Kathy Sessler gives a Lesson in History.

Today, we might dreaming of what the fat man in red is going to leave under the tree. Are we going to get that fresh bit of bike bling that will make our mates swoon or us feel like we can ride faster?

In relative sporting terms mountain biking is a teenager, it’s through puberty but there is still a lot of pointless arguing going on and scrapping in the playground/internet forum. What we all do on a weekend is ride our bikes, its a pretty simple pleasure afforded to us these days by some great technology, but that said, it can all get pretty complicated these days.

I remember building brick and board ramps in the street and seeing how far I could jump my dreamy Gitane rigid bike with my mates. Those days are the foundation of why I ride my bike today, yeah it bounces at both ends and has bits made from carbon on it but it’s still just a bike.

Sessler and Peat, two big pieces of the Syndicate puzzle.

Kathy Sessler is well known for her lungs, the sound of which we all get to hear at the end of any World Cup race as one of her riders drops into the finish arena. You may only see her in this role but Kathy is as much a part of mtb history as anyone on her team. After racing on the road she turned to mountain biking and gained every shade of medal from World Champs in the now defunct Veteran category (35+) between 1989 and 1997.

Kathy is the most passionate person when it comes to bike racing, running the Syndicate Team is not an easy job and the fusion to detail that she employs in those pits where ever the team are is incredible.

Back in 1971 Kathy decided she was going to put on some bike races, inspired by On Any Sunday (watch this if you haven’t before) she went out and did it, and it’s bloody great.

So next time you dream of something anodised or carbon then just maybe think about closing the laptop and just going out razzing with your mates in the woods. After all, it’s all about having fun.