In 2021 I had the pleasure of attending the Adventure Bike Rider Festival at Ragley Hall. I caught up with friends, enjoyed a few beverages containing yeast and, of course, got covered in dirt a few times tearing up (riding sensibly on) the awesome adventure trail. While the event was enjoyable, there was room for improvement, notably the long queues for food and drink causing some frustration.

As the 2022 Festival promised to be ‘bigger and better’ with an additional 2500 attendees, concerns lingered about whether the event might become too corporate and overcrowded. I initially hesitated to buy a ticket. Was this event just going to be yet another over-hyped bike show to rob me of a few pennies without delivering anything of worth?

Upgrade that to ‘absolutely not.’ ABR took heed of the feedback and upped their game, making the 2022 Adventure Bike Rider Festival, in my humble opinion, nothing short of excellent! The event felt significantly larger, but this expansion translated to a better overall experience. Everything was appropriately scaled up to accommodate the extra punters. There was a plethora of food stalls, more manageable bar queues, and an entertainment lineup keeping the crowd thoroughly engaged.

If you’re curious about the specific attendees then I’ll let you Google it. Notably, YouTube sensation Ryan from Fortnine garnered a lot of hype, and word on the street is that Joey Evans delivered absolutely killed it. While I couldn’t attend many talks myself due to being occupied with ‘Ollie Moto stuff,’ I did manage to catch a couple, a highlight being the inspiring travel tales shared by that Poskitt fella.

This time I was there purely as a punter, which was awesome. I camped with some mates from the Ex Forces Facebook Group, most of whom were in high ‘spirits’ when I arrived late on Friday and didn’t really sober up for the duration of the event. The weekend was filled with reunions with people I hadn’t seen in a while, resulting in many ideas for future adventures. I also explored the various stalls, successfully managing to keep most of my money in my wallet.

Additionally, my Nepal film played at the Adventure Travel Film Festival section. I even introduced it at one point, though my attempt at speaking was a bit of a mumbled mess. While public speaking usually presents no dramas for me, I was surprisingly still quite hungover at 3 o’clock in the afternoon! Oh, and not to forget, I hit the trail and captured the adventure on film. You can watch it here.

Honestly, this segment is the primary reason behind penning down this blog entry, as the amount of you who took a moment to stop and have a chat was just bloody fantastic. I want to be clear – I am no biking celebrity, nor do I harbor any aspirations to become one. However, I was genuinely surprised by the multitude of people who recognised me and wanted to chat about my videos and adventures. Creating this content demands a significant investment of time and effort, so it’s just cool to see that people genuinely care. Thanks a bunch, legends.

As you read this, tickets for the 2023 ABR Festival will be available. I’m gearing up to be there, so make sure you grab a ticket or two, and I’ll catch you there!

Ciao for now! Ollie.