Skids & Giggles Mountain Bike Podcast

We sat down with Colin and Antoine Massart from Massart Biketrails as well as our former guest and fan favourite Greg Jolliffe. Earlier in 2024, the boys were building the “Dreamline” for a Kriss Kyle edit in Glassie Bike Park and that video got released later in the summer to much fanfare. The trail itself is part of the bike park now and open to the public for everyone to enjoy! In our chat, we get to hear some more insights into the build of the line, about working with Kriss and the many challenges of digging trail in the Scottish countryside. But the conversation turns into much more than that as we dive into the “heart in the art” of trail building, the inspiration and influences coming from the community, competing builders, multi-faceted athletes like Kriss, different disciplines or other sports altogether, progression in the sport and what it means to actually put these very diverse “dreams” of what a trail should be into the dirt. Mentions All of our "trail building" episodes Greg Jolliffe: Instagram, Jolliffe Builds, Ep17 Massart Biketrails: Instagram, Website, Colin, Antoine Dreamline videos: Edit, Build series Ep1, Ep2, Ep3 and Ep4 Kriss Kyle: Instagram, Youtube Glassie Bike Park: Instagram, Trailforks, Ray Will

Pascal sat down with Stefano Nucera for a podcast experiment of sorts, co-hosting each other’s podcasts for a chat about bikes, our stories in the sport so far, cycling communities, gravel, enduro, fixie crit and alleycat racing in Berlin, beers in the broom wagon, losing one’s bike packing virginity and, of course, Stefano’s non-alcoholic beer brand, Zeer. Stefano is the host of the Broomwagon Podcast and naturally, when two podcasters sit down for a chat, conversation flows at warp speed. We did indeed cover a lot of ground and that’s not even all that we talked about. That being said, this was certainly not the last time I sat down with Stefano, for a podcast, a Zeer or otherwise. Mentions Trans Madeira Debrief Stefano Nucera: Website, Instagram The Broomwagon Podcast: Website, Instagram, Spotify Zeer Brewing: Website, Instagram Pascal's bike packing route: Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3

For this one, we sit down exactly how we imagined it in the early days of the podcast: Just two good buddies having a chat, talking about bikes and things that could be. After almost 4 years and over 80 episodes, we could finally make it happen! In our chat, we relive the Best Ride Of The Year in Thun with all the ups and downs and the many impressions of the day. But more importantly, we reflect on our process, the learnings from the event and the improvements we can make towards an even better ride of the year in 2025! As we mention in the recording, Darren Mace, the Trail Tracker, has just released a set of videos from the day on his Youtube channel. Make sure to check those out to get some impressions of the day! Skids & Giggles Best Ride of the Year 2024 (Thun) - Part 1 Unreal trails near Thun with the Skids & Giggles Podcast crew - Part 2 Many thanks also to Yannik Wälti and Roger Schütz for their help in putting the day together and to Josh Curtis for the coffee! Skids & Giggles Alumni on the ride: Luise Rohland: Zürtrails Antenne #5, Ep41, Ep23 Felix Lüttin of 612 Parts: Ep49, Ep74 Stefan Lorenz of Scar Cycles Reto Aebischer Darren Mace, Trail Tracker Switzerland: Ep 33, Ep 64 Esteban “Yeti” Zimmermann

We sat down with Dave Tschumi, co-owner and "Director of Figures" at Vast Trails! We get a behind the scenes look into the business of building trails, the different roles and skillsets in successful digging teams, collaboration, the quality and art in trail building and, of course, Dave’s own journey in mountain biking that took him from instigating his first trail projects as a teenager, to working with brands and some of the biggest companies in the business, all the way to co-owning Vast Trails and putting his vision into dirt. Mentions Greg Jolliffe Claudio "Schnurri" Schnurrenberger Martin "Shaperjack" Stänz Chris "Flying Grizzly" Visscher

Pascal sat down with Samuel Sommerhalder for a chat about our takeaways from the Swiss Cycling Guide courses, his Freeride Bike Academy in Andermatt and Aarau, his life as an online marketing specialist with the Digital Creators and how all those puzzle pieces come together in his everyday activities on and off the bike. Sämi made the trip to HQ for a rare in-person recording and it was fun to catch up and relive some of the good times, but also to get some "trail intel" on his chosen home in Andermatt and to hear more about his goals with the Freeride Bike Academy as well as the Freeride Bike Shop. You can sign up to Sämi's RiderReport Newsletter on his website

We sat down for a chat with Michelle Neuner after Chris Räber dropped her name into the hat as one to watch the other day and to hear her story with the bikes so far. And oh boy, what a story it is! Michelle left us impressed with her energy and passion for riding and we're sure to see a lot more from her in the coming years! With the run-up to the Paris Olympic games ahead of us, there are interesting possibilities to ponder and we do get to hear her take on competition, progression, freeride and her own goals in the sport. Michelle has also recently been invited to be the first female rider on the Züritrails roster and that platform should open up even more opportunities and potential for progression.

