The sky is full of stars, more than I ever knew and they radiate like light bulbs on the blackest canvas. No light pollution affects these skies – they are as endless as eternity. I can feel the mountains around me, their silhouettes outlined by a full moon.
My night-time superpowers come into action; my senses are firing. I hear every sound from the animals I do not know, the earth I cannot see and the river that gently cascades over the rocks and down the valley – I can feel it all around.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY BEATE KUBITZ
I take deep cavernous breaths. I fill my lungs to the brim with the sweet smell of eucalyptus trees. I’ve become in tune with nature and can now tell when midday arrives, for that is when the sweet smell crescendos.
The Tour Aotearoa is a 3,000km mountain bike adventure the length of New Zealand. Billed as a tour, not a race, the inevitable debate soon begins. My opinion is that an event like this will be many things to many people, but in the end the goal is the same: ride the length of a country, experience the landscape and seek adventure. My aim is to go as hard and efficiently as I can. I’m against myself. I respect everyone whether they race or not; we all deserve the freedom to chose our own destiny and experience the journey as we see fit.
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About Singletrack
International Adventure: Southern nights, endless trails:
Rickie Cotter's truly epic trip down the length of New Zealand, complete with beautiful watercolour illustrations by Beate Kubitz.
UK Adventure: Be careful what you wish for…"
We nearly broke our editor while riding some of the Howgill Fells remotest singletrack.
Classic Ride: The Dark Peak:
The riding around Hope Cross in the Dark Peak is definitely on the ‘must do’ lists for every UK mountain biker. It's a Classic Ride for a reason. Not ridden it for a while? NEVER ridden it? Then you need to get yourself to the Peaks...
Grouptest: GPS Units:
David Hayward puts six GPS units through torture to see which is the best for trail use, mapping, Strava and finding yourself again.
Bike Test: Proper mountain, mountain bikes:
Barney looks at three 160mm bikes from Focus, Scott and Specialized designed to get you up the big hills and back down again with fun and style.
Racehead: Scotland the awesome.
TweedLove and the Fort William World Cup are proof of Scotland’s superiority over all - at least for a month every summer.
Last Word: A question of perception.
Tom Hutton and Matt Letch go head to head in discussing how mountain biking needs to be presented to the wider world if we’re to increase (or even defend) our trail access.
And, as they say, much much more: Product reviews, columns, tests and random burblings for all!