Author: Mischa

Doin’ Skids

I was wandering around on Tumblr this evening when this picture cropped up. Featuring the pretty much instantly recognisable Remarkables it can only be Queenstown. There was no link to the source, so I have no idea who took it, or where it’s from, or anything at all really. I don’t even have much reason for posting it, except that it’s someone busting out a skid in a sweet location…which is reason enough really! Queenstown’s a bloody good spot. I’d better find a new front tyre for my fixie so I can hang with the cool kids again.

Oh Yeah!

Here’s a video that gets me absolutely stoked on life. One that serves as a reminder of the pure joys of riding. I’m sure Ben and the other BnC dad crew will appreciate it.

I love the attitude that kids can have towards doing fun stuff. I was working at the ski fields over winter and the groups of stoked kids in ski school would always leave me feeling good about life. I remember one tiny kid ending up going backwards down the run and it was the greatest thing that had ever happened to him. He busted out the hugest grin, then started laughing uncontrollably and yelling “I’m going backwards! Look at me going backwards! THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER!” at the top of his lungs. Thinking about it now still brings a huge smile to my face.

I’m working with the MTB crew at the gondola in Queenstown this Summer and already there are kids heading up the hill with their mums and dads, getting amped on mountain biking early in life. There are kids who are riding bikes too small to hang on the gondola cabin bike hooks, yet they’re still out there riding the trails and having a mad time.

I can sometimes get a bit grumpy with myself when I’m riding, especially if I’m not feeling as smooth or confident as I like. I think it’s at those times that it’s worth considering videos like this and just remembering to just enjoy being on a bike, ’cause it’s bloody rad.

EXTREME MOUNTAIN BIKING

I have to admit, I get a little tired of the endless parade of mountain bike films with ponderous narratives talking about the journey and the connection and the trail. They’re generally accompanied by obnoxious soundtracks and a bunch of guys doing huge tricks that are a little hard to relate to when you struggle to clear a 3′ tabletop. The self-styled kings of the extreme world, Redbull, are about to release another one of these slick-as-black-ice epic-fests called Where The Trail Ends. That’s generally the point where I admit to myself I’m lost and turn around to try find my way home, but apparently these guys get into boats or helicopters and go camping. Here’s a bit of a behind the scenes look at it all. I’m sure it’ll be a good watch, but will it really be anything new? We can only hope.

 

Personally, I want more mountain bike films about trail riding and epic adventures that don’t require a hundred sponsors and an open account with the local helicopter pilot. Mountain bike films that reflect what riding is about for the average rider who’s hitting trails on the weekend, or exploring their extended backyards with their mates. Maybe something a little less extreme?

Slim Pickins

Wow, tomorrow we celebrate the two month anniversary of no-posts-on-BnC. I know plenty of you lot are out turning pedals and taking in the sights, so feel free to mail in with tales and pictures and other stuff that we can use to fill this gaping hole of a website!

Tomorrow sees me start a new summer job in Queenstown, working with the Skyline Gondola mountain bike crew. I’m hoping that’ll mean plenty of bike action over summer and hopefully there will be something to kick things along around here. What I’d really love is to be wandering off into the mountains on a bike with drop bars and knobby tyres, but I think instead I’ll have to spend all summer saving my pennies and sessioning the bike park…it’s a rough life.

So yeah, write in and tell us your tales. We need the entertainment.

Line of Sight

If you’ve been following along here for a while you’ll know I’m a massive Lucas Brunelle fan. His helmet cam alleycat footage inspired me to build a fixed gear bike and encouraged me towards stupid antics in traffic. Watching his videos gets me just as pumped for riding as the highest budget 1080p flying-camera mountain bike films. Safe to say I’m pretty excited seeing the trailer for Line of Sight, a new film about Lucas and his cameras. Check it out (and some info I ripped from Spoke Mag’s website)…

Line Of Sight is a rare view into underground bicycle messenger racing which has become a global phenomenon. For over a decade Lucas Brunelle has been riding with the fastest, most skilled urban cyclists around the world while capturing all the action with his customized helmet cameras to bring you along for the ride.

This is bike riding like you’ve never seen before, in gripping first-person perspective through the most hectic city streets, on expressways in Mexico City, over the frozen Charles River, under the Mediterranean Sea, across the Great Wall of China and deep into the jungles of Guatemala.

Directed and Edited by Benny Zenga, Line of Sight is 60 minutes of the best Lucas Brunelle footage, with titles by Futura 2000, plus extras, outtakes, and a 40 page art book featuring photography and spoke cards from a decade of Alleycat races around the world. Get the DVD at: lucasbrunelle.com

“Lucas Brunelle goes for it. If you want to see what it’s like to play a live game of ‘frogger’, on a bike, with only one life, check out Line Of Sight.” – Mat Hoffman

Join or Die

A bunch of people have been asking how to join Bottles and Chains lately, so I thought I’d better clear things up. It’s a pretty complex process, so pay close attention to ensure you don’t mess it up. Once you feel confident with the process, assist your friends to make it easier for them. Here’s the three-step program to become a fully legitimate member of Bottles and Chains…

1. Claim it

2. Don’t be a jerk

3. Go ride your bike

Welcome to the gang. Let’s have a beer and go do skids.

Mail

It turns out I forgot I hadn’t set up the BnC e-mail account after re-installing Windows. If you’ve e-mailed us anything important/interesting and didn’t get a reply I’m terribly sorry. Please resume communication. We love you, I promise.

Winter Wheels

It’s Winter and I’m in a snow town. The bike’s been hung up for a bit, while I do some of this…

But there’s a old pink fixie winging its way towards Queenstown in the next few days and it’s gonna be drunk-skids central round these parts. Tear it up!

Coppermine

The Coppermine loop in Nelson was definitely one of the best rides I’ve done, even if I was plagued with punctures on the descent. The trail climbs an old tramway into the hills behind Nelson, and curves around Dun Mountain into alpine territory. On the way up it passes through some of the most jaw-dropping beautiful beech forest, with trees clinging to craggy cliffs covered in deep green moss. It’s like something out of a fairytale, and I had to constantly remind myself to watch where I was riding, rather than gazing open-mouthed at the surroundings.

After breaking through into the scrubby alpine zone the trail reverses gradient and the real fun begins. Awesome switchbacks wind their way down the side of the mountain, hooking into each other in a way that keeps seems to beg you to go faster and faster, at your own peril. the surface is rocky, but not too loose and it’s no surprise that the trail is known as Blur country. The VPP loves it, and I became a victim after getting a little lost in the moment and managing to put a hole in my tubeless tyre that Stan’s just wouldn’t seal. A quick(-ish) tube insertion got me about 5m down the trail before I copped the biggest snakebite pinch flat I’ve seen and had to go begging for another tube. Apparently the trail was smooth as silk when it was first built, and rode like an endless pump track. The alpine weather has definitely taken its toll, but not in a negative way. The flow’s still there, but you know for sure that you’re mountain biking.

The lower section of the track flies above a small river and it barely feels like your wheels touch dirt. It’s a little scary to think how fast you could ride some of the sections once you knew the trail.

From the bottom of the trail you can ride singletrack all the way back to Nelson city centre, or haul yourself up into the hills again and ride any of the trails in the MTB park. After that the only option is to go to the Sprig & Fern for a Three Berry Cider and a burger. It’s a tough life.