Just wait until you fall in the hands of some non-liberal who owns this or that mountain or hill for a profit. He'll probably fire a rifle at you ("I have every right to defend the right of private property from those lazy biker parasites"), or if you're lucky, let you build the trails and then charge you for the pleasure of riding them... I.e. stop complaining about the liberals, the government, etc, etc. If that property belonged to some big forestry corporation, you probably wouldn't be able to ride it anyway.

Efaristou! We are forgetting though that Chris needs to recover from his last awful accident before a jam session can take place (BTW Danny also has been injured many times over... something that we all forget when we look at those smoothly produced vids....) ... So here's a Get Well Soon to Chris Akrigg! Ciao Paul

The difference between Danny and other "rippers" is that he's got that smooth gracefulness that only the artists possess. It's like watching a great guitarist, say Hendrix, Clapton, Blackmore or Guthrie Govan - to them it's all so effortless... because they've honed those chops over and over and over and over. I'd love to see him and Chris Akrigg jamming together ... is there any specific reason it hasn't happened yet? Pinkbike - get yer ass of the chair and make it happen!! Paul

Yeah - we know that the hammer is set to fall sooner or later. In part (sorry guys) it is the fault of a few individuals who ride roughshod when there are tourists around. Unfortunately everybody will remember "the day when that idiot biker almost ran us over" - it's an infortunate inbuilt bias we all have. Where I live in southern Switzerland I've already encountered (climbing, mind you!) groups of bilious pedestrians who occupy the width of a whole fire road and really would prefer not to let you pass just "because...". And as much as I say "buongiorno" "schöne tag" "bonjour" and thank them profusely all I get is hard icy stares. Then there's the whole subject of trail condition... here again a few individuals literally rip up the secondary trails, leaving ruts which then erode into canyons. Unfortunately the tire marks are there for everyone to see - it's no use to say that it's pedestrians or horseback riders that are causing the damage. So at the end of the day I think - but I'm not alone - that many of us who ride all-mountain will be forced to ride in bike parks or quit... Damn shame... Paul

@ scary1 - You're both right and wrong... being barefoot allows a better contact with the floor, more sensibilty to how your weight distribution, etc, etc. Having said this - promoting barefoot physical exercise on this kind of website just invites some harebrained biped to get him/herself hurt...say...just stubbing a toe into a machine or something. BTW I've seen reinforced shoes...those used in the heavy machinery industry...hehe... make for a perfect set of "weights" to improve leg resistance (but wouldn't work well in the gym, at all...)! Paul

hey James - happy new year etc, etc... just popping in to say that overall your workouts (kettlebells et al) have really contributed to my overall fitness, power, muscle buildup and power output while riding. keep up the excellent and motivating work! Ciao from Switzerland...

@ Leelau: Hasch diini schokki scho chaaa hüüüüütt - means "did you drink your chocolate today (yet)?" It's an old advertisement for Caotina or Ovomaltine (I expect the Zürilöllies to skin me alive, now, LOL). Here in The Deep South we only drink grappa and/or merlot :-))))) Ciao Paul

LOL.... Anyone can CTRL+C CTRL+V that, duude... Buuut - Are you man enough to actually say it properly? :-)) Ciao from The South Paul

Hopp Scwhyyyyyz!!!! LOL Hasch diini schokki scho chaaa hüüüüütt? ;-) OK, now tell us about your encounters with the mighty Bratwurst sausages !!! Ciao Paul

LOL LOL LOL - that was NOT Jamon Serrano, hombre... That most probably was air dried and smoked Speck (a lean ham cut typical of the Tirol region). Another very good reason to visit the region is excellent food, besides the epic trails :-)) Hasta... Paul

These guys are literally carving out The Golden Standard of Mountain Biking... they pwn Europe's mountains :-)) Between Sebastian Doersk and Colin Stewart there's also some awfully awesome filming talent being deployed as well. Paul