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Vida

If you find yourself thinking “Why?” You’re not alone.

A humble and quiet rider, Ben Hildred has been amassing a cult following for the titan efforts surrounding his rides. He isn’t quick to shout his efforts from the rooftops, and he isn’t what you expect when you think of a high-performance athlete, but Ben is a bruiser. The “Everest” is a feather few cyclists have in their caps, but Ben’s cap is full. So full in fact, he thought “why not do two?” The route? 18 laps of his local trails with an average lap time of 2.5 hours. If that math sounds wonky to you, that’s because it is. Rough singletrack and no sleep is the winning recipe for an ascent into madness, but for Ben him it’s just another ride. As for the “why” we'll leave that to Ben to answer.

Film by Jonny Ashworth. Photos by Callum Wood. 

It's like looking at something that's expensive again and again until you justify it not being expensive.

Ben Hildred looks through a concrete culvert laying on the ground
Riding down an alpine ridge in soft morning light
Ben Hildred descend a sub alpine singletrack through long grass
Ben Hildred climb his bike on an alpine trail
ben Hildreds blue mountain bike laying in grass

At night, you can only see two or three metres in front of you, and you've just got the weight and volume of your mind.

Riding a bicycle down a steep street at dusk
Ben hildred is kept company by 5 friends during his double everest attempt

I've got work on Wednesday. Could ask for Wednesday off though.

Salt stains dot Ben Hildreds shirt during his Double Everest attempt
The stars are visible during Ben Hildreds double everest attempt
Ben Hildred rides with 3 friends during Double Everest attempt
A bike lays on the road in the dark

I swerved to avoid what looked like a moat, it was crystal clear, but it was just a flash.

Riding with two friends.
Ben's friends lead him up the hill.
Double Everest
Climbing the bike up the queenstown access road.
dirt covered mountain bike parts
Ben Hildred sits on a bench at Ben Lomond Saddle, Queenstown, NZ

I thought, the last one I was going to sit on the bench for five minutes. Beautiful.

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Ben Hildred's Santa Cruz Tallboy CC is equipped with XX Eagle Transmission and Code Ultimate Stealth brakes. He rides with a 32t chainring, 175mm cranks, 200mm rotors, flat pedals and no chamois. Keeping the bike park chatter to a minimum is a ButterCup equipped RockShox Pike Ultimate and RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate. 

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