Jimmy Read Memorial Bike Race

In 1988, Hastings started an annual race up the steepest street in the Old Town. The rule is you can’t lift off the saddle because that’s exactly how Jimmy Read did it, on a butcher’s bike, for a bet after a few pints in The Crown. Jimmy was a Hastings fisherman who passed in the great storm of 1987 and nearly forty years on, the locals are still turning up to have a go at what Jimmy started.

Bikes are provided, so all you need is the leg muscles and a cash donation. Bucket rattlers will be out all evening, with everything going to local causes.

Meet at the Crown Lane at 5:30 pm. Kids welcome with an adult but dogs are best left at home.

ABOUT OLD TOWN CARNIVAL WEEK

It’s one of the events for Old Town Carnival Week, running from Saturday 1st to Sunday 9th August. Started by volunteers all the way back in 1968, the carnival has grown into a beloved week of events for locals and visitors alike, with everything from pram racing and treasure trails to live music and street parties, all building up to the Grand Carnival Procession, and all supporting local charities along the way.