TWO-WHEELED ADVENTURES IN FRANCE UTAH SCOTLAND WALES USA
SURFING THE MALDIVES WOOF WOOF! ADVENTURES WITH YOUR DOG PLUS GEAR , BOOK, HOTEL REVIEWS
* NO RELIGIOUS CONTENT
image: cognation.co.uk
contents 3. About Us 5. Intro 6. MOUNTAIN BIKING 1: SCOTLAND 11. MOUNTAIN BIKING 2: WALES 18. MOUNTAIN BIKING 3: UTAH 24. CYCLING 1: FRANCE 29. CYCLING 2: USA 33. WOOF WOOF! 42. SURFING THE Maldives 46. PROTECT OUR WAVES
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50. Sixties Surfer 53. Touchscreen Travels 57. Jottnar - AN UPHILL ADVENTURE 62. Gear Reviews 96. Room with a View 98. Caffeine Fix 100. Harald Philipp INTERVIEW 103. Book Review 108. Face the Facts
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WELCOME TO THE CHURCH Thanks for taking the time to take a look at Church of the Open Sky. First off, let’s get the title out of the way. We’ve taken it from a phrase used by pioneering Hawaiian surfer Tom Blake (1902 – 1994) to describe the outdoor playground that is a fundamental aspect of our lives and our sense of identity and wellbeing. Amongst his many achievements Tom invented the hollow surfboard,
the surfboard fin and the sailboard and was also an accomplished contest surfer and all-round waterman. His actual phrase was ‘The blessed church of the open sky’ but that would have been too long for a magazine title… What we hope your visits to the Church will provide are eclectic, unusual and inspiring adventure travel features undertaken (on the whole) by ordinary dudes whose lives revolve around ‘the outdoor life’, be that surfing, skiing, hiking
Alf
The editor of the Church of the Open Sky is Alf Alderson (www.alfalderson.co.uk), an award winning adventure travel writer and author who has contributed to a huge range of newspapers, magazines and websites around the world.
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Pete
The designer of ‘the Church’ is Pete Roberts of Globe Orange (www.globeorange.com), a highly respected and innovative website development company. As well as surfing the internet Pete also surfs real waves, rides real snow and cycles read roads.
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or just undertaking a funky road trip across some wild corner of the globe. We’ll also be reviewing the best outdoor gear, cool places to stay, hip joints to dine in, good books to read and loads of other stuff to make your indoor life nearly as much fun as your outdoor life. Well, maybe…
Elli Our Nordic correspondent is Icelander Elli Thor Magnusson. Elli is based in his home country where he works as a freelance photographer focusing (literally) on outdoor adventure sports
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christian Our North America correspondent is Christian Williams. He currently specialises in Canada, Germany and Scotland, though he’s written extensively on destinations in Austria, Spain and the USA too. He divides his time between Québec and Scotland.
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Paul Our resident ski dude is Paul Garner, a founder and director of The Development Centre (TDC), based in Val d’Isere France.
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introduction ON YER BIKE… Boredom crept up on me the other day, so I decided to fill my time by checking out the origins of the word ‘church’. It seems it’s closely related to the Greek word ekklesia, and that, it turns out, could not be more appropriate given the title of this publication. Ekklesia loosely translates as an assembly of people. And the Church of the Open Sky has turned into an inspiring assembly of like-minded people in a matter of months. I’ve been amazed at the positive response we’ve had from everyone from our writers to our photographers, gear manufacturers to advertisers and, best of all, our readers. I like to think that this is thanks to a combination of great features and great imagery, but I think there’s also a third factor; the fact that we all share a love of the outdoors in common. We’re fortunate that our contributors do an excellent job of communicating this along with the fact that we’re all in it together. Whether you’re a surfer or skier, hiker or biker, we all share a common commitment to being out there and doing it. And we all share a common respect for the environment where we get our spiritual and adrenaline kicks.
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Which is why we’re proud to be working with organisations like Surfers Against Sewage and One Per Cent for the Planet; check out their ads in this issue and if you’re not a member, become one! Finally, as will be pretty obvious this issue of the Church focusses on one of mankind’s greatest inventions – the bike. And there’s never been a better time to ride one, whatever style of two-wheeled steed you may prefer. With waymarked cycle trails and mountain bike routes pretty standard all over the world now you don’t even need to know how to read a map. And if you’re British you have all the inspiration you need (setting aside the weather, that is); we are now undoubtedly top dog in the world of competitive cycling, whether it be road, mountain bike, track or BMX, so look to the likes of Sir Chris Hoy, Wiggo, Laura Trott, Shanaze Read or Danny Hart for inspiration and get out there and ride your bike. After all, it is summer… Alf Alderson, Editor
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GETTING RID OF THE PAIN Rob Penn takes on one of the world’s great mountain bike rides – the Scottish Coast to Coast. Words and images Rob Penn
I’ve found a new place for my ashes to be scattered. It’s in Scotland, at the heart of the Highlands, on the north-south watershed in the Cairngorm Mountains, at a glacial t-junction looking up towards the central massif. Such places – places that intimidate and inspire equally; places where, to borrow from Dr Johnson, you briefly ‘get rid of the pain of being a man’ in this life and which hint at quietude in the next – may abound in the Australian Outback and Alaska, but on our busy, little anthill of an island, they’re rare. And this one’s a gem. The grid reference is NJ193026. Go there as soon as you can. It’s not easy to get to, of course. Antony, Dave, Spencer and I arrived there under a lowering sky, after two hard days in the saddle. We were one third of the way into a 200-mile, off-road, mountain biking ride from the North Sea to the Atlantic, across the broad waist of Scotland – an adventure
billed by the influential American magazine, Outside, as one of their ‘ten trips of a lifetime’. The Scottish Coast to Coast is an epic and it deserves respect. We had assiduously planned our fourday ride from Aberdeen to Fort William following disused railway lines, Land Rover tracks, medieval
drover’s routes, forest footpaths, 18th century military roads, canal towpaths and, inevitably, sections of tarmac. We’d carefully chosen the time of year (mid-May), plotted the route on a stack of OS maps, booked accommodation, serviced our bikes, bought the right kit and trained.
On the first morning, we sped out of Aberdeen along the old Deeside railway, lined with electric yellow Scotch broom. At Banchory, we crossed the tan brown River Dee in sunshine. Climbing beside the Water of Feugh, we caught the first, enticing glimpses of the dark, heather-clad hills, burnt-back with rectangular shapes like a Rothko painting. The world seemed right: our progress was good. But, as Robert Burns wrote, ‘The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley.’ Climbing into the Birse forest, a metallic crunch broke the silence and Spencer’s bike stopped dead. The damage – a mangled chain and a shorn mech hanger – was serious, and beyond our limited tool kit. Salvation, however, came in the form of Moira Gray, a local shepherd’s wife, who saw us and drove home to pick up the very tool we lacked. ‘Ah remember bean stuck ah Glenshee un a snowstorm wee-oot a chain tool,’ she said in her delightful brogue, ‘An ah heed ta help ya oot.’
We were papering over cracks though, and limping over the Hill of Duchery on the ‘Fungle Road’, an ancient drovers’ thoroughfare connecting Deeside with Glen Esk in Aberdeenshire, the bike seized again. The following morning, the chef at the Loch Kinnord Hotel drove Spencer into Ballater with the crippled bike. At Cyclehighlands, the excellent bike shop on the Victorian town square, Richard did his best to revive the steed, without success. He was, however, so keen for us continue on our adventure, he agreed to rent a bike and drive to Fort William in three days to collect it, for a modest sum. By midday, we were back on the trail, heading up Glen Gairn and into the mountains. The gentrified scenery of the Dee Valley gave way to rough farmland, stonewalls and granite cottages with antlers above the porches. Beside the quaint humpback bridge at Gairnshiel, we turned north-west onto the moors, passing flocks of plovers,
curlews and oystercatchers on the flats beside the peaty river. Lapwings, with their conspicuous, wavering flight, flapped and ducked overhead. Further up the Glen, the air was filled with the honeyed, liquid song of skylarks, and approaching Corndavon Bothy, we put up the first grouse: the plump, slightly comical bird sprung from the heather beside the track and wheeled away from us, cackling. After two days of almost unbroken sunshine, the sky began to blacken as we approached the snowdappled mountains. ‘This is big country,’ Dave said tremulously, at the confluence of Glens Gairn and Builg, where I’d like my ashes scattered. On the rolling footpath past Loch Builg – a technical section that tested our riding skills – the first pellets of rain began to fall. Descending through the steepsided Glen Builg, the intensity redoubled and roaring back and forth across the Builg Burn, we were soon soaked. At Inchrory, a grand Highland stalking lodge
Melgarve bothy, where the tarmac ends and the old military road begins, we met Ian who’d already nailed a dram or two of the ‘water of life.’ He played us a jig on his penny whistle and bid us good luck on the pass.
on a bluff above the River Avon, the track improved dramatically and, with the scent of a pub now apparent, we tore through the last eight miles to Tomintoul. Grey skies, stiff bodies and perhaps a dram too many made for a slow start on day three. Snipe came zigzagging out of the rushes as we struggled across a bog to reach the river in Glen Brown, but the avian highlight of the day was passing through a picturesque rock-cleavage in the delightfully named hills, the Braes of Abernethy. Dave and I were waiting in the heather when a golden eagle wafted silently overhead: with a 2m plus wingspan, it was a daunting sight. Descending from the Braes of Abernethy, we ghosted into a small stand of Caledonian pine forest. I’d read that the like covered most of Scotland at the end of the last Ice Age: today less than 1% remains. This landscape of thinly scattered birch, rowan, juniper and statuesque Scots pines has a curious but profound sense of antiquity that touched us all. ‘You half expect to see a grey wolf bounding up the hill,’ Spencer said. Hunched over our bikes like
turtles, we hurtled down the track past Ryvoan Bothy into the Rothiemurcus Forest. Increasingly confident in our mountain biking skills, we negotiated the fine mix of singletrack and forest rides to reach the River Spey as the lights illuminating the Ruthven Barracks by Kingussie began to glow. Our last day was always going to be a struggle: 70 plus miles, crossing the Monadliath Mountains via the 775m Corrieyairack Pass. The Hermitage Guesthouse set us up with a mighty breakfast and the first 20 miles, following the Spey through Newtownmore and Laggan, were a good warm up. At
The English General Wade built the road in 1731, as part of a grand scheme to suppress Jacobite insurrection in the Highlands with troop mobility and good communications. It didn’t work, of course: the Jacobites rose again in 1745 and, ironically, passed this way. Yet Wade’s roads are enduring feats of engineering, expertly tracing the contours of the land, and they’re as busy today with walkers and mountain bikers as they were with English garrisons 250 years ago. Evans Cycles had generously leant us bikes for the ride, in order to assess whether a fullsuspension bike or a hard-tail (front suspension only) was most suitable. On the long, tough ascent to the Corrieyairack Pass – much of it on foot, pushing the steeds amidst the patches of thick snow – we concluded that the lighter, hard-tail bikes were ideal for a multi-day adventure in Scotland. We gave the bikes, and our back teeth, a rattling on the
hour-long belter of a descent from the Pass down to Fort Augustus in the Great Glen. As we reached Loch Oich, the sun was waning slowly, like us. We now had three hours to cycle 30 miles, to reach Fort William and catch the Caledonian Sleeper back to England. As lambent light filled the Glen, we raced beneath Ben Nevis, dreaming now of being lulled to sleep by the ‘ta-dum, ta-dum’ of the lolloping train.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rob Penn rides a bicycle to get to work, sometimes for work, to keep fit, to bathe in air and sunshine, to travel, to stay sane, for fun, to scare himself and to hear his boy laugh. He’s ridden a bicycle most days of his adult life. In his twenties, he gave up a career and cycled round the world. Rob is a journalist, TV presenter and author. His latest book, It’s All About the Bike: the Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels was a Sunday Times bestseller: it’s been translated into ten languages.
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WORLD BEATERS Welsh mountain bikers are lucky – they have some of the world’s best trail centres on their doorstep. Alf Alderson investigates how this came about…
image: cognation.co.uk
image: cognation.co.uk
Unfortunately I’m old enough to remember when mountain bikes didn’t have any suspension, disc brakes were only found on vehicles with engines and most rides in Wales were voyages of discovery along green lanes and bridleways that may have been represented on a map, but were often found to have vanished into the mists of time once you tried to ride them. This wasn’t all bad – it’s quite exciting to ‘discover’ your own off-road routes through the wild Cambrian Mountains for instance – but it was a far cry from today when Wales has some of the best trail centres and trails in the world, where weather and erosion resistant trails built by mountain bikers for mountain bikers give
riders exactly what they want indeed, trail builders from around the world have visited Wales to see just how it’s done. I well recall having returned from a mountain bike trip to Idaho some years ago, going on a trip to Coed-y-Brenin in Snowdonia, and it being suggested by my riding companion Stuart that this must be really boring after the Rockies. I sat back in the sunshine, looked around me at the shady forests surrounding us and mountain peaks in the distance rising two or three thousand feet up into a clear blue sky (similar ‘vert’ to Idaho), considered the well-maintained, idyllic trail we’d been riding for the last half hour, and answered “Actually, it’s as good if not better”.
After all, it’s only a few years or so since you had to head to the big mountain ranges of Europe or North America to enjoy top quality mountain biking. And at the end of your holiday there was always the anti-climax of coming back home from endless miles of sinuous single track and exhilarating downhills with little to look forward to other than boggy bridleways and bland forest trails. Not any more. And you don’t just get a selection of trails designed for all abilities, there’s great infrastructure too –the rides are graded so you know what you’re taking on before you start, and at ‘Purpose Built Centres’ there are facilities such as bike washes and cafes which make the riding as
user-friendly as you can get. Some centres even have interpretive programmes so that you can learn about the land you’ve just ridden through as you scoff your après-ride tea and cake. At Nant-yr-Arian above Aberystwyth, for instance, you can watch the spectacular local red kites being fed every afternoon – well worth taking time out for. Ride at any Welsh mountain biking centre and within minutes you’ll appreciate the quality of the trails, and if you’d rather not be tied to a purpose built centre towns such as Machynlleth and Llanwrtyd Wells can cater for you. Here mountain biking is an essential part of the local lifestyle, and quality waymarked trails take you out of town on exciting off-road journeys through the surrounding hills and forests.
