After a little break since recording back to back episodes with Jo Dovat (https://skidsandgiggles.com/podcast/ep38-jo-dovat-bmx-youth-development-olympics/) and Dave Spielmann (https://skidsandgiggles.com/podcast/ep39-dave-spielmann-ups-downs-allaboutmtb/) , we reconnect to talk about Pascal’s current fundraiser, A Bike for Ukraine (https://skidsandgiggles.com/ukraine/) , the idea behind the raffle (https://skidsandgiggles.com/product/ukraine-relief-bike/) , a few more details about the bike (https://biketheworld.ch/produkt/pyga-slakline-frame/) and, of course, how you can get involved (https://skidsandgiggles.com/product/ukraine-relief-bike/) (raffle closes 23 June 22). We close out the show with a recap of the main reason for the break, Trans Madeira (http://trans-madeira.com) . We touch on Bryson’s first trip to Finale Ligure (https://www.backcountryfinale.com) during our mini-camp ahead of the race, some of the ins and outs of multi-day enduro adventures and of course how it all went. Unfortunately, Pascal’s time on the little mountain biking paradise in the middle of the Atlantic didn’t end too well for the second time in a row, but you will have to listen to the episode to find out what happened! PS. He’s probably going to be fine.
Welcome back to another episode of the skits and Giggles podcast I am Pascal and I’m joined by my co Bryson how’s it going buddy that’s right skigger they couldn’t stop us we’re back I’m good Pascal how about you yeah not bad well it’s obviously been a while since uh we
Recorded so I think the first thing we want to say is um thank you very much for all the kind messages comments um that we got after the last episode with Dave Spielman um I think we also speak in the name of Dave and we say a really
Big thank you we were really really floored by the response and and the feedback that we got on this one if you haven’t heard it so far then you can find it in our archives it’s episode 39 Bryson what did uh did you get any any
Feedback on that or did you had any comments you know when we sat down with Dave I really wanted to just um get to know him because of all the things I heard him involved with but it turns out we Dove a little bit deeper and uh
Really touched me and I was thinking you know what this is going to touch so many people and uh there you go it did it uh it was a big success and this is like this is the kind of thing that I was driving for right from the very
Beginning I mean I didn’t know how to use the tools that we had to create that kind of content but it was rewarding so onward and upwards awesome well as you said it’s been a while and uh we actually haven’t actually talked to each other in a while so what have you been
Up to buddy yeah uh well since I last saw you I got a little bit sick um been on the road to recovery then I got a little bit sicker and then yeah I’m doing better my voice is a little rough right now as maybe you can feel through
M through the headphones um but yeah it kind of I’ve been off the bike of course because I’m trying to recover I’m trying to just take easy been doing like small small bike rides just like to town and you know but nothing like athl no athletic Endeavors um but it’s also I
Kind of feel like a bit of an aot like yeah do I do I want to continue biking is it like a sport for me I don’t know you know you kind of had all these depressing thoughts about not being a cyclist anymore like not enjoying
Cycling and if I want to continue and it kind of sucks oh that’s terrible that must be like a finale depression you know what probably I don’t think you can get any better than that and you know we’re going to dive into that a little
Bit uh a little bit later but you know when I I start when I started biking I got the bug real hard and I was like shop rat I was like always scanning websites checking out new models always waiting for like the Euro bike pictures
And all that stuff and then um a few years later I I basically just like stop riding you know it coincided with a really heavy School workload and you know doing that sort of thing so you know it’s understandable but I pretty much like stopped and then when I got a
Job I also didn’t continue but um a few years later I picked it up again and I went back at it real hard I was like found my new passion new fire for it not just for the riding but for the community actually that was one of the
Big things that brought me back probably the thing that brought me back was just like super cool Community I found uh with nor ride in North Vancouver um and yeah it just kind of continued on when I when I left and when I came to Switzerland it was it was the thing it’s
Like that’s what kept me going was like meeting cool people shreding seeing new things like all this new experience um and so I had I had like a like a Hiatus there and it was let’s say the Dark Age right so I hope I’m not falling back into one of these dark ages
And I think yeah maybe with your help and the help of some listeners you know it’s not going to be that way but um certain that that thought had crossed my mind yeah oh that’s a bmer well I hope we uh we can get you out of this rut
