Episode 5 is the final instalment of Scottish Scene featuring the 5th round of the SDA series held at Innerleithen. The rain and sloppy mud resembles a round of the winter series rather than a race in September, but thats Scottish racing for you! Before heading to Inners we first check out the skills of Scott Laughland and Chris Hutchens. With both of them

studying full time in Edinburgh it was a struggle to arrange a date when we were all free to film (and here was me thinking the student life was one big party!). Despite all of their studying and exams throughout 2011 they both put in some solid results at the races and can’t wait for the 2012 season to get underway.

Check out the interview below for a catch up with Scotty -

Where do you live and whats the riding scene like? 

Edinburgh, riding scenes good, within an hours drive I have access to lots of DH trails. Straight out the front door I can put a 3 hour training ride round the Pentland hills.

When did you first start riding and how did it all come about? 

My dad rode trials motorcycles, when I was 4 I had a Yamaha PW50, I started competing in trials and by chance saw an article in the Scotsman about the 2002 World Cup in Fort William, we went up and watched and 2 years later I had a Diamondback and it just kept developing from there… 2005 was my first race season!

Who do you ride with? 

Anyone and everyone… But to name some regulars: Allan Findlay, Ben Arnott, Lewis Kirkwood and Paul Milne!

What was your favourite race of 2011? 

World Champs in Champery, the rain made the course so challenging and the crowd were awesome.

Where is your favourite place to ride in Scotland? 

Glencoe Mountain Resort, such a challenging and physically demanding track.

Who are your favourite riders?

Aaron Gwin, Ryan Dungey and Eli Tomac. Inspirational riders and true athletes.

What is your favourite bike video/DVD? 

Tipping point, Moto 3 and The Great Outdoors.

What makes you happy? 

Winning, big jumps, fast tracks, new bikes and most importantly chilling with my friends/family.

What makes you angry? 

Poor race runs, flat tracks, mechanicals and negative attitudes.

A guilty pleasure of yours is… 

The occasional night out in Edinburgh!

What is your favourite food? 

Anything Japanese or Mexican goes!

What does the future hold for Scott Laughland? 

More racing and winning… I’m in my 4th year at Heriot Watt studying Mechanical Engineering, so hopefully I’ll have a degree soon! As for the future who knows, I take one day at a day and live life to it’s fullest!

Any thanks or shout outs? 

Mum and Dad for their continued support.

Check out this ’10 Top 5′s’ list with Chris -

Trails/places to ride -

1.Back home in Oban with the Baeys

2.Mont St Anne WC Course

3.Innerliethen Enduro Loop

4.Malaga Trails

5 Fort William

Races -

1.Junior World Champs Fort Bill

2.South Africa World Cup

3.Strathpuffer 24

4.Champery World Cup

Riders -

1. Peaty

2. Minnar

3. Gwinny

4. Danny Macaskill

5. Danny Hart

Music bands/artists -

1. Chase and Status

2. The Cat Empire

3. Eric Clapton

4. Empire of the Sun

5. Metric

Films -

1. A girl with a dragon tattoo (the original)

2. 300

3. Going Native

5. Casino Royale

Edinburgh nightclubs/party venues -

1. Cav Vol

2. The Caves

3. Tiger Lily

4. Dragon Fly

5. Rush

Things you say too often -

1. I should start working soon.

2. Yeahhh Budddddy!

Good times -

1. Getting measured up for a white tux in Bangkok!

2. Road tripping around Portugal.

3. Surviving the mountain meal on the uni ski trip to VT last winter. Never been so happy to get to the bottom of a green run. 2 bottles of cheap French red wine and skis should not go together.

4. When you get a new toothbrush and have new bed sheets!

5. Heading back home for some home cooking!

Things to do instead of Studying -

1. Sherlock homes on the BBC!

2. Trying to find a graduate job

3. Cooking mega meals.

4. Gym and pumping the roids

5. Eating

Scottish words -

1. Baws

2. Neebs

3. Noob

4. Neebour

5. Ken

Episode 4 of Scottish Scene takes us to the third round of the SDA series held at Dunkeld. Despite a fairly low turn out the racing is as still as close as ever and the weather actually stayed dry over both race runs, a very rare occasion for a race in Scotland! But first we take a trip to Innerleithen to spend an afternoon with Chris Reynolds at his favourite trails.

