RACHEL CLAYTON
1. HOW / WHY DID YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH MOUNTAIN BIKING?
In 2015, Macmillan Cancer Support helped my Gran, Ruby, through the end of her life in her own home. It was a pretty rough time. Their help was invaluable, but I wanted to show my appreciation and raise money for the charity. I looked into a few options and settled on the Trans Pennine bike ride - 100km from Manchester to Leeds, up and over the Pennines.
I didn’t own a bike, and hadn’t pedalled one since I was a kid. Then, aged 26, I borrowed an old Specialized Hard Rock mountain bike from my brother-in-law and set about ‘training’ for the challenge.
That primitive bike became like a friend and each ride soothed the feelings of grief and loss of my Gran. I fell completely in love with riding. I trained on the roads in prep’ for the Sportive - riding things like the famous Cragg Vale hill climb on that old hardtail and loving every second.
Pretty quickly though, I found my real happy place - on two wheels, off road. I remember my first trail ride at Gisburn Forest. I rocked up alone on a crisp spring morning and set off down the first route with no idea how to handle the obstacles on my little bike. It didn’t matter. I bounced around that forest like a complete rookie with a huge smile on my face. It sparked something inside me that I didn’t know I had. Gisburn still holds a big place in my heart.
Since then, I’ve never looked back.
2. CRAGG VALE HILL CLIMB ON A HARD TAIL SOUNDS TOUGH. HOW WAS IT?
At the time it felt huge! That old bike probably had enough gears to make it manageable but it was also heavy, badly fitting and in desperate need of a service.
I’ve ridden up there a few times since on both road bikes and mountain bikes. But that first time, I think I rode a 50-odd mile round trip from home and really got my first taste of riding longer distances and bigger gradients. Pedalling past the sign that says “Cragg Vale, start of the longest continuous gradient in England” is pretty cool, even if you’re on the completely wrong bike for the job!
3. WHAT INSPIRES YOU? (RIDING WISE & IN LIFE IN GENERAL)
Being outdoors in nature gives me a lot of inspiration, both on and off the bike. I’m probably not the most skilled rider in the group - at trail centres you’ll find me mostly hitting the blue and red routes and I’m completely cool with that.
For me, riding mountain bikes is a great way to push myself, and have a laugh, whilst being amongst nature. I enjoy riding in the forest because I just love being in the forest. It’s also a super happy coincidence for me that that’s where a lot of trail centres are built. Equally, I get a lot of inspiration from riding cross country. Long days in the saddle surrounded by countryside and wildlife - there’s nothing better.
4. IN YOUR AMBASSADOR APPLICATION YOU MENTION THE TOUR DIVIDE AS A LONG-TERM GOAL OF YOURS, WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE RACE THAT GRAVITATES YOU TOWARD IT?
The Tour Divide is an annual mountain biking race from the Rocky Mountains of Canada, through the United States to the Mexican border. It follows the 2,745-mile Great Divide Mountain Bike Route and is a completely self-supported race. What’s not to like about that? It looks awesome!
I first heard about the Tour Divide a few years ago and it just stood out as a route and a race that seems to have it all. One day...
5. YOU ALSO MENTIONED YOU’D PLANNED A FEW BIKE PACKING TRIPS AROUND THE UK? TELL US MORE…
Planned being the word here.
I had a few bikepacking trips lined up for 2020 starting in the Highlands of Scotland, a place I’ve never been but is, by all accounts, very beautiful and ace to ride. I’d also planned a summer bikepacking trip around the Gower Peninsula in South Wales and a TT attempt at the Pennine Bridleway end-to-end. Unfortunately, as with most things this year, these trips were cancelled due to COVID. So those bikepacking adventures will have to wait a little longer.
6. DO YOU HAVE ANY EPIC RIDING STORIES OR AN ADVENTURE THAT DIDN’T GO TO PLAN? (FOR ME THESE ALWAYS SEEM TO BE THE ONES THAT STICK IN THE MEMORY)
Steering away from those (no pun intended) adventures that ended with hospital visits and war wounds... I took the HB130 on a pretty epic ride up Stoodley Pike the second lockdown restrictions were lifted. Stoodley Pike is a 1,300-foot hill in West Yorkshire, noted for the 121-foot monument at its summit, which overlooks Todmorden - where my Gran was from. Epic for its views, the sentiment of the day, and how killer the bike looked on top of the world! Well… on top of the Calder Valley.
(Maybe next time we can talk about how I ended up with 4 stitches in my head, 4 in my arm and a gnarly hole in my hip that will forever go down as a “shark bite” and not “that time I fell off my bike”. 😉 )
7. GISBURN HOLDS A SPECIAL PLACE IN YOUR HEART AS THE PLACE YOU DID YOUR FIRST TRAIL RIDE. WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE TRAIL THERE? AND WHERE’S YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE TO RIDE?
Personally I love the swooping, roller coaster type trails - so Hully Gully and Long Way Down are bags of fun. I’ve ridden some amazing trails in incredible forests like Rotarua in New Zealand, but Gisburn always has a special charm for me.
8. THERE’S NO ESCAPING THE CURRENT COVID SITUATION, HAS THIS HAD AN EFFECT ON YOUR RIDING?
Oh absolutely. As I mentioned, the bikepacking trips were immediately put on hold and we all watched as our races and events got cancelled.
I don’t live in a particularly rural area, so riding a mountain bike became a game of ‘find the bridleways’. That said, even with limited options, being able to ride bikes as the pandemic developed, and during lockdown, was an absolute lifesaver. I’m a real advocate for the benefits of cycling for mental health and that has been so true for me both throughout the COVID situation and in life generally.
9. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT LOCKDOWN HAS UNEXPECTEDLY GIVEN YOU?
I think lockdown has given most people a new appreciation for what we have. For me, that’s the freedom to move around and enjoy riding all over the country, and all over the world.
Also a new appreciation for being able to ride with friends! But most of all I think that lockdown demonstrated nature’s ability to recover and regenerate, with the absence of human impact. I don’t think I’m alone in noticing the difference in our environment and wildlife whilst riding my bike during lockdown. I think that’s given me more drive to enjoy, but also help preserve, our awesome natural world.
10. WHAT WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO DO, WHEN WE’RE OUT OF THE CURRENT COVID SITUATION?
I’ve still got my eye on some bikepacking adventures, or at least spending some time camping and riding in the UK this year, particularly in South Wales. Fingers crossed we get the green light on that really soon!
RACHEL RIDES
A HB130 with the Fox Suspension package.
Predominantly Orange Hope Components with Purple anodised bolts and spacers.
Running on the Fortus 26 Rim laced to Orange Pro 4 Hubs
