Last summer, Antimedia spent four weeks building two lines in Lofoten, Norway, with the goal of “capturing world-class riding in the untouched and unique nature around Lofoten”. We reckon they achieved it!

Lines of Lofoten – a five-episode web-series – will be released shortly, in the meantime, check out the highlight clip below.

Lines of Lofoten from ANTIMEDIA on Vimeo.

Rough Ride Guide, the people behind the pull-out route maps and the Big Ride features in MBUK, have organised two events for this summer.

The first is the Chilterns Challenge, a 10km to 100km signed route throughout the Chilterns on 15 June. There are shorter route options and a family route available too.

The event has a relaxed informal feel, and there’ll be plenty of cake and free tea and coffee, as well as bike goodies to buy. Entry is £15.

The second is a Welsh Coast to Coast supported group ride from Conwy to Port Talbot that takes place from 29 July to 3 August.

The route is the same one as Rough Ride Guide main man Max Darkins rode in MBUK 278. It’s 330km long and includes 13,000m of climbing.

Guides, luggage transfer, food and accommodation will be provided over this six-day adventure. This one costs £395 per rider.

Find out more about both these events at RoughRideGuide.co.uk.

 
This Is Peaty: Season 2, episode 1

Nicolas Vouilloz – The relentless pursuit of balance

Danny MacAskill’s Imaginate

This one’s a bit older, but we still like it!
Neil Donoghue – Bronson Play

Neil Donoghue – Bronson Play from Laurence Crossman-Emms on Vimeo.

Something achievable…

Elan Valley MTB Challenge 23 June, Rhayader, Mid Wales
www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/92267/The-Elan-Valley-Challenge
The Elan Valley is well known for exciting natural terrain but rarely used for events, so we think this occasion will be a big hit.

A great blend of scenery, first class riding and some tough terrain that could be the perfect event to get your summer going. Distances available include 30, 50 and 82km. The long route takes in some classics such as Strata Florida, while the shorter route options remain within the Elan Valley itself.

Reasonable entry fees and good facilities mean this would be a great way to see a new riding area.

British XC Series Rd 4 7 July, Margam Park, South Wales
www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/85095/BC-National-Cross-Country-MTB-Series-Round-4
Don’t be afraid of cross-country racing – it might be the only mountain bike event at the Olympics, but even at a national level it’s still accessible to all levels of riders.

Serious racers will need a British Cycling racing licence, but if you just want to dip your toe in then enter the Open category, which is open to all abilities.

Round four is at Margam Park, which is a classic venue and with a new World Cup course being finished shortly, it promises to offer a fun and challenging all-weather route.

Another excellent reason to head there is the brilliant kids races on offer. Ages 12-plus can race on the main course while younger riders get a separate shorter lap.

A bit more of a challenge…

Wiggle Mountain Mayhem 15 June, Gatcombe Park, Gloucestershire
www.wigglemountainmayhem.com
The biggest 24-hour event in the UK is now into its 16th year and moving to a brand new venue. It’s open to teams of four, five or 10 – and solo riders if you want to really challenge yourself.

Mountain Mayhem has a proven reputation for creating a great atmosphere while offering a course that’s accessible for all riding abilities. The course length is usually around 12 to 15km and teams race in relay format, with one person on the course at a time.

Get together with your riding buddies and have fun or push yourselves against some quick competition, the choice is yours!

Mondraker Gravity Rally 6 and 7 July, Porlock, Exmoor
www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/85097/Mondraker-Gravity-Mountain-Bike-Rally
Back for 2013, the Gravity Rally is once again being held on Exmoor. It offers a relaxed atmosphere with a nod towards actually enjoying an enduro event! That isn’t to say it won’t be a proper race – or that riding down some of Exmoor’s biggest descents won’t be challenging.

Held over two days, with five timed sections, each downhill and the sections in-between being very relaxed, there’ll be no need to rush.

The next day the emphasis will be on kicking back in the scenic surroundings. Competition is not ignored though, with electronic-chip timing and a prize raffle.

Rat Race: The Crossing 12 to 14 July, North England (starting in Whitehaven)
www.ratracecrossing.com
The newest offering from experienced event organisers, Rat Race Adventure Sports, is the opportunity to ride coast to coast in North England.

Covering 165 miles and crossing three national parks, The Crossing route is designed to pass through the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors in three days. It will feature a variety of terrains and, as you’d expect, a lot off-road riding.

You don’t need a full-face helmet and body armour for this event, but you will need to be comfortable on off-road terrain and be ready for all conditions.

Riders can expect to be well looked after, with camping locations sorted, massages available each night, food provided, showers, bike washes and all the logistics in place to take the hassle out of a point-to-point ride. Bus transfers are also available and all your luggage will be transported onwards each day.

Cardinham Woods in Bodmin, Cornwall, have some brand new trails, which have opened in time for summer. They’re looking good to us!

Cornwall’s newest trail center ridin by the westcoastmountainbiking.com crew

The sun was out and Falmouth was calling. I was heading down to Cornwall with Katy Curd for the second round of the British 4X Series – and unusually, this time I was going to be racing rather than just watching and operating the tools!

The track in Falmouth had only been finished on the Friday night, with us arriving on Saturday morning ready for a day of practice. UK 4X racer Will Evans had been given free reign over creating the track, and he’d done a tidy job! It’s one of those tracks that personify what 4X really should be. It’s relatively long, has a good gradient, and is full of challenging features and multi-line sections. It was going to be an interesting race!

As a 4X virgin I entered the Big Fun category – which is for riders without BC licenses, so really just not taking the whole thing seriously in any way. This was perfect for me, I’m no racer!

