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ADVENTURE HAwaiI of thE AtLantic Karen Eller and pals take a trip to the ‘so foreign, yet so close’ mid-Atlantic jungle wonderland - The Azores. WORDS KAREN ELLER PHOTOGRAPHY MARIA KNOLL If the Azorean weather can’t come to us, can’t we just go there? Of course. In five hours you can be on a secluded group of islands right in the middle of the Atlantic. Julia, our photographer Maria and I don’t set out on this journey completely unprepared. Out of the total nine inhabited volcanic islands, the two most easterly, Sao Miguel and Santa Maria, are renowned for being an enduro paradise. Our Azorean friends Andre (One) and Andre (Two) are waiting for us at the airport in Sao Miguel, the largest of the islands. They grab our bags, load them into the car, and take us to our accommodation for the night. 117
Rise and shine! Our two guides pick us up in the morning while it’s still dark. As the sun’s first rays reach out over the eastern horizon we stand 947m above sea level on Pico da Barrosa, the highest point on the island. Below us there’s a beautiful display of colours – light green illuminating a circular lake framed by a white sandy beach. The darkening forest reveals its contours and radiates surreal rich green tones that stand out against the azure blue sky. We can’t take our eyes off the colours. The guide waves past a bunch of local enduro riders who want to ride the island’s longest trail before work. Then it’s our turn. We leave the crater lake on our left and follow the path along a ridge. Riding for a while with a view of the sea, the trail suddenly plunges into dense vegetation. It’s a tunnel of roots and lianas. To begin with, the blue sky shines through the dense network and then the lush greenery takes over. The trail turns into a roller coaster with no emergency exit. Right turn, then left turn, our tyres grip down into a peat-like soil from which a root protrudes every now and again. Each time I think I’m falling I’m caught by a berm, then after the bend comes a drop. And repeat… All of a sudden an open meadow appears: time to apply the brakes. I nearly ride into Andre and Julia who have just let a pair of Azorean cows go past. There are 200,000 cows on Sao Miguel – that’s one cow for every inhabitant. As we come to a stop at the small port of Caloura, Andre One is waiting for us with the shuttle. We drive halfway up to Pico da Barrosa. At the bend a wooden sign points towards a popular downhill course. “If the descent becomes too difficult, keep to the left. That’s where we’ve installed Chickenways,” explains our guide. ‘Chickenways’ somehow sounds more regimented than mere chicken lines. And it’s not just at one spot that I’m glad about them. But first, the limbo competition! 118
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Into China. A bleary, jet-lagged st
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Wailing welding solos on the wah-wa
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Building Boris. Our afternoon visit
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Laying up the slices of carbon, rea
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Final holes are drilled, post mould
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Our final stop was to see the sampl
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JASON MILEs PHOTOGRAPHY ED ROLLASON
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TRAIL HUNTER EXPLORES THOSE MUST-DO
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That’s LegoLand down there in the
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Soon to be railing corners on the w
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We climb higher. Al leads the way,
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Pick a better day for weather, we d
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Balls. The walkers, sensing blood,
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RECOMMENDED HERE AT SINGLETRACK TOW
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TROY LEE DESIGNS RAID KNEE PADS Pri
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TOPEAK RATCHET ROCKET LITE NTX Pric
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WORDS CHARLIE THE BIKEMONGER ROOM 1
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KILLER HARDTAILS Wil and the crew r
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KONA HONZO CR TRAIL DL Price: From:
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NUKEPROOF SCOUT 290 RACE Price: Fro
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TRILLION CYCLES PRIME Price: From:
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VERDICT In a marketing landscape th
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ENDURO BAG “To finish first, you
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Page 68 and 69: Bright coloured photo-gimp avengers
Page 70 and 71: Bright enough for any weather. 70
Page 72 and 73: Illustration by BEATE KUBITZ 72
Page 74 and 75: Mmmm Guinness. We didn’t bother c
Page 76 and 77: CROWN COPYRIGHT The Knowledge Total
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Page 80 and 81: KEITH BONTRAGER “Strong, light, c
Page 82 and 83: Keith, we were talking about the co
Page 84 and 85: It’s 15 years since we last inter
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Page 88 and 89: And finally, Keith, you made your n
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Page 92 and 93: Hangover remedy: A single dose of s
Page 95 and 96: A Hopton, a skip and a jump. Hopton
Page 97 and 98: Essential fuel for any aspiring que
Page 99 and 100: HI-TECH RUBBER James Vincent and th
Page 101 and 102: STEP INSIDE MY LAB Tyred and Tested
Page 103 and 104: 102 The tough casing on the TRSr ty
Page 105 and 106: BEST SUMMER TYRE MICHELIN WILD ROCK
Page 107 and 108: 106 At 1150g, the Hutchinson Toro i
Page 109 and 110: BEST ALL ROUNDER MAXXIS HIGH ROLLER
Page 111 and 112: VERDICT We tested ten set of tyres
Page 113 and 114: PREMIER DEALERS. Bike shops and bus
Page 115 and 116: DISCOVER AN EXTRA 32 PAGES OF EXCLU
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Page 121 and 122: After the descent we continue down
Page 123 and 124: Island hopping and a change of scen
Page 125 and 126: Snack-time, Azores style. Formosa f
Page 127 and 128: The Azores The Azores are a group o
Page 129 and 130: IAn BAILEY PHOTOGRAPHY IAN AND FRIE
Page 131 and 132: In the clearing, Matti, our guide,
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Page 137 and 138: Not the bars he had in mind. Hike-a
Page 139 and 140: A sprinkling of magenta on a cloudy
Page 141 and 142: What goes up… In proper ’90s st
Page 143 and 144: 142 Those fat tyres just glide over
Page 145 and 146: There’s far too much order in tha
Page 147 and 148: ChIPPs LAST WORD Event organisers a
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