Something of cycle interest but if you are purely into non powered two wheels, then don’t read on. Unless you have a curiosity for all things bicycle that is.

Adventure Trucks are coming over to the HUBB UK from Holland and they are bringing something very trick with them. Etricks Electric Mountain bikes! Just have a look at this link to see what the score is.

Etricks Electric Mountain Bikes???

And even more good news. The guys from Adventure Trucks are going to let a number of people test ride the bikes!
I suggest you check in with them as fast as you can on arrival. See if you'll be eligible for a test ride.

Who are Adventure Trucks? Plenty more info from their link on the main HUBB UK page.

Great news! Iain is out of hospital! The road to recovery begins but he's sure he'll be sorted in time for the HUBB UK

And while here, thought I'd mention. Just 37 days to go

That also means you've just 30 days left if you haven't booked and want to snag the last discounted rate. HUBB UK

So, what sort of things are happening at the HUBB UK this year, besides all the very excellent companies who have agreed to turn up with their kit. Well, we have some pretty special people presenting over the 4 days and over the next weeks I’d like to tell you a little more about some of them.

Let’s start off with Tom Allen. Tom is going to be showing his magical film Janapar. But what’s the film about?

In 2007, Tom set off on his bicycle planning to cycle a lap of the world. 12,000 miles , three and a half years and 32 countries later he made it home.

He’d travelled, Europe and West Asia to Armenia and then Iran, heading back to the Middle East, then continuing to the Horn of Africa and Moscow and Mongolia. Unexpected adventures filled the journey and they have made fascinating material for the film and his book. If you've a moment, you can have a very interesting time checking out this link to Tom and Janapar.

Today, let’s talk fur, fire and fun! It's Danny and Fil with the Roadkill Cookout! If you've been to Horizons before then you'll know what a fascinating event this is.

New? You'll be learning how to hunt and gather food on the road, and how to prepare and eat it.

First things first - catch your critters. Learn how to make a snare and set it
Next up, skinning, gutting and plucking. Then cooking in the campfire and smoking with smokey Fil

Making a special guest appearance this year is their 2013 mystery animal - any guesses?

Then the 'Rabbit skinning competition' (book your places with Danny and Fil early). Look out for the Schedule to find out what time this is happening.

Knives and rabbits supplied.

And get this - Fastest from 'Fur to Pot' wins a free weekend for 2 in the autumn at the Haggs Bank Bunk House in Cumbria. A cracking prize in a brand new venue. You’ll be one of the first to stay there!!!

Tonight’s highlighted HUBB UK presenter is Simon Ward-Hastelow. Simon is the editor of Land Rover World magazine and he’s going to be hitting up a hot topic with his presentations.

Got children? Want to go travelling? Wrong to do isn’t it and anyway, how would you make it work.

Travelling with children is pure madness isn't it? But it can be a life changing experience and it’s one of those presentations where regardless of how you chose to travel, there are tops tips to share.

Though most motorcycle and expedition vehicle overlanders will probably not have heard of Danny Bent, I suspect that most cycle overlanders will have. If not, prepare yourself to meet one of the characters of the world of overlanding.

Let me give you just a taste of this decidedly witty traveller, presenter and author is about. When Danny cycled 15,000 kilometres from the UK to India to raise money for Action Aid, it was a decision that took twenty years and one minute! The one minute was when he was put on the spot by his pupils at school, and declared that the means was by bike, and he was going to India.

What he had signed up for was slogging along roads with trucks bearing down on him, unable to see and choking in the smog; shooting down treacherous descents with 100 foot drops, shaking with cold and too numb to brake; muscle burn and saddle sores; delirium and food poisoning; thirst and malnutrition; foul and insanitary conditions; life-threatening crises; obstructive border guards, crazed dogs and inquisitive passers-by...

A passionate, and at times decidedly outrageous presenter, Danny is completely inspirational. You can check out more on this Danny Bent link. What’s he going to be talking about at the HUBB UK? You have to be there to find out

30 DAYS TO GO!!! And don't forget, if you've not pre registered and paid by the 23rd of May then you lose out on the £10 discount. That'd suck!