Today and hopefully over the next couple of weeks um there’s a couple of things you want to talk about um today we obviously we’ve been writing I’ve been away um there’s another thing that I want to talk about um today um if you follow us on our socials you might have
Seen that um I have launched a fundraiser in support of uh the Ukraine relief Foundation uh run by my employer UBS and uh I’m actually raffling off one of my bikes so what that means is you can you can buy tickets and with each
Ticket you get a chance to to win a bike and of course if you buy more tickets you have um a bigger chance to win my bike and the goal is to raise as much money as possible um through the sale of tickets um to Able be able to donate to
The Ukraine Relief Fund and uh yeah so far I’m you know very impressed with with how it’s going um today so that’s uh the 9th of June um there’s about 500 tickets sold um the by the time this will be up on the pipes in the internets
Um there will be a bit over a week left so if you’re interested to support this uh um initiative then you know just head on over to our website and find the link Ukraine and there you can find all the details how everything works and
Uh you know how you can buy the tickets well Pascal I want to ask um just on a serious note I mean it’s a crisis um and I know you were quite affected but maybe uh if you don’t mind being a little bit more personal what were the real uh
Factors that U LED you to uh creating this charity or this this fundraiser effort well through my work I um have been involved relatively firsthand just with the financial implications of this crisis um but through the work I also follow the news flow and um you know TV
Pictures and newspaper pictures and all of that sort of stuff pretty closely and I think the the one thing that has always um weighed heavily on me is kind of seeing you know all the families that being ripped out of their normal life and children that are being um you know
Torn from their families and um just as a you know father mouth to myself I see myself um I look at our situation we’re both beginning of our 40s we have a career um jobs we have kids there in school leading a PR pretty normal life
Uh in the grand scheme of things and from one day to the next you can be uh torn out of this situation just because of this conflict or any other Conflict for that matter but in this particular case obviously because of an aggressive um opponent and uh you know wherever you
Stand in this conflict um I think you can feel for the families you can feel for the children and that’s why uh I wanted to do something um with what I can and I always like when when I do something when I’ve I’ve done five years
Ago I’ve done a fundraiser for um well Africa which is obviously a slightly different context it was also in relation to a bike race um at the time and this time I wanted to do also something with the bike and then obviously um my participation in trans
Mad was coming up and um then I thought what can I do in the context of that and then I thought why don’t I just raffle off um my race bike and um the raffle idea I stole that blatantly from Paul Aston who’s uh funding his whole in independent review business with raffle
Sales but uh it’s obviously very uh neat way to enable a lot of people to be able to fund a project um you know you can get involved from as little as five Franks in my case um which means that you know I find 2,000 people that buy a ticket
For five Franks then I get together 10,000 Franks that I can donate and um also my employer has committed to double whatever I donate so if I for every Frank I donate my employ will donate another Frank which I think is is uh uh and also another attractive uh feature
Of of of my initiative um but yeah so that that is uh the reasoning uh behind it and uh I hope uh I hope uh that uh those those funds can go to to the calls that I intend to so right now this Ukraine Relief Fund is specifically
Working um with children programs so looking after their schooling when they’ve been taken away from home um working with orphanage uh institutions on the ground uh working with Medical Aid uh institutions on the ground and um the main benefit of working with uh let’s say an established Foundation um
Like the one from EBS is of course that they do their due diligence in terms of what is the work that these organizations are doing how much of the money is actually being used and you can have trust that um the money that you donate is actually doing what you want
To do with it with it I commend you on your effort big Kudos and I’m very proud to be able to share a platform uh that being skids and Giggles to allow you to um to create these efforts so on a lighter note actually maybe just a brief summary what
Is the what is the rough spec of your bike and like uh frame size and these things just to catch the attention of someone who might be interested well it’s obviously a very if you’re a lucky a lucky punter you know you can obviously for five Franks you can get
Yourself um a pretty decent bike um pretty quickly which obviously in the current market is uh bit of a challenge um so without diving into uh too many details so it’s a size large frame um it is a piga slack line which is an Enduro category frame I guess it’s what you
