Midweek Mini Movies 101

No, it’s not a primer class for mountain bike videos – but it could well be. To keep you occupied during your lunch break or, god forbid, looking like you’re productive at work when you’re really skiving, we’ve trawled the internets for the finest bits of bike based entertainment…

We’ll start this week with a bit of trials and an utterly shameless plug for the Shimano Singletrack Classic Weekender (Lee Quarry, Lancashire, 14-15th July). Here’s Stan from Tarty Bikes doing some serious classic trials riding. Precise isn’t the word for it. We should point out that the trials portion of the Weekender doesn’t require skills and commitment anywhere near this level – just in case you were getting worried.

Once upon a time it was all about the downhill team and having a massive bus-like thing with your name on it. No more! It’s all about the gravity enduro nowadays and seeing as that’s closest to the riding 90% of the mountain biking world does frequently that must be a good thing. Ghost Bikes have decided to get involved and they’re unleashing Andrew Titley, Will Evans and Billy Cheetham on an unsuspecting world – well, an unsuspecting bit of Mid Wales, namely Dolgellau. Or Doglegloo or Dothgelaaaw or…

The Trek World Racing XC team had a hard old weekend on the technical terrain of La Bresse. If you can watch this and come away without being completely awestruck about the technical ability of top level riders to hit sections at serious speed on lightweight bikes with skimpy tyres and the saddle coming perilously close to being intimate with you then we’d be extremely surprised.

“ON THE LEFT! ON THE RIGHT! Sod it!” This is the single best overtaking move we’ve ever seen.

The very first WEMBO World 24hr Championships took place in bella Liguria last weekend. Featuring a technically challenging course packed with plenty of height gain in spectacular scenery by the seaside we think it looks like one of the best XC race courses we’ve seen. We are quite puzzled as to why the riders didn’t knock off at sundown and go and drink Mojitos in the square of the old town in Finale, but hey, different priorities we guess.

Mike from Mountain Bike Kerala got in touch again to send us moving pictures of him and friends completing the first mountain bike descents of the Kaphne and Pindari Glaciers in the Indian Himalaya. He’s called it ‘Descents from Heaven’ and we’d have to agree..

Tony ‘Jedi’ Doyle returns with a slightly postponed edition of his regular video blog, talking bike kit, coaching and more. If you’d like to win a coaching session with the man himself, then he’s offering his time as a raffle prize for volunteer trailbuilders Singletraction – more info on our forum here…

Tweedlove tales return with Jake Hood giving the trails of Glentress a thorough pinning. The Tweedlove festival of biking is still running in the Scottish Borders til the 5th June, so we suggest you get yourselves up there and enjoy Scotland at its very best, eg. without rain.

Matt’s not here this week to insist on a skate video. However, in a surprising move, we find that Chipps has!
As tipped off to us by Danny Macaskill, this is a great bit of film making that happens to have skateboards in it

Thanks to everyone that sent in suggestions this week – if you’ve seen or made anything that you reckon hould be up here, then send it to newsdesk@singletrackworld.com.