What a day! Voxwomen x dhb #BigDayOut

I'd tried to go to the Big Day Out before, but the other Mrs Severn Belles is all "New Forested out" and wouldn't come. So this year when Voxwomen ran their teaser on Twitter I was somewhat excited, knowing that I'd be able to drag some Belles along instead. I didn't quite expect the following day's announcement that the event would be a boutique day for just thirty lucky women, sponsored by our favourite clothing brand dhb and therefore be completely free! That made it a total no-brainer, and a far easier sell to the rest of the Belles. Somehow 4 of us were successful in the ballot, and plans were underway for Belles on Tour!

On arrival at the venue (the glorious New Park Manor Hotel) we racked our bikes and were greeted with a warm welcome to a tipi which was already a-buzz. The freebies started to flow immediately with a dhb Moda jersey each, Rawvelo nutrition, and a Precision Hydration bidon. Hands full, we settled down with pastries and coffee and started to contribute to the excited hubbub whilst the other guests arrived.

The Girl Power was evident the moment hostess Hannah Walker lifted the mike (sorry Ant!). The whole day had a real Belles vibe, but on a much bigger scale. Laughter flowed almost immediately, and it was obvious we were among friends. Hannah introduced fellow ride leader and ex-pro Jessie Walker (no relation, but OK to share a mike because they're in a bubble) and between them they assured us that there was no limit to one's career - even up to your mid- thirties...! Jessie (World Champion's good luck charm, twice) then saved the day by telling us her Grandad is still aiming to get the 10 mile title for his age group at 92, so perhaps there is still time for us to shine.

His thunder was almost immediately stolen, however, when the dhb ambassadors were introduced and Vera Ngosi revealed that in 3 weeks time she faces a 1,300 mile Ultra Endurance event, having started cycling 4 years ago 'by accident', stoking a tandem across Wales. The audience looked astonished, and when Hannah enquired about the route and Vera revealed it consisted of Cornwall and Wales, her jaw too dropped - 30,000 METRES of climb! I think the look on Hannah's face might have made the penny drop for Vera. Sav Morgan and Amy Roberts bemoaned having to try to follow Vera, but heading off into the unknown Belgian cobbles as a teenager or playing domestique to Elisa Longo Borghini and Giorgia Bronzini make for pretty inspiring life stories if you ask me.

Then it was time to don our jerseys, take the team photo (cue more hilarity) and run through a quick M check (not M for Mel, honest) before hitting the road in two groups, and taking that vibe out on the roads of the New Forest, and down to see the sea. A Strava comment from a male cyclist we encountered at the seaside is telling; "Nice speaking to you briefly down at Lepe today, great to see so many women out on their bikes enjoying themselves and a nice change to see so many smiling faces on the road". Yep. That's how we roll, when girls ride en masse we have FUN! We may be a bit loud, but it's clear to everyone that we're ENJOYING ourselves.

We returned (melting slightly) to a Jimmy's Iced Coffee and a chilled towel (thank you Precision Hydration) and, after a helpful, and hilarious, stretching session with Sarah Cormack , a divine cream tea. We were then treated to an incredibly informative talk on the three levers of nutrition and hydration from Abby of PH and a Q&A with Tara and Steph from dhb. If that wasn't enough we were waved off with the most wonderful stuffed-to-the-gunwhales goody bag, before wending our weary way home, grinning from ear to ear. WHAT a day.

Next year... why not come along for the ride? (And food, and freebies, and great company, and awesome atmosphere and goody bag...)

MASSIVE thanks to Voxwomen and dhb for such an enjoyable day, with exactly the right balance of information and relaxed enjoyment. Thanks to the ride leaders and ambassadors for your time and company. Thanks to the venue and all the partners who contributed to the unbelievable goody bags. And particular thanks to The Bollard/Sanitiser Mafia (what was her name again?) for keeping us all safe from Covid, cars, and myself particularly from the Killer Brownies. (The cake variety, not the type that go on pack holiday in the New Forest aged 9...ah, was that just me? Freakily I'm sure this was the very venue we walked to along this very road) Oh. And well done to the 'token males' for doing the bloke stuff... audio/photography/mechanical/medical, so that we girls could just get on and ride. And finally. Ant McCrossan for being enough of a man to champion women's cycling as you do. Chapeau.

Other GoodyBag products: Be Elite bum cream, BumbleZest drink, London Nootropics coffee, Purdy & Figg hand sanitiser, Montezumas choc drops, Wiley's Finest fish oil, Gravel Kings