DUKES WEEKENDER 2022: ABERFOYLE & TROSSACHS COMMUNITY INFORMATION.
Hi Everyone,
So Dukes Weekender is back for 2022, this year Bike Trossachs have taken the organising reins and again we’ve got a few updates to let you all know about!
On the 10th and 11th of September, the 4th edition of The Dukes Weekender will be happening here in Aberfoyle and the surrounding forest. With things finally coming together for the event we wanted to give you all some background information and the weekend schedule. Our aim is to make it even better than last year and we’re encouraging as many locals as possible to get involved!
However, as with any major local event we also have some logistics to deal with and aspects of the event that will obviously impact on normal proceedings in the village and surrounding area. With that in mind we wanted to let everyone know the details of the event and the plans we have in place to accommodate both locals and visitors during the event weekend. We hope it doesn’t affect anyone too much and that the event is positive for everyone in the community but if you have any questions then please do get in touch at info@dukesweekender.com.
TIME FOR A CHANGE
After 3 years of running the event it’s in great shape. This year will see around 600 riders get on their bikes over the weekend. Community has always been at the heart, and over the past few years a group of locals have revitalised Bike Trossachs CIC, our local community group with the mission to enable and promote cycling in our area. We are part of the group, but importantly it’s much bigger than just us and we believe in the vision. With that in mind we’ve passed the operation of the event over to Bike Trossachs CIC for 2022 and into the future.
Dukes will now be a true community event to its very core. Profit will be invested into local cycling projects. From the local schools projects, to Gravelfoyle trails, accessibility, infrastructure and the local bike park. Bike Trossachs has ambitious plans and Dukes will play a huge part in that. This isn’t goodbye as we are still involved. However, this move gives the event the people, infrastructure and scale to continue to grow and flourish.
This year the event will run over the weekend of the 10th/11th September. We do this deliberately outside summer season and make it a 2-day event on the basis that participants come to the area and stay to enjoy the hospitality and ultimately it has a positive impact on the local economy.
EVENT VILLAGE - ABERFOYLE CAR PARK
As in previous years, one of our goals is to make an ‘Event Village’ in Aberfoyle. This is to make more of a ‘festival’ atmosphere for those not competing, allowing riders to bring friend and family to enjoy the day and also giving locals (kids in particular) some things to see and get involved with. Within this area we’re bringing an amazing kids pump track. If you’re not familiar with the term it is basically a small BMX track that will be available to kids and adults to ride all weekend free of charge (see the photos to get an idea of what is involved).
In addition to this we’ll have several cycling brands - Endura, Cervelo, Santa Cruz, Reserve Wheels, Komoot, Deuter, NukeProof and WTB/Hotlines. Alongside this will be family focused fun such as face painting, outdoor activities and several community focused stalls.
We are expecting a significant number of attendees and spectators this year so the town will be buzzing… Please tell all your friends and family and get them along! This is such a great weekend out for the whole family!
In order to have enough space, we’re using a section of the public car park behind the Forth Inn to create the 'Event Village'. This will be from the Saturday morning until the event finale on Sunday night. While we will be taking up some parking spaces in the car park to account for this, we have made additional car parking arrangements across the river (details below) to account for competitors this year and allow the rest of the public car park for other visitors to the village. The council are involved to assist with logistics and any redirections for vehicles/buses. If you have any questions please do get in touch to info@dukesweekender.com
GRAVELFODDER
We deliberately do not use outside catering to encourage footfall towards local businesses, so get involved and let’s get everyone fed and watered while they are here! New for this year is Gravelfodder….this is the ‘event currency’ that all full weekend competitors (350 plus) will be given to ‘spend’ in local businesses that have agreed to take part. This is a voucher scheme redeemable to Bike Trossachs post-event that promotes local food outlets. We have had a great up-take so far so please let us know asap if you’d like to be involved.
PARKING/CAMPING - MAIN CAR PARK & MANSE ROAD FIELD
As the majority of participants coming to the event are for the full weekend we’ve had to plan for this with additional parking and on-site camping from Friday - Sunday. We have kindly been permitted to use the field across the river by Manse Road.
We have issued letters to those nearby on Manse Road with all the details of our plans... We’re using a pre-booking system this year to manage the amount of campers on this site. There will also be additional camping available at Dounans, local accommodation has again filled up very quickly for the event. The camping area is being restricted to the north end of the field by the river. There will be toilets provided for those camping on-site. We will also be supervising the bridge crossing to ensure safe pedestrian access during busy periods.
