It depends why you ride doesn’t it? I thought the video was a nice reminder that mountain biking doesn’t have to be all about the technical stuff. It’s actually OK to just enjoy exploring a wild (or any) area on your bike.

emsz – Member

Says more about your attitudes TBH

What would you expect her to go swimming in?

It’s the north sea, I’d recommend one of these:

agree with Roverpig. Sometimes it’s good to get out there into the wilds and explore regardless of what the trails are like. Bonus if they’re good.

How confusing, there are TWO cyclists called Hannah Barnes. The other is a very good roadie.

Same person (she’s been on the front cover of many cycle mags over the years)

You sure?
From hannahbarnes.com/? “I am a British based racing cyclist that rides for MG Maxifuel pro cycling team.”

From http://www.hannahbarnes.co.uk/profile/
“I am a mountain bike racer, based in Fort William, Scotland. When I’m not away racing, I work as a nurse.”

Same rider?

Hannah Barnes, road racer, born May 1993, grey eyes:

Hannah Barnes, mountain bike racer, born December 1986, brown eyes:

It depends why you ride doesn’t it? I thought the video was a nice reminder that mountain biking doesn’t have to be all about the technical stuff. It’s actually OK to just enjoy exploring a wild (or any) area on your bike.

Yeah I guess so – maybe it’s just that my fitness isn’t really at a level where I can feel ok about slogging uphill for ages then riding a fire road back down. I need the motivation of some kind of reward for getting up the hills. Otherwise I’d probably rather just go for a walk, or stick to lower paths/roads on a cross bike.

Done a bit of ‘wilderness’ riding in Scotland and it was enjoyable in a slightly gritty way but not my favourite riding.

Finished watching it now, I wanted to be in the Scott Contessa Team, now I want to be Hanna Barnes.

Really I just want to be paid to play in the mountains on my bike and not paid to answer the phone and make samples… Boo

it was enjoyable in a slightly gritty way but not my favourite riding.

Is there a video?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking what anybody else wants to do. It’s just that I’ve been thinking about this a bit recently.

When I first got into riding off-road (a couple of years ago, after many years as a roadie) I just grabbed a mountain bike and rode on what I now consider to be very tame trails. And I loved it. Getting away from the traffic, riding in beautiful scenery over surfaces that weren’t just flat. It was great. But over the years it seems to have become more and more about the technical stuff. To the point that I’m starting to view a ride with no technical bits as a waste of time and I’m spending much of my time either worrying about that tricky bit to come or beating myself up for not riding it well enough (or not riding it at all). I seem to have lost the simple joy of just riding my bike somewhere along the line and this video was a timely reminder that it’s time to get that back.

Well well well, I was sure it was the same person.

Here’s a couple of mag shots in her gallery (which explains my confusion)

http://www.hannahbarnes.co.uk/photo-gallery/media-2/

JCL – Member

Very well filmed but the fun to faff ratio of those trails looks low.
Best stick to your trail centres then! (nb tomorrow I will be nailing the new blue at afan)

I don’t get the perving over Ms Barnes. The underwear and bikini shots just imply somebody who is comfortable in their own body and who likes a swim. She always seems pretty natural and I like her smooth style on a bike, but I can’t really see her as a sex object. Maybe I’m just getting old.

Refreshing point of view, as most of the letching posters on here are old enough to be her Dad.

other barnes

What? 2 quite attractive females ride bikes?

That keep the STW collective spank bank topped up for a year or so…

Great film, I loved it. Just like the trails we used to ride growing up in Inverness.

By the way the other Hannah Barnes is a fairly handy XC racer as well.

http://www.Imadethisup.com]

If it’s on Scotland’s West Coast then it’s the Atlantic, not the North Sea, I beleive there is as much as 0.075degC of difference in sea temp.

Girl in appropriate swimwear shocker.

Check out the 2014 cycle passion calendar for the MTB Hannah Barnes 😯

I thought she he had a lovely shed.

Great film, some fantastic shots of the scenery. Hannah looking naturally gorgeous too, an advertisers dream.

I also thought a lot of it looked pretty miserable, wet, dull riding and midges. I would personally be quite disappointed to travel from one end of the country to the other for that (which door to door takes similar amount of time as getting to the Alps for me). I am a little surprised they edited it together quite like that.

surroundedbyhills – Member

If it’s on Scotland’s West Coast then it’s the Atlantic, not the North Sea

It’s the north coast. Though i think you’re still right as that far west it’s probably the atlantic.

Either way, I am not going in it in a bikini in December.

