Thursday evening saw the BBC8 team head for ‘The Kingdom of Fife’ and as they arrived at the event HQ in Glenrothes, the setting sun behind the Lomond Hills gave an outline of what was to come later in the event - the dreaded ‘Bimble Hill’.

The Bankhead Premier Inn at Glenrothes was the ‘HQ’ for BBC8 and from the outset, the staff were truly brilliant in supporting the team in every way possible with superb customer service and very generous donations of raffle prizes. The team found their ‘room buddy’ partners and settled in to the cosy accommodation; it was quite amusing seeing Clive and Smudge discussing where each could put their various moisturising creams and hair gels in their en-suite bathroom (Bouncy Bike has come a long way since the minging Drumnadrochit Hostel on BBC1!). Once everyone’s lycra smalls were put neatly away, the team met in the bar (how unusual) and the event ‘welcome and briefing’ ceremony began. Warm welcomes were extended to new bouncers Ishbel and Steven. In order to highlight and promote the chosen charity for BBC8, the team were ‘custom fitted’ with their very bright yellow ‘Meningitis Trust’ t-shirts which made the huddled assembly look like an inflatable life raft in the corner of the bar.

Saturday morning dawned with blue skies and mild temperatures as the team quietly and orderly (not) made for the ‘eat as much you like breakfast’. Finlay set the fire alarm off by trying to toast a 5-inch high croissant in a 3-inch gap toaster (typical electrician) and the restaurant staff had to slaughter a nearby herd of pigs to keep up with Alan and Steven’s appetite for bacon and sausages. Morag T had toasted rice cakes with honeyed couscous (cak or what). Finlay and Paul missed out on the second cup of coffee as they headed off and dropped the ‘support van’ at Ceres and then returned to find the team ‘patiently’ waiting for them by doing wheelies in the car park and slapping more vasaline on.

Team photo taken, the team mounted and set off on the Day One route and after about 300 metres got off their bikes to negotiate the ‘seven exit’ roundabout! Somehow the team escaped the near misses of Fife rush hour traffic and soon extricated themselves from the town. They soon found themselves on the pleasant cycle route leading across Balbirnie Viaduct and on to Markinch passing the old red brick Haig Whisky bottling plant. From Markinch, the route followed quiet county roads to the villages of Star and Burnturk before a ‘wee incline’ up Cults Hill where an excellent viewpoint provided stunning views north.

A deserved subsequent downhill section in warming sunshine led the team to Craigrothie. Here Steven suffered a puncture which was quickly sorted assisted by two small local children giving instructions to Smudge. Soon it was into the lovely Fife village of Ceres for a tea stop. Finlay’s chuck wagon was open for business and everyone gorged on flapjacks, oatcakes and choccy biscuits whilst Alan kept everyone amused with risqué jokes about rubber saddles and padded pants.

Suitably stuffed, the team set off minus Finlay and Smudge (aka Laurel & Hardy) who went to drop the support wagon at a later stage point. The next section led to Pitscottie and then through the gorgeous meandering valley of the River Eden with overhanging cliffs, lush vegetation and the babbling river to keep the bikers spellbound. A right turn at Dairsie Bridge brought the ‘spellbound bit’ to an abrupt halt as a ‘very nippy longish incline’ had to be overcome before Strathkinness. The view at the top was worth the effort as the sweaty bikers were rewarded with a panorama of the Firth of Tay, the North Sea, the St Andrews beaches and Pat changing her cycling shorts. So far so good as Morag C has not fallen off and broken anything and despite Ishbel being Norrie’s sister, she is actually really nice, chatty, witty and doesn’t consume buns and cakes like a JCB on heat. Strathkinness was the Day One route turning point as the team made a large and undulating upward manoeuvre to start heading back to HQ. Meeting up with Smudge and Finlay (who had missed out on a few miles…) the team sped on to the renowned Peat Inn restaurant where the Maitre D nearly fainted when sweaty Alan and Heather asked “got any crisps and nuts pal?” Needless to say, the team didn’t get in to the Inn and instead, continued on to ‘Finlay’s Mobile Food Fayre’ at the village of Woodside. A very heavy shower came on as the hungry bikers filled their faces and then tried to squeeze into the front seat of the van to keep dry at the same time; Ishbel, Heather and Pat on one of Finlay’s knees and Clive, Alan and Steven on the other. Morag and Morag sat under a bush and Smudge and Paul dutifully washed up and kept a weather watch. 