Call it these days so it’s um designed for 160 millim of travel on the rear wheel and 170 mm of travel on the front wheel it is speced with a fox 38 Factory uh Fork it comes with industry n Wheels it’s got a more or less full Shimano XT
Drivetrain and four piston brakes it’s got an oain device it’s got pretty bougie Ingrid crank sets on it right now so so yeah and uh you know our friends from bike the world so James Drew he’s um he’s thrown in a couple of things fresh decals because he’s always complaining
About my my ratty decals on the bike um Greg from Boma bikes he’s uh he’s agreed to to help out with a couple of things Le at the very least with a with a pro level service so the bike is in tiptop shape whenever um the person
Takes ownership of the bike but I guess one important thing to clarify is of course you know just because you’re not interested in not interested in the bike doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get involved with the the ticket sales I mean there’s obviously a number of things that uh we
Can do with the bike uh if someone wins the bike that it’s too big for he’s not actually interested in the bike or it would be much too uh much too expensive um to ship it wherever that person is because right now it’s about half the tickets have been sold in Switzerland
And the other half has been um sold as well um so yeah but I’ve I’ve committed to to ship the bike wherever the the winner sits um I’ve committed to to uh deliver it in tiptop shape and not just a a trash piece of of bik shop debris and uh yeah it
Obviously has a couple couple of very very good years ahead of itself that’s for sure yeah it things it sounds like a really wellth thought out spec yeah I mean I’ve been I’ve been riding and racing it for for for Many Many Adventures and races
Um over the last uh two and a half years so it’s uh it’s still in very good shape and uh and yeah I hope uh I hope it’s an attractive and attractive proposition for someone that wants to buy the tickets because of the bike instead of instead of the calls and I can
Definitely speak from its performance uh especially from our our latest Endeavors uh Pascal and I found ourselves in Finale um just a few weeks ago uh my first time of course Pascal’s been there on numerous occasions one of which uh actually he raced and uh he got to show me a little
Bit classic Trails fantastic unbelievable um but we did little back country as well and this really blew my mind what was your impressions of that um riding a bit of Back Country yeah for me the back country is where it’s at I mean uh I’ve done some back country
Riding also in other territories and it’s also the same feeling you’re out there um I mean you’re not completely alone but you’re you’re not you know butt up against an next guy you’re not uh lined up uh waiting for the trail to clear up um you’re riding on trails that are
Either lesser known or just lesser ridden just because of their maybe their remote location or nature and uh therefore the trails are yeah sometimes in a in a condition that you’re know not not used to finding in in places that are so close to to to cities or to known locations let’s say
In comparison to the classic Trails of finale you know we are finding soft soil in the back country we are finding a lot of green uh green uh Green Green Woods Green Pastures um and this is this is my more my type of writing I’m I’m I’m more of a
Of a of a soft soil uh Rider I know you know I wouldn’t I wouldn’t say like it’s a comparison between like a one of these people who only rides when it’s sunny and not when it’s raining it’s more of just like I just kind of prefer the the traction feel or
The hookup or like even kind of where it where it slides it’s it’s it’s just different um maybe I don’t know maybe my hands get too tired on the classic Trails maybe that’s it it’s a little more could be or maybe you just maybe you just forgot to change your tires
Again could be the Shorties yeah could be but yeah no it was a great it was a great day um shout out to the guy Dennis and his Land Cruiser um it was a really cool day and uh and yeah I think there
Was in the end there was a bit of a we had a bit of a hissy fit moment um to when we rode back to the hotel what happened Bryson I can’t remember actually I was pretty spent maybe you have a better recollection we had uh so
We were riding back at the end of the day it was about 6 o’ big day of riding and then big day coming back coming back to the hotel and uh you know at some stage Bryon mentioned us like yeah I need I need some food right now
Otherwise I’m I’m just going to bed and okay it’s probably not the smartest idea if you want to ride tomorrow I like I don’t care I want to go to bed now was like well at six o’clock restaurants are all closed and anyway so after 10 minutes of back and forth I could
Convince him that maybe you know just go for a shower and by the time we had our shower done then it was time to go have dinner and then we could go to have have some dinner and in the end the disaster could be Ed and we got to ride another
Day thank you Pascal also want to shout out we saw Chris flying Grizzly viser that was fun to run into him that was quite a coincidence actually yeah exactly you go you go to you go to finale you don’t expect to see anyone because you told haven’t told anyone or
