Matthew Fairbrother

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09/19/2026

I remember reaching the bottom of the mountain, looking back towards the climb and trying not to think about what was still ahead. By then, the ride had become very small. It was simply the next climb and finding the next reason to keep moving.

The North Shore is somewhere I know well, but exhaustion has a way of making even familiar places feel foreign. Trails I knew from memory began to blur, time became difficult to follow, and the noise in my head slowly disappeared. Eventually, all that remained was a self-enforced decision to continue.

I think that is what keeps drawing me towards these challenges. I’m curious about what exists beyond the point where an idea stops feeling exciting and starts becoming difficult, lonely and uncertain. This ride took me much further into that space than I expected.

Tickets are now live for the film premiere in conjunction with Lazy Sundays

đź“Ť Corsa Cycles, Squamish
đź“… 23 September
đź•• 6:00pm
🎟️ Tickets via the link in bio

09/10/2026

I remember looking at the route most mornings and thinking, “surely this will be mostly road.” Which, in hindsight, was incredibly optimistic.

Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan had this funny way of starting the day with smooth tarmac, lulling me into a false sense of confidence, and then quietly turning the next 50km into broken pavement, gravel, dust, or some track that looked like it had been drawn onto the map as a joke.

That’s why I ended up on Thunder Burts.

I didn’t want a tyre that was perfect for one surface. I wanted something that gave me options. Fast enough that the long road days didn’t feel like I was dragging the bike across the country, but with enough volume and grip that when the road disappeared, I wasn’t immediately questioning every decision that led me there.

They certainly weren’t the most aggressive choice and they definitely weren’t the most indestructible choice. You learn that every tire choice is a compromise, and despite that the Thunder Burt’s still managed to match the rhythm of the trip.

Some days were fast, whilst other days rough, other days ended up in between, and for six weeks of waking up not really knowing what the road was going to throw at me, that middle ground made a lot of sense.


08/26/2026

The GRX derailleur was one of those parts I barely thought about, which is pretty much the highest compliment on a trip like this.

A lot of each day was already taken up by other problems. Where am I sleeping? Is this actually the road? Can I actually say I ate candy for dinner?

So I didn’t really want shifting to become another thing on the list.

With a loaded bike, rough roads, dust, long climbs, and a route that changed constantly, I just wanted the gears to work the same every day. Just press the button, change gear, keep moving.

When you’re a long way from a bike shop, that kind of boring reliability starts to feel very, very nice.

08/22/2026

I came into Downieville Classic convinced the DH day was where I’d thrive. Technical riding has always been a strength of mine. Punchy power… slightly less so. Which is inconvenient when your “downhill” race contains multiple pedal sections up to five minutes long.

My strategy was simple: absolutely empty myself on the pedals, then use the descents to recover. That plan felt impeccable.

Except I finished 12th in Pro on the XC… and 13th on the DH. Not exactly how I’d drawn that one up.

Looking back at my data alongside the footage also revealed a small flaw in my master plan: apparently hurtling down a mountain at the limit of traction isn’t “recovery.” My legs might have felt slightly fresher coming into each pedal, but my heart rate suggested the rest of my body had missed the memo.

So, did I play it too smart? Would I have been better off binning the strategy and going full gas from top to bottom? Or was everyone else just annoyingly fast? Hard to know.

And that’s the beauty of Downieville. You’re racing the same bike across two completely different days, trying to balance climbing efficiency, descending performance, setup, pacing, risk and fatigue. Every answer seems to create another question.

That’s also why having the data is such an asset. I can take what I thought was happening, compare it to what my body was actually doing and start picking apart my strengths, weaknesses and what I need to change. The puzzle never really ends. Which is slightly frustrating… but mostly just makes me want to come back and have another crack.

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38140 Behrner Dr
Squamish, BC

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