Skids & Giggles Mountain Bike Podcast (Skids & Giggles MTB Podcast)

We sat down with James Drew to talk about what it means to run a business in the bike industry in 2021. James runs Bike the World, a distribution company here in Switzerland that represents some of the most illustrious brands in mountain biking today. James has been involved in the bike business for the better part of two decades and also has the experience and perspective of having worked in markets outside of Switzerland.

As we were preparing for this recording and comparing our notes, we realised that there is too much material to cover in a single episode so we have decided to break the topics up into more digestible pieces (part 2, part 3).

In Part 1 of the conversation with James, we discuss topics such as:

• How to make a billion dollars in the bike industry?
• Key trends, highlights and surprises of 2020 and what they mean for 2021 and beyond
• What makes the Swiss market so different from other markets?
• Local production, shorter supply chains and the opportunities for smaller brands

But before we jumped into the conversation, Bryson and Pascal introduce the Skids & Giggles podcast in a bit more detail and talk about what we have planned.

Music credit: "B-Roll" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Drop us any comments or feedback you may have into the comments!

After a little break since recording back to back episodes with Jo Dovat and Dave Spielmann, we reconnect to talk about Pascal's current fundraiser, A Bike for Ukraine, the idea behind the raffle, a few more details about the bike and, of course, how you can get involved (raffle closes 23 June 22). We close out the show with a recap of the main reason for the break, Trans Madeira. We touch on Bryson's first trip to Finale Ligure during our mini-camp ahead of the race, some of the ins and outs of multi-day enduro adventures and of course how it all went. Unfortunately, Pascal's time on the little mountain biking paradise in the middle of the Atlantic didn't end too well for the second time in a row, but you will have to listen to the episode to find out what happened! PS. He's probably going to be fine.

We sat down again with James Drew for Part 2 of our conversation series to talk about marketing, sponsorship and social media. James runs Bike The World, a distribution company here in Switzerland that represents mountain bike brands such as Chromag, Industry Nine, and, more recently, Title. He supports a wide array of riders here in Switzerland, ranging from slope style riders that can pull off the craziest tricks, to freeriders and all the way to racer types in a number of disciplines. What his riders have in common, though, is their love and passion for the bike and the ability to inspire others to get out and ride. Clearly, James has his own perspective on marketing, the promises and pitfalls of social media and what he looks for when selecting new riders for his roster.

This is part 2 of our conversation series and there are quite a few references to Episode 1, where we talk about what it means to run a business in the bike industry in 2021. Make sure you have a listen to that, too, so you are not missing out on any of our takes and thought experiments. We close out the conversation with Episode 3.

In part 2 of the conversation with James, we cover:

• What are the current trends in mountain bike marketing and the difference between "image based marketing" and "details based marketing"
• The power of e-commerce solutions in driving business in-store as well as online
• The promises and perils of social media; Should competitive athletes leave social media behind or quit racing and become a social presenter?
• How back flips make money and why you should keep posting cool pictures
• More cowbells! The opportunity for Swiss riders to up their Swiss game and also present the unique riding here in Switzerland
• We're closing out the conversation with some dos and don'ts for up and coming riders that are looking for sponsorship and getting the support they need

Before we jumped into the main conversation, we picked up on some listener questions following Episode 1. Namely, a question around "green brand credentials" and what we are seeing in the market today (not enough, of course!) and a short exchange around the topic of the biggest developments in the bike industry in the last 5-10 years and what lies ahead.

Music credit: "B-Roll" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We sat down with Luise Rohland to talk about hardtails, her experience racing one at SES Laax and, naturally, why you would want to do without rear suspension in the first place. Of course, there are many different shades of hardtails, from the fully rigid, single speed version that Bryson built himself, to Luise's more modern do-it all trail bike, all the way to Pascal's silly long and slack Moxie with all the travel. Between the loss of traction and the gain in cerebral flexibility, there are plenty of reasons to ride a hardtail and we all share our different takes. To close out, we got to hear Luise's insights into the different challenges, pains and tribulations of racing her hardtail at the recent Swiss Enduro Series in Laax.

Wet sat down with Jarno Hoogland to talk about the Trail Taxi, his work for the IMB, and, of course, his life in Swissneyland. Jarno recently launched the Trail Taxi as a non-guided uplift service for the lower Valais, a region that offers some of the best mountain bike riding in the country. It was great to also hear his thoughts on the sustainability of the company and on how he is giving back to the planet as well as the region he now calls home. Through his day job as the editor of the International Mountainbike Magazine, Jarno has a great perspective on the changing media landscape and he shares quite a bit: from press camps and content formats, to new bikes, parts and robustness, all the way to the fun parts of the job. Finally, we get to listen in on the journey that brought Jarno to single trail paradise, or Swissneyland in his own words, and what his riding looks like when he is not just racing Trans Madeira!

Pascal sat down with Velolas Babs, Laura, Seraina and Gina to talk about bringing more women into the sport, building a community and sharing their passion for riding. Through women-only bike courses, group rides and events, the Velolas provide a platform and environment for female riders, to support their progress from the basics all the way to becoming seasoned riders. It was interesting to hear their perspectives on group dynamics, learning and how exclusivity can help to bring more diversity to the sport. After some time as a "shop-in-shop", Babs is launching a women-specific Velola bike shop at the beginning of '23. Located just outside of Thun and on the way to the main riding spots, the shop will not only act as the place to go for the latest bikes, parts and gear, but also as a hub for their community of female shredders.

As we have done for previous recordings in local dialect (examples here, here and here), Bryson and Pascal have a quick chat about the highlights of the conversation with the Velolas for our English-speaking listeners. If you do understand Swiss-German, you can just skip forward to the main part.

We sat down with Ramona Kupferschmied to talk about mindset, her racing career and big sends. After recently stepping away from cross country racing during the pandemic to focus on downhill and freeride events, she has a great perspective on the different disciplines, progression, the value of having the right people around you and of enjoying your time on the bike. It was interesting to hear the inside view of her thought process that led to the change, the conversations with her team and how she is adjusting her goals now that the Olympics are out of the picture.

Ramona joins a stacked roster of female shredders that have been part of our podcast. If you have missed them so far, make sure to check out the episodes with Anna Newkirk, Abby Hogie, Luise Rohland, Karin Christen, the Velolas, Baba Anderegg and Lucy Jager!

Pascal sat down with Sandro Schmid to talk about his journey with bikes, making a living in the bike industry and creating content in, and for, Switzerland. Through his social media channels on Youtube and Instagram, his presence at events, coaching, pump track shows and media projects, Sandro is one of the more recognisable mountain bikers in the country and it was interesting to retrace the steps that lead him to make riding bikes his career. Of course, a cornerstone of making his day to day work is living in a van full time and we get to hear some of the ups and downs of that. Finally, with "Living The Dream", Sandro launched his own line of clothes this year and he lays out some of the things he has in store for his brand for us.

As we have done for previous recordings in local dialect (examples here, here, here and here), Bryson and Pascal have a quick chat about the highlights of the conversation with Sandro for our English-speaking listeners. If you do understand Swiss-German, you can just skip forward to the main part.