Haven’t made any plans to see anyone first thing you do you go for lunch and then who you run into couple of your friends oh yeah but it’s always nice to see them and it’s always a good time even if it was only a short ride and uh but yeah shout out to
That brings us to our last topic of the night Pascal we haven’t talked in a while because you’ve been away I’ve been away indeed yeah and as you alluded to earlier uh with the uh the bike raffle you were on a a secluded Island maybe a Jurassic Island yes I was
Indeed I was uh in madira um so two years after I gave myself a 40th birthday present of trans madira which is a 5day Enduro stage race uh on this little mountain bike Paradise in the middle of the ocean um it finally worked out so that the the calendar the calendar was clear
Enough and I had enough holiday this year to to actually make it work without impacting the family calendar too much so yeah I you know booked myself some tickets to fly over and uh join a couple of days on the island so you are so you took your you took your piga
Masterpiece and you participated in a 5-day stage racing event similar to BC bike race basically but uro style correct yeah um now you’re over 40 so you’re in the Masters category that is correct and you know from my opinion I mean from the way I’ve seen you ride and
Like seeing previous results and and just understanding how affluent you are with racing you know I would have figured you’re at the pointy end but uh after after a few days I checked the standings and actually didn’t see your name and I was a little bit surprised or confused
Actually um but before we get to that actually maybe what are some of the cool cool things you discovered because you’ve been to Mad before I’ve been to Mad before did ews um was it 100 or ews the 100 yeah yes and that was my first my first ever ews
Participation at the time and so yeah you know I mean you’ve you’ve gained a little bit of knowledge and experience since you’ve since you’ve been since since your first time um you kind of had an idea what to expect having done stage racing before and so what’s what’s kind
Of like the uh the first let’s say one day one and two what were the highlights um I mean what what you have to know um about madira is that they Pride themselves that they have usually Four Seasons in a day so what that means it’s
Uh you know beautiful blue sky and sunny nice and warm down on the beach you have like gale force winds in the west you have rain at the very top you have fog you have you know pretty much every every shade of the weather in one day um
At some stage on the on the island so actually I um I traveled to madira a little bit early so the race was starting on uh checkin and shake down was on Monday I arrived on Saturday late you know collected all my stuff uh put together my bike um went to the
Accommodation and then Sunday I went uh just for a day of shuttling a little bit of Recon um with Freer ride madira they they were actually doing uh still shuttle tours and I wrote some spots that I’ve haven’t seen before in the west actually pretty pretty nice um and
Then Monday was the first day so there was registration so you get your your race kits or like you know uh number plates timing chips swag bag you do your registration like all your medical stuff and uh and in the afternoon there was a group ride organized um so for everyone
So they they put out a route from the very top of the island so you start at around what is it 1500 meters and then they put together a route um where you would sample a little bit of all the different terrain that uh the island has to offer on this side so
That was still in the east of the island and uh yeah it was actually very nice right it was a um for that it was mostly downhill it was actually still quite right so it was like two and a half hours and uh yeah couple of couple
Cool trails and uh um yeah fog and gale force wind uh at the top turned into um drizzly rain into full-on Rain by you know an hour in and then in the end it was uh it was nice and sunny and you would drink a beer at the end at the
Beach beach in Miko so that was very nice and then uh the ray started uh on Tuesday and it started with a bang uh of a day so it was uh all told I think uh seven hours in the saddle uh seven stages um sometimes pretty long pretty long
Transfers but um again a selection of the weather so in the morning it was super cold like only like five six degrees at top windy rain fog the whole deal the the the wind on the first stage was so strong that um in in one section
It as I was riding on the right hand side of the trail and it would blow me over to uh into the next rout on the trail and then all the way into the bushes um you know and then with with the bike I’m like
Aund 110 kilo unit all Ked up so so you can imagine what kind of what kind of force that wind had and also you know just forget about jumping there was a big tabletop jump on it and there was Marshalls there and just waving everyone down please don’t jump you’re gonna get
Blown off the table and and stuff like that so that was uh that was quite something but um but yeah and then the rest of the stages um really some of the highlights of madira I mean I I knew some of the trails on day one from the ews 3 years ago