We got to catch up with "Swiss" Chris Räber about old dogs and new tricks! If you have been following his socials like us, you will also have noted a surprising increase in clips posted to his Instagram and one thing is certain: those whips don’t lie! Chris completed 30 days of whips at the back end of last year in a mission to bring back the skills – and stoke! – of mastering tricks, and to reignite his passion for riding his bike every day! We dive deep into the experience and into the principles that apply to everyone struggling to learn new skills or to bring back long forgotten ones. Consistency, accountability and appropriate recovery are all elements that we can apply to our own challenges towards becoming a better rider. We also get to hear about van life, his recent trip down south and, of course, the exciting news of him commentating BMX on Swiss national TV during the Paris Olympic Games!

Happy new year and welcome to a special episode of the Skids & Giggles Podcast! Our main resolution for 2024 is to connect with our community in new ways and to try and build a bridge between the virtual of the podcast and the real life experience of meeting up, hanging out and playing bikes with our friends, guests and listeners. In this episode, we lay out the basics of our idea, share some of our takes on what makes a great day on the bike and how YOU can help us bring to life YOUR vision of "The Best Ride Of The Year"! We created a dedicated landing page under skidsandgiggles.com/ride to keep track of all the relevant information as the project progresses.

We sat down with Chris Evers, one of the brand managers working for the Swiss bike brand BIXS. It turns out that amongst many other things that have to get done in that role, a brand manager is also involved in deciding who to sponsor and which race team to support, and it was interesting to get a deep dive into Chris’ process, to hear what he is looking for in a rider and which metrics he is considering along the way. Of course we also chat about how Chris fell in love with the sport and what inspires and drives him to push on, the importance of a bike ride to clear your mind and our views on what young riders can do to find their own path to success and, potentially, even a sponsorship!

Pascal sat down for a chat with Helena Hlasova to talk about RideRawr and how they are rewriting the rules of what it means to be a cyclist - particularly for women! We get to hear about community-designed female-specific cycling bibs, more inclusive events and about all the laughs that go into creating content that supports the RideRawr mission! With a background in rowing at the highest levels of the sport, Helena has a great perspective not only on what makes the different communities and disciplines so special, but also on what they could learn from each other to ultimately make the sport more fun for everyone! In a first for the Skids & Giggles Podcast, we also recorded the video for this episode and we are curious to read your feedback and thoughts in the comments on Youtube! While you are there watching, why don't you subscribe to our Youtube channel as well and never miss new stuff coming down the pipes in the future!

We sat back down with the “Flying Grizzly” Chris Visscher, currently the head shaper at Bikepark Lenzerheide, freerider, enduro racer, massive sender, one of the wildest whips in the game, an all-around good guy and friend of the podcast! We talk a lot about his philosophy and vision for building new trails and cool features in the bike park that suit everyone, from beginner all the way to the pros racing on the world cup downhill circuit, and we get to hear about his working with, and letting himself be inspired by, fellow builders like Greg Jolliffe or Nico Vink. This is the second time for Chris on the podcast – you can find the first episode as number 26 in our archives – and we do take the time to check back in on a few topics, such as his racing, his favourite trails and of course, him setting up shop under his own Visscher Company.

A formidable team consisting of former guest Esteban "Yeti" Zimmermann, Othmar, Bryson and Pascal signed up for the 24 hour race in Schötz and we sat down to debrief shortly after this very unique experience. Naturally, we first had to answer the obvious question of WHY?! (doh, why not?), but we also dive deep into our preparation, our planning, our camp setup as well as the overall format of the race. Of course we discuss the ups, downs, and all the cramps of the race weekend and share our best tips and insights for 24 hour racing. We did finish the race in 8th place in our category after a late rally on Sunday morning and we're stoked on the result. Also, many thanks to our listeners that submitted inputs for the recap - we had a good laugh reliving the experience, despite Bryson's significant post-cramp pains! Looking for more inspiration to get involved in some racing? Why don't you have a listen to our recaps from the Swiss Enduro Series in Leukerbad or our Trans Madeira Debrief? Races and similar events like the Grischa Trail Ride are always a great opportunity to ride bikes, meet new people and to hang out with friends old and new!

We sat down with Luke Fitzpatrick to talk about the Privateer Lounge hosted by his Epic Bikeshop at the recent UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Lenzerheide. With a big change in the racing schedules and format for the 2023 season - certainly for downhill, Luke's initiative comes at an interesting time for the sport and is was great to hear his perspective on the difficulties faced by racers looking to compete on smaller budgets. From providing a spot to base their weekend out of, to helping fix bikes between runs and races, spares, the suspension "race sh*t", and all the way to family BBQs, the Privateers Lounge had it all (unfortunately, the red carpet was delivered too late). Luke even offers up the blue print for other shops aspiring to open up their own Privateer Lounges in support of independent racers at other World Cup rounds (free hint: have plenty of spares!). Luke's passion for the future of the sport doesn't stop with privateers, though, as he is also one of the driving forces behind the Lenzerheide Downhill Kids as well as the Epic Junior Racing Team and we get to hear all about these youth programmes as well!