We sat down with Abby Hogie and Anna Newkirk to catch up after the 2022 season, their first racing together as the Beyond Racing team, and there was a lot of ground to cover: from the ups and downs of running your own team, season highlights and fun travel stories, to pit setup, lit custom kits and sponsor projects, to the upcoming changes to the World Cup, injuries and the key lessons for next year. One of the highlights of our catch-up with Anna last year involved Mačka and while no new pets were acquired this year, there is another good story involving an animal and the crossing of borders. As always with Abby and Anna, we had a lot of fun recording and we look forward to following Beyond Racing in 2023!

Have a listen to our previous episodes with Abby and Anna (here and here) if you have missed them so far!

We sat down with Jan Favre to talk some more about hardtails, industry fads and his single-speed adventures. Jan felt triggered by the Hardtails episode we recorded with Luise Rohland over the summer and sent in a thoughtful riposte to our conversation. Naturally, rather than letting the DM rot in our inbox, we invited Jan for a recording to elaborate on his message, some of the thinking and rationale behind his arguments and of course, his own riding. As an experienced shop mechanic, he has a great perspective on things like bike geometry, suspension and what really makes a difference out on the trail. Also, in a quest for simplicity, Jan set up his personal bike as a single-speed and it was interesting to hear how his BFeMax is holding up, from general riding at home, to park days with Anna Newkirk, all the way to multi-day adventures exploring the former Iron Curtain along the Bavarian-Czech border with his dad.

We sat down with Reto Aebischer to talk about home-made carbon bikes, learning by doing it wrong and his many workshop projects. Starting out with making kiteboards and skis, he quickly progressed to his first carbon road bike and is currently working on the second iteration of his high-pivot enduro bike. And no, unfortunately, you can't pre-order one at this point. Naturally, Reto and his friends also jumped at the opportunity to sign up for Red Bull Flugtag with a self-made "flying machines" and we get to hear the story behind their record attempt - and win! - at the event in Lausanne in 2021. Finally, to fellow Pinkbike users, Reto is known as a thoughtful commenter and forum regular as SleepingAwake and it was great to put a face and voice to a handle that many in the community have stumbled across on the web. Hope you enjoy!

We sat down with Felix Lüttin to talk about curiosity, solving bike puzzles and the journey with his brand 612 Parts so far. Having been featured by the European Bike Project on Pinkbike, Felix's Die Bremse (the brake in German) has certainly made waves online and it was also on display at the recent DT Swiss Craft Bike Days. Of course we had to go behind the scenes of their development and hear the stories of inspiration, early prototypes, picking raw materials and suppliers and, naturally, the testing results. The brakes are not alone, however, as there are more bike parts that are tickling Felix's imagination, including brake rotors, chainrings and a stem and it was interesting to hear his ideas and projects for the future. We really enjoy sharing the stories of people making cool stuff right on our doorstep in Switzerland - hope you like this one!

Pascal sat down with Stefan Lorenz to talk about Scar Cycles, some recent projects and how he came to make his own bikes in his garage. With the HFS high-pivot gearbox prototype bike on show at the recent DT Swiss Craft Bike Days (incl. the very pretty 612 Parts Die Bremse) and a TEBP feature on Pinkbike of Brotlos Design’s mpEV01 that he helped bring to life, Stefan’s work was front and center at the end of 2022. It was great to hear his perspective on the two very different bikes and how the feedback and discussion in the aftermath help to steer his future projects. We also get the inside view of how he got to make his own frames, the meaning of "Scar", his choice of techniques, materials and styles, the builder community and why we should all try out a gearbox bike. We're stoked to start the year with another "maker" podcast and look forward to sharing many more exciting stories in 2023!

As we have done for previous recordings in local dialect (examples here, here, here, here and here), Bryson and Pascal have a quick chat about the highlights of the conversation with Stefan for our English-speaking listeners. If you do understand Swiss-German, you can just skip forward to the main part (starts at ca minute 17).

As requested by many of our listeners, we sat down to talk about the making of Bryson's custom hardtail frame under the supervision of legendary frame builder Paul Brodie. Yes, the Paul Brodie of Brodie Bicycles fame. We go through the process step by step, from the first meeting with Paul, to the course format and what to expect from a guided experience, to design principles and geometry decisions and all the way to the many iterations of the bikes throughout the years. We had a lot of fun reliving the experience and it was great to hear the highs, lows and everything in between of building a custom steel hardtail. With Fahrzeug Der Zukunft, Bryson continues to ponder the future of bikes, so the course definitely had more than one lasting effect!

Geometry

We sat back down with James Drew to take the pulse of the bike industry and answer some of the key questions as we enter 2023. The boom time hangover has left many players on the ropes and it was interesting to hear James' perspective on some of the challenges facing businesses today: from relatively basic cash flow problems to the more complex backdrop of geopolitics interfering with the pandemic recovery, trends he observes from his clients, to the benefits of being small and nimble and more future-proof business models. Of course, there are some positives to take away from the conversation but, unfortunately, lower prices are probably not part of that. Finally, the now five-time podcast champion asks his own close-out question as he wonders why everyone loves E-Bikes so much??

If you have missed out on any of our previous chats with James, check out the links below to catch-up:

• Episode 32 - James Drew: State of the Bike Industry ’22
• Episode 3 - James Drew, Part 3: For the love of bikes
• Episode 2 - James Drew, Part 2: Marketing, sponsorship and social media
• Episode 1 - James Drew, Part 1: Running a business in the bike industry in 2021

Pascal sat down with Andri Hafen to talk about Bikehub, bike shops and the future of helping people getting the most out of their bikes. As one of the core mountain bike shops in Zurich, Bikehub has been serving the local community for more than a decade and it was great to hear Andri's perspective on the shop and the sport over the years. From bikes, equipment and riders, to the challenges of a small, independent bike shop, community and the opportunities to offer a better service in the future, all the way to his own path into the bike industry and to his own business, we cover it all.

The conversation with Andri was recorded in local dialect. As we've done in other episodes, Bryson and Pascal exchange a few thoughts about the topic in general and recap some of the highlights of the conversation with Andri for our English-speaking listeners. If you do understand Swiss-German, you can also just skip forward to the main part (starting at about minute 18).

Check out some of the following episodes that are also in local dialect:

• Episode 50 - Stefan Lorenz
• Episode 45 - Sandro Schmid
• Episode 43 - Velolas
• Episode 36 - Baba & Rolli Anderegg
• Episode 9 - Greg Kowner (Pt 2)
• Episode 8 - Greg Kowner (Pt 1)

We sat down with Vitor Büchli to talk about his recent fiesta of Freeride events, the Home- Land edit that just launched and his path to becoming a full-time rider. After having completed his vocational training in the summer of '22, Vitor embarked on a wild series of events that quite literally took him around the world: from Flat Out Days in Slovenia to Huckfest in Norway and from Crankworx in Whistler all the way to Freeride Fiesta in Mexico. It was interesting to hear Vitor's perspective on the events and the ups & downs of travelling the international freeride circus and we get an inside view of how his life and preparation have changed ever since he is focussing on his riding full time. Vitor also used the recent trip overseas to visit and explore his hometown of São Paolo in Brazil with his bike and we got to relive some of the experiences and impressions of the local riding scene. The trip was also documented in the Home-Land edit and that is out on Youtube now!

