I started back in 92 just after I left school and got a summer job at the hospital. A few of the guys I worked with were already into it and with my 1st months wages I went out and bought a 2nd hand Giant and been doing it ever since. I havent seen those guys for years and often wonder if they still ride.
I'm really interested to hear how you guys got started and when.
Bike Forum
When and how did you become a mountain biker?
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Posted 6 months ago #
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Elfinsafety
Posted 6 months ago # -
Epping Forest nightriding on a rigid Carrera Vulcan using a a set of borrowed SMART 12.4W lights.
Posted 6 months ago # -
when i was 4yrs old i rode a bike. i never stopped
Posted 6 months ago # -
1987, bought a Tufftrax with the money my mum had given my for my A level results, after lusting after mtbs in mags and not being allowed a bmx (thank ****).
Met many stars on it since...
EDIT been riding of course since I was
43 actually too.Posted 6 months ago # -
38yrs and loving it
Posted 6 months ago # -
Bought my first proper mtb, a 03 Kona kahuna as my reward for giving up smoking. A far far cheeper hobby,not including the old death thing!
Posted 6 months ago # -
I'm young enough to be a second generation mountain biker - my dad was always into it and I've always had bikes and enjoyed it, but didn't really get into bikes properly until a summer maybe 4 years ago when I bought my friend's old Mongoose freeride bike and spent a long summer razzing about Calderdale on it.
Been well and truly hooked since then...Posted 6 months ago # -
Took it up seriously when wife was pregnant with no 1 son in 96 she asked to stop rock climbing as it was "too dangerous" in her opinion. Never fell once whilst climbing, however not a ride goes by without me going over the bars or ejecting sideways.
Posted 6 months ago # -
got into riding in the mid 80's courtesy of a big brother who dragged me all over welsh mountains just to make his little brother vomit on climbs
had a big rest from biking in the 90's due to sex drugs and rock n roll, dragged my fat unfit arse back onto a bike in about 2002 and still ride slowly and puke on climbs....nothing changes
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I bought a "Mountain Bike" around 1993, but didn't really use it much. It was mainly to get me into some remote glens to facilitate Munro-bagging. I got a lot more interested in 2006 when I bought a full-sus and started actually going out for the express purpose of riding a bike. I have issues with my feet which has cut walking down severely, so off-road biking is really just my next best thing.
Posted 6 months ago # -
jedi - Member
38yrs and loving italso about the same length of time, but back then they were just bikes (still are to me really)
Posted 6 months ago # -
Early 90s me and mrs rocket were working our way through the Munros and had done all the accessible ones. The rest involved either a massive boring walk in or an overnight at a bothy, usually with some extreme SAS /hobo types. Yours truly had the idea of buying a couple of these new-fangled MTBs so we could bike in, knock the hill off, ride out and be back for tea and cake.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Posted 6 months ago # -
What jedi said & 57yrs auld
Living and working on farms I reckon I could be classed as a very early mtber. Singlespeeding was the order of the day and if you had 3spd Sturmey Archer you were one of the rich kids!!! http://www.sturmey-archer.com/
one of my play/cycle playgroundsPosted 6 months ago # -
Raleigh Strika was my first suspension bike.....
Posted 6 months ago # -
hilldodger +1
Posted 6 months ago # -
started riding shortly after i learnt to walk but bought my first mountain bike as soon as i got my first job in 86. mostly due to the fact i kept breaking the road bikes by going off road with them so it made sense to buy a mountain bike. (raliegh maverick by the way)
Posted 6 months ago # -
Always rode bikes as a kid. I got my first mountain bike at about 11, an apollo
An old friend of the family took me out on a ride, and I was hooked. I used to buy mbuk and dream of having suspension forks and a tioga disk drive (back in 92-93) My hero's were John T and JMC.
When I was 14-15, I started hanging out with older kids who were into pot smoking and going to parties. My bike was then only used for going to friends houses to smoke pot, and to go to parties...... At the age of 17 the bike was put away for 13 years.
Last year I randomly happened to go on a ride with an old friend (who was riding an apollo) After the first downhill, we were both grinning like kids on our bmx's again
I've been hooked ever since.
Posted 6 months ago # -
Strange one for me. My cousin - a year younger than me - died of heart disease at 38. Left us all shocked. A week later I was sitting in an Indian take away (you can probably guess the healthy life I had at the time and I knew I HAD to change).
And as luck would have it - which magazine was on the table in the takeaway that cought my eye: yes - FHM ;).
But after that was "What MTB" awards issue, which reminded me so much of my youth messing about on bikes off road. 4 days later I'd bought their top rated hardtail - at an OUTRAGEOUS price of £499 for a GT Avalanche. The bestest 499 I've ever spent! A couple of years later, numerous stones lighter, a lot poorer, skills not a lot better, but enjoying it ....
