JAMES MCKNIGHT
Born in Wiltshire, James spent his teens and twenties touring Europe in a van, racing downhill and recounting his experiences in his ‘Euro Pikey’ column in Dirt magazine. Since then, he’s been an MTB writer, tester and guide, recently creating his own publishing brand and producing the downhill and enduro yearbooks Hurly Burly and The World Stage. The latest edition of Hurly Burly, about the 2018 DH World Cup season, is out now (www.misspentsummers.com). Who is James McKnight? A 32-year-old bike rider who likes to explore and write.
What do you do? I’m a freelance writer and a publisher. I produce a handful of books every year through my little company, Misspent Summers.
Where do you call home? I travel pretty much constantly, but home is in the French Alps, in a small valley somewhere between Annecy and Chamonix.
What was your first bike? I’m not sure what the first BMX was, but I got a Townsend Terminator for my sixth birthday. I still dream about that fantastic red racing machine...
What’s your current ride? I’ve got a Santa Cruz 5010 and a Kingdom Vendetta hardtail that I ride the most off-road at the moment. Also, a Sunday BMX that I ride almost every day and a Marin gravel bike, which is a dream for the bakery run.
What gets you excited to ride? Anything that involves a spot of adventure – preferably getting lost and finding new trails.
Favourite rider to watch? Kade Edwards, Phil Atwill and Josh Bryceland. I like to see people do more than just ride straight down a trail as fast as possible. Bikes, to me, are about playing around and having fun.
Favourite bike film? Deathgrip… we even made a book about it. Sprung 3 and 5 were standout films too.
Best trail you’ve ridden this year? I finally made it to BC [Canada] and rode some amazing trails in Squamish. That place blew my mind.
Scariest thing you’ve done on a bike? I used to do some pretty big hucks back in the day. There was one at the Wrekin in Shropshire where you had to sprint pretty hard and take off through a just-wider-than-your-bars gap in the trees to a double step-down. That seems pretty scary looking back.
Worst crash you’ve had? I half tore my little finger off riding in the Alpujarras in Spain and it took about an hour on foot to get to the nearest road, then several hours to hospital, where they pieced the bones back together and sewed it all back on. It was pretty grim, but apparently I was lucky.
Clips or flats? Always flats. I’ve never been interested in clips. 650b or 29in? Horses for courses. Although, all my bikes are 650b or smaller.
Bike park flow or natural gnar? Natural.
Race results or Instagram followers? Race results. Although I’m not very good at either!
Who’d you rather fight… Richie Rude or Brook Macdonald? Both are built like brick shithouses. I’d run away.
What would be your dream sponsor? Cadbury. How far can you wheelie? To the end of the road.
What would be your desert island luxury? A supermarket.
What good advice would you give to your 13-year-old self? Don’t ride off that wall, your chain is about to snap.
What would you be doing if you weren’t writing and publishing? I’d probably be running my own bike guiding service. I like meeting people and showing them new trails.