Earlier this year Mark, Sanny and Nick Craig attempted something that no one has ever done before. Riding the four big lakeland passes in the UK of Honister, Scarth Gap, Black Sail & Sty Head Pass in one day on eMTBs. eMTBs eh? That would make it easy, right? Well, no. It didn't.
The story was documented in Singletrack magazine issue 126 (Check links at the bottom for details on how to get a copy).
This is the video of that story....
Mark sat on the side of the trail, his shoulders hunched, his head dropped. His bike lay discarded on the rocky trail where he had been unceremoniously ejected from it mere seconds earlier. He was, for want of a less polite and more industrial phrase, utterly spent. We were deep into hour nine of what on the map is a mere sixteen-mile loop. Things were not quite going according to plan....
For the full story get hold of a copy of Singletrack Magazine issue 126 - out now and available here - https://singletrackworld.com/shop/category/read-singletrack/
Check out membership options here - https://singletrackworld.com/subscribe/
Existing members can read this feature online here - https://singletrackworld.com/2019/08/singletrack-issue-126-how-to-lose-friends-and-alienate-people-e-mtb-ebike/
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0:10
hi this is mark from singletrack
0:13
magazine I'm here in the gorgeous town
0:15
of Kazakh and the northern part of the
0:18
Lake District's the UK I'm here to have
0:20
an adventure with two of my riding
0:22
buddies and I can't find them wait
0:24
they were just found one let's go meet
0:26
him Nick fleek is clearly bottled it's
0:29
nine o'clock and he's not here and he's
0:31
never late he's bought with that next
0:33
hashtag next shame he's late today
0:35
good morning how are you I'm not so bad
0:37
so he got super sit down the bakery I
0:39
say good-b so we're here with Sonny
0:47
yes hello good morning yes Sonny and
0:50
Nick Craig do you need Craig I know I do
0:54
not so bad
0:55
Sonny yes what are we doing here so Nick
0:59
and I had this where's idea that we
1:01
should try the four passes with electric
1:03
bikes so I think we become when this
1:05
article the art Toby possible or it
1:08
could turn out to be the art of the
1:09
impossible no Nick and I have history
1:11
we've had three raids together for the
1:13
magazine and all of them have been
1:17
interesting we've had some success but
1:19
we've had some fear we have but we've
1:20
had some fun along the way too so we're
1:22
gonna see if we can get electric bikes
1:24
all the way around the four passes and
1:26
the leaks including black seal pass
1:28
which is over a thousand feet of
1:29
carrying Western elective eight which is
1:33
going to be over fifty pounds so no
1:35
pressure
1:35
and we're not going to worry about the
1:38
battery's running out either and then
1:39
having to push for pretty much the whole
1:40
week that's not going to happen
1:42
this is going to be a success how you
1:44
feeling about this challenge Nick I've
1:46
heard this before I've been here before
1:53
it's gonna be interesting how is your
1:55
preparation yes last night we had a
1:58
sales meeting yesterday so I've been
2:01
over in Newcastle and we we drank a few
2:05
whiskey's at the end of the night one
2:08
Japanese whiskey so sorry Sonny so here
2:15
we are and then there's me as well so me
2:17
riding with Nick Craig with a hangover
2:20
I still don't fancy my chances sunny yes
2:29
what is this hundred kilogram car toy I
2:41
love it is it an appropriate vehicle for
2:44
today entirely appropriate it's probably
2:46
got less power than is the one I scored
2:48
see face it's always got more chance to
2:51
get around the four passes as well
2:54
[Music]
3:11
a point so there's a pre rider debate
3:16
going on now about taking charges with
3:19
this do is we take this charger or do we
3:28
just level a to dangerously yeah what
3:33
should we do I don't know I thought the
3:35
plan was we were gonna take them with us
3:36
and see if we can get a charge where's
3:39
the fun charge black sail packs he'll
3:41
pass or wisely wait then while the
3:42
chances well the chance of it been open
3:44
we have actually arranged this charge
3:45
then we're just gonna rock up and say
3:47
have you got three plugs that we could
3:48
plug in we have no we haven't arranged
3:51
anything so we haven't in case of white
3:53
pipeline planning just spoils the fun
3:55
it's taken off a huge chunk in my
3:57
backpack at the moment and how much does
4:00
that wagering that's telegram gonna and
4:03
what do we reckon is the chance that
4:05
we're gonna get two blacks help us and
4:06
then we won't be able to actually plug
4:08
in 100% we shouldn't really take them to
4:11
do this could be that moment when they
4:14
finally suborbit there when you find us
4:16
it's like the footage from the Blair
4:17
Witch Project this is it this is the
4:20
moment when it all went wrong right here
4:22
with this decision like this this is no
4:24
I don't miss I feel we support your
4:26
decisions now it was him it was him only
4:29
do egos too much I want something a bit
4:31
lower
4:32
yes is why fight where I would expect
4:36
rail to be
4:45
okay no company I see they're really
