CHRIS MALONEY AKA KEEPER OF THE PEAK
Mountain Bike Rider|September 2022
Chris Maloney's Twitter account is an invaluable pre-ride news hub for Peak District mountain bikers and with his wider advocacy work he's also connecting people together to change UK mountain biking for good
Sim Mainey
CHRIS MALONEY AKA KEEPER OF THE PEAK

Mountain bikers love social media. Whether it’s posting our big achievements or watching epic fails, blogging, vlogging, commenting, tweeting or ‘gramming has become part of, not just mountain biking, but our lives. But how can we use these platforms to do more than just like, comment and share our rides, and actually improve our rides?

Chris Maloney wouldn’t claim to have the definitive answer to that question, but he’s shown what’s possible. You might know Chris better by his Twitter handle, Keeper of the Peak (@KoftheP), a tongue-in-cheek name he adopted thanks to social media.

“I was on a mountain bike forum and someone was asking for route advice. They were looking to go over Cut Gate [one of the Peak District’s most well-loved trails], it was April and it’d been raining and I said ‘Ah, you might not want to go up there as it’s a bit of a mess. You won’t have a very pleasant ride and it’ll cause a bit of damage as well’. They responded with ‘Who died and made you keeper of the peak?’, and I thought there was something in that.”

Rather than get involved in an online argument, as many of us would have done, Chris decided to set up a Twitter account to help mountain bikers plan their rides around the Peak District, and call it Keeper of the Peak. “I thought it would be great if there was a central resource for people to find trail information so it was always readily available. I thought Twitter was the best way of doing that. Not only is it so alive and easily accessible but it also forces you to be concise. So the information is always bitesize.”

ABOUT THIS SERIES

Bu hikaye Mountain Bike Rider dergisinin September 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye Mountain Bike Rider dergisinin September 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDER DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
Best places to ride with your kids
Mountain Bike Rider

Best places to ride with your kids

Five top venues to keep the nippers entertained this summer

time-read
3 dak  |
August 2023
CANNONDALE MOTERRA NEO CARBON 2
Mountain Bike Rider

CANNONDALE MOTERRA NEO CARBON 2

It’s got more suspension tunes than a Hitchcock movie, but will this Moterra thrill us or chill us?

time-read
5 dak  |
September 2023
100% GLENDALE GLASSES
Mountain Bike Rider

100% GLENDALE GLASSES

When it comes to eyewear, having a large lens not only offers a lot more protection from trail splatter, it puts the frames further out from your field of view, allowing you to focus on the terrain in front of you. The Glendale is absolutely vast, and actually has a lens size akin to a full downhill goggle, so you literally can’t see the top or sides of the frame.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2023
DMR STAGE 2 MTB RAIL SADDLE
Mountain Bike Rider

DMR STAGE 2 MTB RAIL SADDLE

DMR's new Stage 2 MTB Rail is one of those new/old products. The shape and construction are identical to the existing Oi Oi saddle, but the company has wrapped it in a new skin and added some harder-wearing reinforcement to the edges. It's also toned down the lairy graphics; this saddle only comes in plain black.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2023
STRAIGHT TORQUING - GUY KESTEVEN
Mountain Bike Rider

STRAIGHT TORQUING - GUY KESTEVEN

Has tech taken the hard work and fun out of mountain biking, or should we embrace evolution and roll with it?

time-read
3 dak  |
September 2023
STORM FORCE
Mountain Bike Rider

STORM FORCE

Manon Carpenter may have retired from downhill competition, but her new role as a trail advocate is achieving results far beyond the race track

time-read
8 dak  |
September 2023
SWEAT AND SLATE
Mountain Bike Rider

SWEAT AND SLATE

We ride 140 miles through Snowdonia on Cycling UK's newest and gnarliest long-distance trail

time-read
9 dak  |
September 2023
HEAD SPACE
Mountain Bike Rider

HEAD SPACE

New guidance reveals how to spot concussion, and how best to treat it

time-read
4 dak  |
September 2023
LATE SUMMER LOVIN'
Mountain Bike Rider

LATE SUMMER LOVIN'

Classic UK holiday hotspots that really shine when the crowds have gone

time-read
2 dak  |
September 2023
HOT STUFF
Mountain Bike Rider

HOT STUFF

WHAT WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS MONTH

time-read
3 dak  |
September 2023