WORK HARD PLAY HARD

I SUGGEST THAT WE SHOULD SPICE UP OUR COMMUTE AND TRY TO MAKE IT ABOUT MORE THAN JUST GETTING FROM A TO B

Is it a refusal to give up, to not let the other get the better of you or to show that neither of us is stronger, fitter or faster? Bloody sibling rivalry. My brother Rob and I grew up riding bikes. It was a huge part of our childhood, with a lot of our friends doing it too. In later years, our cycling paths have diverged somewhat. I’ve stayed true to our mountain biking roots and he – wrongly, of course – has turned to gravel, bikepacking and adventure riding. This involves plenty of miles and hours in the saddle, strapping a lot of bags to the bike and sleeping out in the wild. It sounds exciting, perhaps even fun. But it’s never captured my imagination quite like mountain biking does. I reckon he's just too afraid to enjoy the high speeds mountain bikes are capable of these days. He (sort of) admits this, although still always claims to be the better