Sonder rider Stu Taylor shares his journey from Lake District hike-a-bike days to bikepacking ultras — the Highland Trail 550, Silk Road Mountain Race and beyond.
"I've been pedalling my rigid Sonder Broken Road bike for five days solid, with another big mountain hike-a-bike ahead my thoughts drift. How did I end up here?"
In search of the holy trail
In my early days of mountain biking full-suspension bikes and trail centres were all the rage. As time passed, I searched for more exposure, longer descents and natural technical trails. The Lake District mountains on my doorstep became my new playground. Welcome to the world of hike-a-bike. Hours spent pushing bikes up the fells in search for the longest descents, big exposure and amazing views: Hellvelyn, Walna Scar, Skiddaw and Garburn Pass to name just a few.
Next I wanted to explore how to link all these together on big days out. The rides got longer, the hike-a-bike sections bigger, all in search for the holy trail.
Rite of passage
The turning point for me was the Lakes 200 known locally as a rite of passage. It features a massive 6,400 metres of climbing and combines rugged singletrack, hike-a-bike sections, and technical descents. A brutal mix of alpine trails, loose rock, boggy moorland, and natural riding surfaces.
This route had me, everything I was looking for in one big ride, but this is also where things began to change. My long travel enduro rig was swapped out for a more pedal friendly bike — Sonder Broken Road with a front suspension fork to munch up the kilometres. The climbs and pedalling were more of a focus than the descents, the adventure, the distance all became part of the thrill.
Going the distance
The distances just kept getting bigger. The Highland Trail 550 was next — my first bikepacking race, with the added excitement of loading your bike with all your gear for four or five days of riding. I was hooked and the adventures got longer and more epic every time I was out.
- First bikepacking race: Highland Trail 550 — 4 days 7 hours, 7th place
- Longest ride: French Divide — 2,170km, 35,000m ascent
- Most enjoyable ride: Italy Divide — the architecture, culture, scenery and endless supplies of espressos and pizza
- Highest ride: Silk Road Mountain Race — 4,070m
- Slowest ride: Atlas Mountain Race — suffering with sherma neck issues for 4 days
This style of riding was now the norm for me, a rigid bike set up, picking my way slowly down anything techy. But I was still eager to revisit my early days of mountain biking.
Pub shred
Planning a ride from a pub in the Lakes, I chose to ride my Sonder Signal aggressive long-travel hardtail. We rode to the base of a fell, hiked up. There's time to take in the views before shredding the descent. Finished off with a pint and a packet of crisps as we debriefed the ride.
Did I find the holy trail? Any day I get to ride my bike is a good day. Long mountain epics or shredding to the pub, I'm happy either way.
So, where are we going next week?