John the Farmer aka Farmer John is throwing open his five barred gate to you lot for an udderly amazing race!

Words: Rod Fountain

With the World Champs out of the way and the final round of the World Cup at Hafjell looming you’re probably feeling one of two things: the urge to get your race face on or to be a noise making heckler at the side of a race track as you bellow ‘pedal!’ until your throat’s raw. Either way you can indulge those passions on the weekend of September 8th / 9th because farmer John’s throwing open his gate again to stage the one of the best celebrations of all things bike in the country.

Farmer John’s DH race / festival began as an underground, word of mouth, invite only affair but because the venue and vibe are pretty unique word got out until the secret was so badly kept that Red Bull got wind of it. They were at last year’s race with a vanload of lovely lasses and that Mini with the big can on the back but this year they’re stepping it up and bringing their pro race tent, PA and a lot of stacked fridges. Even better, their film crew are filming the whole weekend and the edit will be splashed all over their website meaning you won’t be able to lie about how big that feet up drift was.

Timing, as ever, is a professional affair by Naked Racing and there are some prizes worth hanging out for thanks to the generosity of Leisure Lakes, Fox, Hotlines, Hope, Orange and 247 plus anyone else that that wants to chuck something into the pot.

So, what are you in for if you’re lucky enough to secure your £35 registration (£30 for members of the club)? Well, you get a lot more than you would at most races, such as: a field of about 200 riders cheered on by 400 family members, significant others and injured mates in an actual field full of berms, doubles, drops, a Les Gets style ‘Shed booter’, Northshore, a road gap, plus some off camber, rocks and roots. Oh, and there’s a fancy dress (yup) night race too, sound-tracked not only by DJs but the happy screams from the Dirt Jump contest (weather permitting) and the shrieks as things go a bit wrong over by the airbag.

A cow. Get a moooove on and enter this udderly exciting race.

The camping’s free if you’re racing (a fiver if not) so you can celebrate your success or lick your wounds without the stress of having to rush off after the podiums. There’s catering on site all weekend so you don’t have to draw your race winning calories from Pot Noodles alone.

In the spirit of keeping it underground, which isn’t working out too well, you’ll need to use the buttons and keys to get an entry and directions.

On Facebook its fj mtb or you can call John himself on 07866470069, his wife Jilly on 07837704198 or series devotee Nick at Leisure Lakes Bury on 0161 797 5625 who can not only give you directions but also sell you some performance enhancing bits at the same time. The postcode is SK6 5EN.