle to the festival through the back roads and enter through a vehicle or pedestrian gate, the bike will take the strain, google maps and streetview are the best when it comes to this kind of route finding.

Because the site is so large I will attempt to do some cycling around the place, should be interesting, the feedback I have received so far is that cycling is difficult due to the crowds and mud (if it rains, which it will do), but I can't see it slowing me down when on electric

As I'm a member of staff, we get a secure camping compound, toilets and lock-up (not sure about showers yet). We are located in the centre of the site so I can drop the bike there, nice and secure. My friend has all the electricity, food and water that I need in his setup.

For the general public, this year they are introducing green initiatives to encourage people to arrive by public tranport and bicycle (and ditch the car), some info is here (I'm guessing if you are going you already know this).....

Glastonbury Festivals - Information - By bike

It's great that they are encouraging people to cycle with some small rewards for doing so, even better that they have a dedicated secure bicycle lock-up and camping field, all the general lock-ups appear to be well organised where you can leave anything of value. So if you are watching any of it on TV, look out for man on electric Haibike, I can't wait.

I've had to take 5 days off work to do this, one of which includes a recovery day at the end, I think I'll need it

 

[flecc]

I'm sure I remember 50cycles were there a couple of years or so ago with e-bikes, and it was one of the very muddy years. It didn't stop their e-bikes though, which kept running through the weekend.

Hopefully Tim or Scott will post about their experiences there.

 

[Tim]

Yes, that's right, back in the mudfest of 2007, I'll dust off some pictures. We're going this year as well, more information and photographs to follow.

 

[Marchant]

I would have loved to have taken an ebike on the occasions I played Glastonbury cos it's a long way from the car park to the stage, but I don't think I could have carried all the equipment on it. And in 2005 the mud was WAY too deep...

 

[Tim]

Did you take it in, eTim?
I arrived Friday morning, amid the thick gloopy mud and grey clouds so I decided not to cycle in. But I did move all our stuff to our campsite in my son's Burley trailer, and then towed everything back using a Pro Connect s on Monday morning, which was brilliant. I saw a couple turn up on a pair of tiny BMXs on Saturday morning muttering "this was a terrible idea" - I hope it worked out for them when the mud dried out on Sunday.

Great festival, shame it's 2 years until the next one.

 

[eTim]

Yes, I arrived on Wednesday morning and got absoloutely soaked on the way in, took me about 45 mins to cycle the 6 miles from the car, through the gates to the centre of it all, I zipped past the cars and pedestrians and I guess they had at least a 2 hour queue to get in. The mud had really just got started but I cycled through it OK and across fields with big puddles. I was spattered with mud like I'd been on a mountain bike ride.

I did'nt use the bike throughout the festival because of the mud, mainly because I would just be covered even more in the stuff. I didn't really have much need anyway as I was living between the Pyramid and Other stage, so the bike stayed locked up in our market area. By the time I left on Monday alot of the mud had dried, but there was still enough to have a play in and my fellow co-workers had a play on the bike also. It took me 30 mins to cycle back to the car with all my gear, I had to chuckle at the bottom of the 'hill of death' at the East exit as there was a guy with a mountain of gear on a trolley asking people for help carrying it up the hill. I just zipped by and up the hill in a flash of selfish smugness as I put the bike on full power.

The queues to get in and out of the festival were miles long so it was worth taking the bike for that reason alone, if it was drier it might have been used a bit more. I think next time I go I won't work it and just pay for my ticket, it was too much hard work to enjoy properly although I still had a great time

Next time I'll go in my caravan and cycle in each day (mud allowing). A great festival, very friendly, lots of bands, circus acts, comedy and wierd stuff, a bargain for the amount of entertainment you get.