We sat down with Adrian Greiner, founder and "chief idea haver" of Bikeplan, one of the very few dedicated consultancies that help destinations develop and implement successful mountain biking projects in their regions. With a team of specialists from environmental engineering, spatial planning and scenography, to tourism, business, community engagement and trail building, the company can cover most projects holistically in-house and after a decade in business, there is a lot to talk about. Adrian lets us look behind the scenes of many of the hallmark Bikeplan projects and shares some of the key learnings and takeaways that help shape master plans for more and better mountain bike destinations in the future. One thing is very apparent: no project is like the other and every destination comes with its own set of opportunities - and challenges! We talk through some of the highlights closer to home in Zermatt and the Valais region, get to hear about a brand new destination in Norway, as well as a tale of discovering hidden "trail gold" in Croatia - and all of it served with a healthy dose of laughs!

We sat down with Ysaline Van Kampen to talk about getting into Enduro, bike racing and her own path into the sport. Having grown up as a ski racer in a ski town, Ysaline found the love for the mountain bike on her home trails in the Chablais region and, over the last few years, has competed at almost every level in Enduro. She has a great perspective on the different development paths, skills and the necessary race craft that led her all the way to the premier level in the sport and we take the opportunity to discuss some of the steps and ways to get into the discipline, especially for younger riders. The Swiss Enduro Series is providing an exciting platform for young riders to get a taste of the sport, but there are many other ways to be so Enduro! Let us know your best tips in the comments or in a short message and we'll take it up in a next episode!

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) are so hot right now, so we sat down to find out what the big fuss is all about and what it really means for our little world of mountain biking. Consider this a piece of performance art, as we use OpenAI's ChatGPT not only to generate a short intro for our podcast, but also to answer and discuss some of the more relevant questions we like to ponder in conversations with our guests. How do you get into the sport? What are the best places to ride? How could we use the technology to improve mountain biking? Can you make it more awesome for everyone? And of course we had to ask one of our signature close-out questions and find out what it knows about a great skid! We had a lot of fun playing with the software and hope you also enjoy this chat with ChatGPT!

Episode artwork created with OpenAI's Dall-E 2 using the following prompt:

Prompts we used for the recording

We sat down with Nic Walser to talk about his journey to become a coach to some of the world's fastest mountain bike racers. After working towards a professional downhill racing career himself, Nic started coaching friends during his sport science studies as a hobby that allowed him to combine his own passion for bikes and racing with the insights from the text books and the lab. It was really interesting to hear how he puts his own education and experience into practice, not only in his day job in a sports clinic, but also as a coach dedicated to the gravity disciplines in mountain biking, helping athletes achieve their goals and dreams. Of course, we do get to hear about some of the highlights along the way so far, but also insights into the key differences between elite racers and everyday athletes, the challenges of enduro racing, or what it really takes to succeed on the gravity circuit.

After leaving some unfinished business on the island last year, Pascal returned to finish Trans Madeira in 2023 and of course we sat down to debrief after the race, to find out how it went and what it really was like to do it on the hardtail! More importantly, we lay out the general principles of racing multi-day adventures, what to expect in terms of riding, preparation and planning as well as some of Pascal's most helpful tips and tricks to help you get through an event like that. Big thank you also for the listener inputs - we had a good laugh going through all of those!

Former guest Jan Favre, Bryson and Pascal signed up for the hardtail category of the first round of the Swiss Enduro Series in Leukerbad and we relive the experience through a three-piece recording contained in one single episode. In the first part, we sat down to lay out our expectations and goals for the weekend and discuss our preparations and equipment for the race. The second part is a collection of short sound bites we collected throughout the weekend covering both the practice day as well as the actual race. Finally, in the third part, we sat down after the race to share our impressions from the weekend, discuss the results and contrast our best intentions from the week before with what actually went down. Thanks for all the hollers and encouragement along the way - we had a blast!

Guests and mentions from the recording:

• Ysaline Van Kampen
• Bikeclub Mattertal U15 team, as discussed on the Adi Greiner episode
• Vitor Büchli
• Domi Widmer
• Gian-Luca Hurni

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!

We sat down with Micha Rudolph to talk about his Trail Building Commuter, a project bike that recently won the Leaf Cycles Klunker Custom Challenge. As the forebears of modern day mountain bikes, Klunkers hold a special place in history and adding the utility of bringing your trail building tools to the spot presents an interesting bridge to the cargo bikes and micromobility solutions of the present day. We get to hear all the details of the bike and the tools, the trials and tribulations of the build and, of course, the emotional rollercoaster of finishing the project in time for the contest. Micha's enthusiasm and passion for bikes, trail building and the community really comes through in our chat and it was great to catch-up on his recent move back home, his work at Schwalbe and how that may have changed his view on what makes a great skid!

Micha also put together a lovely document about the project with all the details and many more photos for you to have a closer look (in German) - download here.

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!

Trail Tracker Darren Mace and Pascal sat down to catch-up after a memorable "vintage" of the Grischa Trail Ride. Both Darren and Pascal completed the last two editions of the event with their teams back-to-back and it was a good time to compare notes, discuss strategies and what riders can expect from the experience in the Grison Alps. Of course there is a bit more nuance to the Grischa Trail Ride, but the basic premise is this: ride as many trails between start and finish location as you can from a set "menu" of trails in a fixed time window - the team with the most trails wins! That being said, it is not a race by any stretch of the imagination and there are many ways to enjoy the three days on and off the bike. We share our best tips and trail ride hacks and of course relive the experience of a very wet day 3 of the 2023 Grischa Trail Ride. Darren is also a great example of how the virtual experience of the podcast intertwines with the real world and it was good to meet up again for a fun few days! we hope to see more of our guests and listeners at the Grischa Trail Ride 2024!

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.

We sat down with Louis Eisenhut and we are stoked to be sharing this episode with you! Most people know Louis as a creator on Instagram, Youtube and TikTok, and of course, we do get to hear about how he got started, what motivates him to continue creating new content and how he tries to stay relevant in the ever changing social media landscape. More importantly though, we also talk about how Louis is using his reach and experience in social media to achieve positive outcomes for the community and it was interesting to hear how he is trying to help the sport and trail building projects progress in his home region around Interlaken. With Thoughts Under The Helmet, Louis also launched a podcast earlier in the year and naturally, as fellow podcasters existing in a similar niche, we have to ask about the experience so far and about his main takeaways from chats with guests like Danny MacAskill or Birgit Bless.

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!