A good day’s practice on Saturday led into a sunny morning on Sunday – and with about 15 minutes left of practice, I manned up and hit the Pro-line jumps. It took a couple of attempts to get through both of them, but once I was done, they were in the bag. Straight into racing, and I wasn’t feeling massively confident about hitting them again, so put it to the back of my mind, with concentrating on getting a good start being the priority!

With Moto rounds, quarter finals and semi finals to get through, I never found myself out of the top 2 – putting me into the final. I had gate pick, so picked the inside gate into the first corner, and after a brief downpour of rain, the track was suddenly soaked too. Luckily my downhill experience could come in handy and I could try and stay rubber side down!

As the gate dropped, I managed to get the snap and lead down into the second turn. Blown sideways over the double leading into the pro line, I opted out and hit the turn into the other straight. I was pushing hard as I knew the guy in second was likely to hit the Pro Line, and as I got to the end of the straight I saw him fly by, cutting me up and putting me into second. Fair play for hitting those jumps!

I followed him down, attempting a couple of passes but with no success, putting me into a second place finish. The result was a huge bonus, but totally didnt matter. The whole atmosphere of the event was so laid back and positive – everyone just seemed as if they were there to have some fun on their bikes – even the Elite riders.

As an event to get people into racing it was perfect, and it’s spurred me on to actually race some more 4X too – the European round at Dirtmaster festival as well as the next UK national round – and I’m really looking forward to them too!

It was a new experience for me, as it’s the first time I’ve made a film with just myself and no with other riders. We also filmed a bike check which I must admit was fairly stressful! As soon as the camera is on and I have to speak, everything I had planned goes out the window and I mumble a load of rubbish. Luckily my brother Joe was on hand to help out with the scripting – he’s got it down now!

The day after filming I was frantically packing; sorting out bikes and kit and general stuff ready for a month away- the first Euro racing road trip of the year. On my way down south I stopped off at Apex Graphics in Peebles so that my friend Dave Mackison could re-sticker up my van to keep it current and fresh. As always it was full of banter – we were working till 4am this time, but there were good tunes, pizzas and my van got vamped!

Next stop was London to do a presentation as part of the Ellis Brigham shop’s 80^th birthday celebrations.  Myself, Andy Houseman – mountaineer and climber ; Bernie Shrosbree – high performance coach- and Dan Milner – action sports photographer- each did a presentation, slideshow and talk to a really nice audience. It was awesome to be included in the line-up with these three very inspirational and cool guys!

It turned out that Bernie and my mum used to be in the same xc ski racing group in Norway back in the day. It’s a small world! I learned a lot about public speaking, I got very inspired myself by the others guys, and it was also really nice to chat to everyone who came along. Thanks Ellis Brigham and also Five Ten for having me there to represent you!

Straight after that I got in the van and boosted down to Dover to have a snooze then get the early bird ferry. The next day it was a fairly epic solo drive to Le Biot – near Morzine – to where my friends live. Both of my sat navs won’t work so it wasn’t very relaxing trying to find the place. Finally arriving to good friends, big hugs, lots of good food, and a ‘tight and bright’ party was pretty ideal! Tomorrow I head to Lake Garda where the racing begins!

Back soon!

Hannah

Short-travel XC biketest – four of the best for all-day epics or marathon races!

First rides on the Devinci Dixon Carbon RX, Morewood Sukuma and NS Soda Air

Be a speed demon – how to pump, pedal and brake better for smoother, faster trail rides.

New rides! Big Ride route in wild and rocky Ullswater , plus a Wrecking Crew ride around Van Rd Trails in South Wales – stomping ground of Manon Carpenter.

Monkey business on the ancient trails of the Indian Himalayas

Steve Peat’s top downhill tips - we ride with the World Champ in Tuscany and get the secrets to his success

Best holiday ever? Cal Jelley finishes the ultimate tour of Northern California to ride the birthplaces of mountain biking! This month he stops off in Marin County

Matt Hunter’s Specialized Enduro S-Works Super Bike – the epitome of do-it-all-machines!

How your big bling is born - amazing transformation from metal rod to shiny rear hub

Volcano bike park - Blake and Ray Samson get rad on the volcanic slopes of Fuerteventura

Six of the trail/all-mountain handlebars rounded up and rated.

Long-sleeve jerseys tested – 15 jerseys to keep you cool and protected all summer long

Plus you get a FREE Trail Centre Guide and pull-out route maps!

MBUK 290 is in the shops now – or why not subscribe so you never miss an issue?

And, in the issue after this one, we’ll be celebrating the 25th anniversary of MBUK – look out for an extra special mag packed full of awesome features on 31 May!

MBUK 290 will be in the shops tomorrow – and it comes with a free guide to Britain’s 50 best trail centres!

It’s been fully updated for 2013, and within its pages is all the info you need on what we consider to be Britain’s 50 best trail centres. We tell you how to get there, what facilities are available and, most importantly, what the riding is like.

It covers all the classic centres, including Glentress and Innerleithen in Scotland, Afan and Coed-y-Brenin in Wales, and Dalby Forest and the Forest of Dean in England.

The trail centres range from family-friendly, something-for-everyone locations like Glentress, Ae and Dalby, to truly challenging trails such as the Dark Side at Mabie, the black trail at Stainburn and the downhill routes at Cwmcarn, to the more mellow riding found at Penmachno and Ashton Court in Bristol. The focus is on cross-country style trails, but we’ve included some class downhill locations and bike parks too, so the likes of Chicksands, The Track and Wharncliffe Woods are not left out.

The brand new Antur Stiniog centre in North Wales is included, and there’s also a preview of the forth-coming BikePark Wales in the south of the country.

You’ll also find a bonus section full of trail centre riding skills a guide to essential kit and a handy how to section on bike maintenance.

So don’t delay – go get your copy today! You can also subscribe to MBUK at www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk.