WHERE DID IT ALL BEGIN FOR YOU? (longwinded post and probably been done before)

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.

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So to sum up, I like bikes and some other crap happened to me.

if you aint got anything nice to say, dont say anything…it says it is longwinded in the title.

Xmas 1982 on a "Rustler" BMX…
Wont bore you with the rest.

I learned to ride a bike at 5 years of age in 1975 on a Raleigh Chopper. I liked it. I rode mostly off road since then. END TRANS.

if you aint got anything nice to say, dont say anything

so you get to make the rules now ?

No, just making a statement in my defence.

Say whatever you like guys, it's a public forum. You don't have to agree, disagree, like, dislike or even read any of it.
It's just a gathering of thoughts and ideas.
A bunch of words on a screen.

Well, there's my poem for the day.
l8r

well, with luck someone will read it :o)

I heard that his english teacher died of boredom after the first paragraph

I heard that his english teacher died of boredom after the first paragraph

now, now, we all spout off from time to time 🙂

Nice story now I've read it. If you were S. Peat, H.Rey J.Absolon or N. Voullioz, people would be falling over themselves to read it for the "celebrity" value.
The fact that you're A.N.Other mountainbiker means your story is worthless on face value.
But no less interesting in terms of how you've developed along with sport's growth and poularity.
Well done, a good read.
Lesson. Don't read a book by it's cover, or a rider by their 1st line in a post. Or their appearance.
I know some really geeky looking guys that can haul ass out there!
While I look battered by years of BMX and I'm becoming a real pussy.
Hell, I gotta get out there and hit some stuff!
Ther you go, that's inspired me.

Great post. Thanks for sharing

First blog in archive……….
http://www.smilerbiker.blogspot.com

Thank's for that Penrod Pooch, thought i was doing quite well for a Friday evening. Sometimes wonder i bother.. i thought it may be quite interesting to see how some of you other people got into biking, i know i like to chat to other riders and find out how they came to the biking scene etc.

Thanks Yeti Guy, i posted it for people like you.

Like i said, it say's longwinded in the title..if you can't be arsed reading it or are just going to be a smart arse then don't bother..

We are all bikers so surely we share a common love of biking and we all must have a story to tell, whether it is short snd sweet like Skyline or long winded like me, sometimes it is good to just read a wee story and think, yeah that was ok..maybe a bit of waffling tis true but good on the person for doing so. Maybe even inspire somebody who was planning on a lazy weekend to go out for a pedal and get some fresh sir.

There is enough doom and gloom, and there are more than enough smug arrogant people around to keep us all occupied. Maybe we should just enjoy the fact we able to ride bikes and appreciate how lucky we are to do so and the fact we have a wee forum here that we can use to post things such as my story and riding pics etc without the fear of ridicule and mockery from "fellow bikers" who share with us/me a passion for 2 wheels and expensive bits to break… After all said and done though, i wish you all a nice weekend, enjoy whatever biking you manage to fit in this weekend.

Mike.

my first bike was a trek 930 as well. but given to me by my uncle. it was a 91 or 92 model. black with lumo yellow decals. No decent forks back then although my uncle had bought a khs montana pro with MSPORT manitous hence the hand me down. I bent the trek in half 6 months later and from then on came the bike upgrading/replacement bug.

sometimes it is good to just read a wee story and think, yeah that was ok.

wee ? I think it's more that it's not the style we use on here. I write more than what you just put about nearly every ride I do, but I wouldn't dream of posting it to the forum

without the fear of ridicule and mockery from "fellow bikers"

what's suddenly wrong with ridicule ?

christ, well it was a very long time ago but I think when I invented mountain biking it all started to come together for me.

Obviously it wasn't called mountain biking and obviously I didn't get rich out of it but then I'm a nice person. Everyone who asked me about it got free advice and I gave them free bits if I had them. Nice people helped me too. No money exchanged hands.

Then mountain biking was invented and suddenly cycling specific socks cost 5 quid each. The the whole world was considered to be completely crazy and hopefully someone will come and blow it up.

Mike,

don't take it all to heart, it's just pisstaking for banter purposes and nothing harsh is meant by it. We all have our own stories of how we got into biking.

I started on a trike, then a Raleigh Pippin, a BMX, then my first MTB – a Shogun Trailbreaker in around 1991. I rode that a lot, getting my first taste of things to come by carrying it through a mile of bog at the age of 11, not realising that something so tortuous would become something I actually enjoy in a slightly masochistic sense these days.

I then got a Diamondback Sorrento, which got nicked after under a year, and was replaced with a Schwinn Moab 4, my last steel bike. It lasted for years, before being replaced with a tiny alu frame and a desire to do trials. That didn't happen, instead I spent a while commuting to uni on the granny ring, giving it up completely when I got another job and met my wife to be. Cue three years of nothing, then I got a Rockhopper and got obsessed again and fitter than I've ever been. Two more bikes later and I'm hooked for life.

