RICH WILLIAMS
Co-Founder and Director
Rich’s riding pedigree dates back to the Surrey Alps in London where he earned the name ‘Knows No Fear’ for his approach to big jumps. It wasn’t until taking up a full time guiding position at Riviera Bike in Northern Italy did he truly find the love for riding and trail building. In December 2014, on an island in Indonesia, the decision was finally made to go for the full adventure and to set up his own and new riding destination in the Tuscan Apennines together with his partner Sandra. When not on his bike you can find Rich snowboarding, surfing waves or drinking red wine.
SANDRA BRANDT
Co-Founder and Director
Sandra’s passion truly lies in being outdoors and enjoying all that nature has to offer, be it on a mountain bike, on the back of a horse or on a surfboard in the sea. That’s why it was a no brainer for her to join Rich and fully commit to developing their own mountain biking destination. Besides running Ridgeline together with Rich, Sandra works with some of the largest cycling companies in the world to drive collective climate action and positive change in the cycling world through her role as Executive Director of the non-profit foundation Shift Cycling Culture.
Marco Landi
Guide and Trail Builder
Marco is the newest member of the Ridgeline clan, and has come on board as a guide and trailbuilder. Being born and raised in the Garfagnana, Marco has a unique knowledge of every trail and mountain in the region, and has spent his whole life riding here. His passion for mountain biking, and sharing this place he calls home to everyone is infectious, and a day spent with our Beardy Wonder is an experience thats never forgotten!
DAVIDE BRONDI
Guide and Beer Brewer
Davide is a passionate Enduro racer, rugby player and beer brewer. Ridgeline’s guests all fall in love with him, and not only because he likes to organise a beer tasting after the ride with him! You will always see him smiling and fully committed on a bike, even after a crash or the worst hang over. Besides organising the Toscano Enduro Series and other great events such as ‘Beer Trails’, he still finds time to train little kids mountain biking.
SIMONE DEL SARTO
Guide and Trail Builder
With Simone’s vision and engagement, West Coast Trails was founded, and a whole mountain above the coast of Massa has been turned into a mountain biking heaven. The West Coast Trails guys were one of the first friends and supporters of Ridgeline, helping to shape this new destination and great riding experience. Especially Simone, who is a passionate mountain biker, mechanic and amazing trail builder.
TIZIANO DAVINI
Guide and Adventurer
Riding with Tiziano is always a true adventure! Friends call him ‘The Living GPS’ as he knows every little corner and trail of the Tuscan Apennines. Tiziano is one of the true mountain biking pioneers and spends every free minute on his bike. When riding with Tiziano, you can be assured of some hike a bike to the top, lot’s of laughing under the influence of some classic rock and a well-deserved beer at the end of the day.
Craig Watts
Head of ‘Bits and Bobs’
Craig joined the Ridgeline Team in 2019 after moving to Italy with his family from the U.K. Craig came on board initially as a trail builder helping with our Heckler launch in Calci, but quickly proved that despite his strange affliction to road cycling, he could mix it with the Enduro Fluro guys. Since then Craig has been an invaluable member at the heart of the team, coming on full time as Mr ‘Head of Bits and Bobs’ making sure things run smoothly in and away from the base.
Kyra
Bike garage guard dog and mountain adventurer
Kyra came on board to help guide Ridgeline’s guests around some of our more remote backcountry trails back in 2018. After a rigorous training and development scheme getting to know the trails, Kyra’s interests in guiding came to an abrupt end when she realised that the mountains were full of tasty wild animals to hunt! Now she guards our home, spends her mornings singing to the 07:30 village church bells, and generally gives the cat a hard time every time he tries to get into the house.
Craig Watts
Head of ‘Bits and Bobs’
Craig joined the Ridgeline Team in 2019 after moving to Italy with his family from the U.K. Craig came on board initially as a trail builder helping with our Heckler launch in Calci, but quickly proved that despite his strange affliction to road cycling, he could mix it with the Enduro Fluro guys. Since then Craig has been an invaluable member at the heart of the team, coming on full time as Mr ‘Head of Bits and Bobs’ making sure things run smoothly in and away from the base.
Kyra
Bike garage guard dog and mountain adventurer
Kyra came on board to help guide Ridgeline’s guests around some of our more remote backcountry trails back in 2018. After a rigorous training and development scheme getting to know the trails, Kyra’s interests in guiding came to an abrupt end when she realised that the mountains were full of tasty wild animals to hunt! Now she guards our home, spends her mornings singing to the 07:30 village church bells, and generally gives the cat a hard time every time he tries to get into the house.
All of our guides are professional qualified guides with the nationally registered ‘Accademia Nazionale di Mountain Bike’
BEHIND THE SCENES
In addition to the mentioned ones, which you will mainly see in the forefront, there has been overwhelming support by many great local mountain bikers and other friends helping throughout the entire operations. Ranging from trail builders, professional photographers and graphic designers to gear sponsors.
Special thanks to the photographers who contributed to this website: Stefan Voitl, Ian Robertson and Matteo Dunchi
