Wise Words is our new interview series talking to some of mountain biking’s most switched on people.
We’ll ask our short list of questions to a heap of influential, inspiring and outspoken people that we feel are driving the direct of mountain biking today. Some will make you think, some will make you laugh, some will be plain dumb, some will inspire you to better yourself and your riding. We hope!
This week’s Wise Words comes from the one and only Ric McLaughlin.
Ric McLaughlin is the man you will see chatting to the World’s best riders, usually when they’re wheezing air back into straining lungs at the finish arena of a World Cup downhill and cross country race, or at the Enduro World Series.
Ric started his biking career with MBUK before going freelance as a journo. It wasn’t long after that he was shoving microphones under the nose of the fastest guys and gals on the planet.
Photo by Bartek Wolinski.
How would your closest riding buddies describe you to someone who has never met you?
One of my best mates once described me as ‘an idiot hanging off a beard’, that’s probably pretty accurate.
What thing or things have you bought in the last year that had the biggest effect on your life as a mountain biker / cyclist / person that works in the bike industry?
Twenty niners. This probably acknowledges the fact that I’m a decade behind in terms of fashion… I spent my first full summer on one at the EWS productions last year and couldn’t believe how much more confidence it gave me. They’re not for everyone but I’d definitely recommend giving one a go, especially if, like me, you’re on the lanky side.
What unusual habits do you have as a bike rider?
In terms of bike stuff, helmet on before you get out of the van or something bone-chillingly awful will happen.
Off the bike, you can’t pass me a knife. I won’t have it. Set it down. My mum’s to blame for this, I think it’s possibly a County Tyrone thing.
Photo by Duncan Philpott, courtesy of Enduro World Series.
What piece of advice do you think every mountain bike rider should hear? And what piece should they ignore
Look as far ahead as possible, all of the time. I find it hard to do but you definitely hit less trees.
Ignore the ‘the bike industry is a big conspiracy’ stuff. It’s not, it’s full of good people who ride, that puts it ahead of most industries in terms of positive intentions straight away. It needs to sell stuff to survive (it is an industry after all), but there’s no-one demanding that you buy in to it.
If you could go back and re-ride one day from your life so far, where/what/when/who would it be? Would you change anything?
Rob Weaver and I shot a load of bike test images together over a couple of nights in Bootleg Canyon outside Las Vegas, years ago. We started at 4am every day to get the sunrise shots and wouldn’t finish until sunset. Weavs is one of the fastest guys you’ll meet and we’d end up rallying back through the desert to our motel in the dark.
The motel was attached to a gas station so we’d always end up just sitting in filthy riding kit having a beer on the kerb outside. One night, we had to take off though as there was a tarantula just sat on a rock beside us.
I think I’ve come on a lot as a rider since so I’d go back and do that one again, but maybe on a 29er. And without the tarantula.
What have you wasted the most time on in your life as a rider or bike industry career that you wished you’d given up years ago?
Wheelies. I can’t do them properly. When I first got into riding as a kid I was stood outside our house with my Mongoose Motivator and a lad from the village wheelied up the street, hands off, eating a bag of crisps. I think somewhere in my subconscious something died that day. In my mind he’s still going to this day; wheel up, wrist deep in a bag of prawn cocktail…
Photo by Duncan Philpott, courtesy of Enduro World Series.
How do you motivate yourself when you’re struggling or lacking inspiration?
I ride my road bike. I’m still baffled by the stigma so many mountain bikers have about road cycling. It’s so similar yet totally different. Disc brakes and thru-axles have made them so much more fun too. Cars as well. I waste a lot of time on car websites. And on Spotify.
What single and specific thing about riding bicycles do you gain the most happiness from?
Progress. I’m by no means an amazing rider but I love the feeling of even getting a certain corner or section that little bit better. It’s what keeps me coming back to it, I think. I love how many genuinely good people there are involved with mountain biking too.
Photo by Duncan Philpott, courtesy of Enduro World Series.
What single thing would you like to erase from cycling history from the last year?
Greg Minnaar’s puncture/wheel shattering at Val di Sole. His run in quali (on the rebuilt bike) was the stuff of legend, even by his illustrious standards. It’d have been great to see it come down to a straight fight between him and Gwin for the title. Gwin’s winning run was colossal though.
Vlogging, or at least bad vlogging, needs to be moved on from too. I think it’s similar to most media in that to a lot of people it looks so simple but to communicate a message effectively is a skilled thing. The fact that a lot of vlogs don’t even have a message to begin with just exacerbates this further.
A lot of them start with “HEY GUYS…” too. You’ve lost me, right there. I have seen good ones, you can tell when time and effort has actually been put in, but it’s a definite case of quantity over quality. There’s so much more information around these days, I think individuals need to take more time to consider the journalistic standards behind what it is that they’re actually consuming and allowing to influence them.
What single thing would you like to make happen in the cycling world in the next year?
It’s a tough one to explain but I think the ‘lifestyle’ athletes that are emerging on social media need to rethink what they’re doing. The best thing about mountain biking is that it’s small but everyone who’s involved gets it and is so into it.
Relieving brands (who should know better) of marketing budget to fund nonsense when there are young, ridiculously talented riders crying out for help just seems like a waste of everyone’s time.
You see it a lot in other action sports and it’s disappointing that it’s now in ours. To keep this sport as great as it is, we all need to put in, not just take away.
Who else should we ask these questions to?
Chris Ball, Bartek Wolinski, Andy McKenna or Rob Weaver. Men of calibre, all.
