Alexa — Ride My Bike: The week in mountain biking

Comrades, we start this week’s broadcast with a public service announcement. Big tech business has made it to the world of bikes.

Yes, this is your four-minute warning.

Who knows what is over the horizon. A Jeffsy that you instruct to change gear, a Capra that is monitoring every compression so it can suggest a new shock on your Instagram feed or maybe uplifts by drone? Nobody knows. Although the image of someone skidding down a blue run shouting at their bike to change gear is one that I find quite entertaining.  

This all probably a bit unfair on YT and Sam Nicols, and Sam as I’m sure you’re reading, I apologise — I’m looking forward to seeing where this takes the company.

Joking aside, this will no doubt lead to a more professional industry, better trails, and a more accessible sport, with cheaper bikes and more people buzzing to be doing the sport. Apart from these people, who will probably never be happy.  

Let’s be honest there are worse problems to have. Moaning about your local trails being cut up or that a company did something differently is mostly irrelevant. Remembering that we can get out on our bikes and enjoy ourselves, on the other hand, is vitally important. 

Part of the reason riding is so good is it’s a leveller. Or it should be. Unfortunately, it seems it isn’t for everyone. Collectively we need to work out how we’re going do to make it better (this is worth listening to, and this is essential reading). We don’t have all the answers, but remembering that regardless whether you are that guy on the blue trail with an extra slack bike or Mr Amazon himself, we’re all on bikes because it’s fun.

Demonstrating this fun is the mighty Tommy C, with another prime edit from the depths of the Midlands. The name Stokey-o Drift is enough to make it worthy of these hallowed pixels alone. Throw in the fact that these guys are riding full commitment with little regard for the consequences and the chap on the Mega featured in this entertaining EWS reality check, meant it was top-notch material to be featured here.

Holding that EWS train of thought, the Hazard Racing boys have delivered a team edit that puts all the big-budget shows to shame. Featuring some horrendously steep ruts, chainring abuse and an unnecessarily large sign, sit back and bask in the warmth of Hazard racing and their lack of seriousness.

Following the compass north(ish), we pick up the 50to01/Cannondale waves crew and their vans. I’ll be honest, I don’t quite get a lot of the stuff the 50to01 guys do, potentially because I grew up riding downhill or simply because I’m not very cool, but this video bucks that trend for me. The combination of bikes, vans and questionable haircuts is always a winner, and this sums up the fun that bikes can be. Just be prepared for to reminisce of un-lockdown times and dry trails.

Finally, on the fun scale, if you take bikes away, powder skiing sits pretty close to the top. Watching powder skiing is not quite as good, but it’s still bearable, and it doesn’t get much better than The Blank Collectives latest work. 40 minutes (not the misleading hour as the video states) of deep snow and top-notch skiing ticks all the boxes, and it’s cool to see that feature-length films still have a place in amongst the swathes of shredits. 

So there we go, the week complete. What a time it’s been. Stay sharp until next time Comrades.

— HG