Eastgate 8 Returns

It’s with much delight that we bring back the 8 hour xc mountain bike race in the Weardale valley. The Eastgate 8 was held once before when the Hammers 8 planned at Hamserley Forest had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. It turned out to be a rain filled day where bikes and riders ended up with a kind of all over luxury mud treatment. It did prove a few vital points:

• An open hillside location can work.
• The trails turned out to be incredibly weather proof.
• There is a lot of scope for course design without fixed restrictions.
• It’s not subject to the massive fee increase from Forestry England.

The Eastgate 8 shares it’s location with the Northern Downhill Eastgate TT, a downhill based event that has a reputation for some high speed and technical riding. The 8 hour gig will use aspects of this same course so riders can expect to have their skills tested along with their lungs. The two events will run back to back with the 8 hour ride on the Saturday and the gravity event on the Sunday. Camping is available for anyone travelling from distance and wants to save themselves some setting up time on the day of the race.

The Eastgate 8 sits as one of four cross country races in the Cold Brew Events calendar. The full schedule being:

• 13th August – Deadwater 100
• 17th September – Eastgate 8
• 15th October – Chiller 24
• 20th November – Hammers 8

We hope this provides enough opportunities for people to get stuck into some proper racing or even just riding amongst like minded people and having fun. The worst part of the pandemic for us was not being able to mix with people who shared the same values. We just wanted to get into the outdoors, deliver high quality races and create some new memories and experiences. Fingers crossed we can get back to that in 2022.