Chris rode for the MTB-Essentials team in 2011 however is currently looking for sponsors at present. Hopefully this will change soon as after only racing for a few years, Chris will definitely be a rider to look out for in the near future. Find out more about Chris in the interview below -

Where do you live and whats the riding scene like?

I live in Penicuik and if I’m honest, the riding scene isn’t the worst. We have a skate park which is average, we have the Pentland hills which are good for some cross country and over the years we have built up to 50 different downhill trails in a set of woods nearby.
When did you first start riding and how did it all come about?

I think it was 2008 when a big group of friends all started to get hardtails and go up Glentress. Then we all progressed to getting downhill bikes and all started racing in 09. Unfortunately everyone started to quit out and in the end I was the only one out of us to still ride.

Who do you ride with?

I usually ride with a friend who lives down the road from me, or just a group of friends I met at one of Uplift Scotland’s Innerleithen uplifts.

What was your favourite race of 2011?

Has to be Borderline Events Kill the Bill 2, who doesn’t love to ride Fort Bill in the dusty sun with no wind. You’ve not got much chances of that happening again.

Where is your favourite place to ride in Scotland?

Fort William on those weekends you go up camping with your mates. That’s probably the most fun I can have on a downhill bike.

Who are your favourite riders?

Brendan Fairclough because he has the best style and is still mega quick. Danny Hart because of his insanity on world cup race runs, and finally Steve Peat because he was my idol when I first started to ride.
What is your favourite bike video/DVD?

Favourite is definitely Clay Porters ‘The Tipping Point’ I haven’t seen ‘3 Minute gaps’ yet so may change.

What makes you happy?

Putting a solid race run in, Sending some big jumps, and riding with mates.

What makes you angry?

Crashing, hitting a section bad more than once, prices of bikes.

A guilty pleasure of yours is…

Eating a tub of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream while playing Call of Duty mw3 too much.

What is your favourite food?

Mac and Cheese.

What does the future hold for Chris Reynolds?

Unfortunately I haven’t got a downhill bike anymore and it’s really just too expensive to buy a new one, so at the moment I don’t know what the future holds, hopefully I can win the lottery, but there really isn’t much chance of that.

Any thanks or shout outs?

First of all to my Dad for taking me to races and funding  racing, secondly to Jamie at mtbessentials for my support in 2011, thirdly to Steve at Icycles for his help he has given me over the years and finally all my friends for making riding bikes as good as it is.

Episode 3 is a slightly different approach to your average bike video to take a look into a day in the life of Oban’s original ganster/part time comedian – Ben Cathro. After spending a morning “preparing” for the day ahead, we see Ben riding his local trails in Oban followed by a catch up to find out why he won’t be competing in the world cup series for 2012.

Ben had a great season last year, his most impressive result being a 10th place finish at La Bresse world cup (the highest placed Scottish rider at a world cup last year!) Ben may be giving the world cup series a miss this year, however he will still be competing in the BDS and SDA series and will be riding more than ever thanks to his new company, Sick Skills. Here’s ’10 Top 5′s’ with Ben Cathro -