Waterproofs donned, the team peddled off for the final section of the day's route but after a few miles peeled off the waterproofs as the sun came streaming back out en route to Kennoway and the team got fantastic views south over the Firth of Forth, Bass Rock, Arthurs Seat and the Pentland Hills. From the busy wee town of Kennoway, the team cut across country back towards the village of Star. They then retraced their outward route through Markinch, Balbirnie and the seven headed roundabout to arrive back at the Event HQ in good time, good shape and in very good humour having cycled 43 miles and a couple of ‘steady inclines’. Finlay and Paul nipped back and recovered the support van whilst the rest of the team immersed themselves in hot baths suffused with ylang ylang and passion fruit essence (or Tetleys beer and crisps). Told you it was a nice place didn’t I?

The ‘banana bunch’ gathered for cocktails at 7pm and compared notes on the days cycling techniques and management of sore bits before sitting down together for the group dinner which was very excellent. The Day One quiz took place during the meal where team members are quizzed on various informative aspects of the Day One route; it was clear that the team had probably been cycling with their eyes half shut as the quiz results were pretty poor! Only quiz winners Alan and Steven proved that Bouncy Bikers can take in local knowledge whilst struggling up a hill on their bikes (or they might have just guessed well?). The eager team headed off to their respective rooms to press their kit for the next day and Clive and Smudge went off to dab each others rubbed bits. I did hear that Morag C and Finlay B popped back to the bar for a whisky nightcap and a large packet of scampi fries!

Day 2 arrived and as a special reward for being so good on Day One, the team were allowed an extra hour in bed. A warm and sunny day was developing outside as the team attacked the free for all breakfast menu like a combine harvester stuck on full crop. No-one lifted their head from the muesli trough as Finlay and Paul went off to drop the support van in place and their route out was the same as the bikers would be following. Finlay was sworn to secrecy on the type of ‘inclines’ that they would be taking but his pale sweaty face was a give away on return (which did worry the team a wee bit!). All raring to go, the team hit the road for Day 2 and slowly meandered west out of Glenrothes to pick up the excellent, well-designed, well-signed, purpose-built ‘Boblingden Way’ cycle route out of town. When the team found themselves passing the fish counter in the Co-op Superstore, it was clear that Paul may have taken a wrong turning… which of course he had. A minor re-route (2 miles) got the team back on track and of course no-one mentioned at all to Paul (Yeah right!).
 
On the town outskirts, the team gathered speed as they passed the lush golf course and Fife Airport but then soon slowed for the ‘wee incline’ up towards Auchmuirbridge. The top of the incline provided amazing views of Loch Leven and the Lomond Hills and also the chance to go for a pee. An excellent yeeha down section to the River Leven at Auchmuirbridge followed and then after a couple of miles of undulating route, the team arrived safely at the Findatie café on Loch Leven. This idyllic spot provided a welcome break in the sun and the team sat outside the café and enjoyed teas and coffee, buns and cakes, ice cream and lollies and of course rice cakes and couscous. Finlay bought everyone a Kojak lolly and Easter eggs!!!

Suitably refreshed, the team hit the next section which was a 5-mile cycle around the relatively new Loch Leven cycle track. This fantastic cycle and walking trail around the Loch is superbly constructed and a real quality route. Passing through the indigenous birch trees and crossing the River Leven the team were treated to glorious views of the Loch and the natural flora and fauna of the region and were really fortunate to glimpse, vaulting deer, swooning swans, greylag geese, beavers, voles, pine martens, giraffe, wildebeest, bison and a  pair of dogs called Bonzo and Mitzi. Unfortunately, there were a couple of rather large clouds of midges to pass through which did penetrate places where the sun doesn’t get. However, most of them got stuck to the 3-inch layer of vasaline everyone was wearing. At Burleigh Sands, the team met up with the dropped off support van and within seconds were gorging as ever – hungry work this biking malarkey! The next section led through a small community wood (which had a wee steep ramp at the end which became a team challenge to ‘get up in one’) and then followed the old railway line through the countryside towards the Lomond foothills. Picking up the rural unclassified Inveralmond road, the team literally flew along the descending road under Bishop Hill towards Strathmiglo. An interim ‘route test’ to see if the team had actually read the emails and maps showed no-one had as they were all quite prepared to leave the road and follow a vertical farm track straight up the hill; it was fun to see the faces though! Through Strathmiglo, the lycra machine turned right then left to reach the village of Dunshalt and then soon arrived in the historic hamlet of Falkland with its amazing palace and beautiful buildings.

