2018 has come and gone in a bit of a whirlwind – it’s been a bit like tearing around like the tazmanian devil. Unfortunately, fitting in mountains has been a bit of a struggle. Fortunately, for the most part, its been at the expense of other adventures – I spent two weeks in Iceland, went to Orkney for a week, went to the US twice and upped sticks, turned 30 and moved back to Scotland after seven years in England. While I’ve not had the chance to ride any Scottish mountains this year at least I’ll have almost unlimited access this year!

As a result of being a bit busy, a lot of these were squeezed in around other adventures and I didn’t have much time for photos, and I’ve had no time at all to make a video this year.

This years mountains are a bit different – some were snuck in and I didn’t have my camera, and almost half of them were in the US. My in-laws have moved from Florida to North Carolina which actually has some decent riding so I’ve taken that opportunity while its available.

Old Man Of Coniston

My friend Rosie got married back in May. She’s alway said that she wanted a stag do so back in February, just before the Beast from the East hit, we snuck up to the Lakes to ride, drink and generally arse around. It’s been about four years since I last rode the Old Man and that was on a glorious summer evening. Today was the winter equivalent of that ride – glorious sunshine, hard frosty ground and sub zero temperatures. Ice patches added to the excitement of what is a truly fantastic cheeky (to put it lightly) trail.

While I remember it being good, I’d forgotten just how good. The descent of choice is through the quarries from Low Water. The slate jangles beneath you, battering off your downtube as you duck under and hop over cables and other bits of industrial detritus. It’s fast without being a trail that ever lets you switch off and relax and has big lumps to deal with all over the place.

Where the trail becomes smooth and wide you split left towards Miners Bridge, a wildly fast and flowy bit of singletrack that keeps on going all the way back down to Coniston. It’s tremendous value for money. Not one for a busy day, though.

Skiddaw

The following day we headed to Rosie’s favourite Lake District trail, Skiddaw to Ullock Pike. It’s a popular route these days but we were the only riders on there on this glorious day. A few patches of snow on the ascent had us worried but on the descent itself it had mostly melted. Or, as we found, set hard – riding on hard packed snow with deep footprints set solid all over it was a thrill I’d not experienced before!

The scree was, as always, enormously exciting. While the more northerly of the two trails from the down from the summit is steeper and more impressive looking I’m starting to think that the southerly one is actually better- rather than hanging on you can actually get on and enjoy yourself as you twist the bike round the switchbacks.

The rest of Ullock was, as always, excellent – very technical in places and fast in others.

Black Mountain

Something a bit different now – my inlaws have moved from Florida to North Carolina. Florida, even if you aren’t into the outdoors, is a dull old place and after 7 years of visiting them there I was excited to see that their new home, Charlotte, was close to the Pisgah National Forest. Pisgah, part of the Appalachian Mountain range, is home to enough good riding that Litespeed named a frame after it so I took my bike as my checked bag and sought the advice of the locals.

Black Mountain was described to me as a “welcome to Pisgah” ride and it was an excellent introduction. Despite being higher than Ben Nevis, the ascent is straightforward- fire road all the way and dispatched in under an hour. Unfortunately the very comfortable climate here means that there’s total tree cover at the top so there’s no dramatic views.

The descent was just amazing. The top was very rough for something that allowed you to go so fast, it was a real off the brakes root fest. And there was dust! After our winter that was a real treat. The narrow trail twisted quickly between trees with drops every fifty metres or so, then all of a sudden it joins another trail that has been fettled by mountain bikers over the years with berms and jumps. It was exceptionally entertaining, and went on and on in a way that descents of this level of enjoyment don’t in the UK.

Laurel Mountain

Black Mountain was a great taster for Laurel Mountain, a much wilder experience. Laurel Mountain to Pilot Rock is apparently the definitive natural route in Pisgah, and a tough ride. The climb goes on for hours, mostly rideable but it’s a real war of attrition and by the top I was hiking. Climbing past the hilariously named Johnson Knob, the trail eventually peaks at almost 5,000ft and the ascent took me about 2.5 hours.

The descent was quite different to the cared for and sculpted trail down the lower slopes of Black Mountain. Very narrow, through a tunnel of laurel bushes, the trail is rocky with very tight switchbacks and very little margin for error. The surface is made up of sharp, pointy rocks that fire you towards the trunks of the laurel bushes with impunity.

Halfway down the descent you reach Pilot Rock, a slab of rock to the left of the trail that drops steeply in such a way that it looks like an infinity pool – terminating in a stark line, revealing a vista of the forest a thousand feet below. Lower down there are bigger rock features, with the trail crossing an area of rock fall made up of boulders the size of old tvs.

The trail ends suddenly on a forest road, with a 4 mile climb back up the pass where it starts. It’s a vicious day out and based on this and Black Mountain I’m really excited to head back there with the bike in future. I get the impression from the locals that this area could be a real gold mine.

Helvellyn

After the hind do in March we returned to the Lakes for the stag do in April. Rob, the groom, is principally a fell runner and while handy on a bike isn’t best suited to mega technical Lake District mountain descents so Sticks Pass was deemed a suitable ride as we were staying in Pooley Bridge.

After go karting, a hike up High Street and a bit of sailing we set out on a ascent up a familiar trail with a difference- we were having a fox hunt. One of the party didn’t have a working bike but, being a handy fell runner, was to be our fox. We all got out of the cars at the same time but he set off as soon as he’d put on his shorts and shoes while we were still unloading and assembling bikes, Anthony adjusted shock pressures, and sandwiches were consumed.

