The World's Best Bike Videos #64
Already excited about what we're going to see in the 2025 edition(s) of this newsletter!
Let’s Ride
I can’t believe this is the last newsletter of 2024! This year was a blur, and I know next year’s newsletters will be jammed with even more exciting videos, news and more. I can’t wait to see what videos 2025 has in store for us - thanks for riding with me this year!
The Firm
This is so rad. Aspirational, really. Imagine pulling your riding buddies together and making a video like this. What a cool memory for them all to look back at and rewatch for years to come. Everything about this is rad.
Deathgrip Challenge
Brendan Fairclough and friends did a “deathgrip challenge” where they removed their brakes and tried to see who could ride down a steep hill with enough control to smash the berm at the bottom. In a time when we’ve been so focused on racing and crazy slopestyle tricks, this is a breath of fresh air!
NRML Hits The Road
If you’ve got access to Instagram, you’ve likely seen plenty of hilarious and fun clips from NRML MTBer - but have you seen his longer YouTube videos? This one is worth a watch, he goes on a mission to give away some bikes and ends up uncovering some wild trails and an incredible riding community.
Have You Seen This?
Would you ride down this on a gravel bike? Or a mountain bike, for that matter?
Newsworthy
😳 Dylan Stark released a “best of 2024” edit, which includes a ton of footage from his X-Games Real MTB entry. Mental!
🎥 Brett Tippie and YT Industries put out a documentary called “Live Uncaged” that shares the history of the iconic rider.
🏔️ Hans Rey and Guido Tschugg did this epic ride through the mountains of Switzerland that seems like it would be a bucket list ride for anybody (myself included)!
🤯 Rob Warner met up with 11x World Champion Jack Carthy at the legendary Shipley Glen for a ride. If you’ve ever wanted to see what an eMTB can really do, Jack puts on a show! Rob has had a busy week with videos, he dropped “The Other Way Back” this week as well.
🏆 I have a feeling that domestic racing is going to get a big boost, now that the UCI is mixing up the rules and boosting entry fees. The NW Cup is always a solid race series, and they just released their schedule for 2025.
🔥 The US Pro Downhill Series just released their 2025 schedule, too!
👉 Christian Peper has launched Dialed Creator to help riders get a better understanding of social media and how they can build careers beyond racing. Excited for this!
I Can’t Stop Thinking About
🗓️ It’s only natural to end the year with a review of the past 365 days, and to look ahead at what you hope to accomplish in the coming year. I realized today when I was reading my friend Tom The Taxi Driver’s newsletter that maybe I could be evaluating my year in a more accurate way. He shared some prompts from Modern Wisdom that went like: “What do I think is productive that isn’t?” - as well as a template that you can use to fully review your year (link to that is here).
👉 This year was interesting to say the least. I quit my full-time job to focus on content exclusively. I launched the Second Nature podcast with my friend (and co-host) Dylan Bowman. I traveled across the country teaching my son to ride. And most importantly, I dedicated time to riding bikes without a camera, and did my best to be present with the people in my life that mean the most.
So what does that mean for next year? Hopefully more of the same - more teaching, more riding, a lot more traveling like this. If I’m honest with myself, I think I expected to be a little further along by this point. Next year, I will challenge myself to put even more focus toward my goals. Time to get serious. 🎯
The 30-Day Challenge
If you want to start off 2025 on the right foot, here’s a great way to kick off January. 30 days of skills and drills (all in one video, in order) that you can challenge yourself to complete. Most of the challenges are done on flat ground, so you don’t need to go to a trail every day to complete this (unless you want to). Have fun - and don’t forget - practice makes progress!
The Business Of Athlete Sponsorships
This week on our podcast, Second Nature, I compared notes with Patrick Lemieux from the perspective of athlete management and sponsorship. If you didn’t know, I was previously a Red Bull athlete manager and Pat now manages some of the best mountain bikers and triathletes in the world. This podcast is like being a fly on the wall as the two of us compare notes from our experience.
Thank You
Thank you for reading this newsletter - and for your support all year. It’s been fun to pull together my favorite videos every week, and I hope you’ve enjoyed them all! Excited to kick off another exciting year with you, starting every Monday with the videos in this newsletter - onwards and upwards!