Jamie Nicoll burst onto the EWS scene a few years ago as one of the fastest Kiwi riders out there, but there is a whole lot more to this man. We sat down with him to talk about surviving severe burns, racing bikes and going on adventures in the outback.

There are few people with such a diverse life story as Jamie Nicoll. To claim he is Santa Cruz’ resident adventurer or extreme multi-day events guy would be far too restrictive. After a youth spent racing XC, twice making the selection for the New Zealand world’s team, to a successful career in enduro, bikes have always played a critical role in his life.

From his home in New Zealand - where he lives in a 1960 Bedford bus (which he converted himself), Jamie spends much of his year on the move. His appetite for exploration has taken him to places most of us can only dream about. While his life has seen its fair share of ups and downs, Jamie’s mindset and passion for bikes continue to inspire others to hit the trails and explore.We sat down with him to check in and hear more about his life story and riding adventures.

Jamie, you’re known for a long history in racing and organising various events around New Zealand, what are you occupied with these days? 

Over the years community activation has become a passion in my work and play. Part of my role is to find people doing rad things with bikes and telling their story by doing a wee adventure with them, shooting pictures, interviewing, and generally spending time with them in their place of passion or work. In my own bike time, I enjoy coaching but really I am often out camping and finding new and unusual places to ride. 

I hope to inspire people to get further afield than the local trail centre, to get them in the backcountry so that people see and appreciate the incredible nature that we have on this planet, and therefore I hope to bring awareness and a desire to protect it and care for it!

I teach one bay a week at the local Steiner or Waldorf School in the outdoor classroom my friend and I have set up. A place to engage kids with nature and nature-based learning and crafts, like whittling, weaving, and old-style metal work.

On my home front, things are different here as well… I’m typing away to all you IMB readers sitting in my old 1960 Bedford J4 bus with the potbelly fire going and the solar panels ready to charge when the rain storm stops.

I have built and created with my own hands a large-ish barn-like structure that my bus sits under, with decking and rooms around. I host music events to support singer-songwriters, craft workshops, yoga retreats, and selected movie nights and many other things will follow I’m sure. I’ve built a stage as part of the deck with a large open fire circle that sits on the lawn in front where people gather and sit to enjoy the evenings. 

On my land (or more correctly - the land I care for)  I have planted a variety of fruit and nut trees, as well as a large vegetable garden. I have a strong spiritual outlook on life and incorporate things like my morning meditation and other mindfulness practices into my days. My land is a place to not only shelter and grow, but a place to bring people together, that community connection mission that started through my role as an athlete and community activation creator for Santa Cruz Bicycles. So, life is amazing and all the ups and downs, even the life-threatening challenges have all led me to grow and love life with more awareness.

So recently it looked like you moved to Nigeria judging by your instagram. Can you tell us a little about that nightmare? 

Haha, yeah, funny…It did look like that indeed, well, more correctly it felt like that and that was a wee learning experience in itself! Somehow my Instagram account got hacked, and the hackers demanded that I transfer money in order to get my account back. I tried my hardest to reach out to Instagram and followed all the guidelines to get my account back but it took me more than 3 months before I got any kind of solution. 

In the end it was a mountain biker that worked for the NZ government that picked up my story in the local newspaper. They got hold of someone working at the Meta offices in Singapore, and then within no time I had my account back. It felt crazy to be happy about regaining access to something silly like an Instagram account, but as it’s part of my job as a sponsored athlete I couldn’t help myself to be relieved. 

Getting your Instagram hacked in this modern day and age is for some their worst nightmare, but you have had some bigger bumps along the road of life. Almost 12 years ago you had one of the most terrifying moments when you caught fire trail building in Patagonia. What happened there? 

12 years ago I was trail building in the mountains of remote Patagonian Chile. I was there with a small team of climbers as an offshoot to the trail digging team that Wyn Masters was leading. It was a beautiful crisp spring morning overlooking the lake Lago La Poloma but high up on a cliff escarpment and ravine. I was working with a petrol-powered rock breaker cutting a ledge for bikes while harnessed and roped to the cliff face. Something went wrong in the machine and after being sprayed with fuel it took 3 or 4 seconds before it ignited and I turned into a ball of flames. 

It was at that time the thoughts started spinning through my mind that this could be my final moments on this planet. Being engulfed in flames hanging roped up off a cliff in the remote mountain range of Patagonia it’s immediately clear that any type of rescue mission would be tricky. 