I once walked through Knoydart from Glenfinnan to Shiel Bridge carrying all my kit and picking up food dumped by a support Landy at road heads. At a relaxed pace it took about 10 days. We did it in April when it was still cool and there was some old snow around, though we didn’t suffer with midges and it only rained on one or two days. May or June might even have been too hot and dry; I’ve been dehydrated and sunburned in Scotland in those months.

By the way aside from being young, lovely and a great rider she can play the violin too !

I can’t really see her as a sex object. Maybe I’m just getting old.

checked your pulse recently? I suspect you may be dead!

AlasdairMc – Member

I was a bit put off by the opening shot in her pants, then the bikini shot.

do not, whatever you do follow her instagram feed then!

she rides proper trails and plays the fiddle, all power to her i say

Enjoyable video

Was this the job / project that someone put a PSA on here about a few months back?

Here’s another Barnes in his pants

I was expecting Simonf in his shorts at the end of that link. Phew dodged a bullet.

Great vid, great wilderness riding on natural trails and a great rider with a lovely personality and attitude.

Some of you need a word with yourselves.

rOcKeTdOg – Member

do not, whatever you do follow her instagram feed then!

<follows instagram feed>

I am a little surprised they edited it together quite like that.

Yep, it really didn’t sell the area as a riding destination for me; poorly defined trails, muddy, wet, boring riding on the whole etc etc. Nice place to look at the scenery but a long way push a bike through a bog. Most people could be in the Auvergne or the Alps quicker.

I loved it, I found it inspiring. I like to ride calm wilderness trails, an uplift day would be my idea of hell.
Each to their own I guess.
BTW I must be getting old I didn’t even notice she was in her pants at the start! Didn’t miss the bikini shot but my only thought was it must freezing, you wouldn’t get me in there without a wet suit
I have checked my pulse and it is there, just, 60 at rest

Yep, it really didn’t sell the area as a riding destination for me; poorly defined trails, muddy, wet, boring riding on the whole etc etc. Nice place to look at the scenery but a long way push a bike through a bog. Most people could be in the Auvergne or the Alps quicker.

Well if people are narrow minded enough to think that what she rode on that video is the only riding in the area then probably best they stick to trail centres and sanitised riding.

Does it have to be ‘balls out enduro’ style to be worth riding these days, or nice perfectly defined tracks?

The riding is not only in the trail, it’s in the surroundings.

I agree scandal

Most people could be in the Auvergne or the Alps quicker

– this completely misses the point – the west coast is a special place

Well said

That helmet is still definitely ‘special’

– this completely misses the point – the west coast is a special place

I’m sure it is, but that vid failed miserably to convince me that the riding is as special as the landscape.

ianv
poorly defined trails, muddy, wet, boring riding on the whole etc etc. Nice place to look at the scenery but a long way push a bike through a bog.

Whilst everything is of course subjective, those^^^ are a good reason to go there for me! It’s easy to go to trail centres and follow the arrows around a man made an unsurprising loop. But the sense of achievement from making your own route, even when it goes a bit pete tong is 10x greater, and leads to those “rides to remember” 😉
As for Hannah, well other than being pretty, and with a lovely smile, she just comes across as natural, honest and a real good laugh to go riding with. Surely you can’t want much more than that!

Yep, it really didn’t sell the area as a riding destination for me; poorly defined trails, muddy, wet, boring riding on the whole etc etc. Nice place to look at the scenery but a long way push a bike through a bog. Most people could be in the Auvergne or the Alps quicker.

Obviously didn’t watch the whole thing, yes there was some trudging but there was also plenty of stunning riding in there!

Also, with these things, it’s really hard to stop yourself and get the camera out when it’s going great, and so easy to faff with it when it’s shit.

The west coast is a special place but if you are going somewhere purely for quality mountain biking it wouldn’t be my choice (apart from Torridon which looks amazing).

I’ve taken a mountain bike to various bits of the west coast and the islands and most of the time you’d be better off walking/scrambling or on a road bike (either of which are bloody fantastic up there), IME.

Depends what you’re into of course.

I heard Harris touted as a great undiscovered mountain bike paradise – did one of the routes there and it was amazing scenery to be out in but the riding itself wasn’t great.

This is just reminding me of my too many experiences riding in Scotland.I was even scratching my head watching the scene with the midges.Excellent.Off to watch the Solo video again.

Off to watch the Solo video again.

What @Gilles said. I like the film but Solo one is better, a bit of snow is more inspiring than a bog.