Singletrack Staff Blog

Hello, I’m here to do the regular, ‘It’s all done and we’re going home’ blog entry. Except I’m already at home and the mag was finished about 3 hours ago. Yes, that’s right, we finished it in daylight (and I don’t mean dawn). And what’s more the printers aren’t expecting it till tomorrow!
This is the first issue I’ve ever done that’s been early to print. I’m really quite pleased and am drinking beer and eating apple pie to celebrate. If you see me with a big smile on my face this week, you’ll know why.
Cheers all.

Matt and I have an immoveable appointment with a plane in Glasgow early tomorrow morning. The magazine is near enough done - and what isn’t done is (or should be at least) in good hands. So I just need to finish off the last bits of writing now (you didn’t think the Contents page wrote itself did you?) and then start the confusing job of packing for three different events in two weeks - Eurobike, the Singlespeed Worlds and the Fort William Worlds.

What’s annoying though, is that I currently don’t have time to show you what we saw on popping round to see Orange the other day. Putting a story up on Singletrack will take too much time - but I’ll stick a few teasers here and see if I get a moment later for the STW story.

So from the top, we’ve got a linkage driven, low ratio shock frame that looks, ooh, like about 100mm of XC travel… Then we’ve got a monster prototype, linkage driven shock again, but in a much burlier package… But surely Orange only ever do single pivots? Perhaps not… And below them - that’s a mighty slim and fine looking seatstay - and, could that be the corner of a ‘Tange’ badge? But that can only mean one thing… And then the final shot seems to show that Orange have gone reissue crazy! Perhaps it’s a limited edition reissue, only one of 21 frames to commemorate Orange’s 21 years…

More later as I get a moment…

So, I’ve been super distracted from riding my bike for what seems like years (but in reality is only 4 months), its the longest time for 20 years that I’ve had off. When I say “off” though I mean “off” from riding for fun as I’ve still been riding to work every day but just not much else really, sure there’s been the odd couple of hours here and there but for me my life is all about riding bikes.

Live to ride has long been my way, everything I did was focused around bikes and rides, its what I am…

 

or what I was

 

However this year has been different, to begin the year I’d decided that I wasnt going to race anymore 24 hour races (mostly coz I’d realized how crap I was) so therefore I could enjoy the riding rather than forcing myself to get the miles in.

I did decide to set myself some goals to ride my bike at Lands End and John O Groats and am still determined to do that, but mostly I was going to enjoy the hills again.

 

After a bit of a stutter/start to the year the rides came and I was having fun, but then a dark cloud appeared on the horizon, I got promoted at work and suddenly became responsible for all sorts of stuff that hadnt even breached my radar before, long hours and lots of stress meant that riding time dried up faster than the trails did back in April.Family comitments were still there and these were (mostly !) honoured by spending time out walking and photographing but I’ve been pineing (SP?)for a ride, last week the rides home were extended by a few miles each way in eager anticipation of whats soon to come.

 

The project I’ve been working on comes to fruition next week (hence why I’m here at work now typing this on a bank holiday weekend, yes Chipps its not just the bike mag business thats all glamour ) but the weekend after its the singlespeed world champs that my good friends “The Jocks” are organising. I’ll not be racing but I’ll be there riding in those wonderful Jockish hills and no doubt savouring a malt whisky or 3, and catching up with mates from all over the single speed universe and ridng my bike in the hills.

Did I mention I’ll be riding in the hills already ? and I can see a trip to John OGroats on the horizon, maybe this year wont be a right off ?

 

now, where are those dates for SSMM08 again :-0

My trusty singlespeed is dying. It’s been ridden pretty much continously for the last 6 years and it’s starting to show. I’ve decided that Aviemore will be it’s last race (and 4th SS world champs). But that’s okay because Project New Black is underway and today I popped off to local framebuilder Chris Marshall to pick up my new chopped and dropped frame.

