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He had a Marin Bolinas Ridge bike probably new in 1999 with 80mm travel forks and V brakes.
Whilst I feel the majority of the red XC loop at Innerleithen is perfectly fine on such a bike (I used to do it on a 100mm XC hardtail a few years back) I didn't expect him to ride some sections...
however, he did bless him, he did the lot and he lapped it up, especially the Taniel Hill stuff and that wooden drop bit. We did the majority of the red loop but missed the Plora Craig and the rest that follows it, we did ride up and do the Make or Brake DH sections followed by the lovely Caddon Bank.
He even had a decent puncture on Caddon Bank and wrapped the inner tube round the V brake and axel / QR but he was so stoked and determined to finish, he rode it innertubeless for the last 200 yards 😀
I beg for forgiveness to his family and friends as I fear I have just converted a total non mountain biker in to a serious mountain biker in about 3 hours and someone who will just need more and more, including a new bike in the very near future.
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Good to hear - crackin' story!
Um, and new gloves 😉
And non-denim trousers/shorts...
Good work!
Jeans. Hoody. Gardening gloves. This man is my new hero.
Love the gardening gloves!
nice one.. i love inners
Awesome - well done fella.... I'm impressed.
Inners are my local trails, so I ride there a lot and start to take it for granted. Couple of times I've taken less experienced folk around there, saying " yeah, it's pretty smooth for the most part, there's a couple of techy bits but there's chicken runs for them all" and then discovered that it's actually a little tougher than that if you don't ride it twice a week...
Much the same as your pal though, they've all loved it.
I love seeing the enthusiasm of folk her are new to it... makes you enjoy it all the more.
Brilliant post.
I predict the Fun Had to Money Spent ratio will now change significantly.
Sounds brilliant. His poor family!
Good on 'im.
You don't need disc brakes
You don't need suspension
SS'ers would argue you don't need gears
Jeans are fine so long as it doesn't lag it down
Gardening gloves do the trick and are about 20 quid cheaper than bike gloves
So long as the bike will hold up and the enthusiasm is there you're good to go. The problem is now he's into it he will need disc brakes, suspension, 25 quid gloves, seasonal tyres, a dropper seat post, special shoooes, wicking layers, soft shells, hydration packs, multitools, more tyres.... Poor bugger.
Fantastic!! 8)
now he's into it he will need disc brakes, suspension, 25 quid gloves, seasonal tyres, a dropper seat post, special shoooes, wicking layers, soft shells, hydration packs, multitools, more tyres....
😆 It's funny because it's true.
Nice 🙂
Excellent. So technically, he's better than you really? 😉
Jeans, hoodie, council gardening gloves, pair of old boots. Respect. Tell the feller he's a star! Show him this thread, please!
Nice one.
brought a smile to my face well done you.
Ace! Brought a smile to my face...
Nice story mate: that's what it's about - sharing the joy that is MTBing.
I remember taking a (psychotic) mate out round Leith Hill a few years back for his first taste of biking. He said it was the best time he'd had in years - and for all his (psychotic) faults, I still believe him.
We then went out a few more times but unfortunately he wouldn't put the effort into getting fit enough to really get into it. Still, that didn't stop the silly ba5tard splashing out on a £1500 Marin and a load of other gear ... only to once ride it round the block and then call it quits (his nutter tendencies took over).
Shame, because being out on those trails was the one time I felt he could genuinely leave his "sh1t" behind and figure out how to change.
Made my day story that.
I bet in some round about way we all probably got into this lark in a simillar way.
Buy that chap a beer or few.
🙂
Sounds ace but how come you posted pics of two crackheads stealing your bikes?
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That is the problem with this country, community service has got too short. When I was a lad if you did bad, you had to clean the graffiti off the walls, not ride bikes around the hills.
I'm sure it's obvious to everyone else, but why did he do that with his tube??
Not sure why the photos vanished!
Picasa!!!
I'll try Flickr then
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OK that's no good either, whats up here then?
Oh, there you go..
BOXELDER,
His tube popped out the his tyre as he got a flat but as he was so excited and determined to finish, he kept going, on the rim and tyre, the end in sight.
The result was the inner tube came out and got it.
nice story and pics, thanks for sharing 🙂
community service has got too short. When I was a lad if you did bad, you had to clean the graffiti off the walls, not ride bikes around the hills.
Now there's an idea 😉