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 direction 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!
Cube Action Team’s Irish pinner Greg Callaghan is taking on this week’s Wise Words.
Multiple Irish Enduro Champ and three times an Enduro World Series winner, Greg Callaghan is at the sharp end of a growing crowd of flat out riders hailing from the Emerald Isle. Not only has Greg bagged two home EWS victories as well as a win in Madeira, he’s proved he has the speed and consistency to get himself on EWS series podiums as well.
Photos courtesy of Schwalbe Tyres.
How would your closest riding buddies describe you to someone who has never met you?
It would probably include mostly swear words, but with my mates they can be taken as a back handed compliment. Other than insults, it would probably include my love for riding in the muck or any sort of conditions that most people dislike, if there’s a stage in a race that everyone hates, I’ll probably love it.
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?
My One Up EDC tool, the team is sponsored by them now but I actually bought one last winter before that, I have all my tools and spares on my bike now so I can just dress myself and ride out the door, so handy. Especially for an disorganised fella like me. It’s pretty cool to see all the handy gadgets being made to make bike riding more convenient.
What unusual habits do you have as a bike rider?
Well, I have a wonky right eye, I pretty much can’t see out of it, so my field of vision is off centre of my body. Meaning I ride left foot forward but prefer to also turn left and usually ride a little off centre on the bike, so that my vision feels centred. It doesn’t cause many problems except my road bike tyres wear out on one side and I’m useless at table tennis because of it.
What piece of advice do you think every mountain bike rider should hear? And what piece should they ignore?
That coaching session is definitely worth the money and will make you a better bike rider, that €300 bike part that’s 20 grams lighter than your current one probably won’t make you a better bike rider. Just ride your bike, have fun and the rest will follow.
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?
That would have to be the first year of the Irish EWS. That was such an incredible day, to get my first EWS win in front of my home crowd is a feeling that will be hard to beat. I wouldn’t change much about that day, except if I was to do it all again I would try to really embrace the day for what it was.
I didn’t really realise at the time what was happening and how special a day it really was. I was so focused on getting the job done and not letting anything distract me that I never stopped to take it all in. Although, if I had I might not have won, so I probably shouldn’t change anything.
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?
The dreaded scroll! I’m a sucker for spending far too much time scrolling through Instagram or whatever other app has the best memes that day. There’s some good stuff on there, but I could definitely do better things with my time than watch videos of cats. Then again, cats are class.
How do you motivate yourself when you’re struggling or lacking inspiration?
I’d usually fire up the YouTube and either watch some old MX Nation episodes or some of the classic Sam Hill or Ratboy videos. I could watch those guys ride for hours, which actually creates another problem and doesn’t get me any closer to leaving the house to train. Again, too much internet for Greg.
What single and specific thing about riding bicycles do you gain the most happiness from?
That feeling when you know you hit a jump, corner, section of trail or a full stage as good as you possibly could have. There’s no better feeling than when everything just clicks and you feel like you’re on rails. Even thinking about it gets me stoked to ride. It’s a hard place to find but when you do, it’s euphoric.
What single thing would you like to erase from cycling history from the last year?
Jared Graves being diagnosed with a brain tumour. I think the whole MTB community felt that one. He seems to be doing well and the support he’s gotten has been great, but still, we’d rather have a healthy Jared.
What single thing would you like to make happen in the cycling world in the next year?
More people on bikes. Bikes are class and the more people that realise that, the better. The world would be a better place if everyone just did skids in the muck. Trump wouldn’t care about bombs and walls if he did more skids.
Who else should we ask these questions to?
Gary flippin’ Forrest and my cousin Killian.
