Excerpt from "Pinkbike," SILT Ambassador & 2x Top 10 Megavalanche Enduro Rider Liam Moynihan on his life, love for MTB & his latest video "The Promised Land" video...
"I grew up & live in the Scottish Highlands, in the town of Fortwilliam. The Highlands are the wettest area in Europe and also see some of the lowest sunshine hours. When the moist Atlantic Air rises against the mountains it rains directly on Fortwilliam. We also have midgies. Small biting insects that hunt in packs and appear in massive, ravenous clouds.
People see the empty beauty, perfect mountains, beaches, and rivers (as well as the harry potter bridge and loch ness monster) online, in videos like this, and decide to visit but the midgies and relentless rain stop people coming back too often. Haha! It acts as a natural barrier to stop my favourite place from becoming too busy & stressful as often happens to places with outstanding natural beauty..."
Huge areas are uninhabited and devoid of any man made structures or influence unlike many mountainous places these days. This is something I love, being able to truly escape into nature and easily reach places where there is zero human interference, no roads, no ski lifts, no railways, paths or tunnels, just empty hills. We also have an access law, the right to roam, which means mountain biking is allowed everywhere. Every path, every trail, every hill...
...the landscape and conditions make it the ideal place to fall in love with mountain bikes, not just for the thrill, joy and focus that comes from flying down a trail but also for the ability to access some incredible surroundings quickly & easily.
Liam Moynihan - Elite Enduro Rider