INSIDE ME ARE TWO MOUNTAIN BIKERS.
One wants to go faster, jump higher and generally be gnarlier.
Then there's the other one. The one who bought an e-bike last year.
Which - despite feeling like a cop-out - has allowed me to enjoy the thrill of the sport more often, and on another, blistering level. I like to think of it as having a shuttle service in your back pocket; it allows you to get up the hill quicker and easier, so you can enjoy the downhill way more often and in a less exhausted state. You see? This other me is hardly taking it easy.
Perhaps that will make more sense when I explain that my original ride of choice is a 1999 Specialized FSR Comp Ground Control. It's bright yellow, and looks like nothing else on the trails in this good year 2023. And being of a 24-year-old vintage means concessions had to be made - but not for comfort. No, for ability.
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GEAR FOR THE AGES
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IN KENYA'S MAASAI MARA, KNOWN MORE FOR SAFARIS THAN CYCLING, THE MIGRATION GRAVEL RACE CHALLENGES RIDERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD THE WORLD WHILE FORGING A FUTURE FOR BIKE RACING IN AFRICA.
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TOP TIPS TO KEEP YOU COOLER AND RIDING STRONGER... NO MATTER WHAT THE TEMPERATURE.