Pascal sat down with Martin Shaperjack Stänz to continue our discussions around trail building and to find out where all the double black diamond tech trails are. Martin is a full-time builder and shaper in Davos, looking after the trails on Parsenn in the summer and the Jatzpark snowpark on Jakobshorn in the winter. He has a great perspective on the current state of affairs in trail building and it was interesting to hear his views on natural trails, progression of riders and builders, terrain, creativity, patience, bringing the right people to the table and, of course, the many challenges facing the sport. As we have done in the past with Swiss German conversations, Bryson and Pascal have a brief chat about the main takeaways. Skip to minute 17 to jump straight to the Swiss German discussion with Shaperjack!

Check out some of the following episodes that are also in local dialect:

• Ep 53 - Andri Hafen
• Ep 50 – Stefan Lorenz
• Ep 45 – Sandro Schmid
• Ep 43 – Velolas
• Ep 36 – Baba & Rolli Anderegg
• Ep 9 – Greg Kowner (Pt 2)
• Ep 8 – Greg Kowner (Pt 1)

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!

We sat down to catch up with Anna Newkirk but she was having none of it. Instead of giving us the run down of the season that was with Beyond Racing or laying out her plans for 2024, she decided to turn the tables on us and to ask the questions this time around! And oh boy, did she have questions. From the story of how Bryson and Pascal met and the early days of the podcast, anti cramping strategies and "who knows who better" games, to our picks for world cup downhiller death matches, dream bikes, ape indices and what the future holds for us, we had a lot to answer. We do get to sneak in a few questions in the end and, as always, Anna has some fun insights in store for us!

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 again with James Drew for the final part of our conversation series to talk about his own love for bikes that eventually led to him pursuing a career in the industry as well. After a few stints with other brands, James hit out on his own with Bike The World, a distribution company here in Switzerland that today represents illustrious brands such as Chromag, Industry Nine, and, more recently, Title. We touched on his years in skateboarding and why he got into mountain biking, his career, his riding today and how he approaches riding bikes with his own kids.

This is part 3 of our conversation series and there are quite a few references to Episode 1 where we talk about what it means to run a business in the bike industry in 2021 and Episode 2 where we talk about marketing, sponsorship and social media. Make sure you have a listen to those, too, to make sure you are not missing out on any of our takes and thought experiments.

In part 3 of the conversation with James, we cover:

• What brought James to mountain biking and how he got started in the bike business
• How he made a side hustle into the full-time job that it is today
• Biggest changes and developments in the time James spent in the industry
• How James approaches riding with his three boys
• Pro tips from two calloused bike dads on where to spend it and how to placate your kids
• Where James loves to ride in his own time

Before we jumped into the main conversation, we introduced our Stutz & Giggles initiative to help support the next generation of shredders. We also picked up on a listener question on our take on carbon fibre and its "inately hideous recyclability".

Finally, we go through our three not so serious closeout questions that we are discussing with all of our guests to get a feel on how they really tick when it comes to bikes and riding.

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We sat down with the Trailforks Ambassador for Switzerland, Andre Trummer, or, as he is known on the platform and on Pinkbike: Jurasick. Crowdsourcing and communities stand at the core of Trailforks and Andre gives us a great overview of the main features, on how the approach works on the platform, what his role is in channeling all that data and what regular users can do to improve the platform, apart from just uploading their GPS files. Of course, we also get to hear about Andre’s favourite features, how he got into Trailforks himself and about how he works with institutions like SchweizMobil or IMBA Switzerland to not only improve Trailforks, but also to help their organisations with the data from Trailforks.

Andre recently hosted a Trailforks 101 series for IMBA Switzerland. You can find the recorded sessions on his personal website.

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!

We sat down with our good friend and riding buddy Esteban "Yeti" Zimmermann to talk about his time getting into mountain biking on the shores of the pacific ocean in Peru, his riding in Switzerland and his take on the local scene here in Zurich. On top of his day job as an engineer, Yeti is also a certified Swiss Cycling mountain bike guide with an interesting perspective on riding in groups, women in the sport and just generally on how to have a good time on the bike. You can book your own trip or session with Yeti through the Bikeschule Zürich or just hit him up on one of his Instagram handles.

And of course, we clear up how Esteban came to be called "Yeti".

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We hosted Felix Lüttin of 612 Parts for an in-person demo of the recently introduced 612 "Die Pedale", his cyber truck brakes and more of his creations, followed by our very first live recording and Q&A at Biroma in Zurich!

Felix is a repeat guest on the podcast and made waves with his brakes over the last two years, appearing on a number of show bikes and even scoring a review with the Enduro magazine. It was great having Felix on hand to present his designs and talk about the pedals with our guests at the shop. And we just had a blast meeting so many of our friends and listeners!

You can find the video of the session over on our Youtube channel.

Check out the 612 Parts website for all details of "Die Pedale"!

Big thank you to Greg Kowner for sharing the space at Biroma Bike & Parts in Zurich with us! We are sure we will be back for another one!

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 sat down with Marco Giarrana for a deep dive into his company, FAIR Bicycle. With FAIR, Marco and his business partner Valentin are trying to rewrite the script of what product design and manufacturing means and it was interesting to hear Marco’s thoughts on sustainability, transparency, cradle to cradle design, innovation, working with suppliers and how all those puzzle pieces come together in FAIR Bicycle. With the Drop Best dropper clamp for mountain bikes and the Daily Hook cargo strap for cargo bikes, FAIR has two products out in the wild to illustrate what their approach actually means in practice and we are sure that are many more to come! To find out more about FAIR and their principles, check out their website or reach out to Marco and Valentin directly.

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 with Dave Spielmann for a deep dive into helping Bryson on his path back from a double fib fracture, by laying out our own experiences with coming back from injuries, the general principles and protocols as well as the many pitfalls and misconceptions on the way back to a fuller strength. We are very grateful for Dave Spielmann to volunteer his time and the expertise he never wanted for this episode and for sharing many of his painful and challenging experiences, both from the perspective of a professional mountain biker, but – more importantly – also as a fellow human struggling with pain, discomfort and uncertainty. We are also very grateful for the many inputs and voice messages through or SpeakPipe! It really helped us bring this episode together and to talk about a topic that no one really likes to talk about.

Mentions

• Philipp Bosshard
• Arno Galmarini

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

We sat down with Arno Galmarini for a deep dive into the simple strategies that every rider can implement to avoid injuries and to add longevity to their riding!

With this one, we complete our project to create something positive and useful out of Bryson's injury and recovery. In the first instalment, we sat down with Dave Spielmann to talk about recovering and coming back from injury. In that conversation, Dave also nominated Arno Galmarini for a follow up on Injury Prevention. And that’s just what we did for this one!

As a coach, Arno has seen it all. From helping elite athletes across many disciplines in mountain biking and other sports working towards peak performance, to coaching more recreational athletes through his Quest platform towards general health in life and longevity in the sport. And with Origym, Arno also runs is own facility in Scuol in the Engadin valley, catering to the same health, performance and longevity mantra.

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 Reto Aebischer for a journey deep into the Afterlife.

However, in this instance, the afterlife is not a promised existence in your favourite spiritual realm. The “Afterlife” is the name of Reto’s home-made carbon enduro bike that he also rode at the recent Best Ride Of The Year in Thun!

