I don't begrudge Carl his new role, but this sort makes me very uncomfortable about the direction our beloved sport is heading.

What is mountain biking if all our trails are "safe". I'm sure I'm not alone in that I enjoy pushing my riding to the limit and the unpredictability of the trails I ride is part of the attraction.

I'm not sure safer trails increases the enjoyment of our sport or reduces the chances of people hurting themselves. I used to ride in the Llandegla forest before the miles of pristine trails put in by the Coed Llandegla mountail bike centre, The trails then were a lot rougher and it could be said dangerous, but they were slower and as far as I can remember no one ever seriosley injured themselves.

Well done Richard.

How far in were you, before you were sure you could finish?

 Yeh its fun, I did the 'Hit the north winter sprinter' and  would like to do more , but looking at the events list there seems to be nothing near me (Shropshire, North Wales border). Where else could I find out about local races?

Good article this really enjoyed it.