You lift your chin and fasten the buckle of your helmet strap beneath. Reaching forward, you grasp your bar grips, extending a forefinger on each hand to loop over the brake levers and give them a squeeze. You feel the fluid compress as the force travels down through the hydraulic hoses, reflecting back as the calipers bite down on the discs. Mental chatter begins to subside.

You twist and swing your leg over your rear wheel, thigh clearing the saddle until your foot lands in its rightful place on the far pedal. In one fluid movement, you continue transferring your weight until your other foot leaves the ground and nestles in place on its own.

Four points of contact, locked, loaded and ready to roll.

You level the pedals for a moment then wind them back to launch position. With a shift of weight, you crank out several big pedal strokes, building speed and momentum before spotting, turning and dropping into the trail entrance. With a rush of acceleration, all remaining mental chatter is vaporised!

Excitement and exhilaration rush into the void. They flood every fibre of your being as you swoop, soar, and batter your way down the trail in a cacophony of movement, noise and raw sensation.

Responsibilities, commitments, and normal life evaporate into oblivion. Nothing exists except the visible line unfurling in front of you captivating all of your attention with laser focus.

Your mind and body fire into action, scanning ahead, calculating and adjusting to carry maximum speed and optimal flow. A symphony of instantaneous judgment and movement harmonise with the contours and details of the trail racing towards you.

You drift through loamy sweeping turns, bobble over roots, skip over rocks and dive into berms. You shift and move, weighting and unweighting, absorbing compressions and popping off lips for the magnificent moments of blissful flight.

You burst out at the bottom of the trail with you heart racing and your lungs pumping. Your body is fizzing with adrenaline and exertion, and you’re grinning from ear-to-ear. You never felt more alive.

If you’re riding with mates, they’re in the same state. You glance at them one by one, exchanging celebratory fist bumps and excitedly agreeing on how much fun that was. There’s no hiding the feelings. You can physically see the same emotions and the same sensations bubbling out of them.

Mountain biking switches off the noise. It engages our minds and bodies in total focus, rewarding us with sheer exhilaration and pure joy.

This is what mountain biking is all about, and that is what this book is all about.

For the Love of Mountain Biking is a tribute to and a celebration of everything that makes mountain biking awesome.

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FtLoMTB is a fresh, original and high-speed blast into the true soul of mountain biking. It's an insight, a guide and a memoir all rolled into one!

For the Love of Mountain Biking is a full spread of engaging stories, perceptive observations and amusing perspectives in tribute to the sport we love. They blend into an entertaining narrative, inspired by the author’s own experiences and BIG love for mountain biking.

It’s an appreciation of the places we go, the people we meet, the journey it takes us on and all the great times along the way. It stirs emotions, stokes nostalgia and reignites those peak sensations. It makes you want to get right up, go for a ride and send it!

From growing up beside the Howgill Fells in the north of England to living and riding in the vast Portes du Soleil bike park network on the French/Swiss border, James shares his perspective in a true celebration of mountain biking. There’s everything from the progression to mishaps, epic events and his personal experience of some iconic moments.

He offers up some useful insights, exploring the essence of the sport and why we love to ride.