Dust? Yes dust! GLORIOUS DUST!!
If you’re a bipedal human being that is in possession of an off-road capable dual-wheeled device, you’ll know what I’m talking about. The trail conditions have been absolutely sublime up our way, and looking at what some of our friends and contributors have been up to over the weekend, it appears that the conditions have been all-time elsewhere in the UK too. SO FREAKIN’ GOOD.
Speaking of the idyllic riding conditions, has anyone else noticed how quickly one becomes puddle-adverse after just a few days worth of time on dry and dusty trails? After a winter of basically riding bikes underwater, all it takes is a couple of nice days of riding, and all of that is forgotten. Puddles? Mud?? URGH! Better ride around that…
Chipps (the ever optimist) was eager to point out to me this morning that I best not get used to such lovely riding conditions. As promising as the recent spate of warm weather has been, he (and everyone else at Singletrack Towers) kindly informed me that the weather was sure to take a turn for the worse shortly, and basically rain up until the end of June. So there.
This is my first Spring season in the Motherland, so really, I’ve got no idea what to expect. But I’m a bit more of a glass-half-full kinda guy, so I’m going to enjoy the blissful ignorance of assuming that this stunning start to spring is the sign of more to come. It’ll be dry and dusty all the way up to October right? RIGHT?!
Whatever the weather gods bring us, Imma indulge in some blissful ignorance for a little longer – blissful ignorance from both the impending typhoons that are apparently going to hit Calderdale soon, and blissful ignorance from the enormous pile of emails that have stacked up in my inbox over the weekend. No, those can wait a little longer, because I wanna check out what all the Singletrack peeps got up to over the weekend.
Alright, you got that tune above playing? It’s a nice wistful electronic tune from a Lithuanian producer and DJ called Ten Walls, and it’ll be a perfect accompaniment to the following photo essay. Okey dokes, got yourself a cuppa too? Then you’re ready for some email avoidance too – time for the Monday Morning Debrief!
Mr Pete Scullion clocked his weekend game by earning a handy 14th place at the Macavalanche up in Scotland. The mass-start enduro event took place on Glencoe Mountain, encompassing three separate race stages run throughout the day that made use of the raw and rugged lift-assisted trails of the Glencoe Mountain resort. Want an idea as to what the trails and racing action is like? Checkout Pete’s sweet little video edit above – MENTAL!!
More video action, this time from Mr Lake District, aka James Vincent, who we caught up with last week for a photoshoot. Three bikes, sunshine, rocky trails, and absolutely belting conditions – better than a sharp stick in the eye huh? We’ve been shooting some bikes for the upcoming issue of Singletrack Magazine, which you’ll be hearing more about very soon…
Going further north (much, much further north!), our main man Tom Hill has been darting around the Faroe Islands on a full-blown two-wheeled adventure trip. Located in the Atlantic Ocean somewhere equidistant between the Northern tip of Scotland, South East of Icelandand West of Norway, the Faroe Islands were otherwise unknown to me until I just looked up their location five minutes ago. If you want to see some more of the wilderness that Tom rode through during his multi-day adventure last week, get over to his Instagram feed and be prepared to be very jealous.
Back in Calder Valley, Antony went searching for some more appropriate dry-condition tyres to accommodate the dust-phenomenon that has been sweeping across the nation’s singletrack. Looks like it was some time before Antony last used dust-tyres…
Hannah spent a weekend perfecting her latest toy; an Aeropress coffee maker. Apparently her heart has just returned to a normal rhythm. Now she knows what it’s like to be a 13-year old high school student at 8:30 in the morning after they’ve ingested two 600ml cans of Monster while waiting for the school bus.
Like Hannah, Mark has also avoided providing us any photographic evidence of his bike riding over the weekend, so you’ll just have to use your imagination. In place of a smug bike photo, Mark has treated us to a smug food photo. I must admit though, that does look like a very tasty pork pie.
Helping to lift the game for Team Singletrack, Chipps spent most of his weekend attached to a bike saddle up in the Lake District on a group riding trip. No salty underwater-pork pies here, but instead green leaves, dry and rocky trails, and riding temperatures on the right side of 10°C.
To our Californian readers – this is what we call a ‘puddle’. Don’t fear though, apparently this spot is always wet!
More video for you, and this time from the Peak District courtesy of our head Social Media guru, Mr Andi Sykes. Andi has been putting that delectable Mountain Mint Orange Four through the wringer since it was dropped off at the office on Wednesday last week. Looks bloody fast!
Instead of riding, I spent a truly agonising weekend without a bike involved whatsoever. Hmmph! Instead, I played the obligatory tour guide for a family visit from some Southerners who made the epic journey up to The Grim North™. Many beers and much food was consumed, and I even managed to convince them that it’s always this dry and sunny up here. So no riding photos for me over the weekend. Just crummy memories instead.
That about wraps up this morning’s Debrief from the weekend’s activities gone by. Sealing the deal and signing off is a video from Chipps Chippendale, who apparently is a budding puppet master as well as magazine editor. There’s a scary thought to fill your next nightmare…
And on that note; ST Out!
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Not “dust tyres” Wil, pump track tyres! Fancy an after-work sesh this week?