Um so hole in one for example uh which was the queen stage I believe three years ago it’s a pretty long stage but eight8 nine minutes um that was um was in the race from from the top um and then another Trail was also from from
The race so it was a very good uh very good um collection of trails and also how they did the format this year um I guess they changed it a little bit over the years it’s the sixth edition of the race um so you would have one big
Shuttle uplift in the morning and then you would ride you know four or five stages you would have a lunch feed station ride another stage or go directly to the the shuttle have another um shuttle uplift uh for the rest of the afternoon and then do the the the rest
Of the stages and then that brings you all the way back to the finish and uh so yeah and the first day that was kind of day and everyone kind of underestimated a little bit the um you know the time it would take for the first four stages and then what kind of
Was a bit of a an interesting feature was that the the feed station was at the top of a climb and uh by the end uh people were uh were getting quite quite hangry so by the time they actually arrived at the feed station the um people were just like wolfing down
Food just grabbing everything from the buet and then uh getting ready for the next uh next couple stages again all in all a very cool very cool day it was a big day um filthy filthy steep climb towards the last stage uh last stage um was also the stage where I crashed out
Of the race in 2019 I said hello to the rock that actually at the time pierced my uh pierced my knee pads and destroyed my kneecap I got got through it without problems this time so that was good Redemption Redemption achieved and yeah so that was a really really cool day um
I had the benefit of staying in the Airbnb in uh in mashiko for the first couple of days because uh uh the other feature of the race is that you stay in tents and then that you travel basically with your tent and the first couple of
Days I just stayed in the Airbnb which is nice because the first night it was raining and windy and and everyone was complaining about not being able to sleep and I showed up in the morning like you know very very relaxed and have a good night’s sleep so that was uh that
Was all good so it sounds like um when you enter these kinds of things you’re like uh shoulder-to-shoulder or or I guess tip to tail with uh with other Racers and they’re all you know everyone’s going relatively same speed I guess you know by the end of the day you kind of like
Sorted yourselves out did you have kind of a good crew around you helping push and uh you know keeping the Stoke real and everything yeah I mean that’s that’s obviously one of the the challenging bits with with Enduro but uh my experience after like maybe two two or
Three stages uh they kind of the pace between the different Riders starts settling down and then then you you know you kind of ride with people that are more or less the same speed so there’s not no issues with passing and and uh you know getting in
Each other’s way and then you have a good time on the you have a good time on the on the the liaison stages um so yeah so I mean they what what they did at trans madira they started in reverse order so the first day you started uh
The highest start number which was the M40 category so the dad BS including myself started at the uh started first and then then women then men 30 then open and uh yeah and then that was it so the fastest fastest guy at fastest guys in the
End so so that basically what they try to do is to to minimize the spread between between the Riders because the problem is if you let the fast guys start first then the spread between the the fastest and the slowest is is massive at the end of the day and that
Means in terms of logistics keeping the stages open having the timing people there Etc uh that means a huge spread whereas if you go the other way around then naturally almost um the pack of Rise of erasers gets much closer together okay so the the second day then
The so the first day they did it in reverse order of the the number plates and the categories and then the second day they did it in the reverse order of uh of the of the ranking of the overall ranking I see so day two was in a
Different zone or did you move across the island what happened there uh yes this a different zone so um first um so that’s the feature of the race right is that you kind of um you explore all the corners of the island um so the first
Two days um first day so first two days are in the East the first day is around mashiko the second day is around funall um and uh yeah so different drop off zones in the morning again uh second day started in the morning wet cold windy the whole the
Whole deal even a lot more a lot more rain overnight than than the day before so that was a was quite something um I was really happy I brought like my full full rain coat and not just like a little windbreaker like a lot of other people um because you’re just like wet
