Monday Morning Debrief 73

So, how was your weekend then? Get out on a bike? We hope so – or that at the very least you got in the shed and fixed it, washed it or bought new bits for it.

It’s been a busy weekend in the world of Singletrack. And we mean world – as we’ve got staff flinging themselves all over the planet…

Starting with Wil, who’s on holiday back home in Australia – it seems he’s forgotten what that yellow ball in the sky is for. And he was complaining about a kind of hot blue fog that seemed to be covering the grey of the sky. We’re hoping he doesn’t remember too much or he won’t be back…

And the other end of the planet, Hannah’s been on a short trip to see what the fat biking is like in Finland, way up there on the Russian border. Riding local Finnish SUP bikes, Hannah has been working up an appetite and then eating all the fresh salmon and deer that’s been put in front of her. Typically, the skies have been grey (or would that be white?) with the sunshine only showing its face on the way back to the airport. Expect a more detailed story when she returns.

 

 

 

Meanwhile Anthony has been taking in some of the glories of the Lakes, while also stopping to help out at a local trail dig. “I missed the start of James Vincent’s epic Lakes death-march so I went for a couple of solo laps of Whinlatter. Met a fair few folk on eBikes, none of whom said they were disappointing.

Then it was trail day at Stainburn on Sunday. The lads managed to get about 40 tonnes of stone shifted (that’s not an exaggeration – we put down loads of the stuff) which is going to become a new pump track at some point. Hopefully just in time for summer.”

And as for Adele: “This weekend saw the arrival of my new Cotic Flare, built just for me by Cy and his team and then delivered all the way from Sheffield to the Surrey Hills. I got this lovely bike because I’m going to be a brand ambassador for Cotic this year. This role will mainly involve lots of bike riding and is nothing to do with handing out Ferro Rocher chocolates at parties.”

Kat Crompton wins the ‘far reaching views’ award from everyone here. “I was hoping for sunshine and distant views. I didn’t quite get that as the 3 Peaks were covered in snow and cloud. I did still get lovely Yorkshire Dales views and a peaceful solo ride.”

Our North American Special Agent, Marc B got busy on the off-road Ritchey with its unconventional drop bar guise –  “Broke in the Ritchey P-29er as it was breaking me on a 60mi mixed-media loop: deserted Superbowl Sunday roads, singletrack along the Rio Grande and against the mountains, and urban arroyo trails. Everyone rode from their houses and, afterward, limped home alone. Used the whole of the 10-44t cassette and finally found a decent use for Stan’s Raven tires. Inspired by Chipps and Wil, I have been been sneaking furtive glances at the Shand paint color gallery.

And finally, and fortunately, we have Charlie the Bikemonger, who didn’t think to take any pictures on his nudist beach ventures…

“This weekend I worked, packed my bike for single speed Arizona, and went for my first ever off road ride on an e-bike along an empty nudist beach. The whole thing has left me unfulfilled, particularly the e-bike.”

So, there’s a pretty wide-ranging range of views and experiences from the team. What did you get up to?

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