We get the all-access, behind the scenes look of what it’s like to make your own carbon bike at home, the many frustrations and challenges along the way, key design decisions, insights in to future improvements and, of course, the feelings of riding a bike you made yourself for that very first time!

It’s the been almost two years since we first sat down with Reto to talk about his carbon workshop projects and it was fun catching up on the process of actually finishing the enduro bike he just started when we first talked.

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

We sat down with Bram from Essar Cycles to get to know the story and the brain behind his steel creations.

Unlike some of our other guests, Bram’s journey starts with the conviction that yes, of course, he can make his own bikes. It’s just a matter of finding out how and the number of different side projects along the way.

Over the years, Bram has created some eye-catching frames and we get to hear all about his approach and philosophy to making bikes, his experiments, successful and otherwise, dual flex pivots and a missed opportunity for a patent, and of course, what the future holds for Essar Cycles and getting more people riding his creations.

Mentions

• Essar Cycles: Instagram, Email
• Reto Aebischer: Ep82, Ep48
• Stefan Lorenz of Scar Cycles: Ep50
• Bryson's hardtail
• Chris Porter interview on Pinkbike
• Egerie

We sat down with Lucy Jager to talk about the work that she does with the Schtifti Foundation and Gorilla as well as her bachelor thesis about how to motivate kids to get on pump tracks and how that eventually brought her where she is today. We dive deep into the psyche of overcoming challenges, dealing with and overcoming fear and, of course, Lucy's perspective on women in the sport.

To get in touch with Lucy, reach out to her on her Instagram or use one of the official channels. Lucy can also be booked as a guide through the Biroma Bikeschule Zürich.

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

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

We sat down with Robin Schaub, Design Engineer at Onza Tires, to talk about why we still get flats, the challenges of a smaller brand in the bike industry today and why Onza will not bring back bar ends any time soon. Robin is also very active in the local trail building community and can provide an interesting perspective on the growth in the sport in 2020 and how that data provides the basis for new trail building projects.

There is a lot of bike dork talk going on in this episode, with many acronyms, brands and secret handshake-type situations. If you want us to elaborate on any of the things that were discussed and are maybe unclear for you right now, just let us know in the comments below and we can pick it up in one of our next episodes or get back to you directly!

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We sat down with Anna Newkirk to talk about her career so far, her preparation for the coming season of racing downhill and enduro at the highest level of the sport as well as her goals for the future. With a World Cup win and medals at World Championships to her name as a junior, Anna is looking to make her mark as an elite in '21 and beyond. Her main focus lies on the downhill, but don't be surprised to see her at selected Enduro World Series events and, of course, Crankworx.

We cover a lot of ground in our conversation with Anna, from her growing up racing BMX in the US, to moving to Switzerland, chasing her older brother, school, training for downhill and Enduro, and of course, the marquee events in 2020, EWS Zermatt and the World Championship in Leogang. Anna also shares her perspective on overcoming obstacles and fear, women in the sport and her take on inspiring the next generation of riders and racers.

Unfortunately, we found some quality issues post recording. We have cleaned up the audio as much as we can, but some interference is still noticeable in places. Apologies for that.

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Pascal sat down with Greg Kowner, owner of Biroma Bikes, the Bikeschule Zürich as well as, more recently, Biroma BMX. This is the first part of the conversation with Greg where we cover all the ups and downs of running a bike shop in 2020 and the challenges that will most likely stay with us for some time. We picked up on the theme of customisation, something we've covered with James before, and how you can get your dream bike in 2021. Greg and I also discuss tips and tricks for first time buyers, first upgrades, e-bikes and many things more!

As we have said from the outset - have a listen to the intro in Episode 1 if you missed it - we wanted to offer a “different take” on the local community here in Switzerland and this episode marks the first time that we are trying to cross the proverbial bridge between our English-speaking, Switzerland-based podcast and just having a conversation with our friends in the local dialect!

Bryson and I discuss the main takeaways of the conversation with Greg and provide our own perspectives so that the English speaking listener also gets the overall picture of the conversation. If you do understand Swiss German, you can just listen to the one on one with Greg after our discussion to get the full picture.

We’ve bounced this idea off of a couple of our friends before we went ahead so we are really curious to see if this works. We do know that a good portion of our listeners is tuning in from abroad, so just let us know in the comments, in a message or a quick email what you think!

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Pascal sat down with Greg Kowner, owner of Biroma Bikes, the Bikeschule Zürich as well as, more recently, Biroma BMX. This is the second part of the conversation with Greg where we cover the bike school and what the most successful courses are, new trails, destinations as well as Greg's personal journey with mountain bikes. We picked up on the different dynamics of different rider groups, something we’ve covered with Yeti and Lucy before, and how Greg picks the right destination when he is guiding groups. Greg and Pascal also talk about skateboarding, the Olympics, freestyle sports and, of course, our favourite bikes from way back.

As we have said from the outset – have a listen to the intro in Episode 1 if you missed it – we wanted to offer a “different take” on the local community here in Switzerland and this episode marks the first time that we are trying to cross the proverbial bridge between our English-speaking, Switzerland-based podcast and just having a conversation with our friends in the local dialect!

Bryson and I discuss the main takeaways of the conversation with Greg and provide our own perspectives so that the English speaking listener also gets the overall picture of the conversation. If you do understand Swiss German, you can just listen to the one on one with Greg after our discussion to get the full picture.

We’ve bounced this idea off of a couple of our friends before we went ahead so we are really curious to see if this works. We do know that a good portion of our listeners is tuning in from abroad, so just let us know in the comments, in a message or a quick email what you think!

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We sat down with "Swiss" Chris Räber to talk about slopestyle, mastering new tricks and, of course, his appearance on national TV with the challenge to learn, and land, a Cork 720 within a month during the summer of 2017. We cover Chris' personal journey with mountain bikes and competing in slopestyle events, his favourite tricks over the years, mindset and how things have changed in the sport since he came on scene. We discuss what the development path and infrastructure looks like for young riders that get into the sport today, Chris' time at Highlands Mountain Bike Park and how he came to be "Swiss" Chris.

We caught up with Chris while he was on a riding trip and he managed to get some good Wifi in a restaurant. The downside to that is that there is a bit of background noise in some parts. Apologies for that.

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Pascal sat down with Debbie and Philipp Gilgen to talk about the Pumptrack Muttenz, the challenges of starting a new community-based bike project during a global pandemic and how their project has gone about finding the support that they needed. We discuss how to find a good spot for your pump track, what to look out for and what the positive "side effects" of a community bike project look like. We also cover the plans for the future, how Anna Newkirk fits into all of this and why you should always think big!

Our conversation was recorded in Swiss German, so Bryson and I discuss the main takeaways of the conversation with the Gilgens and provide our own perspectives so that the English speaking listener also gets the overall picture. If you do understand Swiss German, you can just listen to the one on one with Debbie and Philipp after our discussion to get the full picture.