4:50
really steep for the line just knit we
5:51
are in Dobbs Hut yeah I mean if you got
6:00
much for one bar one pass that's sweet
6:09
that's actually a rate will be
6:10
absolutely okay so we're Sonny reckons
6:13
that the equivalent TV version of what
6:17
we are now is Clarkson hamster James me
6:21
I see I always fun sir myself as James
6:23
May mmm-hmm you're glad still clearly
6:27
Clarkson with my owner from cocoa beans
6:29
let's pick up rise thank you yeah she
6:32
would not decide yet no let's let's
6:34
decide at the end you should do that end
6:35
okay thanks dad you're definitely clocks
6:38
and then what so dope yeah I'm having
6:40
one of these chocolate hot cross buns
6:41
that your mother
6:48
[Music]
7:09
[Music]
7:21
[Music]
7:24
no you're not in the way don't worry
7:26
don't worry I'm just building up I think
7:32
I'm seeing a line no I'm gonna I'm gonna
7:36
I'm just gonna do it
7:49
[Music]
8:10
just write a punster pass on it coffee
8:13
with our new friends help them write
8:16
down a nice trail back to the balance
8:18
Campbell could yeah could all this could
8:20
all be over
8:21
you can't cook you wouldn't look this is
8:24
how the king and the other side of the
8:26
fence to hell my village into a bottle
8:29
but could have been there for that as
8:30
well yeah I'll be all right yeah I mean
8:37
what's go ahead what's that sell pass
8:40
the stretcher I've been there before
8:44
I'm gonna ask the arbitration are you
8:46
sure oh I'm gonna find out
8:51
[Music]
9:14
Oh
9:15
[Applause]
9:15
[Music]
9:29
[Music]
9:48
I just had an epiphany of the I don't
9:54
know what gotta stay in the bleeding
9:56
obvious does it about warp mode
9:58
we've been cursing warp mode coming up
10:00
here we're saying he doesn't bloody work
10:02
it doesn't move the bike at all well of
10:04
course it doesn't when you've got it on
10:05
the fiftieth toothed cog at the back and
10:08
the power comes from the actual motor
10:10
unit all you have to do to make walk
10:13
mode work is actually drop way down the
10:16
block onto the smallest cog and then
10:18
when you put you walk mode the damn
10:20
thing just waltzes away from you I'm
10:23
glad I found that out at this altitude
10:35
they do something like the view is a lot
10:45
better out here trust me it is don't you
10:48
stay here
10:51
would you see yep I would stay here
10:57
because honesty bargain
11:05
[Music]
11:26
this is crazy
11:28
start to really think about what my
11:30
options are here they can Sammy
11:33
about 100 feet higher up they're both
11:38
high Hugh biking with the bikes on there
11:40
but I've tried lifting this thing on it
11:41
is 55 pounds
11:42
I'm just not careful I'm walking up a
11:47
mountain with a 55 pound pack an e-bike
11:52
on this roof is madness absolute madness
12:01
hate the concrete breaks above market
12:04
[Music]
12:28
and I would do anything this is not
12:37
healthy it's not the bike it's it's the
12:40
we concept is the ebike concept it's big
12:44
stuff like this because what she's
12:50
asleep
12:51
I've been enjoying debating in terms of
12:53
getting up there pushing and using walk
12:55
would I was a revolution
13:14
ah wanted to stop final climb stretcher
13:34
we're going that line there to the top
13:40
and that's the last one then it's
13:42
definitely there you see it's in the
13:46
league
13:59
[Music]
14:15
literally there we are just gonna talk I
14:26
know my name are sprinkling talk for
14:33
gravy completely destroyed we're just
14:40
just above borrowdale now we can
14:44
actually see the van from here so it's
14:46
nearly over but got one the hardest
14:49
things I've ever done on the bike and it
14:51
was a D bike all the way around was just
14:56
been talking about what Nani bike bikes
14:58
we would have loved to have brought on
15:00
this ride yeah
15:09
[Music]
15:14
before dark before it's still light huh
15:22
there we go so sunny yeah how would you
15:25
summarize that I think we can see if we
15:27
see we are the first people ever to do
15:29
that Raiden bakes and probably the last
15:32
people about to do any bakes
15:34
yeah that's pretty sad but what was the
15:38
highlight of the day for you watching
15:41
you suffer Thanks yeah a little stopover
15:47
at the black sail youth hostel yha who
15:50
was amazing it was it was the greeting
15:53
from the the warden the warden was
15:56
loving was a nice guy he was a tiny dog
15:58
papi yep that was a bit of a recharge
16:01
head well pal drank a lot of water of
16:04
their tap and and then died darted under
16:08
the climb straight after who then
16:10
descends are amazing and what a day out
16:13
yeah big day out past eight so been
16:18
riding what from about ten often it's a
16:22
big old day yeah one puncture well we
16:25
had a tube in that one do we expect all
16:28
good
16:29
alright so there we go that was the big
16:33
giant ride today I'm utterly destroyed I
16:36
can't think straight barely talk so
16:40
we're going to sign off now and yeah
16:43
until next time
16:46
and this Scott ransom is in the back of
16:51
the van all along and would have been a
16:54
far better option for today's ride I'm
16:56
pretty sure about that
#Sports


