A sense of adventure, a sense of finding and discovering somewhere new, somewhere different. There is nothing better than finding a little bit of untouched single track at the back of a woods, sending a line that no one else had thought of, or revealing a spot thats tucked away right under your nose. Its what we all ride bikes for isn’t it? Nothing beats that first run rip, especially if you are sharing it with a buddy.
University can become such a hold on life, exams and constant deadlines give you that “I should be working” feeling every time you go for a ride, so for Duane Walker, the 6 month placement break put him in a great place to get out on his bike more and discover some new territories around his new job. Working right out of the heart of Derby, he wasn’t too far away from a bunch of riding, Sheffield, Cannock and North Wales all being a stones throw away, but sometime the best spot are right were you are, you just need a friend to show you them.
Finding himself on the off season after a fun packed year slicing the trails of the Whistler Bike Park, Aiken Collinge was keen to keep training hard and maintaining a tidy bag of skills to bring back with him to Whistler this year. Feeling almost like a free bird, Aiken spent most of his days digging in local spots and figuring out what stunt he can shape up next. Meeting back on Pinkbike many moons ago, Duane and Aiken have always been in touch, keeping track of lines each have been working up and admiring each others handy work on the bike and in front of the lens, it was only natural to meet up and see if we couldn’t bring it all together.
One of Aiken’s local spots is hidden away in the woods surrounding Nottingham, one of those everyone knows about these trails, but you need to be a local to get there. Becoming great riding buddies, Duane and Aiken soon found them selves pushing each other and really starting to have fun riding their bikes, its what its all about.