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We sat down with Jan Cadosch and Dario Lohner to talk about their trip to Zermatt last year and how they managed to take the Pinkbike Photo of the Year 2020. Of course we discuss how the competition went down, what the infamous Pinkbike comment section had to say about the photo and what "the headless rider" is all about. In the slightly less lighthearted parts of the conversation, we cover Jan's approach to photography, what skiing and flow has to do with all of it and what the future holds for Jan and Dario. Naturally, we also had to touch on their favourite riding destinations, Graubünden and how riding in the Alps is different from anywhere else.

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We sat down with Nik Wicki to talk a little bit more about Zermatt, hosting an Enduro World Series event and how to design a course that is not only fun to ride and race, but also safe for everyone, from elite racers, spectators as well as the numerous volunteers. As the Race Director and Course Designer for Traillove Zermatt, Nik not only has a interesting perspective on how the race in 2020 went down, but also some very interesting insights into the risk management of an event held in the alpine, how to adapt to and overcome challenges along the way, and how to select suitable trails for top-level Enduro racing. We also get into Nik's personal preferences when it comes to riding and racing, his favourite spots in Switzerland and, of course, how his skiing fits into all of this.

Unfortunately, we didn't point out enough during the recording how incredibly important all the volunteers are for an event like Traillove, especially during a year like like last year and conditions as they were in Zermatt. Big thank you from Nik, Pascal as a racer and Bryson as a spectator from afar!

The Enduro World Series in Zermatt in 2020 has been a topic on a number of episodes. Make sure you have a listen to our conversation with Anna Newkirk to find out how her race went and what she learned in Zermatt for the equally as challenging World Championships in Leogang. We also sat down with Jan Cadosch and Dario Lohner. They travelled to Zermatt to watch the pros but also managed to take the Pinkbike Photo of the Year after the race.

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We sat down with Lucas Huppert to talk about his journey in mountain biking so far, juggling his apprenticeship as an electrician and his dream of a professional slopestyle career and the not so secret rules of contest after parties. We cover a lot of ground in our conversation, from his goals as a competitive rider and his plans for the future, Red Bull Joyride in Whistler, to his experiments in other mountain biking disciplines. "Huppi" is entering an exciting time as a rider, now being able to focus on his progression full time for the first time in his career, so we also talk quite a bit about his approach to training, mindset, learning new tricks and how and when to bring them to competition. As the Red Bull Rookie of the Year '18, Lucas also knows a thing or two about young riders and what it takes to inspire the next generation and it was great hearing his insight into the development paths available to up and coming talents in Switzerland today.

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Spring has arrived here in Switzerland and the snow has been melting away slowly but surely. Trails are running really good at the minute and we've been out to a couple of trail days and weekends already. Good times were had with riding buddies, former guest Robin Schaub, and we even got to meet some of our listeners in person!

We took the opportunity with this episode to talk a little bit about what we’ve been up to recently, but more importantly what the take aways are from those trips. Also, we got quite some feedback and listener questions recently, both in person as well as online, so we took some time for that as well.

Some of the topics and questions we cover in this episode:

• Riding in the Lucerne and the Chablais regions
• Swiss "shuttle" services
• How to prepare for a riding trip: Things to check, bits to pack and simple steps you can take to make sure your bike is ready for wherever you go
• What Bryson means when he is tickling his bike
• "Mullet" trail bikes: business in the front, party in the back?
• What does removing pins from your pedals have to do with neuroplasticity and cerebral flexibility?
• Who is faster? Bryson or Pascal?
• What's a great post ride beer?

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We sat down with Greg Jolliffe to talk about his journey with bikes so far, his time at the renowned BASE mountain bike programme in Scotland, racing downhill and enduro, and the path that eventually led him to a career as a professional trail builder. Some of Greg's standout projects so far include building slopestyle courses for Joyride Whistler, film projects for Cut Media, and, of course, his own Greg Jolliffe's. Greg is currently Switzerland-based with the Velosolutions crew and he has most recently been involved in the building of the new Höckler Trail in Zurich. Of course, we cover a lot of ground when it comes to the new trail, from sustainability, to features, to working with Züritrails and other stakeholders, to challenges and difficulties during the build, rider feedback and how some of the initial concerns were addressed.

If you want to make yourself a picture of the new trail, Greg posted a POV of the new Höckler trail on his Pinkbike blog for you. You can watch it here.

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We sat down with Phil Law of Pembree to pick up on the theme of sustainability, in-house design and local production that we have already discussed on previous episodes. We also invited the three-time Skids & Giggles Podcast champion and star performer of our first few episodes James Drew back to the conversation to provide the perspective of the Swiss market and to shed light on how Pembree was received locally. We cover a lot of ground in our conversation, from the history and spirit of Pembree, how to manage growth sustainably, and what transparency and carbon neutrality mean in the bike industry today. The flip side to the business perspective and driving change from the supply side is, of course, consumer choice. That's why we spend quite a bit of time on what our dollars and Swiss francs can do to initiate change and what other brands apart from Pembree are doing to ensure better outcomes. For a good start and some pointers, check out The European Bike Project.

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Summer has truly arrived here in Switzerland, the snow has been melting away for real this time around, gondolas have opened up for the season in the alpine and there are new destinations to explore! We recently got a crew back together for a riding weekend in Scuol in the Lower Engadine region and, as it was the first trip to this area for us, we sat down to recap our impressions. The trails, the vistas, and of course the mishaps! We discuss the notion of "pre-cramping" and the later stages of the dreaded muscular contraction. We also pick up on a listener question on skills that was very relevant for the weekend with what felt like a billion switchbacks. Finally, after having gone through our questions with Bryson in the last Riding Trips episode, it's Pascal's turn this time around to close out the episode.

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We sat down with Karin Christen to talk about her journey with mountain bikes – and we mean that quite literally! Not only has she discovered her love for riding while chasing the surf around the world, but combining mountain biking, travelling and her work remain a fixture to this day. We cover a lot of ground in our conversation, from Karin's riding over the years, her favourite destinations, how to manage work, travel and bike park laps as well as all the other challenges and pitfalls of working remotely. In her free time, Karin is also involved with Santa Cruz Bicycles in Switzerland and their social media and, of course, we spend a bit of time on the brand, but also on some of our favourite themes we like to discuss, such as women in the sport, the dreaded e-bikes, trail building and how we can make the sport more attractive for everyone.

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Pascal recently got to join a heli biking trip to celebrate the birthday of friend of the podcast and Bicycle Repairman at Biroma Bikes, Beat. Of course, we had to sit down and talk through the experience. How does it work, where did we go and what kind of riding do you have to expect when you are using a helicopter to get up the mountains? We talk about jank and flow and how that fits into heli biking and of course we cover some of the side stories of the trip, including drinking games, rescue bags, being "off grid" and the feared "over the bars" moments. Also, be sure to check out our Instagram feed under @skidsandgiggles for some impressions of the trip!

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We sat down with Terrance Malone to talk about vintage mountain bikes, Terra One and how he came to design a new tire for your old ride. With over 20 years of experience in the industry, Terrance knows a thing or two about the business of bikes, product design and developing custom tires. In his free time, he is also actively involved in the vintage mountain bike community here in Switzerland, not only as a collector himself, but also through Fascination Ferraroli, a blog dedicated to the fabled Swiss brand. Naturally, our conversation touches on a lot of Terrance’s experiences in the mountain bike world, from his professional journey, the eureka moment for Terra One, tire designs, sustainability and transparency, family, stash spots, his collection, but also his own riding here in Switzerland, both on vintage as well as on more modern mountain bikes. Terrance also had a little surprise in store for us by turning the tables and closing out the show with questions inspired by the Uncommon Deeds podcast.

