WINNER ! LETTER STAR
CHAIN PAIN
We all know how cool it is to get a new steed – and how frustrating it is if something breaks! A few months ago, I bought myself a second-hand Specialized Hardrock, which I really liked… until two days later, when I was out shredding my backyard bike park (yes, I’ve got a backyard bike park!) and, as I pressed down on the pedal, the chain snapped in half. I haven’t been able to buy a new chain yet, because it’s hard for a 15-yearold boy to get extra pocket money out of his parents! So I’ve had to make do with riding chainless. But hey, it’s better than nothing and I’m still loving riding!
Here’s a shot (right) I took of my 10-year-old brother, Caleb, sending it on our forest trails.
Dinari Sullivan, viaemail Sorry D in ari,we’ ve got no chain for you, but what we can send you is a track pump and a multi-tool to help you get your steed back to full health. One condition though–you’ ve got to invite us to your bike park, because we’ re seriously jealous!
TRIBAL GATHERING
I’ve been riding with my 19-year-old son, Jack, and his mate Matt Jervis since the boys were 10. We’ve gone from me teaching them to them teaching me. Over the years we’ve climbed Snowdon, Helvellyn and Cadair Idris, and ridden amazing trails all over Wales. What I love about our sport is that it doesn’t matter who you are, or how old or good you are, we’re all just having fun on our bikes. This was clearly demonstrated to me on this particular day.
We’d gone along to Danbury Common, in Essex, so the boys could help me with my jumping technique and I could play with my new camera. Before long a nutter arrived on an e-bike in an inflatable Santa suit and started doing some serious jumps. We found out that this was Sam Pilgrim on his Haibike, filming for his YouTube vlog.
So here we were – a pair of teenagers, a couple of blokes on hardtails in their late 40s, me, aged 57, a bunch of other riders of varying skill levels and the legendary Sam Pilgrim – all mucking about on bikes. There can’t be many other sports where you get such a mix, all out having fun together.
Tim Peal, viaemail We agree,Tim – that’s one of the best things about mountain biking. And we’ re impressed that you’ re still honing your jumping skills in yourmid50s!