Alright, this week I’m joined by James McKnight. Along with his business partner Ben Winder, and a host of amazingly talented designers, photographers and writers, James runs Misspent Summers and is responsible for putting out the awesome Downhill yearbook, Hurly Burly, and the equally great EWS yearbook, The World Stage. James is a passionate mountain biker who has really let that passion take control of his life, and as you’ll hear from this interview, it has very much shaped his career. From the early days as a seasonnaire in Morzine, through finding his feet in the world of journalism, his time at the legendary Dirt magazine, and on to the creation of Misspent Summers, James’ story is one that shows what you can achieve when you let your passion guide you. If you want to experience James and the team’s work for yourself, then as a downtime listener you can get 10% off anything from their bookstore by heading to misspentsummers.com and using the code ‘downtime‘ at the checkout before 15th March 2020. To listen to James’ story, just scroll down to the player below.

If you want to follow James, then you’ll find him on Instagram @jamesmcknighty

This month, We Are One Composites are back to support the podcast. We Are One have been big supporters of what I’m doing from the start, and for that I’m really grateful. They also make amazing carbon fibre wheels which are hand made in Canada, and have recently added their DaPackage bar and stem to their line up. They hooked me up with a set of Agent 29er wheels which I’ve had on my bike for nearly 2 years now, and I literally haven’t had to touch them. They have remained tight and true through 2 years of use, and are an absolute joy to ride. They track and hold a line amazingly well, but aren’t punishingly stiff like some carbon wheels I’ve tried. They’ve got a whole line up of wheels, so there is always something to suit your needs. Head to weareonecomposites.com and check out what they have to offer. If you’re tempted, then as a Downtime listener they have kindly offered you 15% off until 30th April. All you need to do is enter the code ‘handlaid2020‘ at the checkout.

If you want to help support the show, then you can ‘share the love’ and make a financial contribution to help me keep this thing going and improving by clicking here. You can do this as a one off, a regular thing, or whenever you fancy. Or, you can get yourself a t-shirt, hoodie, sweatshirt or mug by heading to downtime podcast.com/shop. Shipping is FREE worldwide on orders over £30! As all the merch is top quality, we don’t make much profit on these items, but it is great to see people out and about in their Downtime gear.

If you are enjoying the podcast, then don’t forget to subscribe. It’s free, and it means you’ll get every episode delivered to your device as soon as it’s available. All the links you need are at downtimepodcast.com/subscribe. You can also find us on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio and most of the podcast apps out there. While you’re there, you can also join our newsletter, which means you’ll get our Weekend Warm-Up email every Friday.

If you want to share tips and advice with other podcast listeners on anything mountain bike related,