It’s brilliant to have Morocco and GPS guru Tim Cullis back with us again. Tim’s past presentations have always gone down a storm and that’s no surprise. Tim’s first trip to this amazing land was way back in 1972 and you could say (with full British reserve) that he’s a repeat offender! Tim is hugely knowledgeable and if you plan a trip to Morocco then you really ought to ignore the bar or any other presentations.

And as for GPS, how many of us have actually done a long road trip outside of Europe using one? This session of Tim’s gives you the chance to be on the road, in control. You’ll know what you need to do to set your kit up and how to take advantage of all the opportunities it offers you. Excellent!

For more on Tim, just click on his link on the HUBB UK Page.

Excellent news last night! Iain and I were talking things HUBB UK through with Grant and Susan - Grant's health is good; they'll both be with us all at Donington!!!!

Volunteering? We still need some

If any of you guys are booked but haven’t signed up to volunteer, could I ask you to have a think about it. If you’ve been before then you’ll know how important people volunteering a few hours is with making the event happen with a friendly relaxed atmosphere.

And those hours are also a brilliant way of getting to know people if you’ve never been before.

If you’ve still to book, you’ll see the place to sign up to volunteer when you are booking in. Pre-Registration for Adventure Travellers - HUBB UK 2013 Donington Park

We are looking for a total of 150 volunteers – many hands make light work. Thanks VERY much to everyone who has given a thumbs up so far.

All we need is for just 20 more people to say yes to helping for a couple of 2 hour slots and the roles are all covered. That’ll be a ‘Phew’ moment.

The Crews we are short of people on are:

The Gate Crew – You’ll be the first point of contact that people arriving will have. As we are at a new venue and as so many people haven’t been before, this crew will make the difference between people being instantly welcome and knowing what they have to do next – or feeling like a square peg in a round hole.

Campsite Crew – This is a new Crew and its happening as a result of the move to Donington Park Farmhouse Hotel. It’s a much bigger site for us to play with and on and there needs to be a centre of information and a base for heading people out in the right direction. HUBB Zone? Presentation Rooms? Vehicle parking? Quiet camping area? And so on… The Real Ale bar too of course!

Raffle Tickets sellers – We have some absolutely brilliant prizes lined up for the raffle – many thanks to everyone who is contributing a prize and I need to say that most are coming from the Adventure Travel companies that are going to be with us and to the ABRAC riders. Thanks all! But the money we collect in aid of Prostate cancer will be down to two other things – How easy it is for people to snag tickets, and how deep we are all prepared to dig! : ) Fancy flogging some tickets? Your help makes all the difference, and because people that come to an HU event are the sort of people they are, it’s not a hard task.

Presentation Crew – Last but not least. If you have really good IT skills and are used to setting up powerpoint presentations and the like then we could do with a few more people on this crew. The one thing is that you’ll be doing a fair number more hours on this crew but the bonus is that you are right there in the presentation rooms when it’s all happening. Many of the presenters are first timers and your job in part will be to help them get set up and make sure things run smoothly so they can concentrate on their presentation.

Fancy a go? Brilliant! Thanks very much! Here’s the Join the Volunteer Crew - HUBB UK 2013 Donington Park

This presentation from John May is going to get you thinking hard.

John’s presentation is on a vital subject that too often doesn’t get thought about in anything like enough depth by travellers in the trip planning stage.

As John says, ‘Before doing a big trip we tend to spend loads of time and energy planning the route, thinking about what bike to take, picking the ideal tent and so on. But what scuppers most trips is the people stuff. We tend not to really consider the questions about why we are doing it in the first place and who to go with. Picking the right travelling companions is much more important than picking the right stove!’

This presentation is designed to join a lot of hugely important travel dots! Planning to travel with other people? Don’t miss this!

We're mainly now posting HUBB UK updates and information in the main 'Events' thread. To make sure you don't miss anything, here's a link to a good starting point....