By Chance encounters between people have had a real influence on what has happened historically in the past, and it’s one thing that is guaranteed to continue to happen. I had a chance encounter recently. I was riding my ‘classic’ Cannondale Prophet recently along a trail of the South Mountain range,
Welcome to the U.K. Mountain Bike Museum
I walk into the well lit entrance of the UK Mountain Bike Museum. I get a feeling of warmth and belonging, because mountain biking is ‘my thing’, and has been since 1994, when I got my first ever mountain bike (MTB), a Kona Cinder Cone. The UK held its first
Stooge Speedbomb: THE FIRST RIDE
If you missed the build post I did of this bike, then never mind, because you can read it after this one through the link at the bottom. SCENE SETTER: The Stooge Speedbomb emerges from its shed and into a bright July morning. This is the first, post-build ride, and
The Stooge Speedbomb
Bizarrely, I first heard about Stooge Cycles, who are based in Oswestry in the UK, when I interviewed USA MTB legend, Charlie Kelly. Even though I’d lived within a 30 minute drive from Stooge HQ, I’d missed it somehow. Charlie had visited Stooge Cycles on a previous UK visit because
The Four Musketeers
After 6 months of riding with The Four Musketeers, of which I am one of them now, it looks like the relationship is a longer term thing rather than a ‘one-ride-stand’ kind of experience, and therefore, the subject deserves writing about. So here goes…….in 1974, there was a swashbuckling film
S’Bike Prototypes & electric S’Bikes. Really?
I wrote a post back in April 2021 (link at bottom of page) about my journey unearthing what is believed to be a very interesting S’Bike story. Contentious it may be, but regardless, I seem to have found a (possibly) strong, historical S’Bike thread. Whilst mountain biking is a fairly
My cycling event criteria AND why I chose to do the 2022 Yorkshire Mountain Bike Marathon.
Talk to anyone about any cycling course that they’ve ridden in an event and ask them ‘what it was like?’ and they’ll say things like; it was really slippery, it was really stoney, it was really technical, it was really hilly, it was really flat, the toilet facilities were crap,
To stud or not to stud. This is THE winter tyre question!
I bought my first pair of studded tyres about two years ago, and specifically for use on my eMTB. The grip in the Swiss winter snow, and particularly the fully iced roads was immense, and big smile inducing. These particular tyres, made by Schwalbe and called the Ice Spiker Pro
A true *RSF Spring Classic
*The Rough Stuff Fellowship I wrote this post specifically for a journal edition of The Rough Stuff Fellowship, which is THE original off-road cycle touring and mountain biking club, and founded in 1955. It’s a global club and well recognised. It even has special lifetime members and ambassadors of off-road
Technique is everything
Our garden in Switzerland is mostly grass and trees, and is on about a 45 degree slope. We manage it quite naturally, and just like most of the Swiss farmers manage their mountain meadows. This means that we just let the grass and wild flowers grow until about mid-June and