COGNATION QUOTE
Sure, we have weather to contend with in Wales that would put off many overseas riders, but a bit of rain and mud never did anyone any harm – and it makes you appreciate the sunny days so much more. So before you sit down and start planning your next trip to Moab, Chamonix or Vancouver’s North Shore, it may well be worth taking a look a little closer to home – not only will it save you a few quid, the riding will be better too.
area or locality hosting several way-marked or mapped trails, with essential facilities such as accommodation, pubs, cafes, bike shops etc. all available within the vicinity from independent providers). You can check them all out at www.mbwales.com, but here are some of our favourites:
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OUR FAVOURITES
There are six ‘purpose built’ mountain bike centres in Wales (these are dedicated single site mountain biking locations with a visitor centre and MTB facilities serving multiple way-marked trails of varying difficulty) and seven mountain bike ‘bases’ (an
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Check out the gallery of images from our friends at Mudtrek (www.mudtrek. com) in Brechfa – proof that a bit of Welsh wind and rain isn’t enough to stop you from having a brilliant time on your bike. Give them a shout to experience the superb riding in their neck of the woods, whether a raw beginner of a gnarled and beaten old veteran they can show you some unforgettable riding.
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image: cognation.co.uk
PURPOSE BUILT CENTRES
BASES
Coed-y-Brenin.
Betwys-y-Coed.
Nant-yr-Arian.
Machynlleth.
Afan Argoed.
Llanwrtyd Wells.
The oldest and still one of the best centres in Britain with superb trails to suit all abilities. These vary from the easy 11-km Yr Afon route, ideal for families, to the Beast of Brenin, a 38km challenge of technical single track for expert
Located high in the mountains just inland from the university town of Aberystwyth, this centre has superb single track riding in the wild and little-known Cambrian Mountains and offers a stunning high-level wilderness adventure on the 35-km Syfydrin Trail.riders.
Just minutes from the M4, but once on trails such as the 17-km, ninety per cent purposebuilt Whites Trail or the spectacular 23-km single track The Wall you’d never guess it. Superb views too over much of South Wales and even across the Bristol Channel to England. Cwmcarn. Also within easy reach of the M4 near Newport, routes such as the epic singletrack Twrch Trail are legendary in South Wales and beyond, whilst Y Mynydd downhill has the only year-round uplift service in the UK, making it a magnet for downhillers. It even has an uplift facility to do away with all the hard work.
Home to two purpose built trails offering long challenging climbs which lead to miles of epic technical singletrack – or if that doesn’t appeal there are hundreds of kilometres of fire roads to explore.
Waymarked routes of varying length and difficulty take you straight from the centre of town into fantastic mountain and valley scenery, and consist of everything from mixed road and valley trails to long forestry climbs, mountain singletrack and hooning descents.
Everything from easy low level routes to challenging mountain terrain is on offer from this base in Britain’s smallest town (its official!), and one of the homes of UK mountain biking.
Brechfa Forest.
Tucked away in a remote corner of Carmarthenshire, Brechfa has marvellous trails for all abilities, an air of calm solitude (when you’re not belting along the fantastic single track that is!) and a great pub – the Black Lion – right next to the main car park.
Antur Stiniog.
Located in the slate mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, Antur Stiniog only opened last summer. The focus here is on downhill, accessed with an uplift facility, with a range of testing trails featuring flowing berms, big tabletops, rocky descents and double jumps for a range of abilities.
image: visitwales.com
USEFUL CONTACTS Cognation VISIT WEBSITE MB Wales
for links to all the above riding centres
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image: visitwales.com
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image: Evans Cycle
RELIGHT MY FIRE
A trip to Moab rekindles Lewis Panther’s enthusiasm for mountain biking All photos Moab Adventure Center My love of mountain biking has been as much of a rollercoaster ride as the best designed, man-made 7-Stanes singletrack. From the moment I spotted a yellow Muddy Fox with its bobbly, chunky tyres I knew that’s what I wanted to ride. It was a steel Saracen Tufftrax that I saved up to buy in the end - for around £350. Apart from the pedals on an elliptical front cog designed to give you more power on the downstroke, it was pretty much a beefed up racing bike of the day. Flat handle bars, a comfier seat and chunky wheels were the only other significant differences that I can remember. British designers had obviously seen the pictures of the “clunkers” skidding down the side of the dusty
hills in Marin County and done a nifty 1980s cut and paste job on parts. But that bike took as much of a hammering as any teenager from the east Midlands could dream. Day-long epics around the Derbyshire Dales in the rain, skills sessions in mud and ironstone strewn old quarries; carrying the bike on my back for miles across unrideable sections of the Brecon Beacons - even dipping into a cave where pot-holers emerged from an underground river. And there was the two-mile ride along a river bed, which just about finished off the bottom bracket… Back then, there was always a constant companion. Water. Rain. Although I’ve been slogging on ever since, I think it knocked the shine off my idea of what mountain biking should be about. I must have seen one of those early pictures of Joe Breeze and Gary Fisher hurtling down fire roads in the hills outside
San Francisco, because that’s what I imagined it should be like. That’s where I dreamed of riding. Although I progressed up the MTB food-chain - owning a beautiful, electric blue Klein with Rock Shox front forks before it was nicked by some toerag, a Cannondale with a (yuk!) Headshok, a full suss Stumpy and a totally inappropriate Cove Stiffee - it was the rain that stuck by me during 20 years of riding. So over the last few summers, riding has taken a bit of a back seat. Too much water has seeped in and left this frame cold and creaking. Even a couple of trips to southern Spain and another few around the Alps - including an 11-hour epic at the Passport du Soliel – didn’t reignite my love for the sport that had once seemed the perfect summer alternative to skiing. I don’t mind a quick charge round
Whytes Level unless I get soaked by Gore-tex busting Welsh rain within 100 metres of the Dropoff cafe. But its three-hours drive for me to get there before I even get kitted out. Consequently, those days have been getting fewer and further apart. So the fact that I found myself planning a trip to Moab must have had people thinking I’ve got more than a few screws loose. But I thought it would be just what I needed to re-ignite my passion. Anyone who has been mountain biking since it captured the public imagination back in the late 1980s will be aware of Moab. The rustcoloured Navajo sandstone around the Utah mining town has drawn top riders from around the world like flies to a burning lamp. Its fabled sticky Slickrock has been on the top of the ‘to-do’
list of anyone who calls themselves a mountain biker. But it’s easy to see why the majority of British riders have missed out on these gravity-defying trails. It’s simply too far and too expensive to get there for the average offroad cyclist. Even obsessives struggle to find the justification to pay for a trans-Atlantic flight plus an internal flight and car hire to carry them the last few hundred miles. And when you’ve seen bike bags plummet 20 feet from an Easy Jet flight landing at Malaga like I have, the thought of transporting a bike worth anything up to £5,000 sends shivers down the spine. But it’s a shame. The Utah desert is home to the best trails I’ve been lucky enough to ride. The very fact that it is so revered also guarantees there is a support
network of bike shops, cheap digs and reasonably-priced diners to keep tourists like me happy. And here I have to make a confession… I was already in the USA on another trip - and decided to extend my stay and make the 600-mile drive from Vegas to Moab to see if it really was worth the effort. But would I go all that way if I wasn’t already in the vicinity? Maybe… Driving down Highway 191 after about seven hours of ardly touching the brake, I’m as stiff as a board. It’s a black, moonless night. There’s not even a lot of stargazing to be done because of the cloud cover. But as I start to slow down, rolling over the bridge above the Colorado River, the jagged red rock formations can be seen even in the gloom.
Chile Pepper Bikes, it’s already in the mid-20s. And it’s November. There isn’t a cloud in the sky. All the apathy that had seen me turn down rides to the Lakes, Afan and Derbyshire over the past few years goes out the window. The mechanics in the shop where I hire the Transition Covert clearly know what they’re talking about and are full of helpful ideas about where to go. Being honest about my ability, I plumped for the Brand Trails just north of town.
Ignoring the Inca Inn - where I’m booked in for four nights - as I drive into the centre of Moab, it strikes me how unremarkable it seems. Shabby, even. Too tired to do much exploring, I sidle up the bar of the Moab Brewery for a standard dinner of burger, chips and Dead Horse Ale. I say standard, but they’re the usual North American supersized portions. Next morning when I rock up to
I was a bit huffy about the fact they were described as family trails, but it seemed a good idea to take it easy as the last serious riding I’d done was for the Passport in June four months earlier. It’s a good job, too. While most of the dusty, perfect singletrack was a dream come true and my first experience of slabs of slick rock had me beaming, some of the rubble-strewn steep climbs and drop-offs were absolute bitches.
As I jumped off the Covert when the front wheel washed out from under me skidding down one particular steep descent on Deadman’s Ridge, I started to doubt my ability to ride at all. Spurred on by my innate stubborn determination, I made it through Killer B to enjoy Circle O and Rocking A without picking up any cattle-style brands of my own. The only real hazard to all the slick rock riding was that I wanted to gaze over the Utah desert which stretches as far as the eye can see, only broken by red stone mesas. And there are some pretty big drop-offs into the canyons below. Once I’d conquered my desire to stop and gaze into Arches National Park every 15 metres, I settled into “let rip” mode, hitting the pedals for a few strokes and letting it flow over the rocks. I was brought crashing down and over the handle bars in one of those moments when I bottled it instead of letting the bike do the business.
Dropping off the rocks on to a patch of sand I should have manualled the front end back up onto the rocks where the painted arrows were pointing. But timidity got the better of me, and I dabbed down and lost it. Cue a cut elbow. Nothing worse, though it made me wonder if I should have hired arm pads along with the knee guards I had picked up for a few dollars at Chile Pepper. It wasn’t enough to take the ear-to-ear grin off my face though - and I even did one of the shorter loops for a second time before calling it a day and heading back to town. I had planned to ride straight on to the legendary Slickrock Trail, but sense prevailed again. I had been pedalling pretty hard for more than three hours, so would leave it until the following day. And in fairness, the huge dome of rock that makes up the trail is just outside town. I had to pick up a $10 national park permit to drive the Jeep up to the car park next to the trailhead the following morning, but that
allowed me to go in and out over the next few days. As the morning had warmed up wonderfully to something like 26 or 27 degrees C, I filled the Camelbak up and loaded extra energy drinks into the rucksack before heading out to the Practice Loop. I nearly turned back before setting out to ride the full length, lollipopshaped version of the loop though. My brain simply couldn’t work out that the bike would stick to the rock rather than skidding from underneath me, leaving me to jump off, flop over the front of the handle bars - or both. But I hadn’t come all this way to wimp out and I gradually realised the flypaper qualities would allow me to ride up and down the most ridiculously steep slopes. The views were even more jawdroppingly spectacular than the day before, but that just gave me excuses to get my breath after the granny ring crunching climbs. Half way round and more than
half way through the Camelbak’s contents, I decided to bask in the sun looking over the ledge a thousand feet down to the Colorado River. The fact that I was just a few miles from town made me wonder if Moab was a bit too touristy. But to be so close to absolute wilderness, yet able to hire the right kind of beefy 150mm travel all-mountain bike ticks the right boxes for me. And although I never expected to see one, the fact that mountain lions were wandering around added to the excitement of this little adventure. After making it back to the Jeep in a little over three hours - which is about average for the nine- and-a-
half-mile ride - I decided to leave the Transition locked in the back and headed off deeper into the national park. As the sun dipped down, I found myself hopping around the sandstone rocks marvelling at the prehistoric formations as they changed colour with the fading light. I’d have to spend weeks or even months if I wanted to get round all two-thousand-plus of the arches, so I decided to limit it to Delicate Arch that day. With my passion for mountain biking fully reignited, working out what to ride for my final day was proving to be a tricky decision. It was a case of going for the übermacho Porcupine Rim or the more mellow Magnificient 7. Both needed a ‘gravity-assisted’ van ride out of town to take me up to the start of the trail. Locals made worrying noises about huge rocks, even bigger drops and general nastiness at the end of Porcupine. As I didn’t
fancy finishing off Moab carrying my bike, Mag 7 won the day. Its 26-miles - mostly downhill, and a combination of dusty singletrack and slickrock - and I couldn’t wait. After the 40 minute drive north of town, I teamed up with a group of fellow MTBers after an invite from a friendly Glasgow Rangers fan who has lived in Aspen for the past 25 years. Following a bit of fettling, the five of us were off flying down the most wonderful flowing trail I’ve ever been on. It wasn’t so steep that I had to hang out over the back, but it only took a stamp on the pedals here and there to keep up the speed. Occasionally, I’d have to pull on the brakes as we headed towards a 150-ft drop into the canyon below. As we ate up the perfect combination of sandy singletrack and slickrock, I wasn’t always at the back - which was a source of particular pride. One of the lads was on a 10-year-old hardtail Marin, and his lycra-clad body was taking one hell of a battering.
But it was probably his choice of sustenance at every stop that meant he was flagging. The sight of him lighting up a huge spliff left me slack-jawed for the thousandth time that trip. It also reinforced my determination to stay ahead of him as we continued down this glorious run back down to Moab, especially as the obstacles became bigger and much more demanding towards the end. One gnarly section rolls off the slickrock, dropping six feet in the space of less than a couple of feet. I would have bottled it if I had seen it. By the time we’d got back, two of us had blown shocks through the battering we had given the bikes. But for me that was the joy of picking up a hire bike, especially as I had paid the $13 insurance. It was only the drive back to Vegas straight afterwards that took the shine off this trip. But at least there wasn’t any rain…
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NOTHING TO THINK ABOUT BUT
RIDING YOUR BIKE
image: gpm10.com
GPM10 is a successful cycling business based in the French Alps which offers high end, professionally supported cycle training camps and guided tours for passionate cyclists. Clients may well find themselves riding two or three Tour de France mountain passes a day in a competitive atmosphere, however, so this isn’t the kind of outfit for novice roadies.
