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North Shore UK - 12 months on |
Last year I submitted an article on the latest freeride developments in the UK and how the next ‘Big Thing’ would be North Shore inspired trails and the rebirth of freeriding here.
Well, here we are some 12 months further on and all the major magazines are reporting on freeriding events from around the world. Race teams, like Animal, now include “Freeriders” in their line-ups and best of all more North Shore inspired trails are being built across the UK.
It won't be long before we see the first official UK Freeride Competition, along the lines of the Red Bull events, staged here.
The Holy Trail with an added Challenge. Rider - Mr.Fisher.
So how have things developed? Thanks to all the good work done by different groups of people around the UK, all working in isolation, although getting better coordinated now, more people are building trails.
Coverage of the original trails built in the South East of England gained plenty of exposure in the national mountain bike magazines. Bike tests feature pictures from the trails like “Sleepy Hollow”, “Babylon” and “The Holy Trail” on a regular basis.|
The next development was hundreds upon hundreds of riders trying to find the ‘secret trails’ and not making them so secret. But it was all good, with many of them going away to build their own, wherever that may be. The Internet has helped too, with many websites now giving details and directions to all the new and existing locations. There is now and extensive list of locations given on most of the major sites. Last year Mountain Biking UK cashed in on the North Shore boom, by running a competition, along with a bike company, to win a trip to BC and the North Shore. They even flew in Robbie ‘Air’ Bourdon to help out with the judging. This definitely helped the development of further trails and a greater interest in North Shore style “freeriding” in the UK. |
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Rider
- Mr. JenkinsNow every mountain bike magazine you pick up makes a reference to North Shore trails, freeriding BC style, trail building etc. The major mountain bike parks all have trails featuring North Shore stunts, with Glentress in Scotland being the latest to follow suit.
Household names in BC, like Wade Simmons and Richie Schley are now talked about in the same way as homegrown riders like Steve Peat and Nigel Page.
Where will it end? Who knows? The only thing that you can say for sure is that this is just the start. By 2004 even the most hardcore xc rider, here in the UK, will have had at least a taste of North Shore style riding or seen it.
Editors note: The Architect will soon be moving to B.C. to research and gain inspiration for his master plan; to connect all of England with one long, winding ladder bridge.
