miketaffgeog

Ace video. Great respect for Gwin's attitude - want's to win it with a brilliant performance and hopes everyone else gets a decent run in. A lot of other sports would benefit from the same attitude, but hey, money rules!

I own a Sunn and its the best bike I've owned and still own. It doesn't ride better than my expensive enduro bike but it has proved to be more bombproof and reliable. I've a lot of respect for the Sunn brand and their bikes don't get enough praise. I've never seen another Sunn at UK trail centres although I'm scared I'm going to take the wrong bike home with my expensive enduro bike (which I also love) as there are so many about!

Anyone else thinking they won't be able to afford a mountain bike in the near future as they're all getting a bit expensive. We can all kid ourselves that we need the latest, 'rad tech' to make us ride faster, or we won't look like fast, experienced riders if we turn up on a basic, cheap bike. I think I'll invest in a cheap MTB which does the job AND a fairly newish Husky Enduro motorbike for about the same cash!! Nice kit though. Looks a bit over engineered and I wonder how it would react to a few close ups with the rocks when the rubber bits are last seen catapulting over yer head!

More of this type of vid. please. Good to see new vistas, beautiful scenery and opportunities for following trails in wilderness, or semi wilderness areas. A little more inspirational than all the trick riding and freeride vids. Lots of respect to the jumpers and freeriders but it's getting to be more like circus performance than grass roots mountain biking. Each to their own.

@joeyschusler: Awesome video. You really capture the beauty and essence of the place - I've been to Mongolia twice MTB touring and hopefully will be going back there again - it has a strange draw on you once you've been. The parts I visited reminded me of central and south Wales - beautiful rolling hills and valleys with the sun and clouds dancing across them as if they were a stage. I'd love to visit the Altai in the west and look forward to seeing more footage.

@Jvhowube: I flew from Beijing to Ul. Ba. so check out flight prices either directly to Ul. Ba. Mongolia or via Beijing. Once there and out on the grasslands you need very little money as long as you're carrying what you need. You can restock in small towns en-route for just a few US dollars a day (or a few thousand Tugruk!!). I took my bike in a bike bag on the plane and everything else I needed as hand luggage (full camping and cooking kit etc) - it's a good job they don't weigh hand luggage and there was no excess baggage cost! If you go with mates you can share some of the kit to keep weight down. I sorted a visa out on arrival - I had the forms filled in and some passport style photos ready to go - the immigration guy was a little put out because I didn't have some other paperwork (letter of invitation from the ministry of tourism I think it was) but he was very helpful and sorted the visa out on the spot - check what docs. you need before you go. Obviously the flight is the biggest outlay. Once there everything is comparatively cheap and the daily cost is negligible. I did all my route planning on Google Earth (using lat and long) and used a very simple hand held GPS for navigating. Never got lost once and couldn't believe how accurate Google Earth is. You don't need a guide and just carry some basic spares for your bike. You can get modern outdoor and cycling kit in Ulaan Baatar but very unlikely once out on the route. Hope this helps.

I spent 11 days on a solo cross country ride in Mongolia in 2010. The place is awesome for MTBing as most of the roads were merely dirt tracks outside Ulaan Baatar, the capital. The Mongolian people were very friendly and helpful. Shamefully, even though I was carrying about 2 weeks food and 6 litres of water I had to virtually beg for water in some areas (it was June, very hot and very dry). The people have a great tradition of helping travelers and gratefully receive help - I spent a few hours collecting goat manure at one ger/yert in trade for some food and water! The kids love to try your bike (as in the vid.) and no matter where you stop - it could be miles from nowhere, someone will turn up to say hello and share some food or drink. Great times. Thanks for the reminder and great vid.

Both are good events, but they're the poor relatives compared to the 'Megahavalaugh' run by the Aberdare Mountainbike Club. Total carnage!

Claudio's previews are class entertainment. His enthusiasm, commentary and happy go lucky approach reminds me of Grover from Sesame St (no disrespect intended).

Doesn't really matter how she got to be the fastest lady on a DH bike! She's the one on the bike, doing it on the day for herself and her team. There also seems to be a lot of second guessing going on to fuel the debate and the comments. I fear the real situation is far less contentious and far less interesting. People seem to be forming opinions on RA, some negative judging by the comments, based on assumptions and suppositions. Fantasists can ruin reputations!!