From modest beginnings some ten years ago GPM10 has gone on to become one of the most highly regarded businesses of its kind, offering guests the chance to ride with full back-up support in choice locations like the French and Italian Alps, Mallorca and the Pyrenees. Inspired by a bike ride from London to Chamonix during a year out from his regular job, director Mark
Neep ‘fell in love with France” and moved there to transform himself from being a keen mountain biker to that most dangerous of beasts, a born again roadie looking for a way to make a living from his passion. It took years of hard work to mould GPM10 into the business it is today; checking out and riding routes for training camps and guided tours, setting up
quality guest accommodation and restaurants, bringing on board equally committed staff whether it be ride guides (some of whom have competed professionally on the European road circuit), masseurs or mechanics and setting up partnerships which work for clients as well as they work for GPM10.
image: gpm10.com
GETTING ESTABLISHED
For instance the company currently work with Serotta (www. serotta.com) to offer customers the option of demo-ing high end machines worth in excess of £10k; also amongst their partners are highly respected brands such as Castelli (www.castellicycling.com) and London-based Cyclefit (www.cyclefit.co.uk) who will ensure you and your bike are working together in perfect harmony before GPM10 drag you over a selection of demanding alpine passes.
“I think it takes longer than most people think to get established and a key to our success has been the repeat clients and referrals that account for over 90% of business”, says Mark. He makes no excuses for tailoring the business towards well-heeled clients – GPs, QCs, city bankers, even US Senators are the kind of punters who can be seen riding in a GPM10 peloton. “Knowledge of the terrain you’re working in, especially in the mountains, is also key; I would never ask a client to ride a route
that I have not ridden myself. There are so many elements that can come into play - the weather, varying abilities and the risk of someone crashing; I feel our clients are confident that we know what we are doing and that we take their safety and well-being seriously”. This attention to detail has seen the company garner exposure in publications such as the Financial Times, Sunday Times and ProCycling magazine, which helps to further develop their market.
image: gpm10.com
image: gpm10.com
image: gpm10.com
image: gpm10.com
CYCLING FANATICS
If you ride with GPM10 you can expect to find yourself in the company of cycling fanatics riding the best bikes and using the best kit (which doesn’t necessarily make them any faster, of course) on routes that for the most part have been tailor-made by the company to be challenging and spectacular in equal measure. And although you’ll also enjoy quality accommodation along the route Mark emphasises that “We don’t make the accommodation a major selling point of our trips - it’s the riding and the support we are renowned for. There’s a lot of planning, preparation and logistical support involved so when the clients arrive everything is organized and they simply have to think about riding their bike and nothing more, which
is what they are here to do after all”. Extra food, clothes and spares are transported in a back-up car that follows riders along the entire length of each day’s ride, and the company employs support riders – many of whom are successful pro-am racers – to lead the route or act as tail gunners supporting those who find themselves in the position of ‘lanterne rouge’. This leaves cyclists free to carry a minimum of gear and enjoy the ride to the max. Mark gets to ride most of the routes with his clients. Clearly there’s a stack of organising and preparation before he gets to swing his leg over his bike, but it’s still not a bad way to earn a living. He reckons “You don’t
need any specific qualifications to do what I do but you do need to have a passion for it, along with good communication skills and a head for logistics”. And if you’ve got that, and a strong work ethic, and don’t mind putting in heaps of time and effort eventually you may get the pay off – not just in the form of a wage, but more importantly “In the way that I get to ride my bike on a regular basis and be paid for it as well as spending a lot of my working time outdoors with people who want to do the same”. Of course, you can go and check it out for yourself by booking with GPM10 for a ride up Mont Ventoux or the Tourmalet – the only question is, are you up to it…?
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image: gpm10.com
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A PAIN IN THE NECK Alf Alderson looks at what it takes to complete the ‘world’s toughest bike race’. image:Alberto Blanco
The hard-as-nails Race Across America is, according to its promoters ‘…a pinnacle of athletic achievement’; indeed, the promotional blurb goes on to inform us that ‘Race Across America is the World’s Toughest Bike Race’. Even the acronym RAAM is as macho as a rusty old pick-up truck. But when you look at the race stats you have to admit that they may have a point. Three thousand miles of riding, 170,000 feet of climbing, all in one continual stage, the whole lot to be completed in less than twelve days. And not even any prize money, just the glory of finishing and the warm glow from earning some bucks for the good cause of your choice (most competitors do the race for charity). Yes, few would argue that it isn’t
a tough call even by the sadomasochistic standards of your average professional racing cyclist. That said, you don’t have to do the event solo, although that’s the only way you’ll earn the distinction of becoming an official ‘RAAM Finisher’, of which there have been fewer than 200 since the race started in 1982. There are also competitions for two-, fourand eight-person teams, the latter of which actually makes the race feasible for mere mortals since it involves an average of just three hours per day on your bike. This mix of professionals riding in the solo category through to keen amateurs racing as teams – and the lack of prize money - makes the whole shebang a very different creature to the Grand Tours and other major stage races. But whichever way you look at it, taking on RAAM, particularly as a solo rider, is a daunting task. If you’re in any doubt, simply ask the fourth place finisher and
Rookie of the Year from 2011, Alberto Blanco.
Despite the name, Alberto doesn’t hail from some bicycle worshipping Italian hill town but is a hearty young Californian sponsored by NeilPryde Bikes. Alberto completed the 2989.5-mile route of the 2011 RAAM from Oceanside, California to Annapolis, Maryland in nine days, seven hours and twenty-seven minutes (average speed 13.38mph) and hopped off his bike in rude health apart from swollen feet, blurred vision, a lack of feeling in his fingers, nasty saddle sores, “a general feeling on my body like I had a concussion” and a bad case of ‘Shermer’s Neck’, which we’ll come on to in a minute.
image:Alberto Blanco
Pictures of Alberto taken immediately after finishing the race show an exhausted man who looks like a cross between an earthquake survivor and the Tour’s lantern rouge at the end of an especially cruel day in the Alps. An intensive training programme of individual rides of up to 450 miles, daily commutes to work of 45 miles each way and an average weekly mileage of 600-700 miles (100-150 on rest weeks) are partly what allowed Alberto to complete this mighty challenge, although like Mark Cavendish he’s always keen to point out that he simply couldn’t have done it without his team mates – in this case not fellow riders but an essential back up crew of two drivers, two navigators and a doctor (it’s also worth remembering that even for these five non-cyclists this is a tough assignment, with only three hours of sleep a day).
Those three hours of kip were pure indolence compared to what Alberto got, however - he slept an average of 1.5 hours per day, with the luxury of a “very refreshing” five-minute nap in the afternoon of the final two days.
Since they were crossing an entire continent Alberto and his team experienced a variety of extreme weather conditions – severe thunderstorms in Illinois, close to sub-zero temperatures whilst climbing and descending eight-per-cent Wolf Creek Pass in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains
(at 10587 feet the highest point in the race) and in Kansas fortydegree heat with the delightful addition of 65 kph headwinds. But as ever it was other road users who proved the biggest danger along the way (clearly it’s impractical to hold a race of this length on closed roads). “There was one particular stretch in Colorado where the trucks and traffic were passing really close to me and direct team back up wasn’t permitted on this stretch so I had no protection behind me I was scared going through there”. Team camaraderie was key to Alberto’s success. “The only guy on the team who had done RAAM before was one of the drivers, Jim – in fact this was his seventeenth time of crewing at RAAM and he said after the race he would trade all of his previous experiences just for this one, he was so happy with the team spirit”.
image:Alberto Blanco
image:Alberto Blanco
image:Alberto Blanco
image:Alberto Blanco
However, even the least cynical of people would have to ask why you would endure this endless slog for little more than the satisfaction of putting it all behind you, but then again, for some cyclists this is enough. Alberto told me that his inspiration came from the likes of Roger Bannister, the first man to run a sub-four-minute mile, high altitude mountaineers Reinhold Messner and Ed Viesturs and RAAM record holder Pete Penseyres, who also happens to be one of his friends. These are all men who would appear to have higher thresholds of pain tolerance, stamina and
sheer determination than the majority of humankind, and I guess that when you consider that since RAAM’s inception in 1982 an average of less than six people a year have completed the race in the allotted time it would seem you perhaps need to be made of the same stuff as such heroes to emulate Alberto’s achievements. If you’re in any doubt, consider this: the ‘Shermer’s Neck’ complaint I referred to above, and that Alberto started to develop on descending from Wolf Creek Pass, only about a third of the way into the race, would be enough to make most people forget about even riding
image:Alberto Blanco
their bike down to the corner shop, let alone another 2000 miles. The malady is named after Michael Shermer, one of the original RAAM racers who suffered from the previously unknown and unnamed complaint in the 1983 race; your neck muscles basically stop working due to the constant strain of being in a riding position for up to 22 hours a day, so it becomes impossible to hold your head up, which is a bit of a disadvantage when you have a good slice of the USA to cycle across. The condition doesn’t respond to anti-inflammatories, ice, massage
or any of the standard treatments for exhausted muscles, so Alberto’s team solved the problem by constructing a makeshift neck brace from a backpack frame and various other bits of metalwork, bungee cords and strapping. He lost several hours whilst the brace was constructed but amazingly, once fitted, his speeds continued to be up there with the race leaders. On a more prosaic level, Alberto also points out that “I didn’t get to see a lot of countryside after the first thousand miles because of the neck problem - all I could really see was my front wheel and the handlebars” – so not even the opportunity to enjoy the views along the way… And there was one other rather bizarre issue which no one else
in the race had to contend with. “When we hit the thunderstorm in Illinois, lightning was striking all around us. Conditions were so bad that cars and trucks were pulling over to sit it out – and there I was cycling through the electrically charged atmosphere wearing a makeshift neck brace with a piece of metal sticking out the top and acting as the perfect lightning conductor! The crew told me to get in the car and maybe wait it out, but I knew most of my competitors would be riding through it so we carried on regardless”. Of course, the stress on the body of such a long and sustained ride is extreme enough without picking up such esoteric injuries as ‘Shermer’s Neck’. Racers need to eat and drink constantly and it’s a challenge in itself to take on board the eight thousand calories of food
image:Alberto Blanco
and three gallons of fluid required each day, and no one is going to climb down from their bike after 3000 miles of continuous riding and carry on as normal – certainly not for a few weeks, anyway. The Tour is famously said to take most riders months to recover from, and when I spoke to Alberto a month after RAAM he said his neck was still stiff although almost back to normal, but he was still suffering from numbness in his extremities, had no strength in his hands and pain in his feet when he walked. “Oh, and I also lost three toenails”. You kind of get the feeling that the man who uttered the immortal phrase “Put me back on my bike” would understand – even if the rest of us probably never will.
image:Alberto Blanco
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image:Alberto Blanco
A DOG’S LIFE
“The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.” Charles de Gaulle
For those of us who take our dogs along on our outdoor adventures know that they will follow us to the ends of the Earth – literally in some cases (think of Scott and Amundsen – although the Norwegian explorer actually ate his canine companions on his trek to the South Pole; not cool). I’ve taken my border collie Finn on hikes in the Swiss and French Alps and the French Pyrenees; he’s been swimming with me in the Atlantic off the coast of Wales and France; he runs alongside me when I’m mountain biking and ski touring; and he has more stamps in his passport than the average American.
When I’m out for a hike without him I definitely miss him. Sure, it can be a pain having to throw sticks, stones and balls all the time, but unlike any human companion he doesn’t complain when the fun stops – in fact he never complains about anything. I do get mournful looks whenever he gets left in the house alone, but that is literally as close as he ever gets to moaning about anything.
Alf & Finn
Ian Beecroft
We’ve all heard tales of the loyalty and unconditional love of dogs towards their owners. And if you’re an outdoor type you’ll probably be aware of this more than most.
“Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
Cameron Wllson
Alf Alderson looks at why a dog is good for your outdoor life.
where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace.” Milan Kundera So, he gets a walk or a run (or a swim) pretty much whenever I feel like getting out of the house, because I rarely go anywhere without him. And the process works in reverse; he needs at least two if not three walks a day, so come rain, shine or howling gale I’m forced to go out every day. There are of course times when I just don’t feel like it, whether that be through sheer laziness, illness, time and work constraints or a dozen other reasons, but there’s no choice about it – Finn needs a walk, he gets a walk. I have no time for people who get a dog and then can’t be arsed to exercise it properly. Anyone with half a brain knows that any dog requires exercise, and it’s part of
image:Alf Alderson
“Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read”. Groucho Marx
image:Alf Alderson
the unspoken pact you enter into when you become a dog owner. Your dog relies upon you for adequate exercise, for food and water and a warm place to sleep - and that’s about it (in fact in my dog’s case he’d usually prefer a cold place to sleep). In return you get absolute loyalty (Finn has defended me when someone tried to attack me, for instance) which is something that very few humans seem capable of. Dogs also understand your emotions – if I’m angry my dog knows it and gets out of the room to allow me to let off steam alone;
image:Alf Alderson
if I’m down he seems to know that too and comes up to play and try and take my mind off things; and when I’m glad to be out in the great outdoors he’s glad too, leaping and barking like a – well,like a mad dog. As far as I can see dogs have no vices either. They don’t hold grudges, evil is simply not in them (sure they may chew up your wallet and pee on your car but that’s about as ‘evil’ as they ever get unless a pea-brained human has taught them to be nasty) and they forgive instantly.
