WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY PETE SCULLION
A shout from the front of our three-person train manages to find its way to my ears through the clatter of bikes and dust. “Watch out for the low tree!” yells former World Champion Manon Carpenter as she disappears rapidly round the next apex, despite being three hours deep into our ride. At five foot three, I shrug off the notion that a tree might be too low for me, only to drop a shoulder straight into the four-inch-thick trunk of a birch. Why I didn’t listen is beyond me, as I have no idea where I’m going. The dusty switchbacks have us all champing at the bit for the next turn as we wind our way down our penultimate descent of the day.