Revolutionaries

Recently 'retired' from the Enduro World Series, his Polygon Factory Team and a life living out of a suitcase -  Jamie Nicoll has returned to his roots and house truck in Nelson.

For a small (ish) country New Zealand has had more than its fair share of battlers that have, against the odds and on limited resources, prevailed on the world stage. Jamie Nicoll joins the fray with a story that is worthy of a Danny Boyle biopic.

When searching for a holiday destination, the constraints were tough but few. It needed to be warm to offset the cold winter we’d been suffering, cheap to fly to, and we wanted quiet roads and friendly people. We ended up landing in France’s Pacific territory of New Caledonia.

Riding a bike off road is a challenging affair, so why do people choose to ride in costume? This quandary struck me whilst riding the Three Ring Circus event at Wingello Forest Park amidst a gaggle of clowns.

Damian Stones wings his way to the Northern Territories with his trusty Santa Cruz in the hold and favourite mattock in the overhead locker. He regales us with stories of hot-weather trail building, urban cycle ways and bugs that bite.

Jamie Nicoll's progress through the 2015 World Enduro Series. Racing has taken Jamie from our own backyard, through Europe to Northern America, on a huge range of awesome courses.

With the tingly fingers and blackened toenails from April’s Cloudride finally subsiding, the itch had returned and I was well overdue for another bikepacking adventure, if only to break the daily monotony of a blustery Sydney existence.

Jamie Nicoll's progress through the 2014 World Enduro Series. Racing has taken Jamie from Scotland through Europe to Northern America on a huge range of awesome courses.

With busy lives that seem to follow us all, long weekends spark a strong temptation to cram in an extended adventure. Whether by fortune or design, the four and a half day break over Easter 2014 coincided with the inaugural Monaro Cloudride.

The Trans-Savoie (pronounced Sav-wah, or Saveloy in franglais) is a daring experiment in big mountain enduro racing. While mountain biking needs another niche sub-discipline like it needs a sidewall slash, big mountain enduro gets a big tick from me.