And you could probably argue that for most dog owners their mutt keeps them fitter. There have been more times than I can count when I really don’t feel like going out for a dog walk but I stick to my obligations and do so when I’d probably otherwise be working, watching TV or doing some other equally useless activity. In fact on a recent walk with Finn I totted up just how much mileage we do together (dog walking also gives you a lot of time to think…). An average day would see us walking a minimum of two to three miles, often more. That’s 21 miles
a week, 84 miles a month, 1008 miles a year. Add to that pretty regular long walks of ten miles or more and I reckon we (or rather I) cover in excess of 1500 miles a year. Finn of course will do at least three or four times that amount as he runs incessantly back and forth chasing sticks, balls, stones, snowballs, grass, fresh air and cats (which are a waste of time). So that’s at least a thousand miles a year of walking that I probably wouldn’t do if I didn’t have Finn. Not only does that give me a decent bit of exercise, it takes me through some lovely countryside varying from coast to mountains, it allows my mind to switch off and sometimes it provides inspiring sights such as deer fleeing into the hills, marmots whistling to their companions, a peregrine falcon swooping across the sky or
porpoise leaping through the waves. I also meet other walkers and dog owners and get into conversation; I’ve even made new friends. All as a result of owning a dog. And at day’s end, when we come home from our walks be they long or short, I have an unquestioning friend who is grateful whether he’s been round the block or round the Snowdon Horseshoe.
Not a bad return for two bowls of dog food a day…
“Heaven goes by favour. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.” Mark Twain
image:Tim Bugler
Words Alf Alderson Pics Alf Alderson & Kirsty Morris
POWDER HOUNDS Dogs are not just friends and companions they’re often essential work colleagues, as I discovered when I checked out the work of Fernie ski resort’s avalanche rescue dogs. Think of mountain rescue dogs and the traditional image is of a faithful St. Bernard plodding valiantly into a blizzard to bring relief and a welcome tot of brandy to avalanched skiers and storm bound winter travellers. But the fact is St. Bernards have only ever had limited employment as rescue dogs, and its breeds such as German shepherds, border collies and golden retrievers that are the dogs of choice for mountain rescue teams. So it was that I found myself looking up into the friendly panting face of Lily, a golden retriever cross who had come to rescue me from an ‘avalanche’ on the slopes of Fernie Alpine Resort in British Columbia. I’d been buried in the snow as part
of an exercise for the resort’s ski patrol team and it was Lily’s task as one of the team’s avalanche rescue dogs to both find me and dig me out as fast as possible. In a real rescue situation an avalanched skier would indeed be hoping and praying that a trained dog such as Lily was on hand, since an avalanche dog can search one hectare in approximately 30 minutes whilst it will take twenty humans using avalanche probes around four hours to cover an equivalent area. The speed with which an ‘avy dog’ may locate an avalanche victim is absolutely vital in a rescue, since around 90 per cent of avalanche victims will survive if recovered in the first 15 minutes after burial provided they haven’t suffered fatal trauma. This drops to just
30 per cent after half an hour and only 10 per cent after two hours. The dog searches for ‘pools’ of human scent which are given off by buried victims – if still conscious the scent will be especially strong as the victim is highly likely to be panicking and may even be sweating despite the cold. The odour rises up through the snow pack before being carried away on the breeze, and when a dog finds a potential scent they’ll bury their snout and head into the snow to try to locate it more accurately. If the scent intensifies the dog will start to dig and human rescuers will come along and assist with shovels; if the scent becomes weaker the dog will work outwards from the area to try to locate a stronger scent.
Lily & Kirk
at work in Fernie Alpine Resort
for similar odours that are given off by a buried victim. She will do a practice rescue like this twice a week throughout the winter. It was after seeing an avalanche rescue dog in action at Fernie that Kirk was encouraged to get into ‘avy dog’ work. “The first succesful avalanche dog rescue in Canada took place here in Fernie in 2000, when a buried skier was dug out alive thanks largely to the work of the dog” says Kirk. “I was a member of the ski patrol team at the time. I got Lily a couple of years later with the intention of working her as an avy dog, and at two months old she began her training”.
As Lily’s handler Kirk Gutzman told me before the exercise “The tricky part as a handler is to be able to recognize if your dog is interested in a spot because there’s someone buried beneath it, or has just found a surface scent – for instance, where a fellow rescuer may have fallen over and put some human scent on the snow surface”.
and as soon as it stopped “She jumped off, sniffed the air for a few seconds and then headed almost straight towards where you were buried,” said Kirsty. “After a bit of sniffing around in the general area of the snowhole she then homed in on you and started digging – the whole thing took less than a minute”
Kirsty Morris, a friend who I was skiing with whilst in Fernie and who had hung around to watch the free show told me what had been happening on the surface as I tried to keep warm whilst buried in a snowhole dug especially for the exercise.
Happy as I am to see her Lily isn’t really that interested in me – it’s the sweater that I’ve taken down the hole with me that she’s after, and the game of tug of war we have with it as a reward her for her efforts.
Lily had been brought to the scene of the ‘avalanche’ at high speed on Kirk’s snowmobile,
Lily has learnt to track down the scent of the human clutching on to the sweater since in a real life avalanche she would be searching
Kirk went on to explain that as a puppy all the training is based on praise – obedience training doesn’t begin until the dog is a year old. When Lily was eight months old she and Kirk attended a weekend assessment course with the Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association (CARDA) where trainers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police assessed dogs for their suitability. It was deemed that Lily had the right stuff, so there then followed more training and eventually a week long winter course involving everything from recognising human scents to learning to ride on ski lifts and snowmobiles and in helicopters. Lily and Kirk successfully completed this to become a ‘team in training’ for a full year, followed by another week long winter course, which they passed to become a fully certified avalanche rescue dog team and validated members of CARDA. “So as you can see it’s actually taken us quite a long time to come and rescue you!” laughed Kirk.
During the winter Fernie’s rescue dogs travel to work with their owners bright and early every morning through the ski season, hitting the slopes well before the first skiers of the day arrive. They have kennels on the mountain at an elevation of over 6,000 feet, ready to go into instant action since they will always be called out to any avalanche on the ski hill, irrespective of whether anyone Unfortunately after this story was researched Lily was diagnosed with cancer. The local ski community got together to raise money for her treatment and the success of their events shows in what high esteem Lily is held – from a sumo suit wrestling night on the ski hill which raised $700 CAN to a dinner and silent auction which pulled in an amazing $5000CAN, enough money was collected for her to have a successful operation. “We didn’t personally know a lot of the people who helped,” said Kirk, “but they ski locally
is thought to have been buried or not. Naturally enough Fernie’s avalanche dogs are a popular feature of the local ski scene and receive a lot of attention when they’re on duty – after all, it’s not every day you see a dog nonchalantly riding along on a ski lift. However, they’re discouraged by their handlers from letting this and have met Lily who is a bit of a charmer and seems to win hearts no matter what she is doing. It was really great to also see how highly respected and regarded the avalanche dogs are in the public eye – I was really moved by the generosity and good vibes from everyone.” However, Lily did had to have one leg amputated due to the cancer - but she has bounced straight back into action since the operation. “We were very careful with Lily’s recovery and I slept on a mattress on the floor with her for the first
go to their heads because when all’s said and done the avy dogs, unlike most of the people they meet every day, are in the resort to do a job, and one that’s becoming more and more important as increasing numbers of skiers and boarders head away from groomed trails and ‘out of bounds’ into potential avalanche terrain.
two weeks of her recovery to make sure she was catered for during the night. Consequently the following summer she was running, jumping, swimming, boating, camping - you name it! She can jump up into the back of my truck no problem. And even outside the ski season Lily continues to help others – as I was writing this piece she had just finished doing some demos in Fernie for ‘Paws for a Cause’ which raises money and awareness for the Canadian SPCA .
RESORT Fernie is renowned for its great snow conditions and uncrowded slopes – check out the action at www.skifernie.com
CANADIAN AVALANCHE DOG RESCUE ASSOCIATION Find out more about the work of avalanche rescue dogs at www.carda.bc.ca
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ACCOMMODATION You can meet Lily by staying at Beaver Lodge Chalet (www.beaverlodgechalet.com) in downtown Fernie, which is owned by her affable and welltravelled owners Kirk and Jenny Gutzman.
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ATOLL SURF STORY Alf Alderson discovers perfect waves on a surf boat charter in the Maldives
All images www.visitmaldives.com unless otherwise stated
If you’re an experienced surfer you owe it to yourself to surf the Maldives. Non surfers tend to look upon these exotic atolls as either a diving or honeymoon destination, yet take a glance at the seaward side of the atolls and you’ll see incredibly consistent Indian Ocean swells thumping into the coral reefs that fringe them, creating some of the loveliest waves in the world.
were double overhead, which was plenty big enough for most of us.
Over the past thirty years I’ve had the good fortune to surf in more countries than I can remember and nowhere has come close to the Maldives for pure fun waves that will have everyone from decent intermediate surfer to world class pro grinning from ear to ear.
One of the reasons for using a yacht to access the waves is that very few of the best breaks in the Maldives can be reached any other way; some surfers do base themselves at island resorts such as Lohifushi, but this restricts you to the waves that break in front of the island. No, heading off on a yacht ‘surfari’ is really the best way to make the most of the world class waves that the Maldives has to offer.
During a fourteen-day high seas adventure in July sailing from atoll to atoll aboard the motor vessel ‘Rani’ with six long-time surf buddies we never had a day when the surf was smaller than head-high, and several sessions
And the swell had been coming through before we arrived and was still coming through when we left – in fact our local surf guide Fayez said it never gets flat in the Maldives, even in the ‘flat’ season (the main surf season is March – November, with the biggest waves occurring in July and August).
The 75 ft ‘Rani’ on which we sailed and lived is a locally built and
image:Alf Alderson
owned motor vessel which has comfortable en-suite twin cabins, a sound and viewing system for downtime (not that there was much of that) and an on board chef to provide the kind of huge meals you need after surfing all day. At the higher end of the market you can go for a vessel like the ‘Princess Rani’ – the ‘royal’ tag means luxury comes as standard in the form of an onboard spa, jacuzzi and opulent accommodation in eleven air-conditioned guest cabins. The majority of charter boats invariably head north from the capital Malé to a string of unpronounceable atolls (‘atoll’ itself is a Maldivian word) from which perfect lefts and rights roll down either side of the atoll into deepwater channels (these channels can provide some spectacular diving and snorkelling, incidentally). Having a boat at your beck and
image:Alf Alderson
call means that if one break isn’t working or is too crowded with fellow surfers you can head to another, and with one exception all of the breaks we surfed were within an hour or two’s sailing time of each other so you don’t waste too much time roving the high seas rather than surfing them. You won’t necessarily get the waves all to yourself just because you’re accessing them by boat though. Some breaks can get pretty busy at times, with maybe 20 surfers on a peak. But since the peaks will shift a little depending on the size of each set, you can still catch plenty of waves. And the crowds tend to fluctuate a lot – we found that if we sat it out whilst a particular break was busy the numbers would invariably thin out as people paddled in for a refreshment break or because they were tired. And on some occasions it just seemed that people had a herd mentality to the
waves, surfing one break simply because there were other surfers on it, whilst an equally good wave on the other side of the atoll was going unridden. As for the surf – well, picture the perfect aquamarine barrel peeling flawlessly towards a palm fringed shoreline and you have the typical Maldivian wave experience. The water temperature is a consistent 27˚C, the waves are not too heavy, the reefs are not too shallow, so for any competent and experienced surfer this truly is as good as it gets. There’s a fairly even distribution of waves that break left and right too, so it doesn’t matter whether you’re ‘natural’ or ‘goofy’ you’ll find what you want. As a natural footer my favourite breaks were Sultans, Ninja’s and Cola’s. Sultans is a world-class right that is consistent and long, with a super fast, hollow inside section (and there’s the slightly bizarre left of Honky’s on the other
side of the peak, which actually gets bigger as you ride along it) – the local name for this surf spot is Thamburudhoo so you can perhaps see why it’s been christened ‘Sultans’ by visiting surfers.
Ninja’s, according to most of the surf guides I perused before I got there, is a short, ‘mellow’ wave popular with Japanese surfers, although is this is ‘mellow’ then I’m not sure I’d like to experience ‘gnarly’; and Cola’s is a heavy, exciting break that picks up plenty of swell and is rather mundanely and unexpectedly named for the Coca-Cola plant on the atoll in front of which it breaks. Not everywhere in the Maldives is ‘exotic’ it seems… Even when the swell becomes less than consistent you won’t get bored waiting for your next wave since it’s a veritable marine zoo out there – we watched dolphins surfing the waves (with far more grace and style than their human counterparts), manta rays flapping around in deeper waters beyond the surf zone and parrot fish and turtles beetling about beneath our boards as we waited to catch a wave. We only left the boat a handful of times during our two week trip, to discover a remarkably fragile environment poking out from the jade green waters of the Indian Ocean. Nowhere in the Maldives is more than three metres high, making it the world’s flattest country, and, of course, the one that’s most under threat from global warming and tsunamis – even a big swell or major storm can cause mayhem along much of the coastline. The only settlement of any size is the capital Malé, a surprisingly affluent little city that makes for an interesting visit when your boat has to go into port for supplies. You’ll struggle to find busy bars and nightclubs though since this is an Islamic nation and as such alcohol is banned (this doesn’t apply when you’re offshore, however, so a cold beer after a hot surf session will be readily available on board your boat). Wandering around Malé also helps
you appreciate living on a boat the Maldives is only three degrees south of the Equator and the heat and humidity are far more intense on land than on the sea. Back on board your surf vessel there’s always a cooling breeze to take the edge off the sun’s intensity. And back on board is where you’ll want to be, because it’s from there that you’re going to find the best waves of your life. In fact we were already planning a return trip as we boarded the long flight home…
MORE INFO The Princess Rani offers full board in twin A/C rooms, surf guide and support boat. For more details and prices
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Saltburn
POWer to the People Take Action, Protect Our Waves – Andy Cummins of Surfers Against Sewage on why our waves are a precious natural asset in need of protection Surfers Against Sewage’s (SAS) latest campaign is asking you to sign their Protect Our Waves (POW) petition. Over 26,000 people have already signed up to the campaign. If you’re not one of them, you should you be. Waves around the UK are under threat from an increasing number of impacts. Developers and polluters are playing the system more effectively with every application.
