Kendal mountain bike festival

THIS year's mountain biking festival is set to round off an awesome season here in Cumbria with the announcement that Mark Beaumont will be on the list. The record-breaking round the world cyclist will be speaking on Saturday 22 November as part of the mountain film and lecture festival which runs from the 20-23 November.

The man who cycled the world: Mark Beaumont on Sat 22 November at 11am at the Leisure Centre £12.00

Mark Beaumont tackled the 1038 miles from John O'Groats to Lands End and completed his first solo ride when he was 15. After graduating from Glasgow University in Economics and Politics Mark decided to follow his dream and spent a year planning and training to become the fastest person to cycle round the world. On Friday 15th February at 1530, he completed his 18,000 miles circumnavigation of the globe by bicycle and arrived back at the Arc de Triomphe 194 days and 17 hours after leaving there on 5th August 2007.

The total distance cycled was 18,297 miles through 20 countries. Mark broke the standing Guinness World Record by a margin of 81 days.

Bike Night is also selling out fast. It will feature all the tears from the trails of Tracy Moseley, Andy Hopkins and Pauline Sanderson.

Kendal Bike Night Tracy Moseley, Andy Hopkins and Pauline Sanderson on Thu 20 November at 7.30pm at the Town Hall tickets priced £11.00. Tickets for the Kendal Mountain Festival Bike Night are £11, and £12 for Mark Beaumont's talk.

Full Festival details (and online booking) at www.mountainfilm.co.uk, or call Kendal's Brewery Arts box office on 01539 725133.

The Mountain Bike night promises to be packed with lung bursting adrenaline mountain bike action that would wow any enthusiast.

The evening kicks off with Pauline Sanderson presenting her ‘Longest Climb on Earth’ going from the lowest point possible on earth to the highest point possible in one continuous journey. She has cycled over 8,000km from the Dead Sea and then climbed Mt Everest.

If you want to find out more about the highs and lows of being a downhill mountain bike racer, get your questions ready for Tracey Moseley’s Q+A Session. Tracey is the World Downhill Champion who you will be able to quiz about the highlights of her career.

If you can’t get enough of the trail parks, Andy Hopkins will be telling some Tales of The Trails from the 7Stanes offering a fascinating insight into how trail builders can create courses that offer you adrenaline packed days on technical single track. In between lectures we will be featuring the best in the latest biking films from downhill, freeride to discovering some of the worlds remotest regions.

This years bike night is set to be a high octane adrenaline packed evening not too be missed The action will be kicking off at Kendal's Brewery Arts and venues around Kendal. Both events feature as part of a cram packed line up with a variety of films and lectures to suit all tastes.

 The event is not exclusively about mountain biking by any means with plenty of other inspiring tales from the mountains. Here's the pick of the rest:

 If You Fall Karen darke Sat 22 November 08 10.00am Venue - Town Hall £7.50 Karen became paraplegic in a climbing accident 15 years ago, a fall that also broke her skull, neck, ribs and arms…but being disabled doesn’t mean the end of adventure and Karen is a firm believer of “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger” (Friedrich Neitzsche). She has since hand-biked over the Himalayas, sea kayaked the Inside Passage from Canada to Alaska, skied across the Greenland icecap and climbed El Capitan. In her talk “If You Fall”, Karen will share stories of the cold white horizons of the Arctic, and her return to climbing, culminating in the sheer vertical terror of one of the world’s greatest big walls.


Mountain Photographer Doug Scott Fri 21 November 08 2.00pm (90 mins) Venue: BAC Theatre £10.00 With the first ascent of Everest’s South West Face and over forty-five major or first ascents in the Himalaya and Greater Ranges to his credit, Doug Scott is regarded as one of the greatest mountaineers of all time. During a lifetime spent amongst the world’s most spectacular and extreme places, Doug has always carried a camera - his photography is as stunning as his climbing has been ground breaking. Largely self-taught, he has developed an intuitive style that captures the essence of the mountain world and the spirit of the people who both live and travel there.

Kendal Ski and Board Night - Part 1 Graham Bell and Neil McNab Fri 21 November 08 5.30pm Venue - BAC Theatre £10.00 Snowsport night at Kendal is always a sell-out. This year promises to be equally popular with an eclectic mix of ski and board, film and lecture, all spiced up with appearances from top snowsport athletes. Sponsored by Ski Magazine, the night plays out in two halves: at 1730 the night will be opened by Graham Bell of Ski Sunday. From then until 1915 we feature the very best in this year’s ski and boarding films, alongside Neil McNab mountain guide, champion snowboarder and all roung action hero. Tickets for the Kendal Mountain Festival Bike Night are £11, and £12 for Mark Beaumont's talk.

 Full Festival details (and online booking) at www.mountainfilm.co.uk, or call Kendal's Brewery Arts box office on 01539 725133.