KIDS GRAVEL ENDURO
On Saturday morning we have the Kids Gravel Enduro leaving from the Event Village. This is a great, fun event for children from 8-14 yar olds (to let them get a feel for what the full Dukes has in store for everyone else!) The route is local to the village so there is plenty of opportunity for spectators to get out into the forest to cheer on (your) friends. There are a few entries left so get your entry in quickly to take part.
ENDURA GRAVEL HILLCLIMB
Saturday’s main event is the Endura Hillclimb. We have kept the race on the gravel in the forest again, given the fantastic feedback from both racers and spectators alike. We’ve also got a bar with soft drinks too, Taiko Drumming will be building the atmosphere with their fantastic skills and new for this year, we have the amazing Achray Farm Goat Ice Cream truck on Kids Corner.
If you haven’t experienced the hillclimb before we’d absolutely love you to come along. The atmosphere is electric and the hill truly comes alive with a carnival atmosphere. We’ll have around 350 riders of all levels competing (which makes it by far the biggest of it’s type in Scotland) and plenty of locals too so bring your rattles, cow bells, and all other noise-making devices (the more inventive the better) to help kick the atmosphere up a notch. The local primary schools have also designed some posters and banners to display so come and check those out too!
We will try to send riders back down the same route to assist you in making a whole heap of noise, but if they’ve spent all their energy, we will be directing them from the crossroads to the Dukes Pass, so please be mindful that there may be increased bike traffic coming down the hill on the Saturday.
The hill climb route will be very busy from at least 3pm until 6pm, so if you are planning on walking the NCN7 route or using it as a link to the rest of the forest, with or without a furry friend, then expect it to be very noisy and slow going. We’d maybe suggest picking a different route if you’d prefer a bit of calm for your late afternoon wander.
SUNDAY’S GRAVEL ENDURO
Sunday sees our ‘Gravel Enduro’, this is a primarily social event where riders ride 75km around the local forest. The route takes a figure of 8 direction with riders first heading West/North West before coming back through Aberfoyle and then heading out North. For the majority of the route participants will be riding socially however, the competitive element of the event comes in the form of 6 short timed stages at sections around the route. These will be well sign posted and we will have marshals on hand.
Access-wise, there will be very little impact on locals. For safety reasons, we'll be closing short sections of trails for the event on the Sunday only, the trails closed that are local to the village will be:
A section by Loch Chon and Loch Arklet
A short section of the Statute Labour forest road above Kinlochard
A Short section off the main route in the 3 Lochs Forest Drive
The Glen Arklet Old Military Path by Loch Arklet
All other trails and forest roads remain open. The closest stage to the village will be out at Garbeg Hill, starting and finishing on the main Duchray road (it’s not on Duchray road) so if you're out and about then go and give the riders a cheer!
SCHEDULE: SATURDAY 10TH SEPTEMBER
10am-1.30pm Children's Enduro: Open to riders aged 8-14 we're giving kids a taste of 'Enduro'. A 17km loop heading out towards Cobleland, Gartmore and back to Aberfoyle. This will have 4 timed 'stages' where the kids will race as fast as they can. Entries through our website if you'd like to get your kids tired out on a Saturday!
All Day: Pumptrack and Demo Bikes: As above, the pumptrack and demo bikes (kids and adults) will be setup and run all weekend. This will all be free of charge and run all weekend from Saturday morning so bring the kids, family and friends down to try it out! Family fun with face painting & community stands so plenty to keep children entertained.
Endura Gravel Hillclimb 3pm - 6pm – NC7 route from waterfall below The Lodge: As above… If you didn’t get to see this last year then make sure it’s in the diary for this year… What an atmosphere! Bring your whistles/drums/banners etc. We’ll have Achray Farm Icecream and a Bar to keep everyone refreshed!
SUNDAY 11TH SEPTEMBER
All Day - Kids BMX/Pumptrack and Demo Bikes: Again the BMX track and kids demo bikes will be available all day in the centre of the village so come back and let the kids try it out again! Family fun with face painting and community stands from Go Ape, RSPB, Trash Free Trails and Forestry Land Scotland so plenty to keep children entertained.
8am - 6pm Gravel Enduro Event.
That about covers it we hope... thank you to all the locals who have been so supportive in helping us make this event a reality. We truly hope it is positive for the community. Once it's all done and dusted we'll have a beer, gather some thoughts from everyone and see how it all went.
Cheers
The Bike Trossachs CIC team