To the bone from from from the from the start in the morning and that’s just a long day um yeah I mean second day I got to start start a race towards the end of the group rather than at the beginning so I was um I think after the first day I was
Like an e uh in man 40 so not not not at the the fastest I mean there’s Leo Leo Konan who’s the the serial winner of trans madira uh in in the 40s category at least um if not also I think in the in the open category at some stage um I
Mean he was he was quite Out Of Reach I think after the first day he was already three minutes ahead of the second place in M40 um but then the rest was pretty pretty close together um the yeah I mean second day also really cool tracks very different from the the first
Day um where the first day was a lot more um morning was more like open wide open Forest like there was this uh uh natural park at the top so it’s very wide open kind of terrain into the forest more like um more like it’s around here to Sandy towards uh the
Beach to very Rocky on the other side of the hill so I mean it’s very diverse in a day and then you go to the next day and it’s completely different all together um it was a lot more wet um on the second day also a couple stages that are new
Um and then I guess one of the top three trails that I rode in the last well 42 years um was the stage down to Porto the Cruz um I think it was stage four stage five on the day really really cool um very long so it was like
A 10 11 12 minute stage beautiful views if you took the time to to have a look um very Rocky at the top into like the eucalyptus trees banana plantations and then almost all the way down to the beach it was a really cool Trail and uh
That also lunch lunch spot right at the beach always nice and then shuttle back up to the top and uh again in the fog in the rain uh but then uh the next stage I had um bit of a freak accident um that that I um something that has never happened
To me is a first for myself as well I uh dislocated my shoulder in the middle of a stage uh just a freak constellation of um front wheel slipping and tucking a little bit me holding against it pushing into the compression and then my shoulder my left shoulder just popped
Out on the back um and then of course from what’s going on I don’t know it hurts uh I let myself fall on the on the trail and then of course natural instinct is just to get back on the bike and try riding again um which I found
Out pretty quickly that didn’t work and uh so got off started walking down the trail and that was also not such a good idea because it started getting very slippy from from the rain and Steep and after a couple of minutes I gave up and
Just sat on the side of the trail and uh the next Rider stopped him and like hey can you call the marshals um within couple minutes Marshalls were there um got me out uh and then got a very pleasant cheap ride out of the Jungle so was like halfway up
Halfway up the mountain um in FAL and um a 1H hour cheap ride with a dislocated shoulder over Jeep roads uh which is uh pretty high up on my on my paint scale um and then yeah to the hospital and got it put it back in and that was it okay
Unfortunately out of the race is that your first time dislocating your shoulder yep that was the first time that ever happened okay I haven’t done that before actually haven’t dislocate anything but uh I always hear these stories about people like instantly like lifting their arm and twisting and
Popping it back in and just keep giving her yeah but um I mean that these are different folk I guess you know I guess so but uh yeah um I wouldn’t recommend it that’s for sure but I guess to to wrap up the injury update
The um as far as this locations go I was uh pretty lucky so I had just another uh consultation this morning with a shoulder specialist and it appears that uh I should be able to get away without surgery um so there’s not not too much damage um at all um so in
That sense pretty lucky in the grand schem of things of course I’m bummed to again crash out of a race in madir so that’s the second time two out of two um so the wife uh is not signing off on any races in mad anymore um the
Um the the parts that I was in the race was absolutely phenomenal um the vibe was super cool it’s it’s much smaller than some of the races that I have done in the past it’s only 130 OD Racers of course all the guys from free red madir they’re super involved they’re
You know OB see very nice people um very cool people to hang out with they love their Island they love their sport they’re you know so passionate about Trail building and showing off the best of the island Etc and that was just in everything they did in that week or in
Those couple of days I was there um they it came through and and that is really the Cool vibe of trans Madera so it’s your second time a um unfortunate but what brought you back um you know of course there was a little bit of this Redemption thing but you entered a
Different format not an endural race per se but a trans um why did you decide to go back to Mere for was it the trans itself or uh yes I wanted to do a trans a trans Adventure um I just I like the the the concept of a stage race um a multi-day