Trails/Places to ride -

1. Morzine

2. Maribor

3. New Zealand

4. My local trails

5. Innerleithen 10 years ago

Races -

1. Any world cup at Fort William

2. La Bresse world cup 2011

3. IXS cup Innerleithen 2010

4. NPS Innerleithen 2008

5. IXS Sprint Cup Oz en Oisans 2008

Riders -

1. Arron Gwin

2. Steve Pete

3. Sam Hill

4. Greg Minnaar

5. Danny Mackaskill

Music Bands/Artists -

1. Ugly Duckling

2. Deadmau5

3. DJ Fresh – Gold Dust

4. Teddybears STHLM

5. Beardyman

Films -

1. Independence Day

2. Wolverine

3. Juno

4. Matrix

5.Benchwarmers

Vodka mixers -

1. The Classic – Vodka on the rocks

2. In a rush – Vodka off the rocks

3. For the girls – Vodka with a twist of lime

4. Mix it up – Blavod (Black vodka)

5. Shitfaced – Vodka with a vodka chaser

* I hate vodka

Wastes of time -

1. Facebook

2. PS3

3. Girlfriend (I better class that as a distraction rather than a waste of time)

4. Playing with my new macbook

5. Stumble

Good times -

1. Nailing an impossible line

2. Eating anything when you are absolutely starving

3. Sleep

4. Winning

5. Everything in the “wastes of time list”

MX vs. ATV courses -

1. Sandwick

2. Grandview

3. Yukiyama

4. Onsenki

5. Stewart Short Track

Scottish words -

1. Aye

2. Laters

3. Yoo

4. Bawbag

5. Ken

Episode 2 of Scottish Scene features the carnage of the 2011 Scottish Championships held at Killin. We then take a trip across to Innerleithen to check out the skills of Joe Connell riding his local trails. Joe has had a great season this year riding for Sunn/Montgenevre (taking the junior BDS overall, SDA overall and becoming junior Scottish

Champion to name a few of his achievements…) and it was awesome to spend some time filming him for Scottish Scene. Check out the interview below to find out a bit more about one of Scotland’s fastest juniors -

Where do you live and what’s the riding scene like?

I just moved to Innerleithen, Scotland a couple of months back and the riding is pretty awesome. There’s some pretty wild xc descents around the area that keep you on your toes in the off season and obviously all the main downhill tracks that are a little faster and longer.

When did you first start riding and how did it all come about?

Well my Dad used to cycle quite a bit before I was born, when I was 4 months old, my Mum and Dad cycled to France with me on the back in the baby seat. Then I got my stabilisers off before I turned three and I used to ride to nursery with Dad in the mornings. Cycling was never my main sport when I was growing up; I always competed in a lot of different sports but just rode for fun when I got the chance. I got my first real full suspension bike at 13 and raced since then pretty much.

Who do you ride with?

I’m usually out riding with the guys from College who are good fun to ride with and we have Andy Barlow and Ruaridh Cunningham helping out so it’s cool to ride with them as well.

What was your favourite race of 2011?

Oz en Oisens French Cup for sure. That is definatly the best track I’ve ever ridden, pretty long, rough, dusty and just fun the whole way down!

Where is your favourite place to ride in Scotland?

Probably Dunkeld or the tracks in and around the tweed valley.

Who are your favourite riders?

Gwin and Minnaar.

What is your favourite bike video/DVD?

Between the tape or Earthed 2

What makes you happy?

Drifting my bike, winning and working hard.

What makes you angry?

I guess if I have a bad crash in a race run I wouldn’t be too happy about it.

A guilty pleasure of yours is…

Watching all the supercross rounds on youtube in college when I should probably be doing some essay writing! Ha!

What is your favourite food?

Pasta and Avocados.

What does the future hold for Joe Connell?

Lots of hard work to get as far in the sport as possible.

Any thanks or shout outs?

I’d like to say a big thanks to my Mum and Dad for all of their support from the beginning. A big thanks to Stephane Girard, Sam Dale, Julien Camellini and Kevin Allemand for a great year. All of the Sunn/Montgenevre team sponsors. Thanks to the Montgenevre Resort and the Hotel Chalet Blanc for their great hospitality. Thanks to Chris Ball and the guys at Napier University in Edinburgh for all their great support. Last off, to all the others out there who have helped me over the years, cheers!

In Episode 1 we cover arguably the most difficult course in Scotland (or the world!) – Fort William. Here big names such as the Athertons and Ben Reid show us why this is one of the most demanding races of the series, but first we take a look at 19 year old Ronan Taylor riding his local trails in the capital of the Highlands – Inverness. Racing for Inverness

bike shop Monsterbike, Ronan took the SDA Expert overall this season as well as racing overseas at some of the IXS rounds. Check out the interview below to find out about his local riding scene and how it all started for him -

Where do you live and what’s the riding scene like?

