It’s also about the spirit of mountain biking….I genuinely thought that people had lost it when we arrived in the forest last week and we unloaded in two minutes…bikes off roof, shoes on, helmets on etc…and two guys were heads down and fiddling with their phones setting up their e-bikes when we arrived and were still doing it when we cycled our hardtails out of the car park….we had a hard, fast ride but noted how the trails were being ripped up by heavy braking - BIG speed bumps of the kind which you only see on alpine DH runs, but are appearing on UK trails frequented by e-bikes. And then we were relaxing over a coffee at the cafe when the same guys poled up on their e-bikes - and instead of relaxing and talking about the ride and the state of the planet, immediately got their phones out, heads down, no talk, and started to fiddle with the settings on their bikes. This they did for the entire time we had our coffee and were still doing it when we left. It triggered a memory of last year, on the South Downs Way, when we stopped at the Southease Cafe and some e-bikers arrived with huge bikes, huge amour, and huge packs - like American footballers - I mean really huge - and I asked them genuinely what they were carrying: ‘…are you doing overnight camps…’ ‘Oh no…we need to carry two spare batteries…’. I sensed the spirit of mountain biking waft off into the stratosphere….
