Greetings ladies and gents,
I was just thinking today how the biking bug bit me all those years ago and thought id post and let y'all know, feel free to post your own story..
Once upon a time many years ago before the internet, games consoles, computers, mobiles, girls, drinking, work (yuk), happy slapping, kicking folks heads in and general skull duggery i was a young boy growing up in a town called Carnoustie (near Dundee), i was always outdoors, i used to be up and away for 7.30am, not turn up for dinner or tea (peanut butter sandwiches were the staple diet) and get home anytime before 10pm during the summer. Me and my friend would go camping for days on end.. and where ever we went the bikes came aswell, i used to go through inner tubes like nobody's business.
The bike of choice was a Universal, plastic brakes levers and cantilevers etc, then i inherrited my brothers old Hi-Tech (low spec) Kylami, it had a mad paint job, pink at the front and a kind of smoke finish at the rear, i remember it had shimano gears..man i thought i was cool, i even fitted bar ends (i tried them in the middle of the bars just to be different..didn't work and never took off), i went everywhere on that bike, was never off it. Then in 2nd of high school year i got a job and decided to save up for my 1st proper mountain bike, i saved for ages and eventually had a healthy £300, so off to the local bike shop (cycle world, Arbroath..still there and bought my Orange 5 from them) with Dad in tow, i was looking at all sorts when the owner cam out and asked if i had seen the ex demo bike...i said no and he pointed me in the direction of a stunning looking red and black Trek 930..WOW, the bike was gorgeous and recently upgraded to full Shimano XT, it had Rock Shox forks and riser bars and was the cooloes thing i had ever seen..i had to have it. The price for such a device was £650..step forward Dad who signed up to the Christmas club so i could pay the rest up, the guy said if i paid another £100 he would let me take it away the next day after a quick check over etc, so my Dad kindly paid the extra dosh and next day i was on my way to pick up my new toy.
I was so excited when i got to the shop and couldn't wait to get on it and ride it home, i paid the £400 and shot off out the door like a bat out of hell, i was the envy of all my mates and slowly but surely the biking bug bit them and the bikes imrpoved. I rode the Trek everyday for 3 or 4 years and taught myself how to maintain the bike and change brake cables etc, i was also the 1st person in my town to get V brakes..remember them? ha ha.
Then when i left school i got a summer job in the bike shop in Carnoustie (reveloution), by this time the 930 was starting to show it's age and wear and tare was taking it's toll, the forks were funked and it needed a total overhaul.. I was busy calculating the price when the guy i worked with offered me his 2 month old carbon fibre Trek Y22 full suspension in cream with matching rock shox judy sl forks, well i managed to patch the 930 up and sell it and purchased the Y22, full XT, fox air rear shock and big wide bars and big flat pedals. I loved that bike and raced it on a regular basis until i came off and cracked the frame, never mind as Trek sent a new one straight out, that bike kept me going until i had to sell it to fund college etc..que no bike for a year or so.
Then one day i nipped into the shop i used to work in and the guy said he had orderded a carbon fibre Giant hardtail xc racing whippet for a guy who had never turned up to collect it, he said i could have £2000 worth of bike for £850..sold. The bike was naked carbon (i can't remember the exact model but have been trying to find one for ages) and had all the sponsors on the top tube, it had XTR rear mech, Xt front mech, shifters and chainset, carbon bars rock shox forks and hydraulic brakes and it went like stink. I kept it for a while then had to sell it for the car fund so i could get to my 1st proper job..i was gutted but got more than i paid for it, so that helped.
I went a good few years without a bike after that then in 2002 i decided i wanted another bike, i did the research and plumped for a brand new Kona Nunu, got a great deal on it as i worked with a guy who knew the local Kona dealer and he said it was for his brother. The Nunu looked superb, gloss black at the front and white at the back, Marzocchi forks, cable discs and shimano lx gearing, the bike remained like this for nearly 5 years as i never rode it as much as i wanted too due to work etc, inbetween this i purchased a Scott Nitorus 20 free ride bike, never liked it and the affair was short lived as i could never justify a bike like that at the time..back to the Kona.
I had a spell of work due to an operation on my back and slowly got back into biking again, the Kona was upgraded and treated to full XT, hyrdaulic brakes ( all off ebay for under £200), new bars, stem , seat and seatpost, pedals and a full service, by this time my little brother had gone a bought a Whyte E-120 and wanted me to go biking with him, so off we trotted to Laggan and Fort William, the bike felt great and it was good to be mountain biking properly again..it had grown a fair bit in popularity since i last done it, Laggan was amazing as i didn't even know there was trail centres until we stumbled upon it, needless to say we tried the black run on the 1st visit...well who wouldn't!
I started biking on a regular basis and found out that a guy i used to go out drinking with a few years previous was keen on biking too, so we arranged to go to Laggan the following weekend. We went pretty much every weekend and soon had a few other mates involved and had as many as 8 of us going at 1 point. I got better, fitter, muddier, faster and more confident with every visit and we were soon in deep! I was getting back into it in a big way and fancied a full suspension... the search began for a 2nd hand frame and i settled on a Giant Vt frame, i got it all painted in white, bought new Fox float 140mm forks, hayes stroker trail brakes and a set of Hope hoops, hope headset, bottom bracket and wheel and seat skewers. The rest of the stuff was swapped from the Kona.
I got the bike built up and couldn't wait to get out and ride it properly..it looked amazing. We took a trip to Laggan and guess what....i hated it and fell off!!! Que many swear words...i tried it again the next week and kept doing so for the next 2 or 3 months, but i lost all my confidence and didn't evenm want to go out on it. I had to resign myself to the fact that i had to sell or swap the frame...i put it up for sale on this forum and a guy emaile me asking if i fancied a sway for a Cove handjob...nha not really i thought...then i changed my mind the more i thought about it..a steel frame again..yesssss please, so we swapped and i became the proud owner of a pixie blue cove handjob, i swapped all the parts from the Giant and took it out to play the 1st weekend it was built...and fell in love with it instantly, quick climber, great on singletrack, super fast downhill, very east to drift round corners, handles superb and looks amazing....happy as a pig in the brown stuff for a while.
Then i decided i wanted to try a full suspension again, so after much testing and consideration i settled for an Orange 5 pro in chrome grey with the pro pack and hope upgrades...i love it. Was thinking of selling the Cove but everytime i ride it it reminds me why i love biking so much, it is a way for me to escape the everyday worries and stresses and just appreciate and be thankfull that i can get on my bike anytime i like, get out in the fresh air and just pedal my worries away.
I go out on my bikes as often as i can, and go away to Laggan or Glentress maybe twice a month with my mates. I come home muddy, wet, cold and knackered...but always happy.
Sorry it that was a bit long winded, thanks for taking the time to read my story.
Mike.
p.s thanks to all my riding mates, Peachy, Dave, Kris, Chris, Bob and my wee bro Cammy.
