Mountain Bike Rider

Hands up who found their motivation to go riding at an all time low at some point during the winter. I know mine was. When the trails are axle-deep in mush, and cleaning up takes longer than the ride itself, even the most hardened addict can be forgiven for wanting to put their feet up and give the bike a week off. But with spring on the horizon, it’s the perfect time to make a plan for the next 12 months, set some goals and make 2023 a year to remember. And we’ve got all the inspiration you need this month, with a bumper bucket list of trips, activities and challenges to have a go at. There’s something for everyone; I’ve been mountain biking for 34 years and I’ve only…

Although the spring thaw has started, there are still a few lingering pockets of winter if you know where to look. If you’re lucky enough to find some, you get to join an impromptu high stakes game of Where’s The Grip? Rock and Mud are reduced to bit players, while Ice ignores all the rules and leaves you utterly bereft of traction, just when you need it most. Today’s contestant is Jim Clarkson from Kendal (honestly, he’s there if you look hard enough). James Vincent Gee-man has had an incredible roller-coaster career of highs and lows. Beyond his downhill successes and all those brutal crashes, Gee Atherton has competed in no fewer than five Red Bull Rampage events, finishing second in two of them. After his horrendous crash during the Knife Edge…

Let’s quickly get one thing straight, Dyfi bike park is actually pronounced dove-ee, so it makes total sense its new rhyming red trail is called Lovey Dyfi. With that cleared up, let’s dig into this brand-new red-graded track that’s the longest trail so far in the park. Dan Atherton and the team have spent almost a year clearing out the hillside, all the way from the drop-off point under the shadow of Gee Atherton’s notorious Ridgeline, right back down to the café. It’s designed as the easiest trail at Dyfi – for less advanced riders to enjoy and also to potentially open up the park to those riders intimidated by the scale and technicality of some of the harder tracks. Personally, we don’t blame ’em: Dyfi is not for the faint of…

“Sometimes we open one up and water will run out literally all over the floor. Then it’s a race to dry it out inside before the fresh oxygen turns the steel parts to rust – you can actually see it happening before your eyes.” That’s Peter Collard, a man who started an e-bike motor repair business from a log cabin in his garden four years ago, but now runs an international business fixing out-of-warranty motors. He proudly shows us his wall of horrors: motors with snapped axles, broken teeth, rusted components seized hard, and wiring that’s carried water right up into the motor’s circuit board. “People will swear blind their bike’s not been near a pressure washer, then you open it up and it looks like this,” Peter says, holding out the…

MOST WANTED AVA PRESSURE WASHER GO P40 L £144.90 Ava of Norway might sound like the grand title of a minor royal, but it’s actually a new pressure washer brand with some interesting models stacked with new features, not least the 10 to 20-year warranty on all models. Ava says its ethos is to make products that are sustainable, that have a long life and let you, the end user, repair the product. As such it’s a member of the Right to Repair Europe scheme, which requires companies to supply parts and user manuals for 10 years after manufacture. Attachments like the lances and guns are all repairable too. The Go P40 is the dinkiest in the range and is designed for people who want a small unit to wash delicate objects. Like bikes.…

SOUTH EAST NOT PEASLAKE – ELSTEAD 36.2km (22.5 miles) The Surrey Hills has a huge catchment area, and with a first class trail network tucked away between the trees it’s no surprise it’s constantly buzzing with riders. If you want an alternative to the usual Peaslake pleasers then head a little west, as the area between Godalming and Farnham has managed to, so far, stay relatively under the radar. This ride orbits the town of Elstead while deftly avoiding it, instead taking you on an alternative tour of some of Surrey’s hills, commons and woodland and proving that it always pays to think different. GPS download: bit.ly/ElsteadRide SCOTTISH BORDERS NOT THE TWEED VALLEY – SELKIRK 29.3km (18.2 miles) The gravitational pull of the Tweed Valley is hard to escape. Glentress, Innerleithen, the Golfie – it’s the…