The flames went out after about 30 or 40 seconds, I was badly burnt and then the adventure of getting myself out of this very remote and sticky situation began. Imagine a high mountain location, trackless terrain, lakes, and mountains all around, no vehicle access and a country that does not have a rescue helicopter service… 

I managed to unclip from the harness and although badly burned on my chest, neck and face I tried to get water over it. By that time some of the other trail builders got to me and one of them ran out for help. When he came across Wyn Masters, who was also part of the build crew, they tried to radio for help. No one on the other side of the radio spoke English, so he jumped on his bike and pedalled like crazy back to the base and explained what happened. 

As Patagonia doesn’t have a helicopter rescue service, we had to depend on the army to help us out. At this point I was extremely lucky that someone at the base knew one of the helicopter pilots of the army and was able to contact him straight away. I am sure if we had to go through the official channels my chances would have been nil. 

I knew I had to get out of there, so I asked the other members to put on my shoes and I ran down towards the lake where I could take a jet boat back to the base camp. There I had to wait a bit before being able to take the helicopter to the local hospital where they gave me a 10% chance of survival. They immediately flew me to Santiago hospital where they put me into an induced coma for two weeks until my situation was stable. 

While recovering I made the decision I wanted to return to racing as a professional rider. I already dabbed in racing a few times, but was out of the scene for a few years at that point. The road to recovery was extremely tough, but to have a goal like this in mind really kept me focussed and able to work hard on getting back to health again.  

It has now been more than a decade ago, how do you look back at this event? 

Yeah 12 years to be exact. I look back at this time as a huge journey, and one that I’m still on, something that has shaped and changed my life enormously, sure there is the physical challenges of change, but the growth in myself spiritually and mentally is something so important to me that I guess I’m grateful for this fricken hard experience.

Does it still give you any trouble physically? 

Yes, every day! One does not get burnt to the degree I did without lifelong hassles, but many of them I don't notice so much and are just part of the daily way I feel and work. Apart from the physiological and PTSD aspects to healing this trauma, there are things that are uncomfortable on a daily basis, mostly to do with my skin being very tight in some areas and, with very poor stretch and skin integrity. 

My right hand is badly scarred and has restricted movement, my chest and arms have tight skin, again restricting movement, the scarred skin does not sweat or protect me well from the sun or abrasion, so I’m always in long-sleeved clothing including times like racing the Trans Provence 6 day race in 35-degree C heat.

After recovering from the accident, you went on to try your luck at racing the EWS. What made you want to enter enduro racing? 

Yes I did “try my luck” I guess, I was out there racing so hard and with so much dedication and I was very proud of my results. I was not out there to become a pro, I was out there to do the best I could for myself, I pushed so hard, definitely too hard in hindsight, but again this was all part of the journey and healing from the accident. I was on the world circuit just 1.5 years after my accident, I was basically still pretty injured from the burns and it could be easily argued that I’d have been better staying at home. EWS 8th in the world and a sweet 3rd at Crankworx EWS Whistler. Top podiums in Trans Provence, Mountain of Hell, Trans BC, NZ Enduro, and others.

Many people were surprised to see an unknown kiwi end up in the front of the pack. What was your method for getting good results? 

Absolutely and utterly racing to be the best I can be for myself. Racing as a privateer, owing no one anything, and being there for yourself. My accident was a massive factor in this drive and this was also somehow a part of my processing of a huge accident. I treated the competition as a challenge to myself and you can say it was part of my healing process. 

Although you did well at racing in the 2000's, you already had a stint of racing bikes in the 90's. What was that like and which were your best results back then? 

It was cool back then, racing everything on one bike, including the World champs in DH and XC. 2nd place in NZ nationals junior to Kashi Leuchs 1994 and 95!

For a few years you stopped racing and riding bikes altogether(?). What were you up to that time? 

Rock climbing, mountaineering, GreenPeace direct action climbing, backpacking the world for two years. I really tried to fully enjoy life in all its ways possible. 

I'm sure you have a good anecdote to share from those adventures and travels.

Oh there’s loads! A few years ago I went on a gravel bikepacking trip to the Inland Kaikouras. It was sunny but mid winter and quite cold. Our route included crossing the Clarence river, and when arriving  at the spot the locals said was our best bet we were feeling pretty nervous. We were standing on a frozen white river bank looking across 100 metres of dark silty green moving water, it really did not look possible. 