SAS’s current modus operandi is to react to news of a potential damaging development and mount a campaign to protect the wave resource. However, this is an unsustainable model as the level of development at the coast seems to continually rise. Our new POW petition is a proactive defence of the waves under threat now and will send out a loud message, warning developers not to destroy our waves in the future.
Sign POW PETITION The POW petition calls for protection for our waves from inappropriate coastal developments; a dramatic restriction on the 31,000 combined sewer overflows that currently discharge raw sewage and rainwater into the UK’s coastal zones; requirements to reduce marine litter; and the assurance that surfers and waveriders have unrestricted and sustainable access to the coast.
There are no UK laws specifically written to protect our waves. There are many examples around the UK where waves are threatened; here are just a few case studies: There is a dredging proposal to remove tens of millions of tonnes of sediment from beaches along the north Cornish coast, targeting the quality surfing beaches of St Ives Bay, Porthtowan, St Agnes and Perranporth. The sediment will be removed as close as 200 metres offshore. Removing this significant an amount of sediment could undermine coastal processes, interfere with the swell as it approaches the coast and reanimate pollutants stored in the sediment. SAS are currently challenging the developers within the licencing process. In Marwick Bay, Orkney there’s a quality point break which is under threat from the deployment of an array of Oyster wave energy converters (WECs) in the immediate vicinity of the wave. These WECs can confuse
and alter the swell, dramatically reducing the quality of waves breaking along the point, and can even make the wave unsurfable. SAS support offshore renewables but believes they need to be deployed responsibly. SAS are trying to persuade the developers to reposition the deployment to ensure the renewable energy is captured without destroying an amazing wave.
class wave found on the UK coast. This is undoubtedly the best wave along the south coast; however, it’s unfortunately on the outer edges of a military restricted zone and off limits for 228 days a year. These restrictions effect the main surfing season for this quality wave. How will the POW petition protect these waves?
Firstly, the petition will increase public awareness of the issue. Surfers are still perceived as operating on the fringes of society, but this outdated and inaccurate view does not help position surfers’ concerns with regulators and needs challenging. Surfers and waveriders need an official voice within the politics of a country, in other words, they need to become
‘The Cove’ is one of the UK’s best waves, a hollow, fast and unforgiving left that grinds along a shallow point. This wave is regarded as having the worst water quality in Europe. The wipe-outs are bad enough so surfers don’t need to contend with pathogens that can be responsible for serious health concerns as well. SAS are calling for improvements in water company assets to protect waveriders’ health. Broad Bench is another world Bournemouth
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Porthmeor
official stakeholders; this would ensure that their views are taken that much more seriously. A breakthrough has recently been made in Scotland as a direct result of considerable lobbying by SAS. In February 2010 the Scottish government recognised recreational water-users’ need for a voice on Regional Planning Partnerships within the Scottish Marine & Coastal Access Act. This amendment was forwarded by former Green Party Member of Scottish Parliament Robin Harper on behalf of SAS. A seat on the regional planning partnerships gives recreational water-users the platform to voice any concerns relating to the marine environment and recreational wave resources. As well as educating regulators about how surfers have evolved we need to
inform the public about waves. Objects such as mountains and rivers are the easiest things for people to envisage as elements that should be protected because they are more or less fixed. The concept that a particular ‘wave’ needs protecting is, however, much more difficult. One reason for this is that when we refer to a ‘wave’, we don’t really mean just one wave. We really mean the circumstances that come together to make waves break at a particular spot on the coast in a particular way. Laws are needed to specifically protect surfing waves. In the UK developers already have to go through an expensive and timeconsuming process to get planning permission and this includes conducting an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). If there were proper laws stating that
surfing waves cannot be interfered with or destroyed it would be in the developers’ own interest to avoid putting their concrete in the wrong place. At the moment no law exists in the UK to protect surf spots, but they do in New Zealand, Australia and even Peru. In these countries surfing is seen as a respectable and worthwhile pastime unlike in many parts of Europe. Waves and surf spots need to be recognised as part of the UK’s heritage and should be afforded greater recognition and protection. The POW petition is calling for legislation to better recognise and protect UK surfing waves and beaches. Revised criteria could work within the existing Marine & Coastal Access Act, revised Bathing Water Directive, Water Framework Directive and the Clean Neighbourhood & Environment Act, or be set up as a new piece of legislation. The first step towards this is a parliamentary debate on the economic and intrinsic value of UK surfing waves and beaches, and a comprehensive understanding of the threats to waves. SAS present a strong case for the urgent need to Protect Our Waves, but without your support it will be all too easy for the government to ignore these calls. SAS are targeting 50,000 signatures by May and have the ambitious target of doubling that before the end of summer 2013. The petition will be delivered by SAS in wetsuits carrying their boards to Downing St. Make sure your signature goes with them. www. protectourwaves.org.uk
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Sixties SURFER!
Britain’s first surf shop, Surfer’s Store, opened in St Ives in 1963 by Keith Slocombe (Museum of British Surfing collection / Paul Knowles)
A major new exhibition at Braunton’s award-winning Museum of British Surfing looks at the decade when modern surfing culture first washed ashore on the UK’s beaches in the 1960s image: Museum of British Surfing
Exactly 50 years after Britain’s first surf shop opened its doors, ‘Sixties SURFER!’ taps into the source of this new wave of surfers, and the enduring footsteps they left in the sand for generations of dedicated wave-riders to follow. Museum founder Peter Robinson sets the scene: “A massive sea change occurred in the swinging sixties when the UK met Malibu, Bondi and the Beach Boys headon, and a new surfing culture was imported from foreign shores. In the 70 years before this surfing had been quite a genteel affair with a handful of hardy pioneers, wooden surfboards & woollen bathing suits.” ‘Sixties SURFER!’ is the biggest display of original British surfboards and memorabilia from the 1960s ever seen in the UK, and will sample the films, photography,
music and fashions of this ground breaking decade. “Make sure you come along and check out the radical ‘baggies’, ‘Malibu boards’ and first wetsuits that changed the face of British surfing forever,” says Peter. The Museum of British Surfing is the first and only dedicated museum celebrating surfing history in Europe. Alongside the new temporary exhibition, there are sections on early surfing history, North Devon surfing and the environment and special children’s activities. The exhibition has been made possible by sponsorship from businesses across Devon and Cornwall including 1960s wetsuit pioneer Gul, Wavelength surfing magazine, Finisterre clothing, Skinners Brewery, The Thatch
pub, Croyde, Marsden’s Cottage Holidays, Parkin Estates and The Red Barn pub, Woolacombe.
MORE INFO The exhibition will take place at the Museum of British Surfing, located in Caen Street car park, Braunton North Devon EX33 1AA from March 29th to December 31st 2013
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Australian Glen Short demonstrating his effortless style on a ‘Malibu’ board at Newquay in the early1960s (Museum of British Surfing collection / Doug Short) image: Museum of British Surfing
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TouchScreen Travels ON THE ROAD
Christian Williams introduces you to Strava – if you ride a bike or you run and you haven’t used it yet, maybe it’s time you started…
activities via an iPhone, Android or GPS device, then pore over the results on their smartphones, or, better still, online.
But what if every time you went out you were in a peloton or a mass start; with others to test yourself against and inspire you…? Well that’s now possible, at least virtually: welcome to Strava.
The backbone features in all this are ‘segments’. These are sections of a route that you single out and create a virtual scoreboard for you and every other Strava user that happens to pass (or has passed) that way. This means you can make that final leg home, or that hill climb, or your entire loop a race. And once created this process is entirely automatic: every time you ride that stretch you’ll get a time and maybe a little medal when you post a personal best or place high in the overall rankings. This means every ride ends in that “How-did-I-do?” race result buzz as you check out your stats.
Strava calls their concept ‘social fitness’, and it’s all about letting cyclists and runners track their
But don’t get so carried away with it all that you forget about safety. Sounds obvious, but two
Familiarity breeds contempt. Well, maybe that’s a bit harsh in this case, but there’s certainly a fine line between loving your good old local ride (or run) and being bored with the same old thing.
fatal Californian cycle accidents currently in court may be party related to Strava users trying to beat their times. And it’s not just when you’re out on the bike either: when you create your segments be sure to steer well clear of hazards like busy road junctions, and place virtual finish lines well short of them too. Another way Strava encourages you to swing a leg over your bike on a wet spring day is via its ‘challenges’. Themed and time-specific – try, say, riding the distance of all the spring classics in a month – you sign up online to win bragging rights. It may just be honour at stake, but it’s far too easy to get sucked into these global amateur bike races – which for me mostly involves marveling at how much time others find to bike or run. While segments are Strava’s true
trump-card and challenges make for good encouragement, lots of other features come bundled on their smartphone apps too. The cycle computer, offline maps and the segment search function stand out even if some argue other apps are better in some areas: EveryTrail (www.everytrail.com) for offline maps; Runtastic’s (www. runtastic.com ) run/road/mountain bike apps for stats; Map My Ride (www.mapmyride.com) for route planning; competitor outfit Endomondo (www.endomondo. com) for more free functions. But Strava’s interface is beautifully simple and its pro features are extremely useful for serious athletes who’ll happily pay USD$6/ month or $59/year to analyse wattage and heart rate around the tiniest sections of a ride. Now, back to that cat 4 hill climb I created a segment for last spring and now lie in 33rd place on. The leader has halved my time and it’s started breeding self-contempt. Well, maybe that’s a bit harsh too!
THE ARGUS CALLS… By Christian Williams
image: cycletour.co.za
Here at The Church it feels like no special cycling issue would be complete without mention of cyclosportives. And no mention of sportives complete without a mention of the biggest of them all: South Africa’s Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour, or simply ‘The Argus’. Pronounced ‘sporteef ‘ – in line with its French origins (though North Americans prefer the Italian term ‘gran fondo’) – these organised long-distance events are the cycling equivalent of a marathon. Like marathons, roads are closed off for the event – an even bigger bonus for cyclists – but unlike a marathon there’s no set distance – events range between about 50 and 150miles. Routes and roads are also selected for their challenge and scenery and nowhere is this truer than at The Argus, which threads its way past azure bays and through the peaks
of Table Mountain National Park – which are what make the 109km loop from central Cape Town far more gruelling than it sounds. The event traces back to 1978, but these days it’s held on the second Sunday in March to bookend the Giro del Capo, one of South Africa’s main professional stageraces. The Giro finishes the day before the Argus, enabling the pros to lead off the Argus the next day – followed by some 35,000 amateurs.
image: cycletour.co.za
To be one of them then enter here - entry for 2014 opens in September. image: cycletour.co.za
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(http://www.cycletour.co.za/)
image: cycletour.co.za
In the meantime you can get training in your backyard (in the UK see http://www.britishcycling.org. uk/sportives) and plan your South Africa trip with Rainbow Nation – the excellent South African Travel app we featured in last issue’s Touchscreen Travels column. Details again here.
South Africa: Travel the Rainbow Nation Mandela’s country: Where even the sun dances. South Africa is a place of great beauty, divergent landscapes, incredible wildlife and an amazing array of activities in perfect sunshine year-round. It has one of the world’s eight great floral kingdoms and some of the last of the world’s endangered species. You’ll be surprised at how sophisticated the country and its people are. South Africans tend to be tolerant and friendly, with great self-deprecating humour. And this is a nation mad about sport, hiking, eating out and drinking some of the world’s best beer, wines and fruit juices.
Features:
Each entry has 10 or more photographs How to get close to a lion, Great White shark or elephant and stay alive Multiple entries on business, business organizations, business schools, etc. Information on mining, the film and ad industries, agriculture, rail, air travel, etc. Dinosaurs to early man, Africanist heroes to museums Plentiful information on sports including extreme sports
BUILDING THE PLANE ON THE WAY DOWN* Mike Pescod pulls out of the cave on Ben Nevis’s Minus Three Gully in a prototype of the winter shell jacket
image: Jottnar
New outdoor company Jöttnar has much in common with the Church – a passion for the outdoors, a commitment to quality and a belief that whether on the hill or in the office you have to take risks to move forward. Co-founder Tommy Kelly describes how he and his partner Steve Howarth got the fledgling company up and running below. We hope to be working more with Jöttnar in future issues, including reviewing their gear which we can’t wait to get our mitts on. In the meantime, cast your eyes over Tommy’s words of wisdom, and check Jöttnar out at www.jottnar. com
Standing atop a steep, dank cliff and with no sight of the bottom, we put our concerns to one side and stepped off. I remember looking back up and seeing the comfort of the mossy ledge give way to the pull of acceleration as we bounced off walls and plummeted vertically downwards.
