The reason why.

I  started this blog initially intending it to be about fixing and riding bikes, however I found myself writing more and more about what was happening out there in professional Mountain Bike racing, mostly Downhill with some 4X and with recent developments I got a bit mired in the politics of it all. At the same time I’ve been out riding a bit and have had some cracking days on the bike reminding me why I ride and why I enjoy watching these competitions.

When I moved from Glencoe in the West Highlands to Bristol, quite a dramatic change of scenery, From being surrounded by rearing mountains in the middle of nowhere to rolling hills covered by Tarmac and buildings. It was so easy to head out and get straight into some great trails up there, with Glencoe Ski resort on my doorstep and Nevis Range and Laggan just up the road there was no shortage of purpose built trails, so coming to Bristol I had concerns about how easy it would be to get out.

Fortunately with the newly developed trails in Ashton Court, a new Pump Track at Brunel way and soon to be opening trails in Leigh Woods there’s no shortage of biking within a ten minute ride of my front door. The other day I rode into Leigh Woods for the first time to have a look at the trails being built there, and I got myself utterly lost. I loved it. There’s a certain joy of setting off on your bike with no real idea of where you’re going and just following the most fun looking trail. Admittedly this landed me in a few bogs and ended up riding down a seriously steep slippy hillside to appear underneath the Clifton suspension bridge covered in mud, grinning from ear to ear and wondering how I was meant to get back up to meet my friends at Ashton Court.

The other weekend I rode up to watch part of the Ritchey Oktoberfest to see how the course and enjoy the atmosphere, I have every intention of competing next year so took the opportunity to see it this year, especially with Steve Peat, Martyn Ashton, Sam Pilgrim and Blake Samson taking part. When I got there I rode straight into the middle of these guys filming a how to piece, something about cornering maybe I should have paid more attention.

I stood and watched the race for a bit, then went to try and get some pictures, passing Peaty practising some tricks at the side of track and getting the usual friendly hello from him. I’ve been crew at the last 4 years World Cup Rounds in Fort William and love how down to earth the riders are and how easy it is to chat to them. Also it’s great to see these guys turning up and supporting a local event, I know this is quite a popular event but to see some of the best riders in the world racing on the courses you ride every week is pretty cool, especially as Oli Beckinsale the only actual XC racer in the group was just stood on the side lines because of his injury.

Trail designer Phil Saxena

 As the racing ended I decided to hit the trails, I tried to hit the start of a trail at my usual speed, unfortunately with a Vito Sport in my normal line I was forced to hit the corner at a different angle, riding over a branch that had been used to mark the course, one minute I was on my bike the next minute I was on the floor bleeding. I got back on my bike and rolled home. What annoyed me about this crash was the fact my elbow pads were on my bag and my knee pads were at home, had I been wearing them I’d have been fine. Lesson learned, got ’em, wear ‘em.

Despite the crash I had a cracking day out seeing world class and amateur riders mixing and enjoying mountain biking together. That’s why we do it; because no matter how good (or bad) you are how old or how fit or how many times you roll home bleeding or walking a mangled bike, you get out there and do it again because it’s fun because it’s freedom  and because of the great people who do it too.

Exciting announcements but what does the future hold.

I’ve flicked through a few ideas on what to write on this post, some of which can wait as exciting developments are happening in the sport.

With the new sponsorship deal for the UCI World Cup series with Rocky Roads and the end of Freecasters’ contract to show them, there was some concern as for the future of the gravity side of the sport; this was made worse by the cancellation of the 4X series. As I reported previously it was looking a bit bleak and I was more than happy to embrace the idea of a move away from the UCI, though I've always been a fan of the underdog. 

Talking to a colleague in work about skating he had said that independent competitions were becoming more and more popular with skaters and fans alike because they were free from the rules of governing bodies and large events like X Games, also the prize money for the independent events was much higher as the money raised went back to the event rather than into the large company/governing body.

New series, more money for the winners.

In response to the cancellation of the 4X series the 4X Alliance have started to organise their own World Cup series as I mentioned in the last post. Though I have heard nothing more on this as yet, another exciting piece of news came out this week; Freecaster and Nissan (previous sponsors of the UCI World Cup) have collaborated to create a new Downhill series to happen next year called DH1. Intended to run alongside the UCI World Cup it will be interesting to see how it takes off especially with Freecaster showing it and teams Like the Steve Peat Syndicate and the CG brigade (all of whom ride Santa Cruz bikes) already signed up and a reported 53% bigger prize fund. Also this series is open to amateurs as well as professionals which should encourage more people to get involved. To keep up with what’s happening ‘like’ the Facebook page. Having read a little more into this I have seen it's not an entirely new series it's just being marketed differently and while a lot of other big name teams have not signed up for this years series once it establishes itself in this form it may attract other teams. 

Back when Nissan were main sponsors

With coverage still up for grabs for the UCI World Cup who knows what the future holds. Apparently there are four companies competing for the rights according to Nicole Gruber-Gil of the UCIs marketing department in an interview, with some unfortunate quotes, on the Rocky Roads website. ‘Four cross-cancellation is almost irrelevant’ Why they decided this was a good sub heading, apart from to get irate fans to read a fairly uninformative and dull article, I’m not sure. Though I must mention that Freecaster do seem to be one of the vying companies and that the UCI provide the coverage, Freecaster broadcast and  provided commentary from the inimitable Rob Warner. 

A slightly more encouraging article was on the Dirt website in the last week which said the UCI would welcome any venues wanting to hold 4X events at the same time as their events and that the popularity issue was restricted to certain regions where it had not taken off as well as others. You will also notice that the 4X is being replaced with another XC event, and while that’s still taking away from the gravity side of the sport the reports of a possible Enduro World Cup breathe a little hope for those of us who like going downhill fast and could be interesting with Dan Atherton looking to compete heavily in that area of the sport next year.

Currently the future still lies, with the UCI but if independent series’ gain popularity and coverage more teams and riders will get involved with them, either way it increases the amount of racing those of us who watch get to see and increases the amount of competitions (and prize money) for the riders and coverage for teams and sponsors. Teams not involved with this years DH1 series may look at it next year but for the moment the UCI World Cup is the title to race for and the one that gets the most coverage.

Joe Barnes at the 09 Glencoe SDA 

In national news Joe Barnes took the win at the Glencoe SDA round which hopefully give him a boost for next year, also Joe is another one to keep an eye on if a World Cup Enduro series happens with his 10th place at the Megavalanche this year. There is a BDS round at Caersws this weekend which a few top riders look to be attending and in other BDS news,organiser Dave Franciosy will be taking a break from it next year. All the best to him and thanks for the hard work.
Also there's the Ritchey Oktoberfest at Ashton Court happening on the 15th which Steve Peat and Martin Ashton will be competing in, wish I'd entered now just to say I'd have rode against them even if I have no where near the fitness for it! Will be watching anyway.