I built up my Independent Fabrication Deluxe to tow my BOB trailer from Tierra del Fuego, South Argentina to Prudhoe Bay in Northern Alaska, a trip I completed in September this year. I built the bike to be light and strong. Gears were XTR – unchanged in 16,500 miles. Gore-Tex cables are still running nicely and Avid Ultimate V brakes hauled the rig down to normal speeds as quickly as discs (at least in the dry). Fork choice settled on a Surly Instigator rigid unit, but I carried a Fox RLT 100 with me that I swapped to for racing, of which more in a moment. To keep everything comfy a USE XCR suspension post and heavy Koobi saddle provide a great perch and my EA70 burly bars come equipped with well-worn Yeti grips. The bike weighs about 26lbs when the touring tyres are off and the lightweight XC race tyres on.

What a fantastic machine – through rivers, taped up to look old in Nicaragua and unhitched from the BOB and fitted with a Fox fork in the US. Here this beautiful beast won a 24 hour solo race in Arizona with a new course record. Then it hit Crested Butte and Breckenridge, Colorado. After that the rigid fork was back on for the trip up to Prudhoe Bay. IF now sponsor me and built me up a new IF to race in the Solo World Championships in Atlanta (16th in Elite). After riding a Santa Cruz to good finishes at SITS over the last two years, I now prefer my hardtail even for super long events. Pin sharp handling, no flex and a great bunch of people at IF mean big smiles on the singletrack. I’ll be racing my new IF at 24s and enduros through 2007.