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Friend of the podcast and good riding buddy Luise Rohland chipped in with a great listener question the other day. Inspired by on the bike chats on our recent trips and a new Youtube series, she was wondering if we could discuss our own take on "how do you learn how to mountain bike?" Naturally, we had to sit down with her and talk about her views and techniques to do just that. Of course, Luise is an interesting guest in her own right and that's why we had to chat about her riding, her favourite destinations, how she learns new skills and how she got to be the Queen of Switchbacks. We go through a lot of her key tools, like pump tracks, "sessioning" trails, using video and watching how pro riders do it that can help you progress on the bike. There were quite a few important takeaways from the conversation, like the importance of feedback from riding buddies, why "mansplaining" is not all that bad as well as taking inspiration from other sports and disciplines altogether.

What are your best tips and tricks to improve your riding? Let us know in the comments or in a quick message what you think and what your favourite tools to learn on the mountain bike are.

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We sat down with Remy Allemann and Gian-Luca Hurni after the first round of the Swiss Enduro Series to talk about the maiden race in Lenzerheide, launching a new race series in Switzerland and their plans for the future of Swiss Enduro racing. We talk through some of the highlights and mishaps of the first race as well as the main takeaways for the next rounds of the series. Together with our former guest Nik Wicki, Remy and Gian-Luca also form the team behind the recent Swiss rounds of the Enduro World Series in Zermatt in 2019 and 2020 and Crans Montana in 2021 and it was interesting to hear their perspectives on the differences between organising the new local series and hosting an EWS. Of course, the development paths from a local series like the SES to the EWS is an important part of our conversation and we discuss the different measures the team has put in place to make the sport more accessible for racers of all ages. Good examples are the "chaperoned" U15 category, as well as the U17 category to go along with the more common U21, Elite and Open categories. We also cover the importance of volunteers, sponsorship and finding the right partners and wrap up the conversation with Remy and Gian-Luca’s favourite riding spots.

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We sat down with Dominik Bosshard to talk about how not being very good at dirt jumping got him to Red Bull Rampage, Züri Trails and his work with bikes today. Of course, photography and his work for Trail Devils is what put Dominik on the map, but it's his involvement with the Jump Park and his goal to provide the infrastructure, development paths and opportunities to the Swiss dirt jump scene that speaks for his passion for the community and the sport of mountain biking. But also in his professional life, Dominik is involved with drawing up new bike trail projects and pump tracks and it was interesting to hear his perspective on the new Höckler Trail and some of his other projects. As always, we wrap up with Dominik's favourite riding spots in Switzerland, post-ride beer tips and our infamous close-out questions.

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We sat down with Chris "Flying Grizzly" Visscher to talk about the GrizzlyLine in Lenzerheide, the secret to his whip and how he got to be the only bike-riding grizzly bear we know. Big events like Huckfest or Crankworx Whip-Offs have allowed him to showcase his unique style to a wider audience, but it's his passion for bikes, the community and going big that are driving his video projects, social media work and riding today. Of course, Switzerland provides an amazing playground for a rider like Chris and we talk quite a bit about how the unique setting in this country could be even more present in his future projects, a notion we've also covered with James before. We also spend some time on his preparation away from the bike and on injury prevention, crashing and his recent move to one of our favourite riding destinations before we wrap up the show with our close-out questions.

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We sat down with Robert Janssen to talk about the technology, design and ideas behind Vain Bicycles. By bonding 3D printed aluminium lugs with traditional steel tubes, Robert has created a sleek, modern-looking frame and we dive deep into the manufacturing process, how he is working with suppliers and how sustainability and transparency fit into all of it. However, what truly stood out to us is his how 3D printing enables a unique approach to frame sizing and we discuss the reasoning, testing and, of course, the challenges that go into offering 30 different geometry combinations. It was interesting to hear Robert's take on number of topics like bike geometry, mullet bikes, customisation and of course how the name Vain came about. As always, we wrap up the recording with our close-out questions.

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We sat down with Lucas Huppert to catch up ahead of Crankworx Rotorua, the final event of a busy season. We talk through highlights such as Flat Out Days, Night of the Jumps, Audi Nines, sponsor projects and, of course, the other Crankworx stops in Innsbruck and British Columbia. Naturally, not everything was great in 2021, so it was interesting to hear Lucas' perspective on mindset, risk and his takeaways for next season. Huppi was a few days out from completing his mandatory quarantine in New Zealand, so we talk a little bit about that and how he was filling his days in the hotel. To close out, we got some inputs and questions from the friends of the podcast ahead of the recording and of course we take the time to get to know "Shakhuppi", learn about hangovers, brigadeiros and what the deal with Brasil is. Finally, Huppi shares his best tips for back flips to help inspired riders of all ages.

Make sure you have a listen to our first episode with Lucas Huppert if you haven't had a chance so far. It's one of our most popular ones!

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We sat down with a Secret Trail Fairy to talk about her love for the sport, her passion and inspiration for building trails as well as the challenges and thoughts that go into her work that's hidden away in the forest. Of course, in contrast to former guests Greg Jolliffe or Dominik Bosshard, the Secret Trail Fairy operates in a grey area of the rules and that's why she chose to remain anonymous. This episode was inspired by a similar episode of the excellent Single Trails and Single Malt Podcast and the Secret Trail Fairy approached us to do something similar for Switzerland. Of course, we were happy to oblige and it was interesting to hear her perspective on sustainability, "trail parenting", the frustrations of working with local authorities, as well as some of the trails that get her excited despite her not being involved in the dig. We pick up on diversity in trail building, get an alternative view on recent official trail projects and learn how better coordination between trail users can help in avoiding conflicts out in the forest.

If you would like to get in touch with the Secret Trail Fairy, you can reach out to us via the contact form or shoot us a DM on Instagram. We'll make sure that she gets your message.

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We sat down with Anna Newkirk to catch-up at the end of an eventful 2021. After finishing school late in the spring, Anna completed a busy racing calendar and we cover some of the highs, lows and key takeaways of her first season as an almost full-time athlete. It was also interesting to hear her perspective on some of the peculiarities of the '21 season, such as the double header format in World Cup downhills as well as the Enduro World Series. We have received quite a few questions ahead of our sit-down through our socials and we sprinkled those into our conversation wherever they fit in. Of course, we did take the time to go through some of the more light-hearted inputs we received as well as the great story of the most recent addition to the Newkirk household, Anna's cat Mačka.

Have a listen to our first episode with Anna from earlier this year if you have missed it so far. It's a good one!

