Wise Words is our 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!
Wise Words this week comes to you from none other than Emily Greaves.
A former Captain in the Royal Engineers, Emily Greaves has now turned her considerable energies to being guide and coach at Comrie Croft with her new venture, Comrie Croft Journeys allowing riders to arrive at the Croft with the clothes on their back, and head into Highland Perthshire for a bike packing adventure. Any meeting with Emily comes with a tidal wave of positivity that you will found yourself being happily swept away by.
How would your closest riding buddies describe you to someone who has never met you?
I asked them and got these replies, made me blush…
Leader, organiser, indefatigable.
Wants you to give it your all but willing to support 110%.
PURE – Passionate, Unstoppable, Resilient, Energetic.
Kind, knowledgeable & courageous. A force of nature.
Feeder. She’s a goddamn feeder. And she has huge shoulders. Like, mahoosive.
Dynamic, inspiring, inclusive.
A true team player and a ‘What You See Is What You Get’ character to the core.
‘Bear Greaves’ (Grylls)
Emily Greaves, stern, but fair.
Always up for it. An instigator of adventure.
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?
Bamboo boxers and a Specialized saddle so I can ride without padded shorts. Game changer.
A Merida ninety-six came into my possession in August last year. The right bike for me to attempt the HT550 on, I am in the mass start in less than two weeks, I am terrified and excited in equal measure. I do have to be more precise when riding and can’t just hammer down everything but it is one capable machine. It is the only bike I have ridden all year, it has taken me up & down mountains, on the off-piste local gnar and everything else in between and handled it all nae bother, I flippin’ love riding it.
What unusual habits do you have as a bike rider?
I literally carry everything with me for every eventuality. ‘Be prepared.’ It’s a curse, and cause for lots of piss take from my family.
What piece of advice do you think every mountain bike rider should hear? And what piece should they ignore?
Should hear. My friend Tom said to me once ‘always take the high line’. It’s true, his words are always in my head when riding a new trail.
I would also add, the bike you own is the best bike for you.
Should ignore. Trying to look the part and your bike looking the part. Yeah if that’s what floats your boat then fair enough but be yourself, ride the way you want to, how you want to, do it for you no one else.
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?
This is really hard.
I would love to watch myself learning to ride a bike. I didn’t learn aged 2 or 3 like my kids, who were on a balance bike as soon as they fit one and on a pedal bike by 4. I think I was about 7. My mum said that I took my first bike, went into the garden and stayed there for hours until I had learnt how to ride. Those who know me would not be at all surprised by this.
If I could be cheeky and choose one other ride it would be July 2019. We rode home as a family, off-road from Inverness to Comrie. I wrote this at the time, it sums it up perfectly:
“We’re home. That was epic. Jas & Harris on their 10 & 8 yr old legs, have cycled 260km with 4000m of ascent, off-road, over 5 days, from Inverness to Comrie.”
We’ve laughed, sung, chatted, cried and bickered as we pedalled along. Mostly we’ve been really happy but there have been a couple of low points – bog doom, crashes & torrential rain. The kids have eaten way more sweets than is ever allowed. But we’ve made it and we are all still friends😉
We learnt that UV putty is unnecessary extra weight, especially when not played with, maybe we should recce parts of the route before we take our kids along it, red wine comes in handy ‘one glass’ cartons Tunnocks caramel wafers are the business when the kids need a morale boost, Loch Ossian is still bloody cold for swimming in July, Scotland is bloody beautiful, but we knew that already and that whatever Jasmine learns how to do, she’ll always prefer to do it slowly. A top faffer. I would not change a single thing.
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?
Doom scrolling social media.
How do you motivate yourself when you’re struggling or lacking inspiration?
I am generally highly motivated and always want to ride. Those times when I struggle I just message a friend and make a plan. I hate letting folk down, so having to meet someone will always get me out.
What single and specific thing about riding bicycles do you gain the most happiness from?
Sharing the ‘stoke’ with other riders, whether they are friends or riders I am guiding or coaching. It is without doubt the reason I ride. I love the community. That shared buzz you all get, either after an amazing bit of single track, an uphill struggle, the end of a massive day, anything, I just love it when you are all whooping along together.
What single thing would you like to erase from cycling history from the last year?
All the small independent bike shops that have not made it through the industry crash. I wish we could bring them back.
And ticks, clearly they have been around a long time but if we could erase ticks I would be very happy.
What single thing would you like to make happen in the cycling world in the next year?
Equality.
Who else should we ask these questions to?
Tom Simpson, head mechanic at Deviate and singlespeed winner at Strathpuffer 2023. Colin McPhail, founder of Comrie Croft Bikes, lover of rainbow coloured bikes and Operations Manager at Deviate Cycles.
