Standing on the edge of Wharncliffe Crags, my feet are level with the top of the birch trees below. Winter means they are stripped to the bone, giving a clear view of the woodland floor. Birch are pioneers and opportunists, often the first trees to occupy disturbed ground. And around me is most definitely disturbed ground – a chaotic scene of rock, root, dirt and brash. It seems an odd landscape to come to in search of flow, but I know I’m in the right place.
With me is Dan Greenwood. If you ride an Orange, chances are Dan has either had a hand in assembling your bike, or cast an eye over it before it’s headed out the factory doors in Halifax. As Orange’s workshop manager, Dan spends working hours spinning spanners and after hours turning pedals, and with a couple of EWS podiums under his belt, it’s safe to say he’s as handy on the bike as he is on the tools. As well as building bikes, Dan builds trails. Trails with a particular character. Dan calls them ‘Tech-Flow’ trails, but most of us would call them ‘steep and scary with a high penalty for failure’. And these are
