Alternative Affiliates: Mark Baines

Social: @bainzito

WHERE IN THE UK DO YOU LIVE AND HOW DID YOU GET INTO RIDING?
I live in Sheffield which is where, aside from stints in Berlin and London, I've lived since i moved from my hometown of Worksop when i was 18. I've always had bikes. I used to ride mountain bike a little bit. My dad has always been a cyclist and my Grandad was one of the main frame builders at Carlton cycles and went on to start his own bike shop called Edison Cycles. It was my Grandad called Eddie and his son (Chris), which is where the name came from, Ed and his son, Edison. I became more into road bikes around early 2000s. I broke my knee cap in two skating around 99 and cycling was a way for me to try and get some fitness and build my strength back up. It was painful to go skateboarding for years and cycling helped a lot. Where I live in Sheffield is perfect for riding! No matter where you are in Sheffield you have the Peak District within 10 miles. You ride out of the city and within 20 minutes or so you're in the countryside. It's hilly so there's no easy rides really but it gets you fit and you get some head space away from the city. 

Photo: Graham Tait

DO YOU FEEL THERE ARE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN RIDING BIKES AND SKATEBOARDING?
Yeah I think so, skateboarding is an individual thing and a lot of it is mental and that's the same with cycling. Say you're skating a set of stairs, it's as much of a mental battle getting yourself to commit as it is physical battle and that's the same with cycling to an extent, at least where I ride because it's so hilly. So, the mental side of riding is to keep pedalling uphill when you want to throw your bike in the ditch and when you get to the top it's kind of as close to the feeling of landing a trick on a skateboard. There's also the aesthetics, nice bikes, clothing and all that stuff. Skating is as much about style as anything else, you can technically be the best but if you’re style sucks then I’m not interested, same with bikes for me, so many modern bikes look awful, so much kit is awful, so many bike riders are awful. That’s one thing that's definitely similar, back in the 90’s you could spot a skater and they’d give you a knowing nod, like you were in some club no one else knew about. I noticed a similar thing in cycling, you’d give a nod or a wave when you saw a cyclist go by. In the last 6/7 years, I swear more cyclists just look at you and don't wave. It’s super weird. Same thing happened a bit in skating, it feels less like you're part of something no one knows about. 

BEING AN EX-PRO SKATEBOARDER, WHAT ASPECTS OF SKATEBOARDING HAVE YOU BROUGHT INTO YOUR RIDING?
One thing that came quite naturally to my cycling was being able to navigate through busier roads and all the potholes and shit that you have to deal with on shitty UK roads. As a skateboarder you skate through the city and you're constantly planning a route through a busy street, like skating down Oxford St, it's full of people so you're constantly looking ahead for gaps where you can squeeze passed people and that's similar to riding, I'm looking way up ahead with a route already figured out and scanning for shit on the road or if there's traffic you know where to be.

 

TOP 5 SKATE VIDEOS?

I would say the Girl video Mouse, has the greatest video part of all time in there with Guy Mariano, Blind Video Days was just incredible at the time. Trilogy, New Deal 1281 was one of the first videos I watched and love for the nostalgia and maybe Waiting for the World as it’s full of personal memories and good times skating with friends.

THERE ARE MIXED VIEWS ON LISTENING TO MUSIC WHILE RIDING, MAINLY FOR SAFETY REASONS. THERE ARE ALSO MIXED VIEWS ON LISTING TO MUSIC WHILE SKATEBOARDING. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS TOPIC? DO YOU DO EITHER? IF SO, WHAT WOULD LISTEN TO THAT WOULD GET YOU INTO THE ZONE?

I hate seeing people skate in headphones. Watching a skate video and someone has headphones on during their part, it's just terrible. Why would you skate without hearing the sounds and being tuned into it, same with cycling, why would you not want to be tuned into what's happening with you, your bike and the road and surroundings. Each to their own, maybe the exception would be skating to a spot or riding to work. But when you're actually at the spot headphones out please! 

Photo: Reece Leung

WHAT IS YOUR MOST ESSENTIAL BIT OF KIT WHEN RIDING?

A decent pair of bib shorts. I've had a bunch of cheap shitty ones over the years. The Alter bib shorts are legit! I bought some good over shoes which are a necessity for wet weather.

FAVOURITE PLACE YOU'VE BEEN TO RIDE YOUR BIKE?

I went to Mallorca a few years back, which is incredible, but I hadn't been riding much before I went because I'd got injured. It felt like a struggle on a lot of the bigger climbs, I feel that I would've enjoyed it a lot more if I'd had a decent level of fitness. Anyway, it was still amazing and Mallorca is somewhere I love as we'd go every year Skating and filming during the off season. You could basically skate the whole island as there weren't many people there. Other than that, me and my friend Ben went to Italy in 2023 to watch the Giro. I have a friend over there who lives in Seregno where one of the stages started from. We stayed with him and did some riding over a few days. We did the Madonna del Ghisallo climb which was sick.

DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS OR GOALS IN 2025 FOR RIDING?

Maybe Mallorca again later in the year, we just had another baby girl so will see how much free time I can get. I’m lucky, where I live is amazing for riding so I don’t need to travel to enjoy cycling.