TRAIL BLAZERS
From world-class enduro rider to the Dudes of Hazzard collective, Joe Barnes’s life would make an enthralling movie, providing he gets to edit it
There are certain characters in the world of mountain biking that just seem to define a geographical area. To me, Fort William will always be a place where the riding is tough, the trails are gnarly and the mountains are high, but the riders don’t take themselves seriously. They are grassroots lads and lasses that always seem to have smiles on their faces and mattocks in their hands, or a bike under their backsides. They ride for the sheer joy of throwing a bike down a trail, and if they happen to win a race along the way, then great. But that fun-first attitude hasn’t stopped the area producing some of the best riders in the world.
Joe Barnes has been at the heart of this movement and flying the flag for Fort William since he was a nipper, beginning his racing career at the tender age of 14 astride an Orange Patriot supplied by the local bike shop. Several years of Orange-sponsored downhill and mass-start racing followed with very respectable results up to World Cup level, years that saw his shabby-chic Transit van – nicknamed The Landship – following the race circuit around Europe with a group of good friends in tow.
Joe was never a straight downhiller though – hacking through those janky mountains around the Mamores and Ben Nevis produced a bulletproof trail riding background that meant the EWS, when it appeared in 2013, was practically tailor-made for his abilities.
At this point everything went up a gear – Canyon stepped in and signed him for its Factory Racing Enduro squad and he c
