Category: Words

Singletrack’s website carried a feature recently on Reddish Vale and the plans that a local group are publishing that propose turning part of the area into a dedicated Mountain Bike area. I know the Reddish Vale area quite well and although it certainly has a few ups and downs due to the fact it’s basically the sides of a river valley, it doesn’t have the kind of relief that will challenge Wales or Scotland. Still there’s probably a little bit of potential, but given the fact that even solid metal gates get destroyed and there’s a high frequency of burned out cars as well as youthful loonies revving the hell out of (probably stolen) motorbikes, while hooting around without helmets on you can’t help thinking there might be some trouble ahead.

So any North Shore type woodwork built there will either be seen as a great bonfire opportunity, a plentiful supply of free timber or something to sabotage. A visitors centre will be a great place to try and break into and loot. Oh and of course there’ll be a regular supply of riders with expensive bikes who can be mugged or may well find there bikes disappear when they’re not watching, or that there cars are less intact than when they left them if they’re still there at all. Reddish Vale. A great place to pass through.

Wayback in the mists of time in fact when I first came to Manchester, I bought a pair of Canary Yellow top of the range Carbon Soled Northwave road shoes. They clashed terribly with almost any outfit, but were so distinctive that a nickname was coined that stuck around. I’ve been looking for a new pair of riding shoes for a few weeks and with some mad trips planned for later in the year, I’ve snapped up a pair of these.

After two weeks use all seems to be going well and they’ve bedded in nicely. I probably need to do a couple of distance rides in them to check the soles aren’t going to resurrect the problems of some previous trails shoes, but first impressions seem pretty good. Not too convinced of the benefits of Goretex in anything but boots, but should be useful to a degree in snow and for stream splash crossings.

Back in August 2003 I headed off to the Channel Islands to do some holiday cover work for my friend and former boss Ian Brown in his Cycle Shop in Guernsey and for a week at Mark Pickford’s shop in Jersey. During my time on the Island I binned the Specialized BG Boots that had nearly crippled me on the ride from Dover to Luzern and bought a new pair of riding shoes.

They were these Cannondale efforts and they’ve proven to be a great pair of shoes for £50. After years of light trail work, trudging around and working in bikes shops and most recently commuting, they’ve been retired. Sporting some rather compromising holes in the uppers and a fairly worn out tread they’ve certainly been good value for money.

Things have definitely finally warmed up reaching the mid-twenties this week. It’s been shorts and t-shirt weather riding into work which has been great. I just hope it can last and I’m thankful that at least I’m not having to deal with the quality of drivers that Chilly is encountering on his commute. This weekend gone Makin and a load of others went North of the border to ride singlespeeds. It sounds like it was great!

Last summer there was a big controversy in the Alps over guides and their legitimacy to be operating in France due to the qualifications that they hold. The debate continues for the coming season and it’s something that has generated a lot of comments from Singletrackworld readers.

My view is that really it’s not surprising that the French Authorities are tightening up on this. In France cycling is the third most popular sport (12.9 million visitors in 2002 (Mignon & Truchon)) so the internal market for mountain biking is massive. The big draw is the Rhône-Alpes Region which has over 160 resorts, 1 600 000 tourist beds and over 120 000 jobs related to tourism. Mountain Biking is now a significant summer industry in Alpine resorts with rider numbers growing year on year. This looks set to increase as the snow seasons become shorter through the effects of global warming and less predictable weather conditions.

This puts greater odds on a major incident in the mountains. In summer 2007, because of several weeks of poor weather (it rained a lot) many French tourists cancelled their holidays and many French guides were out of work. Of course the British guides remained quite busy because most British riders don’t mind getting wet (although one or two found out about hypothermia by being unprepared for alpine rain) and were happy to destroy disc pads on a daily basis getting all muddy. The fact that many UK riders refused to cancel a trip they’d paid for in advance because of something as mundane as the weather might have had something to do with it as well…

As I understand it, although there are efforts to establish internationally recognised qualifications for Mountain Bike Guiding in Alpine regions, there are still not specific qualifications that are agreed across Europe, let alone outside the continent. This initiative needs major buy in from tour operators. If this kind of discussion is already happening, I’m not aware, but I’m sure that there are enough people with an interest in this thread to clarify? If you were being cynical you’d say that the factor behind the news in article is the authorities tightening the rules to the benefit of French workers – It could be argued that the French are policing guiding more than any other country possibly due to the poor season French guides had last year.

Nonetheless, the recognised qualifications that allow guides to legally take groups are regulated. In the case of the IML this is by BAIML who are participants in a broader Union of International Mountain Leader Associations. Getting the qualification isn’t easy – read more here. Even with an IML qualification there are limits to the type of terrain a guide can take you on (e.g. IML holders are not covered for guiding over glaciers without additional qualifications on top). Holders are required to effectively re-train every year once they have the qualification to keep it valid and pay an annual membership fee. Training takes place in Upland areas, with specific work in Alpine environments (generally Switzerland). The number of deaths in Scottish and Welsh Mountain areas demonstrate that you don’t need to train solely in the Himalayas or the Alps to experience life threatening conditions.

Beyond the regulation, there is the big issue of the amount of time and experience that have to be invested in securing these qualifications. In response to some comments it is not the length of the course that is the significant factor, but the number of hours/days logged as participating in mountain environments (so a bit like a pilot logging flying experience). It is therefore time consuming to get qualified to the required standards, but should ensure a consistent standard. This doesn’t mean the current system is the best fit solution in all cases. There are different levels of mountain biking in Alpine regions and so it would in theory make sense to have a range of Mountain Bike Guiding qualifications to suit these. There is a difference in the potential risks in taking a family group on rigid hardtails for a valley floor trail ride and guiding loons on 6″ all mountain bikes down the Champery DH course. Factors such as group size, distance from established population centres, grade of trail being ridden (i.e. off piste equivalent) might all affect the qualification a guide needs to take riders out. As has been stated there are significant risks in high alpine environments and the ability to make decisions based on skills developed over many seasons are important.

I’m sure we’re all keen to make sure that we can all continue to enjoy riding in the real mountains of Europe and therefore support all tour operators in ensuring that there is a high standard that governs companies operating in these areas and qualifications for guides that are “suitable to task”.

Back in January I rode down to Tim’s shop in Alsager and talked about a new Independent Fabrication. Although I’ve ridden in events that would be ‘cross races in most peoples books, I’ve never had a CX bike before so there was quite a lot of research to do. Rear axle spacing, cable routing, brake types, etc.

The only thing I had decided on with no doubt was the paint work. I wanted something to emulate the old Fat Chance Aquamarine Fade. It’s one of those classic paint jobs that you tend to remember when you’ve seen it in the flesh. I remember seeing a Yo Eddy in those colours in the mid 1990s. The Planet X that I picked up today is the modern take on that paintwork. Brief shakedown ride tonight. Long ride tomorrow morning. More photos on Flickr.

A while ago I mentioned that I was converting the Harry Hall into a singlespeed for commuting to work. It’s been running well ever since and the initial gearing has proved to be spot on 50:16. It ain’t fixed, it ain’t that pretty, at just over 18lb it’s not that light, but it’s comfy, quick and simple.

So there we go it’s cobbled together with the bits that didn’t get stripped off as part of singlespeed conversion, a 130mm Thomson stem and some Azonic Double Wall Flatbars chopped down to road width. Thanks to Cy and Kelvin for the Gusset conversion kit and to Stu N for the brake levers. Some more pictures in the bikes section.