Mark Thomas - bloody but warm and dry
Whether audacity or just recklessness, this is the way that Jöttnar began. Steve and I, we’re both former Royal Marines and both quite happy in cold and unfriendly places. Starting
a business amidst a landscape presided over by multi-million dollar brand names that were also household names, however, featured nowhere on the CV although as experienced climbers and skiers we knew what it was those brands were missing. Everything that lay beyond that mossy ledge was uncharted, even if it didn’t take much imagination to guess the penalty of failure. Even so, the allure of the unknown and a desire to do something that felt meaningful was enough to take that committing step. And so we fell. Initially operating from a kitchen table, the company soon acquired licenses and built partnerships with some of the industry’s major fabric and technology suppliers. We hired a small array of staff with expertise across a range of
functions and began constructing what would become a global logistics infrastructure. Handdrawn sketches by us were improved and modified by our designers and the technical patterns were despatched to our factories to begin prototyping. The first iterations arrived; all of them basic at first but it was nonetheless gratifying to see the physical product taking shape. Having partnered with a small handful of professional mountain guides, all of whom shared our consuming obsession with detail, each prototype was then despatched into the field where it was probed for weakness. With each turn of the handle, the garments improved and slowly became the exquisite tools we
had visualised. While Steve steered the business from Cardiff, I spent much of the winter season living in my van which became a mobile office and a field-test base. Amidst a Scottish winter that may well enter folklore for its length and quality, it was on a Glencoe icefall where I remember looking down and seeing our logo on a prototype of the winter pant I was wearing and being seized by a tangible sense of progress. The gear was now beginning to resemble the images in our heads and the business was becoming a real entity. Alison Culshaw ascended a semifrozen Argentiere ice fall in a proto of the hydrophobic down jacket in the rain and declared herself warm and dry at the top; Mike Pescod
hooked and torqued his way up the first winter ascent of Buchaille Etive Mor’s Engineers Crack (VIII,8) in an early proto of the winter shell jacket and validated the cut, stretch and breathability of the new membrane under trial. Mark Thomas, as was widely reported, was one half of the team that put up the ascent of Jöttnar, an unclimbed line that wound its way tenuously up corners and grooves of the north face of Chamonix’s Aiguille du Midi. Clad in protos of our hybrid mid-layer and down jacket, he verified the gear as, ‘awesome, warm, dry and light.’ All of these were small but significant victories as our savings and time continued to haemorrhage. Continued...
image: Jottnar
image: Jottnar
* ‘You jump off a cliff and you assemble an aeroplane on the way down’ - Reid Hoffman , founder of Linkedin, and the world’s most prolific and successful angel investor.
image: Jottnar
image: Jottnar
image: Jottnar
And without money, a business dies, and it was this that focused the mind. Grants were generously awarded by national public bodies, which allowed small and discrete activities to continue. But the substantial investment required to move beyond prototyping and testing, enabled by our own personal reserves, and decisively move forward into bulk production and launch, was a protracted affair. With 14 days remaining until JĂśttnar hit the ground (where the implications were all too clear), we completed with an investor after several months of negotiation, and the corporate wings levelled.
this evening. The giants in our heads continue to be the most formidable opponents but with a strong and trusted team, a fair wind and a bit of graft, there’s normally always a way through - and with each passing day in flight the uncharted territory beyond the familiar mossy ledge begins to reveal itself.
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It may seem premature to portray any kind of a success story here. No business is ever in level flight and an unwanted landing shadows every move. But there are milestones to acknowledge and as we announce our launch for the forthcoming autumn/winter season, a small glass may be lifted
image: Jottnar
GEAR REVIEWS Here’s our regular review of some of the finest outdoor kit on the market. Anything that features here is pretty much guaranteed to be worth checking out – you can take the word of the Church for that….
KEELA
LYNX SOFT SHELL £74.95 Keela’s products are always worth checking if you’re after value for money, and the Lynx is no exception, especially if you feel the heat since it has huge side zips for regulating your body temperature as well as being constructed from wind resistant and breathable Stretch-Tec fabric which provides excellent ease of movement. Additional features include a neck baffle (although our tester found the collar a tad snug when fully fastened), Velcro-adjustable cuffs and reflective piping on pockets. The look is plain and neat and the Lynx represents good allround value in a versatile summer shell.
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SPRAYWAY HYDROLITE II £110.00
The Hydrolite is a woman’s jacket with simple, straightforward features and solid construction which is ideal for the warmer months, although it would also work in winter with a decent layering system. Features include a neatly designed removable, volume adjustable hood (weight and bulk of the jacket decrease noticeably if you do actually remove the hood), two map sized mesh lined pockets (nice to see since so many jackets have pockets that are too small for a map), a zipped security pocket, adjustable cuffs and hem and a free mesh stuff sac for storage. If you’re after a plain, good value waterproof the Hydrolite II is worth checking out.
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JACK WOLFSKIN VAPOUR TRAIL £140.00
Weighing in at just 290gm for the men’s model, the Vapour Trail stows away in its own chest pocket and is a great option for fast, light summer travel. Features are hence fairly minimal, consisting of an integral, adjustable hood with reinforced peak, waterrepellent front zip, reflective elements on front, back and sleeves and adjustable cuffs and hem. Made from lightweight, abrasionresistant, very waterproof and highly breathable Texapore O2 Taslite DT 2.5L with a lightweight protective coating on the reverse instead of a lining, the overall cut of the Vapour Trail is generous although we found it a little tight across the chest when fully zipped, but other than this it’s a good looking summer shell that is well worth checking out.
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SMARTWOOL WOMEN’S LIGHTWEIGHT ZIP T £69.99 Once our tester got this on she didn’t take it off again for days she liked it so much; and the fact that she was able to wear it on everything from chilly spring mornings to warm, sunny spring afternoons shows how versatile it is. It’s also eminently comfortable thanks to a combination of sculpted sleeve panels which eliminate chafing and provide a body enhancing fit, a decent length zip for adjusting body temperature and a longer bottom hem at the rear for ‘increased coverage’. What’s more, come the winter this will make a great layering piece.
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SMARTWOOL MEN’S PhD HyFy HALF ZIP £134.99 A lovely midlayer piece that can be used year-round, the PhD looks stylish and performs impeccably. You can use it as a base layer too as the merino wool feels so soft and smooth against your skin as well as offering breathability and good heat transfer. The long front zip also helps with heat regulation and little touches like a small zippered chest pocket and thumb loops combine to make a layering piece that is hard wearing, looks cool and will last many seasons.
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CYBALITE EGG TORCH ÂŁ19.99
A budget head torch with all the usual features as well as an eggalike look and a useful locking function - holding down the On/Off button for three seconds will put the torch into a lock mode that can only be unlocked by pressing the On/Off button and holding for another three seconds, which prevents accidental battery drainage – always a pain and usually something that manifests itself when you need the torch most. In addition you get one white LED and one red LED (for night reading and SOS flashing) in a slim, compact design. The white LED has two modes; a main beam and reduced energy saving beam. The main beam provides 85 lumens of light output for general visibility and the energy saving beam provides a much reduced light output of10 lumens, but maximises the battery life. At 10 lumens the Egg will last for 120 hours of continuous use. This compares to the 10 hours of continuous use on 85 lumens output.
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SILVA PAVÉ BIKE LIGHT £169.99
OK, so right now we have enough daylight to be able to ride your bike without lights for a good 18 hours at a time (should you so wish), but when the nights start drawing in the Silva Pavé is just what you need. It’s a lightweight , compact bike light with a spectacular 550 lumens output through two high power LEDs which will allow you to ride safely on roads in and out of town and also on off-road trails. It can be worn on your helmet or mounted on the handlebars quickly and easily via an integrated rubber strap, and there’s an external rechargeable battery pack that can be attached to the bike frame. The large on/off button is easy to operate even when wearing gloves, and with four light modes (max, min, wide and blink) and a light distance of 90metres you’re always gonna see and be seen when using the Pavé. A top bit of kit, we reckon…
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GEIGERRIG 1200 HYDRATION PACK £109.95 The Geigerrig hydration system utilises a specially engineered hydration bladder and pressure bulb to spray water into your mouth, providing a continuous and sanitary delivery of water. Because it’s also easier to use than a standard ‘bite and suck’ mechanism users drink up to 30 per cent more with this system, providing essential extra hydration.
It allows you to share water with friends without contaminating the water pipe with saliva, spray water into your dog’s mouth, clean mud off hands, faces and equipment or even squirt water over your head to cool down. Add to that a rugged 19-litre pack construction (plus 3-litre reservoir) with features which include easy access to the hydration system, padded breathable mesh for the shoulder straps and back pads, internal storage compartments including MP3 compartment and removable waist straps and you’ve got a very innovative and effective hydration system for hiking, biking or just wandering around town.
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LEATHERMAN MAKO TI BIKE TOOL £39.95
A decent bike tool is as essential as a decent pump, and this nifty little titanium number from Leatherman is both light and small and will easily slip into a pocket or saddle pack. It consists of the following tools: 1/4” Hex Bit Driver 8mm Box Wrench Rubber Bit holder 9mm Box Wrench 10mm Box Wrench 15mm Box Wrench 16mm Box Wrench 14-guage Spoke Wrench 15-guage Spoke Wrench BIT IT- #1 Phillips and Torx #25 Hex 6mm and 5mm Plus there’s an all-important bottle opener for those après-bike beers. The only thing missing perhaps is a chain splitter. With its 25-year guarantee the Mako TI is a bit of kit that you’ll be taking on bike rides for a long time to come.
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NITE DAWG
LED COLLAR AND LEAD collar £17.95 lead £17.95 When summer is over dog owners have little choice but to walk their trusty companion in the dark, and if you do so in urban areas these two products from Nite Dawg make things safer for both you and your dog. Both the collar and lead are fitted with water resistant push buttons which operate bright red LEDs which have flash or glow options and can be clearly seen from a good distance. They’re made from tough, bright red webbing and the replaceable batteries have a 100 hour life. A top investment for you and your dog during the darker months of the year.
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SILVA
CARRY DRY BAG ÂŁ11.99 - ÂŁ19.99 A good value way of protecting your kit from weather and dirt, the Silva Carry Dry Bag comes in four sizes and colours - pink (6L), orange (12L), green (24L) and blue (36L). Loading is easy, just roll the top edges at least three times, close the buckle and your stuff is safe from the elements. The bags are made of lightweight 30 denier Cordura fabric and are suitable for pretty much any outdoor activity where you need to keep your stuff dry and clean.
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ARC’TERYX QUIG HOODY £90
The Quig is simple, understated and feels and looks most stylish. It’s very practical, being constructed from a breathable and durable, stretchy cotton blend terry knit fabric with gusseted underarms; it’s also anatomically shaped for superior comfort whether you’re working hard on a crag or just hanging out with mates after a surf session (when the relaxed cut hood is also great for helping you warm up). Note that the sizing is very generous so you may want to go down a size.
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PATAGONIA TORRENTSHELL £160
The Torrentshell is a good looking, hard wearing shell made from ripstop nylon with Patagonia’s waterproof/ breathable H2No barrier and a DWR finish to get you dryly through seriously wet weather. It has all the features you need for wet days on the hill including an adjustable stowaway hood which fits really well, a microfleece lined collar, an interior storm flap on the main zip, two handwarmer pockets and a chest pocket, all with watertight zips, pit zips and Velcro cuffs and a drawcord hem. Stretch panels in the arms and across the shoulders are great for high energy activities, and it’s also very packable and stows easily. We liked it very much; in fact we couldn’t get our reviewer out of it, even when the sun was shining.
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PATAGONIA
ENCAPSIL DOWN BELAY PARKA £600 A slightly longer review than usual here, since for anyone who loves wearing down gear but hates the fact you can’t generally use it in the rain this is, at last, the answer - Patagonia’s new Belay parka is filled with Encapsil™ down, a proprietary, plasma-treated, water-repellent down with an unprecedented fill-power of 1000. It’s also 100% independently baffled and differentially cut for even more snugness.
That’s the good news; the bad news is that it’s only available in special edition quantities with numbered labels inside. Even so, this is an extraordinary piece of design and engineering for an outdoor garment, and a first of its kind. Randy Harward, vice president of advanced research & development at Patagonia, said “This has been a five-year R&D project, and we are eager to integrate this technology into future styles beyond the Belay Parka.”
To be fair, water repellent down garments are now available from several manufacturers, but Patagonia is the only manufacturer to produce a 1000-fill-power parka. The down is sent through a proprietary machine and agitated with low-level radio frequency waves until the surface of the down’s molecular structure begins to shift. A tiny amount of siloxane is then deposited onto each plumule of down, adhering to its changed molecular structure in a virtually permanent way. The result is down that is hydrophobic, stronger and loftier by 25%. “This is the most challenging design project I have ever worked on,” said Casey Shaw, advanced product engineer at Patagonia, “To design this parka we had to develop new construction techniques that would allow us to maintain perfectly baffled chambers, while insuring low bulk and realistic production capability for the factory. Given the complexity of the parka’s design, our team had to fly to the factory to guide them through the intricate construction and assembly techniques to ensure the correct execution of the design.” In addition the Encapsil Down Belay Parka’s shell fabric is an ultralight 10-denier Pertex Endurance nylon ripstop with a polyurethane dry coat, providing excellent water repellency. The hood is baffled and helmet-compatible, with a single drawcord that provides a small draft collar of down around the face, creating a microclimate to help prevent frostbite on exposed skin. Variegated baffles across the parka are smaller in high compression areas to help keep down from shifting, and a double-baffle wind flap behind the zipper completely seals out cold and wind. No moisture-holding materials are used anywhere in the parka. Exterior hand pockets are independently insulated to retain warmth even when open, and the high positioning keeps them away from harness lines. A unique pull-system at the hem allows for adjustment of the drawcord from inside or out, eliminating harness entanglement, and a mini snowskirt keeps out wind and snow from below without compressing the down in the lowest chamber.
We want one…
See more on this lovely bit of kit here WATCH VIDEO
SALOMON SENSE MANTRA £110
The Mantra is a trail running shoe designed specifically for fore- to mid-foot strikers, providing a natural motion, light weight and cushioning in a high-mileage training shoe. The shoe’s patented EndoFit fitting system and single pull Quicklace lacing system proved remarkably comfy and supportive, and once in use there’s great cushioning and protection from the combination of a Profeel Film - a lightweight layer built into the top of the midsole to provide protection from the trail – and added cushioning in the outsole. The Mantra is designed to help promote a more athletic, midfoot strike when running, with a lower heel drop and more flexibility, and although designed as trail running shoes they work perfectly well on the road. Oh, and they look cool too…
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COLUMBIA GRANITE PASS £90
Despite its burly looks the Granite Pass is a surprisingly light shoe which features an independent lug pattern in the sole to provide traction and stability over a variety of surfaces. The uppers have an ‘OutDry’ waterproof-breathable membrane to keep your feet dry and comfortable in poor weather conditions and dry and cool in hot, and there’s good heel support and a general feel of solidness and stability despite the light weight. The understated looks will appeal to more traditionalist hikers looking for a plain, hard wearing shoe for summer hiking.
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OPTRIX XD5 iPHONE CASE ÂŁ89.95
A wide angle camera case for the new iPhone 5 which is waterproof and will also protect your phone from bumps and falls while delivering superior video capturing capabilities and access to all controls. The XD5 also incorporates a second door to access charging connectors and headphone jack, has an interchangeable lens system and can be removed from the mounting system. It’s rated as waterproof up to 15 feet and offers an impressive 1080p HD thanks to a three-layer all glass wide-angle lens, and comes with and iPhone 5 sled, two mounts (curved and flat) and a quick-release rail system to securely mount the XD5 just about anywhere
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SHERPA KRITI TECH £80
Another well designed, good value piece of kit from Sherpa, the Kriti soft shell is a breathable, water and wind resistant jacket that’s ideal for shoving in your pack in the warmer months when the weather is looking a little unpredictable. The fabric is stretchy and soft with a close fit, so there’s no flap or drag to slow you down which means it works for bikers as well as hikers. Features include articulated elbows, an asymmetrical front zip two zippered hand pockets and one upper chest pocket and an adjustable drawcord at the hem. I’ve been using it for cool mornings on the bike or hill and then stowing it in my pack when it warms up and it’s just the job.
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PLATYPUS SOFTBOTTLE £6.99 – £7.99
These lightweight, flexible bottles fold up into your pocket when empty which makes them great for travelling. I also use one for skiing as you can keep the bottle close to your body so the water doesn’t freeze and there’s no danger of injury if you fall as is the case with aluminium bottles. They come with Platypus’ ‘Clean-Taste Guarantee’ and are made with zero BPA. They also have impeccable green credentials being ultra-reusable and using less energy and materials in construction. Weight is only 20 per cent of a standard hard bottle, and you have a choice of closure cap, push-pull cap or dual-valve HyperFlow cap.
WATCH VIDEO
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CHROME INDUSTRIES 415 URBAN WORK BOOT $120 (online only) VISIT WEBSITE
It doesn’t matter how much of a wild outdoors man you may be, from time to time a foray into the urban jungle becomes unavoidable. Once amongst the city streets there is no excuse for sartorial sloppiness, and this is where the 415 comes to the rescue, for ‘tis a natty addition to the gentleman’s wardrobe and no mistake. Available in both waterproof/breathable Storm fabric combined with full-grain leather or 1,000-denier Cordura, the 415 features 100% vulcanized construction with a skid-resistant sole, a tight heel cup, and a slightly wider toe box for a better fit—and pain-free pedaling when you’re on the bike. Other design features include a padded ankle collar, a reflective heel pull-loop for night visibility and a breathable neoprene membrane that lets heat out while preventing water from getting in. It is the kind of footwear that will appeal to my chum Harry, who effortlessly combines the urban fashion sensibilities of a latter day Michael Caine with the relaxed lifestyle of the surfer dude, and for the Harrys out there, we commend the 415.
KEEN
CLEARWATER CNX £75 The CNX is a great option if you want your feet to see the sun but are looking for more protection than you’ll get from a pair of flip flops. They come with a seamless upper in fully washable polyester webbing backed by soft neoprene so there’s no chance of your foot getting chafed. A lightweight PU midsole with a four-millimetre drop, metatarsal ridge under the toes and arch support in the footbed provides great comfort and fit, and the carbon rubber outsole features multi-directional flex grooves for enhanced traction and razor siping for additional grip on tricky surfaces (you’ll need to bend the sole to see the sipes, incidentally). There’s a bungee lacing system for easy and secure fastening, and if you’re doing stuff like rafting, kayaking or coasteering this summer these are definitely worth checking out.
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ICEBREAKER ARTIST COLLECTION TECH T £60
Pretty expensive for a t-shirt is what you’re probably thinking, but Icebreaker’s new range of artist-designed merino wool tees are lovely and soft against the skin and are actually pretty versatile since you can wear ‘em solo in the heat or as part of a layering system in cooler weather. They’re ideal for travel because they regulate temperature, breathe to prevent overheating, resist odour naturally, pack light, are machine washable and dry in a flash. So may it’s 60 quid well spent after all…
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BLACK DIAMOND ULTRA MOUNTAIN FL TREKKING POLES £119
The Ultra Mountain FL Trekking Pole from Black Diamond is a lovely bit of kit which can be used for everything from light hikes to heavy trekking and snowshoeing to backcountry ski tours, featuring ‘women’s-specific sizing’ (as well as colours which are more likely to appeal to women than men). The poles combine the compactability of Black Diamond’s Z-Pole technology with 20 cm of FlickLock Pro adjustability – it takes just a few seconds to adjust them to length, and when it comes to packing they’ll fold away to fit easily either inside or outside even a day pack thanks to the three-section Z-Pole folding design. Made from durable aluminium they come complete with season-specific baskets and a lightweight Mountain Series EVA foam grip with breathable moisture wicking strap, along with a non-slip foam minigrip extension and toughFlex Tech Tips; essentially you have all of Black Diamond’s best pole features combined in one superb product, hence the price. But in return for your money you get one set of top quality poles that can be used year round.
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LOUIS GARNEAU LIBERTY 2 BAGGY CYCLE SHORTS £44.99 Well-made shorts that are not that long but are nice and loose and designed for both mountain biking and cycle touring. They come with sewn-in padded inners made from a wicking mesh fabric and with leg grippers to prevent them riding up, and the outers feature durable but soft, comfortable materials with reflective panels. A combination of elastic waist and elasticised drawstring ensures a comfortable fit, our only minor quibble was that the two Velcro fastening side pockets are not very big and tend to make the legs flap around a bit if you put anything heavy in them – although why would you?
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TOPEAK
JOE BLOW SPORT II TRACK PUMP £36.99 This is an excellent value track pump, an accessory that’s pretty much compulsory for anyone who does a lot of cycling since it makes the tedious job of pumping up tyres so quick. The Joe Blow comes in vibrant yellow and is solidly built, with a hardened steel base and steel barrel, connected to which is a flexible hose with a twin valve-head which flicks simply from Schrader to Presta valves depending on what you’re running on your bike. Connection with the valve is reassuringly solid thanks to the good seal and the sturdy alloy thumb-lock lever which clicks into place easily. The pump’s maximum pressure is 160 psi/11 bars, and there’s an easyto-read pressure gauge mounted towards the base of the barrel which takes the guess-work out of pumping up your tyres. Pumping is quick and easy thanks to the big T-handle with its comfy moulded, rubberised grip. All in all a great value, durable track pump with all the features well thought out. Oh, it also comes with ball and air bladder needles for pumping up – well, balls and bladders.
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ZAMBERLAN CROSSER PLUS GTX RR £135
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The Crosser is a great option for lightweight summer hiking, providing remarkable stability and protection in a surprisingly light, comfortable and durable package. It features Zamberlan’s exclusive five-piece, dual-density EVA midsole and Vibram outsole, which is enhanced with TPU stabilizers and heel counters. Uppers include a tough Kevlar rand which wraps around a synthetic upper enhanced with TPU insets and Gore-Tex membranes, creating a comfortable and very lightweight which works well on both easy jaunts in the hills or full day hikes. At first sight the Crosser looks like a tough yet heavy shoe – put it on and it turns out the be tough, for sure, but far lighter than you’d expect, instantly comfortable and reassuringly stable and supportive. We liked the Crosser a lot…
ODLO AIR £220
The Air ain’t cheap, but it’s a very nice jacket – you hardly notice you’re wearing it as it’s so light, and the fully waterproof/windproof and breathable Gore-tex Paclite fabric ensures you stay dry in the worst summer storms. The plain and effective design features lasercut slash pockets on the sides with autolock zips, adjustable hem with drawcord, Velcro-adjustable cuffs, a chin guard and an invisible cord lock system for the hood adjustment, whilst the men’s version has an additional pocket on the chest (not big enough for a map unfortunately). It packs away easily when not in use and if budget isn’t a major consideration the Air is a really good option for summer hiking which is hard to fault.
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VIBRAM
FIVE FINGERS BIKILA £115
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It’s probably fair to say that you’ll either love or hate these shoes. I’m afraid I fell into the latter category, but that doesn’t mean they’re no good, it’s just a personal thing which I’ll come to later. According to the promotional material that comes with the Bikila, it’s ‘a breakthrough running shoe specifically designed for near barefoot running that encourages a more natural, healthier, and more efficient forefoot strike’. This is achieved through using a 3mm polyurethane insole and an anatomical pod outsole design that offers more protection than you’d expect looking at the shoes, and also distributes forefoot impact without compromising important ground feedback essential to proper forefoot strike running. The shoes are also more comfortable than I’d have expected once you get them on, but what a faff that process is, forcing your toes into each individual ‘pocket’ – it put me off completely and I just couldn’t see the need for ‘near barefoot running’ to be so complex. That said if running is your thing and you don’t mind the awkwardness of getting into the Bikila this may just be the next big thing, but somehow I doubt it…
SEALSKINZ THIN MIDLENGTH SOCK £27.95
At this time of year you can encounter all types of weather and all types of conditions underfoot (or underbike), so these thin, lightweight, totally waterproof socks are a great option. They’re anatomically designed with a mid-calf length fit to offer added protection, with a fine merino wool lining for warmth and moisture control, and the elasticated instep and Achilles ankle panel provide support and ensure a close, comfortable fit. Well worth having in your sock drawer, that’s for sure.
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SEALKINZ
VENTILATED CYCLE GLOVES/FINGERLESS CYCLE MITTS ÂŁ24.95/ÂŁ19.95 Reasonably priced cycling gloves/ mitts with an anatomic design and close fitting and flexible feel, both products feature an elasticated and ventilated back and textured, synthetic padded palm with pressure point padding for comfort and will provide that bit of extra warmth on cooler morning and evening rides. The mitts are essentially a cut-off version of the gloves with a nice, classic design. Do note though that despite being Sealskinz products neither the gloves nor the mitts are actually designed to be waterproof.
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LONG GONE
Our long term review, putting kit through its paces over many moons
ORANGE CRUSH ORANGE CRUSH Original purchase price £1,399.99 You may be wondering why we’re reviewing a bike that you can no longer actually buy, and that would indeed be a good thing to wonder; but you can effectively still purchase this beast, and what’s more, for £200 less than it cost in 2011 when I bought mine. Zut alors! You don’t get exactly the same machine of course, the componentry is generally not quite as high spec, but the essential elements of frameset and geometry remain the same and you can always upgrade parts to match or even better those of the original as they wear out or break.
In the ever changing world of mountain biking it’s good to see that hardtails like the Crush still have plenty of relevance – in fact I’d go so far as to say there are a lot of people out there riding expensive full sussers that they really don’t need. Let me back up that comment – I was riding in Chamonix last September when I got chatting to one of the guys in the local bike shop. He glanced at my Crush with some alacrity before announcing that I wouldn’t be able to ride the trails around Cham on anything less than a full suspension downhill behemoth. “Well young feller me lad” I said to him (or words to that effect) “I rode here twenty years ago on a
fully rigid bike and managed quite alright”. Admittedly my forearms felt like they’d been pummelled with a baseball bat, but the Fox 32 Floats on my trusty Crush would have more than adequately dealt with that problem, and I’m sure that for most of us ‘older’ or less ‘radical’ riders this is just the kind of machine we should be swinging our leg over. I find the Crush both nimble and responsive, and ideal for trail centre riding (unless you’re doing the most extreme stuff) and cross-country, whether it’s a pootle round the back of St Davids Head or several hours of getting lost above Les Houches. The Fox shocks are as smooth as Engelbert Humperdinck however big the hit (they have 140 mm of
travel) and the cockpit feels tight and ready to respond to the most instant of demands. Componentry, even on the new and cheaper version, it totally up to the job and the only things that I’ve changed so far have been the pedals (for flats since they’re more versatile), the tyres (cos they wore out) and the headset after 18 months of wear and tear. I’ve also added stubby bar ends and a bottle cage, and that’s about it, so I’m pretty much riding and enjoying the same bike I bought in 2011.
I’d say the Crush is a bike that will encourage you to take on more than you might normally, and in all probability succeed. I’ve had far too much fun on mine in its home county of Yorkshire, in Wales’ estimable trail centres and in the Alps and can’t wait to get it out on the trails again this summer. And now that it’s two hundred smackeroonies cheaper than it was two years ago, only a fool wouldn’t buy one. Or a downhiller…
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ROOM WITH A VIEW In which we sample a very nice hotel with a very nice view
Beudy Banc, Abercegir, Powys, Wales
image: Alf Alderson
Right, let’s get the excuses in right away. Beudy Banc ain’t a fancy hotel, it is in fact a campsite (with ‘luxury’ options) but it has a unique feature that will appeal to mountain bikers, and since we’re featuring life on two wheels quite a bit in this issue of the Church it seemed appropriate to also include this rather pleasant little establishment. Beudy Banc is located in the heart of some of the world’s finest mountain biking country, but for owner Dafydd Tomos that wasn’t enough – so he went and commissioned trail builder Meirion Black (whose work can be seen at Coed-y-Brenin and Antur Stiniog) to build him his own personal single track downhill trail…
The ‘Gader Goch Descent’ can be yours too if you stay at Beudy Banc – a twisting, turning, beautifully bermed descent which plummets some 200 vertical metres down a verdant Welsh hillside where you’re far more likely to see red kites than other bikers (assuming you have time to look up). Along with the descent, Dafydd has mapped out at least six different mountain biking loops in the surrounding countryside, along with some equally appealing road routes and walking trails. You can start all of them from one of the site’s three fully equipped bell tents (or pitch your own tent), or if you like a solid roof over your head after a day under the open sky there are the options of a cabin and converted barn too.
image: Alf Alderson
Camping is best, though, in a lovely open meadow beside a small stream and surrounded by woodland with inspiring views down the Dyfi Valley, and once you’ve settled in you can clamber up onto the rolling hills above Beudy Banc for even even better views west towards Aberdyfi and the Irish Sea, north to Cadair Idris and south and east across the wild and glorious heart of Wales. It’s a blissful location – whether you’re a mountain biker or not.
