Ah December – when most of the mountain bike news seems to be coming from places outside the US! Here’s what we’re reading about this week.

Ikea Mountain Bikes: Don’t get your hopes up (or down) yet – these aren’t for sale to the public. Instead, Ikea workers in Maryland received 26-inch mountain bikes made specifically for the employees. Apparently this is sort of a Christmas bonus – last year workers got restaurant gift cards. One employee said “I think it’s a wonderful gift. It’s better than a calendar. The only thing that could top it would be a smart car.” Indeed. I wonder if the bikes come assembled?

Glentress Forest “Scandal”: Glentress in Scotland is starting to show up on the radar of mountain bikers worldwide in part thanks to two former pro mountain bikers, Emma Guy and Tracy Brunger. Guy and Brunger have owned the Hub in the Forest for the past decade, offering a cafe, coaching services, and bike rentals to mountain bikers from all over the UK and beyond. Now the Forestry Commission has decided not to renew the business’s permit after announcing a new multi-million dollar visitors center. Admittedly we don’t completely understand the political process at work but it sounds like the owners are getting a raw deal and customers are sounding off online.

Guy had this to say: “We started it with a passion for mountain biking rather than making money. The new cafe will probably go to a chain with no interest in fixing someone’s bike or taking a group of kids out for free.”

Formula One Racer Breaks Shoulder Mountain Biking: Red Bull sponsored Formula One driver Mark Webber hid his broken shoulder and raced at the Japanese Grand Prix in October. Webber broke his shoulder while mountain biking which is apparently part of his training. This isn’t the first time Webber has been injured while mountain biking (he hid his injury the other time too). Team principal Chris Horner said “Our drivers have an obligation to make sure they are fit. It seems bikes don’t agree with Mark so maybe it would be better if he stayed away from them.” You’d think Red Bull, of all sponsors, would understand that mountain biking injuries happen from time to time.

Anecdotal evidence seems to show a fair amount of crossover between mountain biking and other motorsports like rally car racing. Combine the need for speed with the ability to pick lines and it seems the two sports share important similarities. Surprisingly (to me anyway) drivers need to stay fit too which makes mountain biking a good choice.

Mountain Bike Trails Opposed Due to Parking: As if we need another reminder that driving to the trails isn’t always the best solution, residents in Wahroonga, Australia are opposing a new mountain bike trail because there’s nowhere for riders to park their cars. Trust us, even if there isn’t a single place to park a car, mountain bikers will still find a way to ride new trails. After all, we’re on bikes, not Razor Scooters, and riding to the ride is always an option. Thank goodness IMBA is working hard here in the US to locate mountain bike trails close to urban and suburban areas for maximum accessibility.

Six downhill mountain bike racers are working toward their Business And Technology Education Council qualifications in a unique program at Borders College in Scotland this year. Two of the six riders are pros and all race at the national level which means they need to devote serious time to their training which a traditional program might now allow.

The one-of-a-kind module combines course work in psychology, coaching, and sports nutrition which should help students both on the trail and off. Plus the students get a great education they can fall back on should their downhill MTB careers not work out.

These days it takes a lot to reach the top of the sport in mountain biking and training is basically 24×7 for the pros. What you eat, how long you sleep, how you practice, and what you learn all go toward reaching the podium. The athletes at Borders College admit as much and say the classes are especially helpful in addressing the psychological and mental aspects of downhill racing.

Now if only more colleges offered decent mountain biking scholarships…

Rider Sam Hill photo courtesy fortwilliamworldchamps.co.uk.

This weekend more than 20,000 spectators turned out to watch the MTB World Cup competition at Fort William, Scotland which, I’m told, was voted the best mountain bike event in the world 3 years in a row.

Greg Minaar won the men’s downhill event for the second year in a row and Sabrina Jonnier from France won the women’s title. Gee Atherton, who along with Greg Minaar, recently competed in the World Indoor MTB Championship , took fourth in the real-world downhill competition.

In 4-cross, Australian Jared Graves took first for the men while American Jill Kintner won the women’s race.