Mcblog part 2.
THE GREAT ABILITY TO
UP AND LEAVE

James Mcknight continues his rants on anything and everything from the saddle of his Euro 'access all areas' Vendetta.

Current Vendetta 'testing' Location: Here there and everywhere between Finale Ligure [Italy] and Morzine [France].

My time in Finale Ligure soon came to an end for Spring 2010, having resided there in my little caravan - from snowy blizzards and trench foot in March through to sweltering early morning sweat baths in May, my contract was finished and now it was time to up and leave. Bye bye Betty Swolloks.

Fortunately, being a homeless traveller (stumbler that should probably be – in that 'traveller' sounds far too planned and romantic; I would describe my method of travel as more of a club footed hop, skip and jump ) – I am blessed with the ability to up and leave without too many qualms. I find the best way to deal with the trauma of moving house every 2 or three months is to try to leave a little reminder of your presence for the locals, so that they will remember you and welcome you back with a warm smile when you undoubtedly stumble back into town somewhere down the line. This time my parting gift for my friends at Finale Freeride came in the form of an all important wheel spacer for the Vendetta and several hours later I would find myself hastily sawing the end off my handlebars for a homegrown 'upgrade' so as to be able to sample some of Chamonix's finest trails – a half way pit-stop on my drive north to one of mountain bikings meccas, Morzine.

Chamonix, I have to admit, is no place for a hard tail bike. I mean, obviously the Vendetta handled the perilously steep, rooty and rock infested singletracks as well as any bike could, but a matter of seconds after leaving the Brevent Telecabine, straight into a sharp and dangerous rock field and positioned some 2500metres above Cham's and I was, to coin a phrase, sh***ing bricks. Not the best test location for a hardtail, but the Vendetta held up and made as little fuss as possible for a bike of its kind. Even more so in its favour, I was the talk of town when sitting outside 'Poco Loco' (Chamonix's finest sandwich bar) – presumably for the bikes sexy shaping and impeccably tidy welds. The gazes from passers by were clearly nothing to do with the blood streaming from my arm or my ripped shorts, oh, no no no.

My Chamonix visit was topped off with a short trip to the pump track and trails (next to the river as you exit town in the Swiss direction, or look for the Gendarmerie heli pad – they are usually kept busy by climbers in distress so just follow the chopper), and I sent a few runs through the trails, as well as sending myself once or twice (perhaps the chopper doesn't just service the climbers around town).

Unfortunately and in true alpine style, a storm soon moved in, and I moved out and continued on my way to my summer home and Vendetta testing base for the next few months – Morzine.

If you fancy a Demo Day on a Vendetta and happen to be in Finale or Morzine this Summer drop me an email a james@mcskills.com or chris@kingdombike.com and we'll arrange for a days guiding and riding with The Vendetta.

Some of the kind people that support James McKnight with food, clothing and bikes: