106 – From Trials to MTB Podiums In A Few Weeks: We Chat with Chris Brown
Today Guest
Chris Brown
It’s episode #106 and it is my pleasure to be chatting with Chris Brown. Chris has been taking the Irish enduro race scene by storm this season and though there is nothing strange about that, the thing that is strange however, is that Chris has never raced a mountain bike before. In fact, Chris has not been on a mountain bike for years. So why is he so fast, skill full and standing on podiums after jumping on a bike only a few weeks before his first race? I didn’t know but I had to find out, so I asked Chris to come on the show and tell us his story.
I knew of Chris and how well he was doing before getting him on the show, but I didn’t know his backstory or that this was his first season on the race scene. It wasn’t until I was reading one of his social posts that I realised he was new to this whole mountain bike thing and he had no experience in the race scene until this year. So how can somebody come into this very talented field of racers and be biting on the heals of the likes of Kelan Grant and Greg Callaghan? Well as we have heard on past episodes of the podcast with Nathan McComb and JMac it all comes down to two words…Trials Riding. Yes, Chris has a long background in the trials riding scene, in fact he has been riding trials bikes since he was six years old. He has competed at a high level riding for Ireland and competing across the water with success. We chat about why Chris believes this has helped him transfer quickly to mountain biking, how it helps him see different riding lines and why the speed thing is not an issue.
So buckle up and find out how you can jump on a mountain bike, be racing in a few weeks and standing on podiums.
Enjoy the show!
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Find Out:
- Why Chris hung up his trials boots and jumped on a mountain bike
- Why Chris decided to start racing
- What his thoughts were entering this first race
- What kind of bike Chris decided to buy and why
- Why he bought second hand and not new
- How Chris has transferred his trials skills over to the mountain bike
- When it dawned on Chris this is something he might actually be good at
- How Chris was blown away by the friendliness of the mountain bike community
- How his season has went and the results he has had
- Why and how his season came to an end
- His plans for next season and his off season ideas for building on his success
- How to get in contact and see what Chris is up to
When Chris decided to take this mountain bike thing a little more serious and buy a bike, he asked around and got advice on what kind of bike he should purchase for riding and racing here in Ireland, and after he was confident he knew the kind of machine he needed he bought a second hand bike on Pinkbike. Maybe not the best idea in the world but everything worked out fine and the bike turned out great. After a quick rubber change and a few small suspension adjustments the bike was ready to race and it has been serving Chris just great all season.
Chris is very happy with how his season has went, he got 5th at the Irish Enduro Championships, 2nd at the Gravity Enduro Series in Wicklow and 1st at the Gravity Enduro Series in Tipperary to name but a few. But at Castlewellan things came to an end on the final stage of the Vitus First Tracks Enduro Cup when he crashed out badly cutting his arm. He of course got back on his bike and finished the stage but ultimately had to go hospital and ended up with lots of stitches and his arm in a sling. This has not dampened things for Chris, he realises why he fell and knows that that is an area he has to work on for next season. After only one racing season Chris already can identify his weaknesses and plans to work on them over the off season, hitting the gym and working on a training plan aimed at what he needs to improve on to get better and stronger on the bike.
So sit back as we chat to Chris about how his first season has gone, how his trials skills have helped, how he approaches race day, why he takes time to plan his lines, what he thinks of the mountain bike community and why mountain biking is his new passion, plus much much more.
Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the show!
To Connect with Chris:
Instagram: chrisbrown.12
Facebook: chris.brown
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Thanks so much to Chris for coming on the show and telling us his story.
And thank you once again for tuning in. You are all great!
Join me next week for another MTB TRIBE Podcast show!
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