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!
Vero Sandler is handling this week’s Wise Words.
There certainly aren’t many riders quite as rad as Veronique Sandler. A former Wideopenmag alumni and World Cup top 10 pinner, Vero has graduated to ride for Marin Bikes and spends her time sending and slapping every booter or turn in front of her.
Photo by Roo Fowler.
How would your closest riding buddies describe you to someone who has never met you?
You’d have to ask them!
Editor’s note: Vero is chilled and rad. End of.
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?
I bought an unreal portable speaker a little while back which we have been taking out to the trails and jamming to whilst riding… no one is ever not stoked when the tunes are blasting.
What unusual habits do you have as a bike rider?
I like to do my shoes up way too tight and then usually end up loosening them off about 5 minutes into riding as my feet start to hurt… as a result of this my laces/Velcro straps don’t last very long. It’s pointless but I never learn.
Photo by Dvir Lahar.
What piece of advice do you think every mountain bike rider should hear? And what piece should they ignore?
Session things. Don’t just ride a full trail over and over… pick little bits of it that you enjoy or want to improve on and ride them repetitively… I promise your skills will shoot through the roof.
Ignore: Don’t get caught up in the industry hype of super light components or frames etc… that shit might make a difference if you’re going for gold at World Champs, but if you’re just riding for fun don’t stress about your mate with the carbon set up… it wont guarantee more good times.
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?
There are so many I would go back and re-ride just because of how much fun they were…
I’d probably go back to this summer in Livigno and re-ride one of those days.. I wouldn’t change anything but I’d love to go back there and shred… everything about that place is my favourite.
Huge mountains, amazing views, the trails are sick and the jumps are big. Also it’s tax free so shopping is not bad either.
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?
I know this sounds mad, but… racing.
I wish I stopped putting everything into racing a few years earlier and started riding for fun and learning new skills instead of stressing about going faster and results whenever I rode.
I am, however, so stoked that I made the switch when I did, and got the best support in making the transition from you awesome people at Wideopenmag.
Photo by Roo Fowler.
How do you motivate yourself when you’re struggling or lacking inspiration?
Hmm… I’m not really one to lack inspiration often, but every now and then when I’m stuck for ideas I’ll watch a bunch of rad riding videos I’ve saved on my laptop over the last couple of years.
This always helps to get the stoke and creativity levels back up, so big up to all the people out there making sick videos who inspire me!
What single and specific thing about riding bicycles do you gain the most happiness from?
Riding with a group of good mates who hype each other up and are genuinely stoked to watch each other progress and achieve new things. It doesn’t matter where, when or what the weather, you can’t beat that feeling!
What single thing would you like to erase from cycling history from the last year?
People/riders in the industry who use Instagram and other platforms in a shit way, e.g, buying followers/likes/views in order to get hooked up by companies. I see it all the time. It’s not fair on the people who put genuine work in to improve their riding and platforms.
Like it or not, media is becoming such a massive part of our sport, and people using it to their advantage like this are taking away from people who really go out there and put in work. Shady business.
What single thing would you like to make happen in the cycling world in the next year?
I have a few exciting projects in the pipeline for next year, but mainly I’d like to keep on doing what I’m doing now at a higher level. I absolutely love the feeling of progression so improving on my own skills and tricks would be sick. Hopefully I inspire some people along the way and get them stoked on riding too.
Who else should we ask these questions to?
Meg James… kills it at every cycling/MTB discipline, conquered a savage injury last year and has a bad ass attitude towards riding and life.