The team spread out on the village green by the Stag Inn in warm sunshine and, knowing what was to come on the final section, began the individual mental, physical and spiritual preparations for ‘The Bimble Hill’. These preparations are different for everyone and may include: prayer, chanting, yoga, yoghurt, meditation, mediation, alcohol, rice cakes, vasaline, sleep, wailing and offering abuse/violence against the event organiser. Suitably prepared, and leaving the locals a little shocked, it was game on.

This year's Bimble Hill was a 1000ft steady climb over 2.5 miles starting from Falkland and passing between the hills of East and West Lomond to reach Ballo Reservoirs. It was a hard, hot, horrible, hunched ascent but every single team member achieved it and the time taken for all to summit was very, very, very impressive indeed. At the top, once everyone had finished retching and replacing certain body parts, the views over ‘The Kingdom Fife’ were ‘stunning’ and the team could clearly see where the BBC8 adventure had taken them. They could also see where the nearby Glenrothes HQ was – far below them. The team spent a few minutes tightening up their bikes and kit, taking on supplementary oxygen and putting on their G-Suits before ‘the descent’. The effort to get up was well worth it as the 2.5 mile descent to sea level was without doubt a ‘yeeha’ and a half. Dropping like a pair of vasaline coated used lycra padded cycle short in the shower room the team plummeted homeward. The speed of descent was most impressive with Steven and Pat topping out at 42 mph and the g-forces made a number of the team’s faces look a lot better than normal! Regrouping in Leslie, the happy team meandered through the village to meet up with the ‘Boblingden Way’ cycle route and after crossing the impressive Leslie Viaduct retraced their route back to the HQ – 40 miles on Day 2 plus ‘The Bimble Hill’.

There was obviously a great atmosphere at the finish and the teams hard efforts on BBC8 for ‘The Meningitis Trust’ were clearly put into true perspective and meaning when Pat courageously told everyone about her son Ian who had tragically died from Meningitis as a baby. Suddenly the pain was all worth it – thank you Pat.

Finlay and Paul recovered the van whilst the team underwent a ‘deep clean’ both externally and internally. Meeting for cocktails at 7pm, the team looked fresh, clean, weathered, smelling nice and dressed very bonny albeit everyone was sitting side- saddle on the bar stools. The ‘Event Presentation’ took place with everyone receiving their coveted ‘event certificate’ and a Meningitis Trust lapel badge. Finlay was given the team’s sincere thanks and a ‘wee goody bag’ for kindly supplying the support van and for all his wonderful generosity. The legendary ‘Bouncer of the Year’ award went to Morag Corrigan who had demonstrated ‘amazing courage, fortitude and sheer guts’ to get back on a bike after her serious accident on BBC7 and then to complete BBC8 – a well deserved award. The BBC AGM followed including the induction ceremony for Ishbel and Steven and then the team enjoyed the event dinner with the Day 2 quiz winners being Clive and Smudge who just pipped the rest with their witty caption competition answer. Team bonding and discussions on gear ratios and chain ring teeth options went on to the wee small hours…

Sunday morning saw a more leisurely breakfast which lasted for approx 2 hours whilst we waited for Smudge to come out of the children’s soft play area. There was an unexpected sadness from a few folk who clearly wanted to do another day of biking – maybe next year? The team departed with the sure and warm knowledge that: BBC8 had been one of the best BBCs to date; the Kingdom of Fife was a fantastic place to visit on a bike; Ishbel and Steven were great newcomers; Premier Inns are here to stay for Event HQs; Bimble Hill was really ‘a skoosh’; The Meningitis Trust was a great charity to support and one that was close to heart; Bouncy Bike Challenge is pretty good fun really.

Sincere thanks go to: The Meningitis Trust, Bankhead Premier Inn, Finlay Binnie Ltd, Margaret & Graham Harris (Ardchattan Solutions), all who sponsored and donated to the BBC8 team and especially - the amazing BBC8 Team.

Paul - The Controller of the BBC