Scotland
Adventure with Steve Peat, Danny MacAskill and Hans
Rey
May
2010
By Hans Rey
 Peaty
and I have been planning a trip to the Scottish
Isle of Skye for a long time, when things finally
started falling into place we invited YouTube sensation
Danny MacAskill to join us. In whirlwind fashion
the Scottish native has been living the dream of
every kid in the world, since his film clip debut
on the internet a little more than a year ago and
has become the most watched sports-clip on YouTube
of all time, with nearly 18 million viewers to date.
Traveling
and riding with the freshly crowned downhill World
Champion was not my first time and our team was
complete with photographer Andy McCandlish, cameramen
Rob Summers from Pro Active TV and Mark Huskisson
from Reset Films as well as our guide and local
tour operator Euan from H and I Adventures, www.mtbholidayscotland.com
 With
much luck I managed to land in Glasgow, ditching
the volcanic ash cloud that stopped air traffic
in many towns across Europe. Our crew and Danny
picked me up from the airport and off we drove into
the rolling countryside. First stop was the much
filmed and famous fairytale castle of Eilean Donan,
where we had a special permit for a trials session,
unfortunately my Trials bike was in Peaty’s
van, who’s arrival was delayed. I was a bit
limited but still had a chance to sample some first
impressions of Danny’s fantastic riding skills
and enthusiasm. Despite the bad weather forecast
we had sunny skies and enjoyed our ancient playground
almost until sunset, which is not until 10:30pm
this time of year.
Steve
arrived late that night and early in the morning
we all got ready to go across the bridge to the
Island of Skye to hit some stunning XC  trails,
unlike many places around the world, cyclists are
tolerated on all trails in Scotland. The scenery,
landscape and trails were phenomenal from the mountain
views to the ocean views, a perfect synergy of Highlands
and Islands. Each of us had brought several different
bikes for this trip, to be prepared for any style
of riding. I brought my GT Force Carbon All Mountain
bike, Ruckus 7 Freerider and my trials bike; Peaty
was Santa Cruz equipped and Danny rode besides his
Inspired bike some Orange rigs.
 The
Quiraing are massive, broken up craggy rock faces
that tower over the lush meadows, surrounded by
breathtaking views only accessible by an ancient
trail. We challenged each other to little trials
riding problems and it was good to see how much
fun everybody had, even though we were “just”
Cross Country riding.
 Next
stop, the Talisker whisky distillery, where we enjoyed
a private tour and sampling session - and learned
some whiskey etiquette and all about the unique
peaty flavor of this precious drink, some would
say that it is an acquired taste. The local pub
where we spent the night had over 300 different
whisky’s on offer, but we didn’t manage
to try them all, preserving our heads for the morning
I instead gave the guys a private screening of the
new Wheels 4 Life film which will be released in
June.
Danny had told us about one of his ancestors, the
Giant Angus MacAskill, who lived some 150 years
ago, and according to the Guinness Book of World
Records he was known as the largest true giant measuring
an impressive 7’9” or 2.36cm. Danny’s
parents run a tiny local museum and it was a pleasure
meeting them and listening to their stories about
Angus and Danny and the similarities in terms of
their success and fame. Overnight the notorious
Scottish clouds and rain arrived, which didn’t
hold us back from doing another, very wet and technical
XC ride through Glen Sligachan and along the shores
of a beautiful loch. The  weather
merely added to the dramatic mystical landscape,
creating an atmosphere not dissimilar to Lord of
the Rings. One of my favorite moments came, after
we all had been wondering why Peaty had brought
such a large backpack; and instead of the usual
contents one would pack during a long ride, he pulled
out a small coal grill, sausages, beers and some
firework rockets– we all had a good laugh
out of that. Typical Peaty, who needs a rain jacket
when you can have a beer instead? There are endless
trails and very few people using them, we didn’t
have to share the trails with any other riders all
week long, except with some sheep and shaggy Scottish
Highland cattle.
 Our
next destination was Torridon, the area north of
Skye, on the mainland in the Scottish Highlands,
we were staying at a very remote fishing cabin on
Loch Damh, a very peaceful and beautiful place,
that is, at least until we got there. We had a helicopter
chartered to take us to some isolated mountain ridges,
where we dropped in on our big bikes. It is always
something special to slice through the air in a
Heli, we all had big grins on our faces, we were
just like excited little Kids again. It was very
cool to have 3 generations of riders on this trip,
we all have a different forte but are all influenced
by each other and by  the
same common background of riding very technical
terrain. Many things have changed since I pioneered
the early freeriding days with my trials riding
exploits, not only the technology of the bikes but
the limits which are possible are at a level that
I could have not dreamt of 20 years ago. Boundaries
are constantly being pushed forward and that continues
to inspire us all. I’m thrilled, after all
these years, to still be a part of the mountain
biking movement and to see it and experience it
first hand with one of the fastest and one of the
most progressive riders ever. It was a delight to
follow Steve and Danny, even though, I sometimes
had to catch up and it was with cheer amazement
that I tried to comprehend some of Danny’s
lines and moves.
  A
gigantic bonfire at our hut, burned late into the
night, as the boys kept dragging wood out from the
hills; fireworks and other party supplies ended
up interrupting the silence of the night.
The last day provided us with some more downhill
trails, before we ended up in Aviemore a Scottish
mountain resort in the Cairngorms and the town where
Danny lived for a few years. At last I got to ride
my trials bike at Danny’s old stomping grounds.
Old School meets New School, and let me tell you
this is not the last we’ve heard of Danny,
he has many plans and goals that he wants to achieve
and he definitely has not reached his limits yet.
Even Peaty busted out some trials moves before we
raised a final glass of fine Scottish malt….
Here’s to the good life!
Hans Rey
Video - Hans Peaty MacAskill Highlands
All
photos copyright by Andy McCandlish, please contact
him for usage: andy@object4.com
|
Hans
is considered the world's leader in extreme mountain biking.
He is a former trials riding world champion, a showman, a stuntman
and an adventure mountain biker. He has traveled the world extensively;
riding his GT mountain bikes, over and through areas previously
considered unrideable. All the while, capturing the cultural,
scenic, and spiritual aspects of these exotic locations; and
always in search of something mystical or historical. 
