Monday Morning Debrief 63

Ya-huh. It’s Monday. You know, the start of another week of drudgery. Sorry if we reminded you…

Did you also blink and miss the weekend? Given that last week was deadline week at Singletrack, much of our weekend was spent rehydrating our dry and lifeless bodies with red wine and dark beer, as well as sleeping the crap out of our beds. That said, we did manage to emerge from our boudoirs to get out for some riding too. And while temperatures in the North of England barely climbed above zero, we were gifted blue skies and gorgeous sunshine for most of it, making for spectacular riding conditions. Good for the soul stuff.

Can you spot the Ibis Ripley LS?

Crayon’s recently picked up a new Ibis Ripley LS for longterm testing, and after finishing the build last week, he took it out for a shakedown ride over the weekend to get Molly The Mandarin all dialled in. She’s a looker this one, and Crayons nearly exploded from excitement when the courier first knocked on the door at Singletrack Towers. So keep your eyes peeled for this week’s Fresh Goods Friday for lots of glamour shots, specs, and pricing information.

This is our Ad Manager Ross. He shreds. Hard.

Meanwhile, our Ad Manager, Ross “The Shredder” Demain, took his Kona Process out for a pummelin’ on some steep Calderdale tech trails.

Those poor rocks are about to meet the wrath of Ross.

This man is always on the limit. He also likes gardening too.

Caption this.

Closer to Singletrack Towers, a colourful group of stunning humans, including our own Mr Marky Mark, came together for the annual ‘Matty Boy’s Birthday Ride’. For longtime Singletrack readers, you’ll remember that good-looking fella in the middle (the super enduro one with the beard) as Matt Letch, one of the previous cornerstone’s of the Singletrack Team. These days, Matty Boy runs the brilliant OutToLun.ch catering company, while spending his weekend wearing goggles and brightly coloured flannelette shirts. Happy Birthday Matty Boy!

That same afternoon, Wil decided to investigate what the big burning ball of fire in the sky was, and took his curly-bar’d bike out for an explore up Cragg Vale.

Chipps’ also broke the mountain biking rule, and instead chose to use his legs for a trail walk to see the stunning sunset over Calder Valley. We guess the view’s ok though.

Throwing more fuel into the fire, Chipps and Wil then decided to break out the curly bars again to show up and slide around in the mud at a round of the Yorkshire Cyclocross Series. Both were running file-tread gravel tyres. Both are still recovering from the traumatic experience…

Andi, our Social Media Guru, decided to redeem some of the Singletrack team’s remaining pride by rocking out with his grommet at Farmer John’s MTB Park in Manchester. Remember parents; teach your kids to love mountain biking, and they’ll never have enough money to buy drugs.

What about your fine self? Did you make it outside to enjoy a weekend where it wasn’t sheeting with rain and sleet? We certainly hope so, because that sunshine we had? Yeah, it may be worth taking a photo to remember that one – we made Wil do it, and he’s got it framed at his desk as a friendly reminder.

For one more moment of distraction, we’ve got last Friday’s Fresh Goods Live video for you to watch below, just in case you need a little moment to yourself before facing reality. Inside this video you’ll find that innovative hip-based hydration pack from Source, some fancy shoes with modular inserts from OWN, and a set of the best bottle openers we’ve laid hands on. And we’ve laid hands on a lot of bottle openers!

Enjoy, and Happy Monday y’all!