This one’s going to be special. A one owner low mileage Kona Kilaeua with Paragon Machine Works sliding dropouts for simplicity. So basically the same frame as the bike it’s replacing but with a disk mount at the back rather than the xtr v I’ve had to make do with

The only parts I’ve acquired so far are a pair of XTR 975 disk brakes and a pair of Easton CNT low rise bars. So while it’s off at the paint shop I’ve got some searching to do……

Ben’s off and the office is even quieter, but I’ve been super-distracted (hence this post…) - there’s only one thing for it… I’ll have to put the Enigma CD on… It’s not a favourite of mine, but it always works well for deadlines because I can’t sing along to the wishy washy panpipes and Gregorian chanting…

I’ve always hated working late (and anyone I’ve worked with will know I’ve never liked working late). Being sat in the office, after everyone’s gone home (which can be gone eight or nine sometimes here) the place is quiet. The world outside is dark and peaceful and I find myself wishing I was at home or out riding.

Of course, I realise that at least 60% of my time will be spent picking fluff out of my keyboard, or re-reading emails from six weeks ago as I frantically displace rather than do any productive work. In the end I’m probably no where near as efficient as in the day time, and yet I feel compelled to stay, I’m missing rides and I cant think of anything creative to do with photos of grips. And then I go home, sleep and do it all over again…

But I know it will all be finished soon and I’ll go back to loving my job (because 96.7% of the time I do) until deadline time and the late nights come round again.

After a brief poke around Orange HQ in Halifax I remember in an instant exactly why I love my job. As some one who likes to think they’re not a total gear whore, Orange have more exciting new things than a kid’s party full of toddlers on cake and coke.

” Michael whats tha….!?!?”

” And thats a!”

not sure about the 49er but….

Chipps and I were over In the ‘fax to drop off mags and such like to be delivered to Eurobike for next week’s show (this is the retribution for having an agreeable life most of the time) Being out of the office is a delight at deadline, I’m suffering my normal problem of leaving laying out Marketplace last as I hate it so much. I seem to have some kind of fractional blindness where i can’t work out the difference between an eighth & sixteenth of a page when it needs to be placed on a piece of paper whilst looking at a spreadsheet (the accountant’s equiavalent of Eurobike. A punishment for excessive fees i’m sure) which appear to me like some kind of very sharp lined heiroglyphics of complete babble. Going to Halifax was a reminder of why it’s all good! So thanks to all the guys at Halifax and sorry to Sim for being rubbish at layout.

;]

This evening Ben and I are here on the 10pm watch. We’re both still being quiet though. Got some secret shots of 2008 Orange bikes today that I need to get up on to the site, but first I still have a story to write and some grips to sub… Or something like that.

I’ve always enjoyed working late (and anyone I’ve worked with will know I’ve never liked working early, or even on time…) But sat in the office, after everyone’s gone home (which can be gone eight or nine sometimes here) the place is quiet. The world outside is dark and peaceful and I can buckle down to some work.

Of course, I realise that at least 40% of my time will be spent sharpening my pencils, or answering emails from six weeks ago as I frantically displace rather than do any productive work. I’m happy to take that loss though, because I know that I gain on not have the phone ring, or colleagues asking for a quick word, or coffee to make, or lunch to buy. In the end I’m probably about as efficient as in the day time, but tonight I can stay as long as I like, I’m not missing any rides (not at 10pm at least) and I can work until the efficiency drops from 60% to a less worthwhile 20% and then I can go home, sleep and do it all over again…

Just as night riding gives you a feeling of owning the night, while other citizens of town watch their TVs, so night-working gives me the slightest of feeling of calm amid the deadline chaos…

Our office-moving party was a resounding success, with such disparate ingredients as local beer, heavy dub through Matt’s huge speakers, the Tandem of Doom, a Thai curry and heaps of sushi. I’m not entirely sure what went on as, in the best traditions, I was in the kitchen for most of the night. But judging by the fragility of some folk on Saturday morning, a good time was had by all.

Now it’s back to normal as we plunge with increasing speed and inevitability toward our next magazine deadline. No more fun for us, eh? Must remind ourselves that the good bits of this job are actually quite good. This is a shot of one of the local trails we rode on Saturday… Not too shabby.