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We sat down to wrap up the first year of the Skids & Giggles Podcast and to talk through some of our favourite conversations and storylines of 2021. After 30 episodes, there is a lot to reflect on, from behind the scenes insights, chance encounters to personal impressions and key takeaways. We also take the time to go through some open listener questions on winter riding, e-bikes and touch on some of the other thought experiments from throughout the year. Also, under the moniker Stutz & Giggles, we have been raising funds all year and we also give a brief update on that before we wrap up the show. We wish all of our listeners and followers a happy holiday break and we'll be back for all the skids and many more giggles in 2022!

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We put together a bonus episode of all the 2021 answers to one of our signature closeout questions, asking our guests to imagine themselves as an imaginary bike magician extraordinaire, Harry or Harriette Skidini. By the stroke of their magic dropper post, they can make riding a bike more awesome for anyone and we ask our guest what they would do in that position. Enjoy!

We also put together a bonus episode describing in great detail what makes a great skid!

We put together a bonus episode of all the 2021 answers to one of our signature closeout questions, asking our guests to describe what makes a great skid! We cover it all, from feelings, visuals, technical details to sounds and a lot of "milk"! Enjoy!

We also put together a bonus episode about our bike magicians extraordinaire, Harry & Harriette Skidini!

We sat back down with James Drew to talk about the state of the bike industry as we enter 2022 and to catch-up on some of the themes and trends we discussed when we first sat down for Episode 1 almost exactly a year ago. Some of the challenges from last year, like delivery times or parts availability, have unfortunately not subsided and will most likely stay with us for another year. However, 2021 has also been an exciting year for some of the smaller and independent brands that James works with and most of them will look to carry that momentum into 2022. As always, it was interesting to get James' perspective on some of the current trends and developments in the industry. From direct to consumer brands, to sustainability and transparency, setting up your bike business for the future, sales models, to the fun of bikes once they become your job.

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We sat down with Darren Mace, host of the Trail Tracker mountain bike channel on Youtube. In his videos, Darren is exploring his favourite trails in Switzerland and elsewhere, but also reviews bikes and documents some of his pseudo-scientific experiments, much like a traditional mountain bike magazine. It was very interesting to hear Darren's take on his top destinations, both the ones closer to home and a bit further afield, sanctioned trails, his influences and on what makes great camera angles for mountain bike POV video. Also, Darren's perspective on creating content, engagement, taking your hobby "public" and giving back to the sport we love was something that resonated a lot with the both of us and we spent quite a bit of time on that. And for the first time in the season '22, we close out the episode with our close-out questions. Enjoy!

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We sat down with Abby Hogie to talk about her journey with bikes and the ups and downs of racing downhill world cups so far, about inspiration and women in the sport and about her pre-race play list and her stance on the controversial cats vs dogs issue. Together with Anna Newkirk, Abby forms the recently launched Beyond Racing team and we got to hear all about their plans on and off the track, their partners and how Eliot Jackson and the Grow Cycling Foundation helped in bringing their dream of a UCI MTB team alive. We are looking forward to following Abby and Anna in '22 and are equally stoked that we are able to help share their story!

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

We sat down with Nikolai Räber to talk about his work for Velafrica, micromobility and social entrepreneurship in Africa. As some of our regular listeners will know, we donated the 2021 proceeds of our Stutz & Giggles campaign to Velafrica and that's why we are also grateful to have had the opportunity to get Nikolai's perspective on the real difference the bicycle - and our contribution - can make in the world today. We cover a lot of ground in our conversation, from what the day to day of the charity looks like here in Switzerland, the work Velafrica does on the ground in Africa, Bikes Hubs, challenges, and, of course, their impact on the local economies, communities and opportunity sets for young adults. We really hope you enjoy this episode as much we did recording it! Just let us know in the comments or in a quick message what you thought.

Music credit: “B-Roll” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Pascal sat down with Baba and Rolli Anderegg to talk about fun mountain biking experiences that are not only about bigger, better, faster and further, but also about the community, inclusivity and the love for the sport. With the Grischa Trail Ride as well as the Kleinstes Bikefestival in Parpan amongst their events, Baba and Rolli have a great perspective and it was interesting to hear their side of the events we have enjoyed so much over the years. On top of that, through her Bike Boutique, Baba offers bespoke experiences right on her doorstep in the mountains around Lenzerheide and we got to hear quite a bit on her take on tailor-made mountain bike adventures for riders of all ages.

The original recording between the Andereggs and Pascal is in Swiss German, so we briefly recap what was discussed for our English-speaking listeners. If you want to skip straight to the Swiss German part, fast forward to about minute 17! Looking for other Swiss German episodes in a similar format? Have a listen to our conversations with Greg Kowner Part 1 and Part 2 as well the Gilgen about Pumptrack Muttenz.

We also briefly touch on a recent social ride with our former guest Darren Mace. As always, we had a great time catching up with guests and friends of the podcast. Make sure to have a listen to our chat with Darren as well!

We sat down with Domi Widmer to talk about his love for bikes and his riding career, pandas and, of course, his new business, Bam Bike. After coming up on the traditional path of cross country racing, Domi was an early member of the Biroma Team, one of the very few slopestyle teams with the specific goal of providing young talents a platform to develop. Domi maintains a diverse bike habit in combining dirt jumping, trail riding and looking after Bikepark Rüti with racing downhill and enduro in the Masters categories. Most recently, Domi started Bam Bike and we talk quite a bit about his mobile work shop, his plans and what he wants to achieve with his own business. Unfortunately, Domi also had to deal with his fair share of injuries throughout the years and he talks us through his mindset and approach that has brought him back to riding bikes again.

We touch on quite a few of our previous episodes in our chat with Domi, most importantly the ones with Dominik Bosshard, Chris “Flying Grizzly” Visscher and Lucas Huppert, but also our friends from the Swiss Enduro Series and you can find all of those episodes in our archives.

We sat down with Jo Dovat to talk about all things BMX, bringing more kids into the sport and, all things going well, all the way to the Olympics. Jo is the current Swiss national BMX coach looking after the youth categories, managing around 40 riders between the age of 10 all the way up to the junior ranks. Naturally, he has a great perspective on talent development, progression and how to keep BMX racing fun, despite all the hard training. Of course, since the inclusion of BMX in the Olympics, the sport as well as the athletes have found themselves on the "big stage" a lot more and it was interesting to hear Jo's take on the opportunities, challenges and the road ahead for the different disciplines. We wrap up the episode with Jo's own long history with bikes, his view on pump tracks and our infamous close-out questions.

We sat down with Dave Spielmann to talk #allaboutmtb. By all accounts, Dave was living the dream of a professional fun haver. Working as a mountain bike guide for over a decade, he spent his time touring some of the best riding spots with guests, media projects and press camps. If he wasn't riding, he was running a bike school and IMBA Switzerland, or providing expertise for industry bodies. However, like for many others, the Covid pandemic also brought to light some of the limitations of his business model and it all came to a head last year. Looking for a more balanced approach to his life, his own riding and his career, Dave has recently embarked on a new journey with Specialized and with the backing of the Big S, he is now directing his energy and passion for the sport towards furthering industry partnerships, events and infrastructure projects. We thank Dave for the open and honest conversation and look forward to finding out what he can achieve next!