Adventure um it’s it’s obviously a much more uh relaxed atmosphere than ews which can depending on where you go and who you hang out with can be a bit uh intimidating but uh but yeah it’s all a little bit more relaxed it’s uh you get
To ride a lot more you get to like to see a lot more you get to get to hang out with um you know with the people from the island you have a little bit more time to to hang with um you know with your fellow Racers um so yeah so
That was uh that was really cool and of course again you know the the folks from from Freer ride who are organizing this event and who they have also organized ews they obviously trying to put the best foot forward in terms of you know showing the local culture showing the
Local food and you know showing the best places and showing the best trails and all that and so that is really cool that is really that that’s really what got me there and I mean it’s the the third time I was riding in in madira uh I did a day
Um I was there on holiday once and did a day just just myself and then um and yeah every single time it was was an experience and the writing is very different than it is uh around here I mean it’s just from the terrain and also
You know what they call the Madan ice is the this this mud so they have this very it’s kind of a sand clay weird mixture that just when it gets wet or a little bit humid it’s it’s literally like ice and there is no science to it it’s just
You think you you have a feeling that this is going to be grippy and it’s not and then you think like oh no this is going to be super slippery and it’s actually grippy and you can never tell so it’s uh it keeps you on your toes
That’s for sure so maybe another not another race in your future but you would definitely look forward to going back just for writing oh for sure yeah yeah absolutely um the you know I mean the the the cool thing about madira is without making this too much of a
Um an advertisement for for visit mad Madera but it’s what the cool thing is is that everything is on relatively small space right so the island is what is it 20 x 50 kilometers you get from one end to the other in two hours in the
Car um and and it’s it’s so diverse on such a small small area and and that’s that’s what makes it so great and uh and again you know um all the shuttle companies are investing a lot in in trail building they you know they have their their own
Trails that they maintain um they’re you know raising funds to build new trails they’re um you know working with the government to to get access to more terrain that they can build more Trails Etc right because the this this mountain bike economy they they can’t grow or or live
Or exist if they if they don’t have actual space for everyone that wants to ride there and you just as a data point right so I mean first time I was in madira was 2017 and uh at the time there was only one or two uh shuttle companies and uh
When I went there in 2019 there were already four or five and now again another couple years later now there’s uh I think over 10 shuttle companies that are operating on the island and uh and everyone is kind of working on the trails building their own
Trails and and and kind of trying to develop it develop this mountain bike economy I myself have also ridden in mad and I can definitely say that magic that Island does have some sort of magic thanks for the recap Pascal it’s a really interesting story you have on your trials and tribulations of
Racing almost like the drama that I create when I go on mountain bike RS with you oh well you know I know everyone is super stoked to hear about you know middle-aged men erasing their brains out um and and not getting very far with it
But uh you know it’s I think we tried we tried to recap a little bit what the race is like and uh you know why are we doing these things I have absolutely no illusion that my speed is not up with the with the fastest guys out there but
Uh but yeah it was a great experience despite the the accident um I guess at this stage I also want to say say thank you again to the guys from um trans Madera the the medical crew who you know who really looked after me um very well
I mean I was down from the mountain in the hospital two X-Rays done shoulder back in within 90 minutes of it happening you know they organized a hotel for me so I could actually sleep properly with a dislocated shoulder or formerly dislocated shoulder they help me organize my flights they organized
Like my bike bags and stuff back so all within a couple of hours so that was uh really really cool and I’m really thankful for for all of this but before we let you guys go we just want to say a few words uh about our social and where you guys can find
More info about the skits and Giggles podcast and of course my little fundraiser um a bike for Ukraine we’re current most active on our Instagram where you can skid right into our deems and follow along at skits and giggles and you can find our website with all
The relevant links and info under the URL skits and giggles.com also if you guys like what we’re doing and want to know what’s up just give us a follow on Spotify hit subscribe on Apple podcast or wherever else you listen to Great podcasts finally if you like what we’re
Doing or an episode in particular why don’t you share it with your writing buddies it helps us grow