Hurly Burly – DH Yearbook 2016

When I was younger there were limited ways of finding out what was going on in mountain bike racing. You saved up your money, noted the date on a calendar and wheelied to the local shop to grab one of the copies of Dirt, or if that had gone, made do with MBUK; Riffling through the pages looking at pictures and reading reports of races from months ago. Then came the end of the year, at first it was the much replayed Sprung and Earthed VHS, and later the works of such greats as Clay Porter that gave you a summary of what had happened that year. I still have a big pile of VHS and DVDs somewhere, cherished.

As time went by the information became more and more immediate, from summary videos on the web in the days after the races to daily videos, slideshows, reports and live feeds. Before too long we were up to our ears in it. You barely had to leave your desk to have all the inside info, and you could know more about the races than people who were there. Coverage has exploded, and the quality is amazing, but with this explosion comes complacency. Stunning photos capturing mountain bike history slip off the bottom of the web, to be replaced by whatever is coming next. When was the last time you looked back over a race report three months later?

Step in James McKnight who has spent the last few months pulling together a spectacular yearbook of the 2016 World Cup and World Champs. Working with former World Champ Morgane Charre, and with stunning layouts from Chris Jones has lead to a really polished piece of history. Stunning photos from Sven Martin, Seb Scheick and Duncan Philpott sit alongside articles from a who’s who in DH mountain biking, leaving you feeling like you were there. With an ever more disposable culture of bike media, 200 pages of 2016 to keep forever is not something to pass up. I can’t wait until my bookshelf is groaning under the weight of a decade of these.

Who is James, and what’s he been up to this year?

He’s a bike riding wannabe writer who scrapes a living from mountain biking.

Some people say print is dead, and we’ve seen some big changes to the bike media world this year, and rise of ever more disposable formats like Snapchat and Instagram stories. Is there still a place for regularly published, physical magazines, and is there a market for them?

I don’t think there’s any doubt that there’s a place for physical magazines or journals, whether those need to be regular I’m not so sure. I absolutely love well thought out and edited journalism and photos, but even myself don’t buy mags regularly anymore, so can’t imagine there is a huge future there. Publications run by small, passionate groups I think can really prosper now though. It’s easier than ever to build a brand and following through free online publishing and there are many printers set up to cater for small runs of high-quality magazines and books. I think we’ll see many more pop up in mountain biking. Shredder is brilliant.

If you had to pick one page from the book that summed up the 2016 season, which would it be?

Hmmm… Bruni head down pedalling towards his first win in Cairns? Brendan whipped out in the Fort William Stevie memorial train? Peaty pulling a final pint? Gwin rock-and-roll through Leogang carnage? Iles boosting big in Andorra? Hart full moto on his way to a hat-trick? Impossible to choose! Chris Ball’s article, ‘Super Human’, raises a good question about the future of our sport. It’ll be interesting to look back on that one in years to come and see what the outcome was.

Have you managed to get much riding in between all the work?

Oh no. To be honest, I was highly antisocial, hugely sleep deprived and stuck inside for the best part of three months. It was all worth it though and I would do it again!

2016 has been a year of bizarre upheaval across the globe. What keeps you sane in the modern world?

Bike riding. Making well considered stuff. Fresh air and mountains.

What does 2017 hold for you?

Early in the year I’ll be working on another book that is a different take on mountain biking but will be a must-buy for those who live by the bike.

Some Quick Fires

Wheelsize?

27.5” (MTB), 26” (pumptrack), 20” (BMX).

PlusSize?

I’ve got a big tyre on the back of my hardtail. I’m trying it out. Best to keep an open mind in a sport as young as ours.

E-Bikes?

Not for mountain biking, but they are fine for e-biking.

Ham or Cheese?

I’m veggie so probably the latter.

Uplift of Man-Up?

Either or. Mostly the latter.

Strava or Honesty?

Never Strava.

Dust or Mud?

Both can get pretty lairy, which is good. As long as there is no grip I’m happy.

Wheelie or Skid?

Skid, obvs.

What would you say to the six-year-old you getting his first mountain bike?

I realised while putting Hurly Burly together that when I got my first mountain bike the downhill World Cup didn’t even exist. But that’s a side-note.

I’d tell myself to pull that left-hand lever hard, that skids are for kids and that enjoying them is the key to youth.

Get your copy at www.downhillyearbook.com 

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