The Contour Podcast

Season two of our Derailed series has begun! In episode 1, Morgan (@morgy_bear5 )and Joe Barnes (@top_chief ) go for a ride around a Dunkeld classic.
A quiet and modest rider, Joe has had a big influence on the UK riding scene. As well as being one of the fastest and most successful racers to come out of Scotland, Joe was a key member in the Dudes of Hazzard - a group of friends who were some of the first mountain bikers to showcase a lifestyle of racing and riding where friendships and fun took centre stage. Today, with Hazzard Racing, Joe's videos have lost none of their charm.

Rapheala Richter came to everyone's attention in 2019 when she came second at the Les Orres EWS, beating almost all of the world's most seasoned professionals. Her and Morgan talk about how that result and her incredible 2019 season came together, some of her challenges with the  2019 season and the difficulties of balancing racing with her career as an optometrist. There’s little doubt that Rapha is going to be a force in the women’s field this year and Morgan had a great time chatting with her a few weeks ago. 

This week on the Derailed podcast, Morgan sits down to chat with Social Track co-founder, Dan Scott. Dan was instrumental in the development of the Wishaw pump track - a project that has had a profoundly positive impact on the local community. In this episode, Dan talks about how Social Track and the Wishaw pump track came about, what difference it has made to the area, the importance of community ownership in such a project as well as some of the challenges in obtaining funding for a non profit like social track and the salaries required to keep it alive.

This week, Morgan joins Scottish mountain bike legend and everyone's favorite World Cup analyser - Ben Cathro. He and Morgan take the e-bikes around some of Ben’s local trails in Pitlochry, including a very slick DH track he built last year. Since this was Morgan’s first time on an e-bike, he and Ben discuss their merits and how they might change the sport. A well as e-bike insights, Ben also shares his experience of trail building and the necessity of getting formal approval. Since Morgan and Ben are riding ebikes - they take two quick laps around these Pitlochry trails, riding the DH before taking in a lap of another Pitlochry classic.

In this episode of the Derailed Trail Series, Morgan goes for a ride with Lachlan Blair. Lachlan is a professional enduro mountain bike rider who’s just signed with the Orange Bikes factory team. He and Morgan are good friends, they grew up racing together and in this episode, reminisce over some of their favourite stories from those early days. They also chat about the effect breaking his leg had on Lachlan's downhill career, how racing enduro compares to racing downhill and much else! All before Morgan tries to keep up with Lachlan down a maze of Innerleithen DH trails.

This week Morgan is joined by Scott Laughland. Scott is a long time friend of the Contour Collective and former DH World Cup and EWS racer who today describes himself as ‘a mountain bike athlete sharing stories’. Scott has carved a career for himself in producing and presenting content for social media. He and Morgan discuss how social media has changed mountain biking and why Scott believes it to be a force for good that’s played a key role in the growth of mountain biking over the last ten years.

In this pilot episode of the Derailed trail series, Morgan goes for a ride up the Innerleithen downhill trails with Contour Collective co-founder, Chris Hutchens. Hutch has been coming to this classic British riding spot for almost 20 years. On the ride up, he shares some of his earliest memories of these trails as a young racer. As well as the trails themselves, he and Morgan discuss their preconceptions of e bikes, what it means that so many more people are enjoying the outdoors and what have been some of the biggest changes in mountain biking since Hutch first started all those years ago in the late 90s. When they’re finished chatting, Morgan chases Hutch down an exceptionally wet, Innerleithen classic. 

You'll find this conversation is best watched on our YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opJ8QNYcsvI

This week Morgan is joined by Alyssa Podesta. Alyssa is a Liv Cycling ambassador who has an infectious enthusiasm for the sport and an open, honest and fun personality. She and Morgan discuss how an ex boyfriend got her into the sport, why she believes this to be such a cliche for women in mountain biking and how some sexist attitudes still persist in what is otherwise a very welcoming community. They talk about some of the differences between surfing (a sport Alyssa competed in from an early age) and mountain biking, how female brands like Liv Cycles can encourage more women into the sport, what her plans are for the future and much else! 

In this special edition of the Derailed podcast, Morgan sits down with six women from the UK mountain bike community to discuss what we all love about this sport, why it is still largely dominated by males, how things have changed and what can be done to encourage more women into the wonderful sport of mountain biking. Morgan will be talking to:

Aneela McKenna - a guide and co-owner of GoWhere Scotland

Anna Riddell - coach and owner of Ride Out and co-founder of FNY collective

Jules MacLean--a World Cup suspension technician for Fox

Mikayla Parton--World Cup downhill rider

Katy Winton--an EWS rider

Jen Price - a mountain-bike enthusiast, friend of the Contour Collective, and our co-host for this special edition.  

This week Morgan sat down with Irish Enduro World Series Rider Greg Callaghan. Today, Greg is one of the world's top enduro racers but his journey to the top came with no guarantee. Morgan chats with Greg about the sacrifices that privateer athletes need to make to have a chance of getting on a pro team and the cost of these sacrifices. He also chats with Greg about his remarkable EWS win at home in Ireland, how he got into riding, what it’s like to wear a Red Bull helmet and much more!

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The Contour Collective Partners:
Giant Bikes - https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb
Funn - https://www.funnmtb.com/
Granite Design - https://www.granite-design.com/
Cushcore - https://www.cushcore.com/
Bike Yoke - https://www.bikeyoke.de/en/
Mudhugger - https://www.themudhugger.co.uk/
Juicelubes - https://juicelubes.com/
WTB - https://www.wtb.com/
IXS - https://ixs.com/en/bike/
Lizardskin - https://www.lizardskins.com/

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Website - https://www.thecontourcollective.com/

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All media was filmed following the current COVID guidelines and in line with advice from the Association of Photographers.

About The Contour Collective: The Contour Collective aims to make mountain biking more accessible through our videos, stories and racing. We want to get more people outside, exploring and finding new places in the UK and abroad to ride. We want to help you through your mountain bike journey giving you ideas and the knowhow to progress as a rider and adventurer.