Gutted doesn't really cut it with this one. What a blow to the MTB scene in The Tweed Valley and across the country. Tweedlove is over and I understand why. But it's a bitter pill to swallow for many reasons. This is not meant to be a commentary on community issues or individual decisions made by anyone. Just my general thoughts on how the loss of this iconic event might affect us. The local community and MTB lovers in that community.

Stewart Wilson is a local historian based in Innerleithen, the spiritual home of Scottish mountain biking. His interests spread way beyond local mountain bike culture into the history of The Borders counties and Scotland at large. He writes a popular blog and is also embarking on a new chapter in his work, starting his own business as a historic tour guide. Please visit the links below to support Stewart's work.

https://www.instagram.com/tweedvalleyblogger/

https://tweedvalleyblogger.com/blog

Please follow me on instagram for adventure bants and podcast updates at @ravens_outdoor

Lewis is a professional mountain bike racer and YouTube content creator. He started his racing career in his early teens moving from the bank of mum and dad right up to racing for factory downhill and Enduro teams. Finally settling on the wild ride of becoming a self sufficient rider and MTB personality.

We go right back to his earliest years of racing in Scotland, his first World Cup. Self reflection on his behaviour as a pro athlete, the reward system for pro riders and racing Vs his experiences on Youtube. We go still further into Lewis' recent experiences of being judged for his decision to sign with Only Fans as one of his primary sponsors.

I really enjoyed this conversation with a frank and honest Lewis Buchanan.

You can check out Lewis' Youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/c/LewisBuchanan

Lewis' instagram profile can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/lewbuchanan/?hl=en

Rickie Cotter is an endurance cyclist and adventure racer. Rickie's story is one of resilience and downright determination. In this episode we talk about everything you'd expect from such an accomplished "accidental athlete" but we also go back to Rickie's early years in care homes where her anger and need to dominate everything and everyone very nearly took her down a different path. Also, crucially how a few acts of extreme kindness from others allowed her to finally go out into the world and explore her potential. 

Rickie shares her adventures on instagram here.

Watch Rickie's story of how she an Lee Craigie took on the Tour Divide in the short film "Divided"

Watch the short you tube film of Rickie's team's experience on the 2022 Scottish ITERA adventure race here.

If you want updates on new content and post then you can also follow the podcast & blog on Instagram.

If you're coming across me for the first time then you can learn more about me and why I'm doing this here. If you want to see how the blog was started and how it was left to go out after a particularly challenging time in my life, then click here.

Learn more about Ravens Outdoor by visiting my website www.ravensoutdoor.co.uk It's my personal blog re-ignited after a 5 year absence of general disinterest and letting apathy win. You'll find all sorts in there, mainly from my life outdoors and as a "normal" guy trying to navigate his way through a life peppered with all of the mundane and unique challenges we all come across.

Thanks for tuning into the podcast, please leave a review and subscribe if you want hear more!

Welcome to the first Ravens outdoor podcast I’m please to talk to Jamie Wallace. Jamie is a content creator, Vlogger and is better know by his YouTube creator handle “Street Pigeon MTB” He spends his spare time creating highly relatable content for mountain bikers and has basically evolved as a rider and personality before our eyes.

I talk to Jamie about his YouTube journey, on being a minor celebrity in the MTB world, about what the outdoors mean to him from both a simple recreational viewpoint and where it all fits into his wellbeing and mental health. We talk about secret trails, some of the backlash he has experienced to his work, the pressure to constantly create content as well as other subjects.

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/StreetPigeonMTB/why-buy-coffee

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/street_pigeon_mtb/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/streetpigeonmtb

Learn more about Ravens Outdoor by visiting my website www.ravensoutdoor.co.uk

It's my personal blog re-ignited after a 5 year absence of general disinterest and letting apathy win. You'll find all sorts in there, mainly from my life outdoors and as a "normal" guy trying to navigate his way through a life peppered with all of the mundane and unique challenges we all come across.

​If you're coming across me for the first time then you can learn more about me and why I'm doing this here. If you want to see how the blog was started and how it was left to go out after a particularly challenging time in my life, then click here.

If you want updates on new content and post then you can also follow the blog on Instagram.

Thanks for tuning into the podcast, please leave a review and subscribe if you want hear more! 

Hi I’m Allan and welcome to the Ravens outdoor podcast.

As this show evolves I hope to speak to like-minded people who find comfort in the outdoors. People who have stories to tell about all kinds of experiences that formed the way they think about wellbeing and how it maps onto their outdoor life.

Wether that be their mental health, physical wellbeing, fitness, confidence or more complex issues like overcoming social anxiety or using the calmness and isolation of nature as their medicine.

I want to talk to people like me. People who love what I love, people that contribute to the culture of the outdoors and who add value to the spaces we all value so much. I want to hear their thoughts on everything from the mundane to the controversial.

I hope to cover everything and anything outdoors. The culture, new technology, environmental topics and how we can all help to lift the barriers that keep people from discovering and enjoying the outdoors.

If this sounds like you. I want to hear from you. Thanks for listening and please consider subscribing to the podcast.

Our fist episode will be along soon.

Thanks to our friends.

The Cycle Jersey Custom Cycle Clothing.