The Guiding Team 2023

Jon – Head Guide

Jon joins us newly for the 2022 season to lead our guiding team – he is highly experienced, and he will be in charge when Martin isn’t around!

Jon got into the outdoors from the age of 10 but that was long before he discovered bikes…. Starting as a climber and mountaineer he was lucky enough to go on lots of trips around the UK to climb, as well as few to the French Alps, where he climbed Mont Blanc when he was just 15. This experience really kickstarted his love for the outdoors and the mountains in general. Sure enough this desire to be outside combined with the inability to sit still meant that the outdoor industry was the only career he was interested in. Jon moved to Devon when he was 18 to start a job as an apprentice in an outdoor centre, and it was here that he discovered mountain biking. A few lost teeth and a trip in a helicopter whilst climbing meant that he was falling (pun intended) out of love with that sport, and was looking for a new challenge – and mountain biking filled that gap perfectly.

Fast forward 7 years and Jon left that centre as a senior instructor, qualified Mountain Bike Guide and mechanic – as well as a qualified climbing, kayaking and canoeing instructor amongst other things! However, despite the breadth of his experience it was at this point he realised he really wanted to specialise in MTB guiding. Before joining the Singletrack Safari team in Andorra in 2022, Jon has worked as an MTB guide for 4 years  – during which time he has guided in Greece, and extensively in the Costa del Sol in Spain – where he guided Martin  who wasthere on a winter riding trip! Jon holds a British Cycling Level 3 Mountain Bike Leader qualification.

Bikes and Riding: Jon’s main bike this season will be a beautiful Commencal Meta AM29  from our sponsors in Andorra. His favourite bike back in the garage at home is a Transition Patrol, and he also owns an old 26inch Canyon Torque, as well as a BMX. However, funnily enough se says that possibly the most fun bike he has is a fully custom, single speed Commencal MaxMax. This is a dirt jump frame with some big forks and wide bars,  – he finds it amazing to take down some DH tracks, he won’t be going fast but he will be smiling that’s for sure!

Martin – 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-40s is riding more than ever, and is still totally obsessive! Martin raced extensively in the early 90s, became involved in course design and was a regular contributor to the legendary South Western MTB magazine Blazing Saddles. As a teenager Martin led and assisted holidays and rides for his bike club….the rides tended to have an unusually high percentage of singletrack for what, at the time, was a touring-based club!

After leaving college Martin managed several bike shops in Devon and Wiltshire, where he originally gained his mechanical qualifications. Later he worked for many years in employment industry management, and also as an Events Organiser for the British Heart Foundation where he operated a series of large scale, high profile charity sports events across the South West of England.

Finally, in 2007, Martin moved to the mountains of rural Spain, where he became Manager of a well-known mountain biking holiday company. Martin ran operations and marketing, but was heavily involved in guiding and trail finding. Despite loving the country, he returned to the UK in order to be closer to family and friends – but also to pursue his dream of creating his own international MTB holiday business. Martin has held full British Cycling Mountain Bike Leader qualifications for 13 years, and is a Cytec qualified Cycle Mechanic, and DT qualified Wheel Builder.

Bikes and Riding: Currently Martin rides a beautiful Commencal Meta AM29 from our sponsors at, er, Commencal! His Meta AM is “the bestest, fastest, funnest bike ever” and this year’s model has a few tweaks to it’s spec to make it a bit more “sick”! He also has a Dirt Jump bike, a Specialized Tarmac Pro road bike and most importantly – his 2 beloved retro bikes; his first ever MTB, a 1988 Saracen Tufftrax, the other is an immaculalte, fully restored 1990 Kona Explosif with hand-splattered paint which he spent over a year restoring to full glory!

In 2019 Martin moved the Singletrack Safari offices to be near the mountains of North Wales, where he now lives permanently.