Your letters and photos, including returning to MTB to send it with your son, e-bike riding aged 78 and more of your best riding snaps
Schooled by a six-year-old
I was mad keen on XC back in the ’90s. I had an Orange P7 that I treated like my baby and kept in my tiny room at uni, but eventually lack of money got in the way and I had to sell it. I thought my MTB days were over, until last year when I hit the brilliant blue trail at Queen Elizabeth Country Park. I was on a Trek hybrid with my six-year-old son Harry, and I’d never experienced a modern trail, with its flowing downhill sections and well-crafted berms – we were both instantly hooked!
Fast-forward a year and I now have a modern bike – a beautiful Commencal Meta – and have built Harry one of the best 20in bikes I’ve seen, with a Kona frame, Shimano Zee gears, kids’ size SDG components and an amazingly cool Spank wheelset. He’s now a regular at Gosport BMX Club, which is really developing his riding skills. Harry’s now hitting the red-graded and gravity lines, and is sending it at the Hayling dirt jumps (pictured). I’m ashamed to say he gets more air than I do! Matt Illston, via email
Kids these days have got it alright, eh? We wish there’d been bikes like Harry’s around when we were growing up. Super-capable kids’ bikes, well-designed trails and lots of other riders to learn from are accelerating progression levels through the roof. It sounds like Harry’s taking to it naturally. You’re going to have to start sabotaging his bike soon if you want to stay ahead of him!
Later, Haters
I’m 78 in August and 11 months ago I bought an e-bike, so that when I go riding with my son, who’s 34, and a mate, who’s 51, I can keep up with them. When I ride on my own, I use my normal bike (a lightweight Trek). So when I’m on my e-bike, I’m sick of bike snobs and walkers saying I’m cheating – I feel like giving them a slap! The last time someone said it to me I’d ridden for four hours, had a crash and later run out of battery, forcing me to ride the last half hour unassisted on a 52lb bike. Cheating, my arse! Anonymous, Eastbourne
We’d like to see what all those hecklers are riding when they’re your age! We bet half of them will either have given up or realised that you were on to a good thing all along. If e-bikes mean people of all ages can enjoy riding together, then they’re nothing but a good thing, we say. Block out the haters and just enjoy it – but remember to keep that battery charged!