26 -28th July 2019. The Malle Mile, Kevington Hall, London, UK

July was reaching its crescendo, so we packed up the circus and camped out at Kevington Hall for the weekend for the Malle Mile. Our favourite UK event of the year heralds bike nutters of all flavours gathering with an eclectic array of on and off road machines, some appropriate, many not, and chucking them up a hill. In a straight line, on snaking bends, and in a wobbly loop. The riders attack the courses with just the right mix of seriousness and mirth, that makes the races fun for everybody, from a competition trials rider to a complete novice. Nobody really knows who wins and who doesn’t, and nobody really cares. Most are usually too drunk to notice by the time the awards are announced.

Run by Robert and Johnny of Malle London, the Mile is hosted the right mix of sharp organisation and gentlemanly anarchy. With their good natured and very efficient team they corral several hundred mischievous adult-children tearing it up on the dirt, and this year particularly, in the mud. The weather was erratic, and we encountered a number of heavy downpours, so everyone, and everything got very dirty, very quickly.

We were camped out in two tents, one for our Malle Cinema, and the other for our merchandise. We screened ‘Oil In The Blood’ several times over the weekend, along with the touching ‘Helmets for India’ film, and two excellent Malle shorts. With hay bales for seats, this was rural cinema at its most fun.

What’s impressive about The Malle Mile is that even though the event grows bigger each year, the spirit and the intimacy of the event remains as strong as ever. Unlike many other ‘new wave’ events that have become little more than hipster trade shows, the Mile feels, and still is, grass roots. This is as much down to the personalities of Johnny and Rob, as it is to those who participate. Rob and Johnny every year run a masterclass in calm and patience that other event organisers would do well to observe.

It felt very appropriate that we should be screening at The Mile, we feature previous years in the film, and we believe that the Mile as an event captures the spirit of the culture and community we document in the film.

Please see a selection images of the weekend shot by our friend Marcel Ortmans over on our gallery section.