CARIBBEAN ROOTS

Jamaica’s Fat Tyre Festival isn’t the colourful reggae- and Red Stripe-fuelled carnival you’d expect (although both of those are a part of it!). It’s actually a pretty low-key event hosted by Singletrack Jamaica, in which they guide a small group of riders around their Caribbean island paradise. This year, Scott Bikes pro rider Scotty Laughland went along for the ride.

“Descending a flowing, handcut line through tropical jungle, we popped out at a watering hole where we stripped off and jumped in, before being given coconuts to drink from, freshly cut before our eyes!” he recounts. And that wasn’t even the best of it. Canadian freeride legend Darren Berrecloth happened to be there for the festival too. “I grew up watching Darren in films like New World Disorder,” Scotty says, “so getting to rip down trails and drink beers with him was super-fun. Our big mission was to summit Blue Mountain, the island’s highest peak. After three hours of climbing through sweaty jungle, we were rewarded with panoramic views and a huge descent of switchbacks, tight ravines and ancient pathways.”

“The riding community in Jamaica isn’t big,” Scotty explains, “but their passion more than makes up for it. I’d usually hear the guides before I saw them, and when they did tear into view, it’d always be with wide grins on their faces! The festival is a great way to see the best of the island, even if the ratio of biking to partying is pretty even!” Sounds like one for the diary!