MORE INFO
image: Alf Alderson
image: Alf Alderson
Beudy Banc, Cwmllywi Uchaf, Abercegir, Machynlleth, Powys SY20 8NP. 01650 511496 www.beudybanc.co.uk VISIT WEBSITE image: Alf Alderson
image: Alf Alderson
image: Alf Alderson
CAFFEINE FIX It doesn’t matter how good the powder, the surf or the wind is, without a decent caffeine fix at some point in proceedings the day is sadly lacking. In order that your day may not lack, we have in previous issues brought you Caffeine Fix, our suggestion for good quality – maybe even good value – coffee, cakes and more at some spiffing outdoor destination.
No rush - the glacially slow service at the Folie Douce creaks into action
The world’s most expensive burger? And sacre bleu! It’s not even chaud...
image: Alf Alderson
This time round though, we show how you can get it all badly wrong with a visit to the Folie Douce in Méribel.
it did come with chips. But not for over an hour. Yep, we waited, and we waited. The dancing girls danced, the dancing boys minced, the singers sang and God knows what happened to my burger but I was worried the sun may set before it arrived. As my mate Lewis said “They’d be better off with fewer people in the cabaret and more in the kitchen”. The waitress apparently couldn’t care less. Haste was not a personality trait that she readily exhibited. I’d like to tell you what the wine was like, but we were never offered the wine list. That may be just as well since apparently there’s one bottle on it that costs €10,200. Show me the person that would pay that for a bottle of wine and I’ll show you the biggest fool
could have been blasting through powder instead).
on the planet. But maybe the lack of any attempt to ply us with wine was just the Folie Douce’s management being sensible since we all know you shouldn’t imbibe alcohol and ski (the skiing incidentally was sensational that day, all the more reason to be royally pissed off at waiting more than an hour for an overpriced burger when we
What I will do though is make my own peanut butter sandwich and eat it as I sail above the place on a ski lift en route to the very thing I missed most of all that day – a few more powder turns.
Anyway, the bloody thing did turn up eventually, luke warm, as were the chips, and remarkable only for its unremarkableness. Apparently the excuse for this dining disaster was that some of the restaurant’s staff had failed to turn up due to ill health and the kitchen staff was struggling to cope. Well to be honest that’s no excuse at all; if you’re going to charge the sort of prices the Folie Douce does you should have such eventualities covered. Needless to say I won’t be rushing back to the Folie Douce, however cute the dancing girls may look.
Folie Douce opened last season as the most upmarket and flamboyant mountain bar and restaurant in Méribel, surely and deservedly one of France’s top ski resorts. So you might expect somewhere that is quite literally all singing and all dancing (there’s a daily cabaret act to entertain you as you dine or throw back a beer) to be right up there with the best. And on first appearances it is – the venue on sunny south facing slopes is perfect, it’s ski in/ski out (and non-skiers can access the Folie Douce too via the Saulire ski lift), has great mountain panoramas and beautiful people are to be seen ten-a-penny. So all seemed well as we sat down to enjoy our lunch in the sunshine in La Fruitière restaurant. I ordered a burger; I was on a press trip, because had I been on my own I wouldn’t even have ordered a bottle of water since they cost €9. A 50cl Carlsberg came in at €11. And as for the grub – well, I hope you’re sitting down because the onion soup was €18 and the burger – don’t faint – a whopping €32. But
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A LIFETIME’S WORTH OF RIDING You may not have heard of mountain biker Harald Philipp, but he can certainly handle a bike as the clip below of him in action shows
image: summitride.com
Full name: Harald Philipp Age: 29 Home town: Born in Siegen, Germany; feel at home in Innsbruck, Austria Sponsors: Arc’teryx, Liteville, Syntace, Lupine, DT Swiss, Schwalbe, Formula, FiveTen, Primus, E-13
We asked him a little about his life in the saddle…
How old were you when you started riding?
What’s your favourite piece of mountain biking equipment?
I started mountain biking at the age of 11, but long before that I was into mountains. I was raised by my parents climbing alpine routes and ski-touring in the Alps.
That’s difficult to say, a mountain bike is a pretty complex tool. I trust in every part of it, but choosing just one piece I think that flat pedals are it. Good pedals combined with good shoes give you so much more control and safety, I love them.
Who/what has been the biggest influence on your riding?
What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in mountain biking since you first started?
I feel more influenced by alpinists than by mountain bikers. Hermann Buhl was a crazy guy, and Luis Trenker is some kind of idol for me. The biggest influence on my biking style came from Picco, a Tirolian mountaineering guide, who has been descending challenging alpine trails since the 1990s.
What gives you the biggest buzz on your bike?
The best feeling for me is when I do a descent or a route that nobody ever did before. I like finding my own adventure instead of copying; but simply following a ‘normal’ route makes me happy too.
What’s your favourite place to ride?
I love the Dolomites. It simply is the most impressive landscape I know and it is full of great riding on historical trails dating back to the First World War.
Millions of things have changed since I started biking 18 years ago! For me the lightweight yet durable bikes which you get nowadays are the biggest change; they make my adventures possible.
Finally, what are your ambitions for the future? I have some trips planned out of Europe. There are so many mountains that haven’t seen bike tyres yet - I have enough projects planned to keep me going for more than a lifetime!
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BOOK REVIEW HOW TO WRITE A SURF GUIDE Alf Alderson describes the pleasures and pitfalls of writing about surfing for a (kind of) living.
Unlike previous issues of the Church which have featured a book review, this time round we thought we’d let you in on the secrets of how a surf guide gets written (at the same time as shamelessly plugging yet another tome by the editor i.e. me)
Surf UK, which I originally researched and wrote way back in 1990 wasn’t the first UK surf guide by any means, but it was the first truly comprehensive one, featuring around 400 breaks. Prior to this you could get hold of a slim volume on surfing in SW England, a slightly thicker guide to Britain by the British Surfing Association, and there was also the classic ‘Surfing in Great Britain’ (I think that was the title) by former BSA chairman Reg Prytherch, published in the early 70s by Constable but long out of print. ‘Surfing in Great Britain’ naturally had a heavy focus on southern England, especially the Channel coast; I seem to remember there were an inordinate number of pics of clean ankle snappers around Bournemouth – but of the classic waves of Yorkshire and Scotland, for example, there was virtually nothing. That was probably because very few people actually knew that world class waves boomed ashore in such locations, and, of course, wetsuits in those days meant you could only comfortably surf these places for about 20 minutes before your extremities fell off. I was as ignorant as everyone else. At the time I had a girlfriend Kate who was at uni in Newcastle, and I worked on the oil rigs in the North Sea. During my time off I used to stay with her and take my board along with me so I could surf around Tynemouth, Saltburn
enlist the help of locals for vital info such as wind and swell directions, best stage of the tide etc. I made it quite clear to everyone I spoke to that what they told me would be going in the book, but in those innocent days not a single surfer I met railed against ‘their’ break being exposed (and spots that were regarded as ‘secret’ I left out). South Pembs Secret Spot (ha ha ha!) Photo: The Gill
Highlights of the trip included a week of hot sunshine and offshore waves in Cornwall; ditto in Yorkshire; surfing Thurso at midnight; and discovering waves on Scotland’s north-east coast and the Outer Hebrides that few other surfers knew about.
Thurso Photo: Alf
and the like. I knew there must be waves up in Northumberland, but has no idea where, and used to muse about it to Kate. She obviously got fed up of me wittering on about the whereabouts of the mysterious waves of NE England because one day she came up with an idea – “Why not get a commission to write a surf guide then you can get someone to pay you to check out the surf?”. Or words to that effect. I had no experience as a writer then, but it seemed like a good idea so I sent about 40 letters out to various publishers. Long story short – and incredibly – a publisher called Foulsham in Slough agreed that it was a sound idea and commissioned me to write the
The story of that journey around Britain would make a book in itself; I made friends I’m still in touch with today, surfed some great waves, got drunk everywhere from Newquay to Stornoway and almost committed suicide by cheering loudly in a Scottish pub as David Platt scored a last-minute winner in a World Cup game between England and Belgium.
bloody thing. They even gave me an advance. I can’t remember the amount but I think it was around £1500, quite a decent amount in those days. By this time I’d jacked in my work on the rigs and was working three days a week at the County Echo newspaper in Fishguard, from where I was able to get some ten weeks off in the summer of ’92 to use the advance to fund a 5,000-mile drive around England, Scotland and Wales checking out the breaks and taking notes and photographs. Of course there’s no way you’ll catch everywhere going off just as you roll up (although I did get great waves in Cornwall, Yorkshire and northern Scotland) so I had to
By mid-July I had all the material and photos I needed, returned to Pembrokeshire and spent the next six months writing it all up. Foulsham meanwhile put together a cover and started to send out pre-publishing blurb. And then everything done and dusted, all the proof-reading completed and the book ready to go to print they pulled the plug. Some office jockey in Slough had decided there was no money in surfing in 1992 – just about the same time that the sport started to take off worldwide. He’s probably gone on to become an overpaid banker… I was able to keep the advance but basically had months of work
All photos: Alf
behind me and a completed book on my hands but no publisher. And the first Stormrider guide came out around this time, so what would have been a publishing first for me wasn’t to be. I gave up with the whole thing for a few months before deciding to once again look for a publisher. And once again I was successful, and this time they (‘they’ being Fernhurst Books, a small south coast publisher specialising in sailing books) did what Foulsham should have done, they published ‘Surf UK’. It hit the bookshops in the summer of 1995 – a full three years after the research trip. I have to say that even then I thought it looked crap design wise, but the content was detailed enough and I don’t think anyone has ever written to say it’s inaccurate. A second edition came out a few years later and again the design wasn’t great, but it continued to sell modestly. It’s
interesting
that
I
always
had trouble trying to persuade Fernhurst of the importance of good design – look at any surf mag and most surfers and you can see that style and cool play a big part in surfing, so why would a book publisher and graphic designer think we’d be happy with second rate layouts and photographs? Anyway, Fernhurst was bought out a few years ago by a major publisher, John Wiley, who published the third edition in 2008, which looked something like the book should have done right from the start, including better pics and contributions from top British surfers like Sam Bleakley and Gabe Davies. Sure, ‘Surf UK’ ain’t as glossy as the Stormrider guides, but it was never meant to be – it’s for throwing in your glove box or backpack to consult as and when you’re on surfari. And now of course there’s heaps of competition, all of which is quality, it has to be said. But as far as I’m aware ‘Surf UK’ is still the oldest comprehensive guide to surfing in the UK (by which I mean
it had a lot more breaks in it than the first ‘Stormrider’ guide) and for me it was a life changer. This is not just because I had a marvellous summer visiting parts of the UK coastline I would never otherwise have got to, but because it also led me into a writing career that has continued to this day. Neither ‘Surf UK’ nor my other writing work is ever likely to make me wealthy, but they do provide a lifestyle that is second to none. So if only for that, I for one have good reason to be thankful for ‘Surf UK’. And if it’s helped a few people score some good sessions in our fickle British waves, even better…
‘Surf UK’ published by Wiley Nautical £14.99
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W W W. FA C E B O O K . C O M / T H E 1 0 0 0 S U R F E R S P R O J E C T
« THE 1000 SURFERS PROJECT » is a cultural initiative which aims to highlight today’s world surf culture. Through a photographic exhibition piecing together 1000 portraits collected on our Facebook page, we want to show the diversity of the surfers’ profiles from all over the world. Up to now, the community has already gathered 250 portraits, more than 1200 fans in 40 different countries. To be a part of the project is very easy: you just need to like and post a picture of yourself in our Facebook page, mentioning your age, location and activity. It’s not about surfing pictures; we want to see who you really are and what surfing means to you. It could be a picture of you at work, during your free time, your travels, or whatever… Be creative! Be part of this community! It’s free, easy and open to everyone!
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CONTACT : Tom Turner - co-creator +33 6 48 38 46 46 1000surfers@gmail.com
Hope to see you soon in our facebook page « The 1000 Surfers Project » team
FACT THE FACTS Cortina – is it Europe’s best biking destination? We love it, but check out the facts and the pics and decide for yourself… Over 700km of signposted mountain bike routes. Nine Bike Hotels with dedicated services for cyclists Plus seven Bike Refuges in the mountains for mountain bikers. A single bike pass gives you access to nine ski lifts, and bike shuttle and bike & bus transfer services are also available. In Cortina you’ll find 20 bike instructors and guides, and four bike rental shops if you don’t want to bring your own steed.
You can download maps with detailed route profiles and descriptions, roadbooks and GPS info to plan your rides in advance – go to http://cortina.dolomiti.org/ index.cfm/experience/Bike-Resorteng/ for details. And finally, road cyclists should check out the Tour of the Passes which offers a different tour every day for seven days taking in the spectacular scenery and mountain passes of the surrounding UNESCO World Heritage Site, and starting and ending in Cortina. If you do the whole lot you’ll notch up over 700km of riding. For more on mountain biking in Cortina check out http://www. pinkbike.com/news/Trek-fuel-exrumblefish-stache-2013.html
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image: Uli Stanciu
Cortina
image: Uli Stanciu
image: Uli Stanciu
image: cortina.dolomiti.org
image: Paola Dandrea
image: stefanozardini.com
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NEXT ISSUE JULY 2013 Paddling special Greenland, Mexico, Idaho
Norway Big wave surfing with
Gabe Davies Plus gear reviews, book reviews, places to stay and things to make you go ahh...
italian dolomites