I said: “ we can't turn back without giving it a nudge” so I stripped off some extra lower layers and tentatively stepped into what looked bottomless, very cold opaque water. You just could not see anything that indicated the depth and my teeth were already chattering. I slowly waded further and further out getting over halfway across and the water level did not come much above mid-thigh, so I returned feeling happy but rather nervous that it looked like it was worth a try.

We packed the cameras and phones etc into a dry bag and I carried them on my back, we hoisted the bikes onto our shoulders and set out into the grey-green body of water. All went pretty well for about two-thirds of the way and then it started getting deeper and with a strong current and cold water, this was not ideal. The real danger of the crossing lay in the fact it was so cold and this meant that as we crossed and spent more time in the water looking for a shallower spot, the more we started to lose feeling in our legs and feet. 

At one point I stumbled, falling into the water my bike still on my shoulders, the pull was strong and it was a real focused effort to try and stand up as I just couldn’t feel my feet to know what they were doing or where they were, the gravity of the situation was immediately was clear, VERY CLEAR and a very fast decision had to be made. So even though the last third was getting deeper I decided that pushing on was the best option, even if it meant a swim. 

I made it to the other side with it getting to shoulder depth and I was so cold, especially after doing the pre-scouting partial crossing, that I was struggling to talk smoothly as my teeth chattered and muscles felt rigid. I managed to make a video and take a couple of shots with shaking hands. 

An hour after the crossing I was still shivering, Liam looked comparatively comfortable as I was definitely the leaner of the two. Looking back, that was definitely a bit edgy! We were happy to find the Muzzle Homestead where Fiona invited us in for a cuppa! 

What brought you back to riding bikes? 

Trail building in the remote Northern Mexican desert, after a break and doing many other adventures I found myself here and also found out what had happened to bikes in that 10 years, the trail bike was looking pretty sharp and light by this 2009 year!

The past few years have seen you spend more time in New Zealand, setting up the Nomadic Weekend Away events.

Can you tell us a little about how that came about? 

NZ is my base, and it's where my sponsorship is most focused for the brands I work with. I love NZ and it has so much for the explorer in me. Yes, I miss the global exploration of many of the wild and remote places I’ve seen. I loved that time, but Covid and the ending of a long relationship in Europe sent a few changes my way, but changes where in the end I’ve enjoyed the new angles I created from this. 

My Nomadic Weekend Away events consist of camping and riding, open fires, adventure stories, and slideshows. These events are totally free for people, which people struggle to believe haha. Santa Cruz Bicycles is the backing that supports these events happening. I think it's pretty cool that they see, like me, that there are so many ways to reach people in an honest and authentic way! 

At the events I feed people dinner and give away craft beers, I create the evenings entertainment and fire warmth and hold the whole show together with some trusty helpers. It's all about bringing people together to create community in a non-competitive mountain bike gathering setting.

I guess I was inspired to bring a taste of what I enjoy doing in my own time and weave this into part of what I deliver for my sponsors as “community activation”. So, this is my style and the event has grown every year to a consistent 80 to 100 and smaller for the North Island one but still, they are both so great and such a fun weekend for all!

You've also done quite a lot of big adventures in the NZ backcountry. What's it like pioneering some of these routes on a bike? 

Well, it's cool, definitely cool, you also need to understand that pioneering new areas to ride and to share with people also means that some places I explore are just not what I might have hoped, but that’s the adventure too, you might find a real gem or you might find a whole load of nothing worth riding. But hey, if you don’t go you will never know! 

With travel being possible again, what does the future hold for Jamie? Any trips planned or races entered? 

Getting the LandCruiser on a ship to Australia. I plan a big trip in the outback with my bike on the back looking for new and unusual places to ride. Crossing the Simpson Desert, Kimberleys, CapeYork explorations, crocodiles, and river crossings, who knows the original plan of then shipping the LandCruiser to Eastern Russia may still unfold…

Do you have any advice for up-and-coming riders? 

ADVICE: Work with your passions and the rest will follow. For example, don't try and become a professional athlete, ride out of love and passion and the rest will happen as a byproduct of you doing things with energy and enthusiasm, that’s a good way. 

IGNORE: What people tell you you can and can’t achieve or can and can’t do. Assess things for yourself and make your decisions from there.

Last but not least, who are your sponsors that make all this possible? 

Santa Cruz Bicycles for frames, wheels, and bars, Hope Technology for nearly all my components, BBB Cycling for tools, helmets, and eyewear, Fox for suspension and dropper posts, Ground Effect Clothing for basically all my outdoor clothing needs, Michelin Bicycle/ BFG for MTB and 4x4 tyres.

By IMB

Comments