4| Contents

7. Editorial Chipps tries to make the best of the sucky summer weather. 8. The Dying Of The Light Dan Barham travels to the 49th State in search of wilderness and singletrack, while avoiding the bears. 18. DIY 24 Dave Anderson makes his own 24 hour fun by riding favoured local loops day and night. 24. Interview: Darcy Turenne You’ll be hearing a lot about this female freerider and (Singletrack cover star) in the next few years. 31. Bike Test – The Four Corners Bikes from four corners of the Earth from Morewood (South Africa), Kona (Canada), 2Stage (New Zealand) and MSC (Spain) 42. Blame the Dog – Mike Ferrentino. Our US columnist casts doubt over mankind’s continued evolution. 44. Gallery There’s always great riding to be seen in our photo gallery, regardless of the weather outside the window. 50. Cycle 2008 The latest from the UK’s biggest bike show. 52. The Killer View Simon Evans reckons that old gibbeting spots make ideal riding locations… with views to die for. 56. Through the Grinder Products tested through a summer of inclement weather. 68. Column: Roly Lambert Finding a good bike shop is like a finding a good spouse, reckons Roly. 70. Everything Will Go Our Matt talks about the ceremony involved in any first descent. 72. Competition – Win Custom Cycling Kit. Your chance to win a club’s worth of custom kit from Pro-Vision. 74. Yak Attack – Part 2 Matt Hart completes the Himalayan Yak Attack – the hardest race he’s ever done. 83. Grouptest: LED Lights The nights are drawing in – and LED technology is improving dramatically year on year. Benji blasts nine lights into the night. 92. Long Termers A look at the staff bike shed. This time it’s Benji’s Klein and Evil and Chipps’ Turner and Ibis. 94. In Dorset – Mark would Card-carrying Northerner, Mark, travels to Dorset to see if the hills match his criteria. 100. Column: Philip Diprose Philip looks back on a sun-drenched, dusty summer. Not… 102. Head to Head – Yeti 575 vs Blur LT There are few bikes as better suited for our Head to Head feature than these 6in trail machines. 106. Mont Blanc Massive Chipps goes up against the challenge of the Tour of Mont Blanc. Five steep days of mountain and map crossing. 118. Route Guide – The Lake District: The Three Passes The Nan Bield Route isn’t for the faint-hearted and is only the second ever ‘Black’ graded route we’ve ever published. We reckon it’s worth the effort. 127. Outro If it’s silly and irreverent, it’ll be in here…

Photo: Steven Lloyd