We were talking about this in the Pub the other day 😉

So, who is it? Where and When did you ride with them, and Why are they the “best” (Speed, confidence, skills, attitude, friendliness, mechanical skills etc all count, just say why!)

I’ll start with nominating Alex Balfour guiding with The White Room

Obviously I’ve ridden with him in Les Arcs,France. And i’m nominating him because he’s not just blindingly fast and composed on a bike, but seems to be the only person I’ve ever met who never crashes!! I mean, he must do, surely? But I’ve never seen it, and he rides the most difficult terrain imaginable without making ANY mistakes at warp9 😉

So over to you, nominate your MTB star 8)

I’ve never ridden with anyone particularly better than me.

You and Graham are arguably better but not amazing LOL.

NO idea as they were all too far away to judge

The best rider for me is one that’s best to ride with – so they would have to be slower and more crap than me.

Various WC racers, John Cowan was pretty fun

Er, thanks Weeksy, i think 😉 (i think we can file that under “damming praise”……..)

I’m for the record, not even on the same page as the best riders i’m thinking of 🙄

Does cheering on Danny Mac while holding a bike count as ‘riding with’?

Binners.

GW

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I’ve done a skills day and raced against, in a different category mind, Neil Donoghue. Does that make us bezzie mates count?

I’m going to say my 3 year old, he can already jump better than me, and in a couple of years will probably be able to outride me… His pure enthusiasm as he heads down a trail at high speed, using every tree root and stone to catch some air 😀

i once followed sam hill and his girlfriend down dirt merchant in whistler – does that count?

lapped by nick Craig – same as nearly everyone else at HtN 😀

Steve Peat and Shaun Palmer also David Cameron until I got too close

Does this age me?

Gary Foord. Did a skillz session with the local road club youngsters. We chatted for a few minutes then he gave me his bike (the Hope with the rectangular tubing), XTR all over it etc and said ‘go and play with it, come back when you are ready, I’ll be here for a few hours’. So I did and he was. Gave the bike back, he gave me help setting my bike up better, some riding tips and in due course, drifted off to help someone else.

More recently, Nick Craig came up to see what we were doing at Thetford Forest. Did a short ride with him, amazed at how effortless mtbing really is (well that is how he made it seem).

Both guys were consummate professionals and did a first class job representing their sponsors.

You can nominate anyone you like, for any reasons you like, just say why you’re nominating them! We could probably collate results at the end to come up with a “championship” position for everyone 😉

once rode with glupton … there was dust involved.

Terrahawk, he’s a world record holder. He let me have a go on his bike, it was ace fast

Rich and Paul in my bike club. I would love to as good as they are and they share top tips

edhornby – Member

lapped by nick Craig – same as nearly everyone else at HtN

On my first lap.
😐

At the watersplash, muttering ‘for **** sake’ as he ran past.
I was so proud.
😀

As in, “let’s go for a ride together,mate”:
Mike Metz from Bike Culture in NZ. I guided him in Colorado….when I say guided, it was more a case of, “the trails there Mike, wait for me at the other end please”.
Closer to home, Callum Biggin, Warncliffe local and DH racer. Just started riding with him and wish I hadn’t. I used to think I was relatively good but point this guy downhill and it makes me feel like a blundering beginner!

As in, “I’ve ridden in the presence of”: I tried following Dan Atherton down Combe Sydenham DH track before I knew who he was…that was an eye opener!

Its difficult to choose and individual. The skillllllz level on an average Monday Night Pub Ride is the AWESOMEZ!!!!

Jedi 🙂

I followed that guy from the original Whistler Hardtail video down Dirt Merchant once. I couldn’t keep up with 180mm each end whilst he was steaming off ahead on his hardtail. I’ve seen Brendan Fairclough and Sam Pilgrim at Woburn a few times as well but I didnt really ride with them.

Manuel Ducci, 2013 Superenduro series champion. Been lucky enough to ride with him a few times now and get to know him well. Frighteningly fast downhill with that effortless style the top pros have, able to spot creative lines that a mere mortal wouldn’t even see, let alone attempt, and a thoroughly nice guy with a good sense of humour, which counts for a lot on a long day on the bike. I’d hate to have to spend a day riding with a fast but boring rider!!

Shared a chalet with Fionn Griffiths and Emmeline Ragot for a few days. I’d have loved to have ridden with them but, well, we all knew I wasn’t worthy. 🙂

Wade Simmonds, Geoff gulevich, john Cowan, shaums march, richie schley, Josh bender, Robbie bourdon, Joe schwartz, Darren butler, rob Warner, Jason McRoy, Bob Haro, Matt Hoffman and a number of other colourful ‘characters’ from bmx and mtn biking over the years 🙂

Will Smyth (bmx). Thankfully i never had to race him (he was very fast) as he was a bit older than me but rode dirt and street with him quite a bit in the late 80’s early 90s. Rad, buttery smooth and a lovely chap to boot.

Mark Papworth @ Ciclo Montana, all day long.

Joe Murray came along on our weekly night ride once

I hear he was pretty good in his day

my mate Bob ‘Noggin’ Norgate. the original sweary northerner.

Binners, I’m not sure anyone bar maybe the top Enduro riders could get close to him. The anology ‘theres a Taxi driver in Hull with more talent than Schumacher’ really does ring true sometimes.

My whippet mate Steve (ola)
Hez brillz, blisterinz fastz, climbz like a God and haz me laughingz and smilingz each and every timez we ridez outz.

😀

You won’t know him – kid called Christian, about 15 years ago, we met him in the LBS and offered to take him on our weekend rides.
He was 17, rode a GT Zaskar on flats (unheard of back then in our riding cirles!) with the seat slammed down.
Jeez that kid was fast, so natural on a bike.
So entertaining to watch him fly down our fave descents that we minced down on our rigid XC bikes. Funny lad too. Just brought tears to my eyes, remembering the time I took him on on a “dual descender” and we both crashed. Great times.
He grew out of MTBing cos he discovered the laydeez.
Ah, nostalgia…

[edit]god, it was more than 15 years ago..

I’ve been on track with Frankie Chili and Leon Camier at different times. Hard to judge which went past me faster 🙁

Steve Peat in his backyard not 2 weeks ago today.

Steve Peat and his son Josh Bryceland, Marc Beaumont(downhill not bloody long distance) and Tracy Mosely.
They were all great fun. Mainly riding on illegal North Wales downhill tracks.
I did accompany Tracy and her boyfriend round the MBR in coed y brenin when a landowner caught us on a downhill track and threw us off his land.

After the Manx End2End one year, I rode back to Douglas with Nick Craig. Had a great chat as he just cruised along.

As there are no women on the list so far…

Alison Sydor before the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Very fast though quiet and humble.

Jacquie Phelan a few times. Mad as a cut snake but a lot of fun, very smart and super strong and capable on a bike.

Dani King and Katie Archibald – raced with them at Newport last winter. They both rode all of the women’s races and the mens and still beat me…

Ruaridh Cunningham or Lewis Buchanan I reckon. Couldn’t tell you which is better though. And a bit of enduro practice with Mick Hannah where it took him an astonishingly long time to realise how useless I am 😆 “Naw you go on first mate, you’re a local inya, I’ll foller ya” Yeah but, no, leave me to my shame.

Leftfield option- Jesse Wigman, who works at alpine in fort william- he’s a different sort of “best”, I chased him down fort william dh for a while with him on a rigid and me on a dh bike, never seen anything like it… Like trials, at 100mph. I ride things on rigid bikes that most people wouldn’t, but if I tried to do that I’d be dead in 10 feet

I crashed next to Manon Carpenter at BPW if that counts?