I stay on the Black Isle near Inverness in the North of Scotland. The riding scene is actually really good even with everyone living quite far away from one another. There seems to be downhill tracks popping up all over the shop, if you know who builds them. Even when some of the more well known trails have been mindlessly destroyed by the forestry in the past then they often get re-built again which is great as everyone tends to built the tracks pretty naturally anyway, very often just scraping in a track and rutting it up. As well as the downhill there are a few purpose built xc tracks not far away and some walkers trails that also work well for xc.

When did you first start riding and how did it all come about?

I was around 10 and basically got into it because the older brothers of some of my friends where really into biking. They where always building new jumps or tracks and basically peer pressured me and some others into doing new things that we weren’t comfortable with. This really helped us progress and get used to the mindset of committing to a section or jump. Then hearing about the races from the older guys made me really keen to try them out, I’m super glad I did.

Who do you ride with?

I’m lucky enough to have plenty of folk about. Dirt Jumping with local friends from the Black Isle, downhill and hardtail stuff with a lot of riders from Inverness, Forres and Elgin. A lot of people have their own tracks they build so it’s cool to know so many people from racing and riding and get to ride plenty of different spots.

What was your favourite race of 2011?

Anzere Swiss IXS, Really happy I was able to make it out there and get some UCI points as well as racing an awesome track. It had a mix of everything, most of it fast. Natural grass sections, steep loam, hard packed berms and it had a death sprint in the middle!

Where is your favourite place to ride in Scotland?

Downhill wise I would say the Mast near Inverness, Eagle tracks (Kem Avis, Myself and Greg Williamson have helped developed) and Fort William world cup track.

Who are your favourite riders?

My favourite riders based on style alone would be: Chase Hawk, Justin Barcia, Sam Blenkinsop, Jimmy De Cotis and Tom Dugan

What is your favourite bike video/DVD?

Ok so it’s not mountain biking but I’d say seeing “TT3D” in the cinema was frickin awesome. It’s not often just watching a film gives you adrenaline and sweaty palms! Obviously Alex Rankin’s stuff is awesome, I enjoy videos that make me want to get out and do what ever I’ve just been watching.

Here’s 2 that got me psyched:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MYJss-lynE

http://vimeo.com/32863936

What makes you happy?

Feeling like you’re on the edge and pushing your self, fresh snow, drifts, going fast ,sleepyness after a days graft, new places, completing something or improving at something,

What makes you angry?

Not so much angry, more disbelief at people who spend all their money on things like brand new cars or designer clothes that they only need because they want to show off their perceived status in society. Surely that’s not that fun?

A guilty pleasure of yours is…

Riding my shit pitbike that always falls apart, looking to upgrade to something just as slow soon… Even guiltier, Barbie biking on small pink bikes, I hang my head in shame, good round the pumptrack though.

What is your favourite food?

Pretty keen on my tinned sardines!

What does the future hold for Ronan Taylor?

Well for 2012 my plan is to race all the european world cups. It’s been a goal for ages to race world cups so I’m well looking forward to when I race my first one. From there I’ll be trying to progress with each world cup I do, learn and keep getting faster and move up the ranks.

Any thanks or shout outs?

Aye, I’d like to say cheers to Mark Maciver at Monsterbike for helping me get a bike and looking after my bikes and keeping em sweet, Simon at Chunked Components for some sweet customised stems for this season, Anyone who has given me a lift or helped me out at the races, Stuz Leel for an opportunity to have some fun and do some skids in front of the camera and lastly Mum and Dad as realistically without them I wouldn’t have been able to get to half the races I’ve done.

Scottish Scene is a self funded project taking a look at the downhill mountain bike scene around one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Shown across 5 episodes, each episode takes a look at some of the fastest riders in Scotland doing what they do best at their local trails. It also covers a selection of the SDA races from this past season, including

the Scottish champs at Killin.