Something completely different for me to ride here. I’ve been sent this sharp looking Decade Tripster, fully built up by the guys from Upgrade who distribute this brand along with others like DMR, Kinesis and Lezyne. The frame is highly versatile and can be built up as a fast commuter bike in loads of different ways. Flat bars, drop bars, 700c wheels, 26 inch wheels, hipster commuter, tourer or road bike. I have the bike in a cyclocross build, with 700c wheels, disc brakes and off road ‘cross tyres and I’m planning on trying out the bike on mixed up routes of road, tracks and single track trails. I’ve had one ride so far and it’s lot different to what I’m used to….but I like it.

With this bike I’ll be doing some “fake commuting”, making a video cast and there might even be some cyclocross skills courses in the pipeline.

I think I quite like my job.

The new Jumps for Dads skills courses have been going down a treat. Bunny hops, slow speed drops, faster drops and table top jumps have all been aired by the dads. Here’s a video from yesterday’s course.

Mike from The Cycle Junction using his drop off technique to ride some big rock steps.

I’ve been running this course all through the spring and due to it’s popularity will continue to offer dates into summer. Hebden Bridge has great trails which make an unrivalled location to develop the skills you’ll need if you’re heading out for a big mountain mountain biking holiday. It’s also a great course to hone your skills for riding technical UK natural mountain bike trails.

We’ve been riding steep rocky trails, steps, drop offs, switchbacks and learning how to weight and unweight the bike. Learning to do a proper bunny hop is an invaluable trail riding skill and this is at the core of this course.

We’ve got some of the best riding in the country here and it’s been great fun running these courses for me. We also have top notch cafes to have lunch in and a brilliant mountain biker friendly pub in which to stage the ultimate debrief.

 

The good guys need you! If you’re interested in putting something back into the mountain bike trails that you enjoy, why not get involved with Singletraction, the northern pioneers of the tasty trail? They’ve got a membership drive on at the moment and they will love you long time if you join them.