There’s no two ways about it, working at Yellow Jersey is tough. The hours are long and there’s always a million urgent things to do, or someone we absolutely must speak to about a new shop/club/manufacturer. The money is fine, but I don’t think I’ll be the next Donald Trump and then there’s the cycling. What with working long hours, having a shorter bike commute and juggling two kids (don’t worry I use a net) my fitness has taken a hit, yet there’s now an expectation that you need to be a good rider to work in the industry. Now I’ve always been able to talk a good game, but working at Yellow Jersey does have a habit of exposing you to real riders whilst you’re straddling a bike. Such was the case this weekend when Ryan Georgiades and I were once again forced back to the grindstone and sent out to film the Sponsors ride with our team Mountain Trax Vauxhall.
The Mountain Trax Vauxhall 4 man team, made up of Mark McGuire (Junior), Dylan Kerfoot-Robson (Under 23 Elite), Isaac Pucci (Under 23 Elite) and Ben Thomas (Senior Elite) are a British mountain bike team who boast European and National titles, top 20 World Cup performances, and regular GB Team appearances over the past 3 years….. So lets just say keeping up with the Mountain Trax Vauxhall guys to film anything other than empty trails was a challenge. So when I failed to hang onto a Mountain Trax Vauxhall Pro rider, I instead latched onto an ex-Pro, 1990 Junior world silver Down Hill medallist, early 90’s MBUK cover boy and all-round MTB enthusiast Dave Hemming. This was in no way any easier, but made for some great footage, lifting my riding to a new level.
I’ve recently invested in a training coach so hopefully I’ll get better, or maybe it’ll just hurt a little bit less (see future blogs for more on this).