We're off to Europe!

August and September 2026 (written November '26)

A photograph of 40kg of luggage, Christchurch Airport, NZ — 40kg on the dot, of which 10% was labrador in ash form. At this point I couldn't decide if this was a lot of stuff for 8 weeks, or not much at all? I found out later...

I'd spent the best part of three months pestering everyone even vaguly related to MTB in New Zealand; from volunteers and trail groms, to godfathers of the sport and industry-body CEO's, so it felt like a good time to get out of everyone's hair.

In classic fashion, the 40-degree daily heatwave I had been looking forward to came to an abrupt and stormy end while I was in the air, so I landed in London Gatwick facing a wall of grey. So good to be home!

Thankfully the weather sorted itself out a little and I had a wonderful few weeks meeting up with key industry leaders, bike park operators, professional riders, team managers of the highest level and some fantastic academics. Plus downtime catching up with family, friends and scattering the ashes of my old boy back at home in Sheffield.

I managed to balance work and releaxation quite well (I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear) so snuck in a couple of mini trips (e.g. riding motos in Pennsylvania, Portugal and Vigo, and exploring the UK with Chelsea and her mum), but I was pleased to be making good project progress and meeting some key industry figures.

The next stage gets a bit more serious - a separate post is required...