WORDS CHIPPS

EDITORIAL

I took a trip back in time recently, revisiting a place I used to ride when I was just starting out. Back then the mountain bike world was a rich, but obscure landscape. I’d not ridden in many places and I didn’t have many riding friends – or even miles in my legs. It was all new and every bike ride was a challenge and a treat. I’d learn new trails and techniques with every outing, as I started to fill in the gaps in my personal local trail knowledge. And it was great. Still is, in fact.

Revisiting this old track, with its lumps and bumps and twists and turns that used to entertain and terrify, I was unsurprised to find that I was able to skip down it at speed and in comfort, as my full suspension bike, with its ‘progressive geometry’ and ‘buttery suspension’, soaked up the trail debris before I pulled up to a graceful stop by using my powerful and consistent disc brakes. It got me thinking that I’d not ridden that trail since bikes had got good, some time in the past couple of decades.