It ain’t just on whim that I eek away each day at such mammoth tasks. What drives me on to see things through is mostly a sense of counterbalance between working eight hours a day for beer tokens and working for my own personal interest.

Recent tree clearance had left the Mendips with only a handful of tracks up and running. I did get a bit cocky trying to build whist this was going on but ended up having to rebuild some nice switchbacks that kept getting flattened.

It’s the only way to cram a day with nothing but enjoyable descents. I ain’t spent a single weeks holiday in seven years without chairlift access. But here, as in Morzine, putting in serious graft and cutting in new lines is what makes it proper. And before any money moguls try and set up shop uplifting on the Mendips off the back of hard work of others, there’s only one area of track that can be shuttled by road and that’s remained secret for years.

Over the years I’ve been involved in building stuff all over the south–west and Wales normally in pursuit of a free entry. Having buddies who can just about ride a bike can bring some alright rides and some even better banter. Some of this banter often perpetuates the rumours amongst fan–boys as to who’s built the least trails. I guess I’m just pleased to be able to help build a couple of ‘Brendog tracks’, a few ‘Richie Tee’s eternal shredders’ and countless ‘Ben Baker’s new track’.

I’m riding a Specialized Demo that’s large, slack and not very lightweight for anything I can possibly get loose on or razz off. Otherwise it’s me old skool Santa Cruz Blur with its air springs, flexy forks, skinny semi slick tyres and a non–adjustable seatpost height. I actually just want to keep my DH riding feeling limitless and my XC riding feeling like XC, with my saddle smacking me in the chest, as I hang it off the back.

By choice I’d never be riding my local, other than on a school day. Being not even an hour away from south Wales means that it’s totally worth heading there for a little build session one day, then finishing the weekend off with a proper good shred. I’m in no way averse to exploring the northern scenery it’s just that I follow a lot of building antics of friends from in Falkland Scotland, Morzine, Nuremberg and The Donkey MTB club of Sinalunga Tuscany. These are the big road trips I’m looking forward to doing.

Searching for new spots with good up–route is always a discovery session. Scrabbling through virgin forest or over seemingly inaccessible tree felled areas hoping to find that perfect natural feature. As for exploring the larger rural Mendip area I managed to make the horizon do a 180º spin just the other week. Whilst trying to make out to The Doris, that I knew where we were heading.

With pine forest loam I’d have it all flat corners. Unfortunately, although we have the loam, we don’t always have the biggest descent. This is when the spadework is needed. What puzzles me is when I leave my rake lying about, some fool goes and rakes over all the natural sections I’ve tried to include. Hence a lot of what I build may well just be a red herring, keeping the herd off my loamy pleasures.