Despite a decent head start the runner could be seen in the distance by the time we reached the youth hostel but then disappeared over the brow of the hill. We headed up Sticks Pass after him with bikes on our backs, to be told by some walkers that he was miles ahead. Sure enough, he crossed us on his descent as we were only passing Sheffield Pike.

Plenty of time to catch him on the descent we thought, but even including the long 20mph stretch from the youth hostel back to the car park he was already back in jeans and trainers by the time we got back!

(I think at least one of these photos was taken by Antony DeHeveningham)

High Street

In July my dad and I sail at an event called the Birkett Trophy- the length of Ullswater and back twice in two days in a 14ft dinghy. It’s usually accompanied by either howling wind and grey skies or glorious sunshine and flat calm. This year was a flat calm sort of weekend – not good for boats, but great for bikes. Before the race started I got up bright and early and used the opportunity presented by the glorious summer we had to ride the classic High Street ride in the dry, rather than the bog it is usually.

On a sunny day it’s certainly a very jolly day out. Skylarks were playing everywhere and the views were endless. But if its that sort of a day it’d be far nicer to spend it riding a trail that is actually interesting – while it’s pleasant enough it’s just a strip of dirt in some grass, or sometimes just a bit of flattened grass. It’s a nice old school day out but not a great big mountain adventure.

Blencathra

Sunset really is a great time for being up a mountain. It’s not a great time for being a photographer when you’re as unskilled as me, though. The photos struggle to convey just how great the trail down Blencathra is. This was the weekend Kilian Jornet blasted round the Bob Graham round in around 12 hours, and as we ascended it was clear that other Bob Graham runners were taking the opportunity of such a glorious weekend to tick of the route.

After three months of glorious dry trails and sneaking in as much riding as I could this trail just came together – I was riding my best, the company was good, the weather was great and the trail is just amazing. Steep and slidey to start along the south side of the corrie, the lower section to the stream is full of big moves that take some gumption to clean but I managed them all. The section following the river flows quickly up and down and the last steep, rutted trail back to Scales pounds your tyres.

Pen-Y-Fan

No photos of this one sadly as I was alone and it was a pretty foggy day (to the point where I took a couple of wrong turns). I tackled this hill from the North, which results in a brutal but very speedy ascent. A very fast and open trail descends to some deserted boggy singletrack, before opening and becoming rocky. It was enjoyable without being full of big features, and the trail then joins the Gap Road, a real Brecon Beacons classic. Wide and open, with sharp rocks that seem destined to slash your tyres to ribbons, it’s a trail I’d recommend to a really wide range of riders.

Causey Pike

Unfortunately, I lost the photos of this ride. It’s a great short, sharp Lake District classic. The day before we’d hoped to have another go at Ullock Pike but as the winds tried to push us off a farm track at the bottom of the valley we decided that Whinlatter in the pouring rain was a safer bet. The wind eased off for this ride, but the water rushed down the climb, making it more of a challenge than usual to keep momentum of the loose jumble of rocks.

The descent had mercifully dried off a bit in the wind, and was a mix of singletrack perilously clinging to the slope and wide, open rocky trails. We split off to go over Barrow- a wise decision as the descent here is a wild mix of lines with grassy plummets, rocky drops and twisting ruts spread over the hillside and all you have to do is pick the one you think you’ll enjoy the most!

Black Mountain
I returned to the US for Thanksgiving and hired a bike. I’d hoped to return to Pisgah and find it a riot of autumn colour, like that around my in-law’s house, but sadly by the time I got there a frost had made all the leaves drop. Frost has set the trail solid, occasionally bursting through the surface, and icicles hung from caves at the side of the trail.

This second go at Black Mountain, with minimal photo faff, has made me think that this is one of the top trails in the world. It just offers so much, spanning a full spectrum of riding from very rowdy rocky and rooty sections at the top to flowing bermy trails at the bottom.

Bennett Gap
A kind local, Nate, offered to show me around some of the other trails in Pisgah. Bennett Gap is one that had passed me by first time but basically follows the opposite side of the valley to Black Mountain. At this time of year on a Thursday it was quiet, despite the hard ground. A few hunters with guns meant we had to be careful – you’re supposed to wear bright orange at this time of year in Pisgah but I only found this out when I arrived.

Bennett Gap is generally mellower than Black Mountain, and shorter. The climb is similarly relentless – seemingly endless fireroad which eventually rewards you with flowing, fast singletrack in a tunnel of rhododendron. Bennett does occasionaly have some big features – large rocky drops and steps, some of which were unrideable as ice removed all grip. The drifty corners on the trail were also livened up by a coating of completely slick leaves.

DuPont State Forest
Back in the spring when I’d visited Pisgah I met riders who’d travelled from all over the place, many of whom said I should really visit DuPont. I spent another night in Brevard and headed over there early the day after I rode Bennett Gap. DuPont is a different beast to Pisgah – while the elevations are similar, the climbs are less severe and the trails have a focus on flow and fun rather than technicality.

I rode the Ridgeline trail with a group of locals who were “working from home”. The trails here allow a riders of a really wide range of abilities to have a top class ride – the group I rode with ranged from relatively new riders to really handy and fast guys and for all of us the twisty trails with fast, banked corners on a gradient that’s mellow but not so gentle that you have to pedal were really enjoyable.