Chipps Chippendale (real name William Henry James Chippendale III) is a

mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

in the UK. After working as a

bicycle messenger Bicycle messengers (also known as bike or cycle couriers) are people who work for courier companies (also known as messenger companies) carrying and delivering items by bicycle. Bicycle messengers are most often found in the central business dist ...

, his journalistic career started in 1994 with the UK magazine ''MTB Pro'', on which he worked for five years. After the magazine was closed down by its publishers, Future Publishing, who said that there was not enough interest in a magazine about the 'soul' of mountain biking, he left the company and went freelance, contributing to ''Mountain Biking UK'', ''Total Bike'', ''Maximum Mountain Bike'' and others. He also wrote for Clarks Originals, for whom he wrote a book about 50 years of the (Clarks) Desert Boot. In early 2000, he started working for 9feet.com, a startup website based on the 'online shop with editorial content' model, specialising in outdoor gear. He worked there for nearly a year until meeting Mark Alker and Shaun Murray, then of www.gofar-mtb.com, a privately run mountain bike website. They suggested he join them and start making a print magazine. The three of them created ''

Singletrack Singletrack (or single track) describes a type of mountain biking trail that is approximately the width of the bike. It contrasts with double-track or fire road which is wide enough for four-wheeled off-road vehicles. It is often smooth and fl ...

'' in 2001 with Chippendale as founding editor. He is still the editor and regularly writes and photographs for it. Chippendale is generally credited with popularising

singlespeed A single-speed bicycle is a type of bicycle with a single gear ratio. These bicycles are without derailleur gears, hub gearing or other methods for varying the gear ratio of the bicycle. There are many types of modern single speed bicycles; BMX b ...

mountain biking in the UK - an idea he claims to have stolen from ''Bike'' magazine's editor Mike Ferrentino - and is a collaborator in ''

The Outcast Outcast or Outcasts may refer to: *Outcast (person), a person with social stigma or untouchability Literature *''The Outcast'', an 1875 novel by William Winwood Reade * ''The Outcast: A Rhyme for the Time'', an 1891 poem by Robert Williams Buch ...

'', an underground singlespeed fanzine. He organised the UK's first Singlespeed National Championships in 1995 (Stow on the Wold) and subsequent ones in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2001 (all in Cheddar, Somerset), culminating in organising the Singlespeed World Championships in Afan Argoed in 2001. He is also the organiser of the

Todmorden Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Halifax. In 2011, it had a popul ...

cyclocross Cyclo-cross (cyclocross, CX, cyclo-X or cross) is a form of bicycle racing. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter (the international or "World Cup" season is October–February), and consist of many laps of a short (2.5–3.5&nb ...

race, held every year since 2009 and based on a well-established event that used to take place in the town. Chipps moved to

in late 2001, coinciding with

getting its first office. He has been a resident ever since and now calls it home, despite his southern upbringing. Chippendale was awarded the ''Cycling Media Legend'' award at the 2015 Cycling Media Awards.

References

External links

''Dirt Rag'' interview with Chipps Chippendale
British sportswriters Mountain biking journalists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{UK-journalist-stub