Movember, Moustaches and Motor Bikes

Sophie Nicholson    ash     Alps, climbing, France, Motor cross, Motorbikes, Snowboarding, trials

In a month where men grow moustaches for charity, one blogger finds her own way to mix it with the boys. And with the snow yet to fall, she’s taking on the rough stuff…

The sun may well have shone relentlessly over the past few weeks but there’s no denying that summer is long gone here in the Alps. The sky is still brilliantly blue but the everpresent scent of burning of leaves, the early morning frost on cars and total lack of people anywhere are constant reminders that it’s definitely November.

Gripped - and no tasche

Hmmm, yes November. A strange month indeed. I mean, what really happens in Movember apart from people growing dodgy facial hair for charity? In the climbing world at least November definitely signals a time of transition. Some will just head indoors and immerse themselves in the sweaty, shirtless, self conscious world of the climbing gym. Others will pack away rock shoes and chalk bags, replacing them at the front of kit cupboard shelves with crampons and ice axes as they eagerly await favourable ice climbing temperatures and conditions.

Yet more will see this as the time to think of skiing or snowboarding in France and dust down their skis and boards, get bindings tuned and edges sharpened, and use the offseason time to prepare for an onslaught of some early season powder.

For me none of this really makes sense. I don’t want to waste time waiting for winter to arrive, I want to get out there and do whatever seems right for now. But what to do? Shorter and much colder days mean that big long road bikes and hikes have become kind of less appealing so I need to find something else. And I have but let me tell you that my new chosen sport is a bit of a break from the norm to say the least. As a lover of the wilderness and the silence of the great outdoors what I’m about to tell you makes absolutely no sense but here we go……. My new November sport is…………drum roll………..dramatic X Factor pause…………off-road trials motorbiking!

For those of you who have no idea what this means – think that dreadful, intrusive, whining, chainsawesque noise that you hear sometimes when you’re out for a walk looking for a bit of fresh air and peace and quiet. Think the overpowering stench of petrol fumes that really should be illegal in an increasingly environmentally conscious world. And think of a sport driven by ego, where the ‘look’ is all about bling, and where the riders dress in uniforms splattered by a technicolour yawn.

Yup, it’s a far cry from what I normally gravitate towards but hey, I’m 35, perhaps this is the start of a mid life crisis? Or perhaps this is the long overdue fulfillment of a dream that I’ve held to ride a motorbike: a dream that started as a kid watching stars like Dougie Lampkin hopping their bikes from a small log and up onto a double decker bus on the kids TV programme ‘Kickstart’.

Look, no snow!

Trials biking may well be noisy, smelly and a bit vulgar but let me tell you, it’s so much fun. It’s something totally new and it’s completely different. It requires coordination, good balance, concentration and commitment. And more than anything else, trials biking demands bravery.  Lots of it. I honestly cannot remember the last time I have had that much adrenaline pumping through my body. It makes me want a beer just thinking about it!!

I know it’s not socially acceptable, I know it’s probably ‘not a sport for women’ and I know that it makes a bit of a mess of our otherwise pure and tranquil Alpine environment. But hey, it’s an adventure and for whatever reason I’ll always gravitate in that general direction. I like to blame Eleanor Roosevelt and her ‘do one thing everyday that scares you’ mantra. After all, it’s November – what else am I going to do – grow a moustache?

About the author

Sophie Nicholson wrote 9 articles on this blog.

Sophie left the real world for a life of adventures in the world's high places. She is passionate about the vertical wilderness, hiking, backcountry skiing, mountaineering, biking, rock climbing and ice climbing. She writes for a number of leading outdoor/adventure publications and websites and is supported by Faction Skis, Arcteryx, Go-Pro, and Mammut. She is also studying to be an International Mountain Leader and has an incurable weakness for Cadbury's Creme Eggs.

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