About Us
Who are we?
Singletrack Safari has been established by genuine, experienced and passionate mountain bikers who have become tired with the stresses and pressures of modern corporate business, and have decided to instead invest their business skills, experience and life savings in their own company.
We are based in the Westcountry, near the Quantocks, Mendips and Exmoor and Dartmoor National Parks, and our contact details can be found on the Get in Touch page.
At Singletrack Safari we take a completely different approach to Mountain Biking Holidays. We offer “roadtrip-style” holidays throughout Europe and the UK. Based from a central location (sometimes moving to a second base midweek) we take you in our luxurious, limousine-style vehicles, to ride the finest trails available in your chosen destination.
Martin Hills – Director and Guide
Martin’s first ever job as a teenager was working in a bike shop on a part-time basis in Devon, where he grew up and learned to ride on the southern edge of Dartmoor in Buckfastleigh. He started riding in 1987, and now in his mid-thirties is riding more than ever, and is still totally obsessive!
Martin raced extensively in the early 90s (he even won once!), became involved in course design and was a regular contributor to the legendary South Western MTB magazine Blazing Saddles. Martin also led and assisted holidays and rides for the CTC around the UK....the rides tended to have an unusually high percentage of singletrack for what, at the time, was a cycle touring-based club!
After leaving college Martin managed several bike shops in Devon and Wiltshire, where he originally gained his mechanical qualifications. Moving on from retail, Martin worked for several years in the Recruitment industry, where high standards ultimately led to him managing city-centre businesses with high profile companies, such as Manpower. A move into Event Management for the British Heart Foundation saw Martin responsible for organising, promoting and ensuring safety at a series of large scale, high profile charity sports events across the South West of England.
Finally, in 2007, Martin and George (see below) had the opportunity to move to the mountains of rural Spain, where they became Managers of a well-known mountain biking holiday company. Martin ran the day-to-day operations and marketing, and was heavily involved in guiding and trail finding. Despite long-term opportunities with this great company, and loving the country, they returned to the UK recently in order to be closer to family and friends – but also to pursue their dream of creating their own international MTB holiday business
Martin says:
“Traditional MTB holiday companies are just too narrow in their focus. In a week’s holiday you get a few great rides, but also a few 'filler' days of far lower quality trails. It’s not their fault – it comes down to the number of high quality routes available in a given location! This is partly how the concept for Singletrack Safari came about – we will deliver you to the doorstep of one of Europe’s greatest rides, every day!”
Qualifications: Martin is an experienced and highly effective guide, holding full SMBLA guiding qualifications (TCL and MBL certificates), and he is continuing his studies with the intention of becoming a registered tutor. He is a member of both British Cycling and Scottish Cycling, and is a Cytec qualified cycle mechanic, and recently became a certified DT Swiss Wheel Builder. Martin also holds ITC Outdoor First Aid qualifications in Emergency Action and Incident Management and also holds certification in risk assessment.
Bikes and Riding: Currently Martin rides an S-Works Enduro SL, a very bling 20th Anniversary Rocky Mountain Blizzard and a Specialized Demo. George recently tried very hard to keep him out of the bike shop, but failed and he added a Commencal Meta 5.5.1 in a rather, er..., “lustrous” shade of green to his weapons rack... Martin also has allegedly been spotted riding a Specialized Tarmac Pro – though he denies all such road-based rumours!
Martin loves technical trails, but never professes to be the world’s greatest climber. In fact in his early days of riding he used to go miles out of his way to avoid the steepest hills, from which he seems to have gained a fabulous knack of planning routes that get you to the top of the mountain with the minimum amount of pain! Don’t worry though, he seems to be enjoying the climbs these days, and likes to plan some little 'climbing challenges' to keep his clients entertained!
Georgina Hills – Director
George began riding when she first met Martin about 14 years ago – she had to, really...
George is actually a very experienced and fully qualified veterinary nurse – she has worked at several of the largest practices across South West England, such as the renowned (and aptly named!) George Veterinary Group in Wiltshire.
George spent some time lecturing in Animal Care at Bicton College in Devon, where she began to develop strong office-based skills, before ultimately returning to veterinary practice, where rather than nursing, she became involved in Practice Management aspects of the business. Taking specific responsibilities for the financial side of the business George gained professional AAT accounting qualifications.
When she moved to Spain with Martin in 2007 she became responsible for running the administrative aspects of the mountain biking holiday business, such as bookings and payments, and also managed the accommodation and housekeeping staff. Amongst other things, George runs the office and financial functions for Singletrack Safari – when you make an enquiry or booking it is more than likely to be George you are speaking with.
Bikes and riding: George is a demon climber, but perversely doesn’t like coming back down them nearly as much! She loves riding bikes, but highly technical descents are just not her thing! George is well known for 'taking a little lie down' by the side of the trail – quite often these involve diving through a thorn bush or onto some pointy rocks to relax. For some reason these seem to leave her with a variety of interesting cuts and bruises!
Her bikes are currently a women’s specific Giant Trance with some very spangly bits, a tiny weeny GT Zaskar and a Trek Madone WSD. Oh, and a Pashley unicycle...yes, really! Whilst she is always telling Martin off for looking at new bikes she has a powerful craving for an Ibis Mojo.....but the bank account is safe for the time being, as they don’t make them small enough to fit her!
