Some new kit for 2013

This month has flown by! Training has stepped up a level – everything is more specific and focussing in on the start of the season with my first race at the end of March. Joe Raffertyis giving me training plans, which is awesome. It takes the thinking out of it! It’s definitely more about quality not quantity (and it fits around my work as a nurse nicely too).

For 2013 the MTBcut team have stayed with the same sponsors, with the new addition of Madison clothing and MET/Bluegrass protection. It will be a really nice team set-up and good vibes, so that’s an ideal foundation to have for the races.

I have been finalising the races I’m going to do this year, keeping with tradition of doing a good variety of races that most appeal to me… Bluegrass Enduros, Transvesubienne, Trans-Savoie and the Scottish Off-Road Triathlon Champs, to name a few!

The sunshine we’ve had this month has meant that Dad, Joe and Ferg and I have made good progress on the sweet new shed, which will be the Dudes of Hazzard HQ. The next addition is chickens, one for each ‘dude’. That will be pretty nice having hens cruising about, and lots of eggs to keep the cake production rolling.

Work on the new Dudes of Hazzard HQ is underway

I have been loving skiing the last few weeks too! Whizzing about the hill and sessioning the back corries with a good gang of friends is awesome fun, pretty similar to the type of fun and appeal biking has I guess. It gives a good leg burn and my core always feels it afterwards too.

Skiing – not just for fun, it’s great for training too!

There’s all sorts of good stuff in MBUK 287. Here’s a few highlights…

Best buy full suspension bikes – which gives you the best performance at a bargain price?

First rides on the Ragley Marley, Scott Gambler 10 and Giant Anthem X 29er 1.

How to stay in control – be a pilot, not a passenger, with these skills and drills to keep you in charge on the trail.

New rides! Big Ride route around the Malvern Hills, and a Wrecking Crew ride around Kinlochleven.

Best holiday ever? Cal Jelley takes the ultimate tour of Northern California to ride the birthplaces of mountain biking!

Snow Patrol! Ric puts fat bikes to the test in the wintry Scottish Highlands.

The Coastal Crew – you’ll want their jobs once you’ve read our feature!

We meet the Coastal Crew – the mountain bikers, film-makers and photographers with the most enviable jobs in the world!

The plans for BikePark Wales are revealed – we’ve spoken to the developers and it’s looking amazing!

Awesome shots of the Athertons going massive on home turf!

15 sets of disc brakes tested – which are the superior stoppers?

Plus you get a free karabiner keyring and pull-out route maps!

MBUK 287 is in the shops now – or why not subscribe so you never miss an issue?

Fat bikes – just another fad? Ric finds out in the Highlands

Hannah Barnes shows the Wrecking Crew around her favourite Kinlochleven trails

Hannah Barnes is a rider and a racer from Fort William. She rides for MTBCut/Orange Mountain Bikes. Her first blog for MBUK is all about a recent riding trip to La Palma.

“I am sitting in a Deutsche Backerei und Konditorei on La Palma (Canary Islands) surrounded by friendly German hippies. My friend Steffi Marth comes here every winter. Each year she invites me to come and this year it was perfect to come out and escape snowy Scotland for a few weeks.

“There are lots of folk here as part of Atlantic Cycling – bike guides, photographers, pro riders and clients. Steffi is running a girls freeride camp for a week, so I am joining them for some of the days, then riding with the guys the rest of the time. They are all such a great group of girls, doing really cool jobs and hobbies back home – one races motocross, one is an architect, one’s a civil engineer – and they’re all lots of fun. It’s cool to randomly meet and ride with these girls, doing a shared passion on a small island in the middle of the Atlantic.

“La Palma itself is an amazing place to ride, such a variety of riding and little micro-climates on the island. If one side is raining, then just head to the sun on the other side! We shuttle up for about an hour to get some height, then enjoy epic descents.

“It is a unique place to ride. Within one ride we would be on the top of the mountain in the rain, in a rocky rooty jungle, back into the sun in a lava field, then a fast and flowy pine forest, on red earth and a moon like landscape, loose rocky walkers paths, and smooth, flowy river beds. The riding is pretty technical and physical, so it is definitely somewhere to easily spend a winter getting fast and fit!

“I love the chilled pace of life and swimming in the ocean after a long ride, the cheap and tasty seafood, dubious Spanish coffee, German bread, and the mix of great people! What is not to love?!”

All photos by Thomas Dietze – www.extreme-pics.de

Since then he’s notched up top 10 results at the first two rounds of the SDA, the second round of the Irish Gravity Enduro and the third round of the Fetish Bike Gravity Enduro Series, as well as taking a not-to-be-sniffed-at 52nd place at the Fort William World Cup.

He’s sponsored by Orange, and this videos shows him proving the all-mountain credentials of the Orange Patriot by piloting it down the steep, rocky slopes of Ben A’an in Scotland.

From awesome riding to stunning scenery, from exciting up-and-coming new riders to one of the best World Cup events there is, Scotland has a lot to shout about.

In MBUK 276 we preview the Fort William World Cup and find out why the world’s best racers love it. Steve Peat, Will Longden, Rachel Atherton and more all have their say, plus we tell you all the info you need on how to get there, where to stay, and let you in on who we think will win it!

We also go beyond the 7stanes to ride the incredible terrain of the Lowther Hills in the Scottish Borders, and see what’s to be found when you venture outside of the trail centres.

Ric meets Joe and Hannah Barnes, two of the UK’s most promising riders, and hit their local trails in Fort William with them. And Dan Milner turns pirate as he takes a riding cruise along the Calendonian Canal.

Pirates of the Caledonian

Barnes stormers!

Set up and step up!

There’s also a brand new skills series starting this month, designed to provide you with all the skills and techniques you need to take your riding to the next level, and all the training plans, advice and work-outs you need to get there, with the men behind Pro Ride Guides, Joe and Alex Rafferty.

There’s also 37 whole pages of new gear tested, including a grouptest of 15 trail forks, six lightweight trail bikes for £2,300 and six of the best lock-on grips.

All that, and you get free Rose socks too, plus four free pull-out route maps.

Don’t miss it - MBUK 276 is on sale today, or you can subscribe here – or check the mag for special gift subscription offers!