Posted 6 months ago # -
rocketman - Member
Aye - once you've walked to Derry Lodge three times, the novelty sort of wears off
Early 90s me and mrs rocket were working our way through the Munros and had done all the accessible ones. The rest involved either a massive boring walk in or an overnight at a bothy, usually with some extreme SAS /hobo types. Yours truly had the idea of buying a couple of these new-fangled MTBs so we could bike in, knock the hill off, ride out and be back for tea and cake. Posted 6 months ago # -
39 years here.
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1987- age 14- wanted a radio controlled car and my dad bought me a mtb. And that was it, first race two years later and not missed a single race season 21 yrs later. Bring on 2012. I love this sport and am proud to be part of it.
Posted 6 months ago # -
About '88-89. Was doing a bit if time trialling but found a copy if MBUK with J Tomac on the cover ,downhilling on drops. Started almost immediately (my dad came home a few days later with a Claud Bultler something) and I've been riding pretty much since then
Posted 6 months ago # -
maybe it was when I was 10 and I fitted cowhorns to my 10 speed raleigh racer to make it look more like a clunker and to help it handle better over the jumps in our street and up the woods..
or maybe it was when I was 13 and got a raleigh mustang and went off on 'adventures' with my mates..
could have been when I was 22 and my little sister became interested in mountain biking and we used to go up to the local hill and get lost in the woods daring each other to ride progressively steeper faster lines..
it was more likely in my early 30s when a new aquaintance and I were chatting in the pub one night and discovered a shared love of mountain biking and a drunken club of two was born.. new bikes aquired and regular adventures sought..
maybe it wasn't until I found STW though..
Posted 6 months ago # -
I had one of those "all bikes only £69" MTBs to get around when I graduated.
Shared a house with a MTB-er who said "do you ever ride that thing off-road?" (thanks Al, wherever you are).
The rest is history
APF
Posted 6 months ago # -
I started riding mtb quite late I suppose in '99 , I had a serious RTA on my road bike at the end of '97 which put an end to my competing in triathlon.
After sulking for 6 months and putting 2 1/2 stones on too I bought a rigid Raliegh RSP300 and rode that till my compo came through (then I spunked 3k on a fully loaded carbon I-Drive
) started with MTB with the idea that if I get hurt then it's more than likely to be my own fault not some idiot who wasn't looking properly.
Posted 6 months ago # -
I did windsurfing in the late 80's and got fed up driving from the surf mecca of Swindon to the coast
So in 88 I bought a scarecen Trekker and I have not looked back since
Posted 6 months ago # -
We were lucky enough to have some Emmelle (sp?) bikes at secondary school, bought one in my 5th year. XX years ago.
Posted 6 months ago # -
Not until the age of 40, thought we'd end up in jail with the antics/speeds we were doing on the m/c's, so needed a 'safer' hobby...
Posted 6 months ago # -
'91 I think. Hadn't ridden a bike for years and thought this "new" mountain biking thing looked a laugh. Hooked ever since.
Posted 6 months ago # -
before that riding roadbikes with cowhorn handlebars from about 1979 onwards in the local woods (only 9 ish riding fullsize roadbikes and madeup bikes we found ) ..then onto bmx for the eighties
1988 ,sister had a no name mtb with combo bar and stem and lent it to ride to work once then hooked ! went out bought a diamond back with u brake cut the bars down put my BMX beartrap pedals on and my skyway brake pads ....served me well for a year or so then the spending really begun !!!
Posted 6 months ago # -
Gave up smoking about 11yrs ago and a mate suggested we took up mtbing to get fit , 10 months later we did the newmham 90 it nearly killed us but we both enjoyed it and I'm still enjoying it now . Mate gave up some years ago now, sadly.
Posted 6 months ago # -
Otb Raleigh grifter, surprised by how little it hurt, never looked back.
Hurts like hell now mind
Posted 6 months ago # -
End of 2007. Mr Toast said that mountain biking was a bit like the speeder scene in Return of the Jedi, so that was me sold. Had to learn how to ride a bike properly first though...
Posted 6 months ago # -
back in 1988 (either for my birthday or christmas) i got a dawes ascent mountain bike.at first i was disappointed (as i wanted a road bike.sorry
but after riding it for some time,i really loved it.i even did my first 100 miles on it when i was 15 (and came back just in time to watch the tour de france on channel 4/the year that greg lemond beat laurent fignon to be honest i never did much off road riding on it,but it was that bike that introduced me to the joys of mountain bikes Posted 6 months ago #
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