I'm also a bit drunk, which explains the rambling.

I await the trolling, I'll probably rise to the bait so game on.

Al

First, I was a child. I was given a 'Tomahawk' – the Chopper's smaller, weaker sibling. Then I had a road bike which as big as a farmyard gate "he'll grow in to it" was the standard phrase we heard back then. I and it ended up under a bus long before I ever did.

Then BMX dawned on us. A Puch Murray. Followed by a Firebird Freestyler. I crashed a great deal. I still have the scars from a bear-trap pedal. I bent the one-piece-cranks with alarming regularity. I got even fatter.

Borrowed a roadie clunker while at Uni. Didn't ride it much.

Got really fat. Spent all my 20s on a sofa eating pies and smerkin' tabs. Didn't look at a bike.

Nearly 30, my weight and health were a 'concern'. Gotta do something. I bought a 2nd-hand MTB from the small ads. A Peugeot Lynx. It was rubbish. And worn out. Must've been 10 years old even then.

I bought something better.

And better.

And betterer.

And even better.

And then even better than that.

Ten years later and I've been through 41 bikes since that Peugeot bike.

Like a few people here, this hooked me, a work of pure genius (with it's own 'idiosyncrasies' of course!)

Where to start? I was living with my abusive husband, kicking a drug addiction, smoked, ate rubbish, no self-esteem, no self-worth, no self-confidence, no money, no job, no car – no nothing really. Husband's friend loaned me £117 for a bike. I got it from LBC in Floral Street, Covent Garden. By anyone's standards it was a rubbish bike but it set me free. Suddenly I was mobile and independent. I got a job, left the husband, gave up smoking. One year later – 1984 – I went back to the bike shop and said I wanted a bike that I could ride down the river towpath and had good brakes. They showed me a Saracen Conquest. It was as long as a wet week, weighed (?, we didn't care back then), had a great big solid Nitto stem (could've anchored a small boat with that!) – fully rigid, of course and no clipless pedals then – oh, and it had biopace chainrings. I went on Geoff Apps' monthly ride at Wendover each month and David Wrath-Sharman's monthly ride out from Guildford. I met some friends who I am still in touch with today.

I've had a million fun cycling times on and off road, tales of which would make this a very very long post. In short, cycling gave me my life back and I love it, in all its forms.

Thank you Baron von Drais/Kirkpatrick Macmillan

There ain't half a load of miserable sods on this forum. The good thing is at least you can see who they are, and if you can be bothered you can go back and look at some of the rubbish (and funnily enough in this context, rather self indulgent) posts they have made. Yes, what you wrote isn't exactly in the style you usually find on here, but I read it, and was really surprised and disappointed to see the rubbish responses.

druidh – Member
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Maybe you should try to be slightly less of a tool.

Grifter! The magical 'slip gear' between blue and yellow! The scuffed trainers! Top work duntstick…

Let the fella post his story; it's important to him. Granted, it's fairly hefty… 😯

simonfbarnes – Member
if you aint got anything nice to say, dont say anything

so you get to make the rules now ?

simonfbarnes – Member
… I think it's more that it's not the style we use on here.

Oh, the irony sfb 😉

Shandy – Member
>druidh – Member
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Maybe you should try to be slightly less of a tool.

Mibbe you should google for "sense of humour"

No need

I know what the former is and there's a couple of examples of the latter on this thread already

I think some people are going to sent to bed without any tea if they don't behave.

so you get to make the rules now ?
… I think it's more that it's not the style we use on here.

Oh, the irony sfb

with respect, I wasn't making up rules but rather commenting on how things are done by common agreement 🙂

Maybe we should all hug.

Maybe we should all hug.

back off gropey!

Right that's it. NO Harry Hill either it's straight to bed.

Not in a gay way 😕

OK then, in the spirit of the OP:

I was never into bikes as a kid; I was too lanky for a BMX and rode a 'racer' to school. I owe my love of mountain biking to inheriting my dad's old Diamondback when he died. I commuted on it for a couple of years then decided to treat myself to a new bike. I planned to buy a hybrid, but at the last minute I decided to buy an mtb instead. Got a great deal on a Giant xtc sx from Paul's, and started going to the odd trail centre and playing about in the woods. Then I manage to break my collar bone pratting about without the required skill level. I went back to commuting for a while, having scared myself, but then my Giant got nicked. I decided to get a cheap eBay hack bike, but wnt into my LBS for a quick look anyway. When I was there I was introduced to a Sanderson Life that one of the staff had just chopped in. It was built up with good quality second hand bits from the shop. I gave it a ride, fell in love and got a great deal. That was really the start. I started riding with the blokes from the shop and was hooked. Sadly the Sanderson got nicked too (at which point I moved the bikes indoors), but I've been riding regularly ever since, and spent more money on bikes than I can honestly jusify to myself let alone my family. I love it, and I've made more new mates through riding than I have since school. Still lacking in skill, but luckily no more major injuries so far.

Pretty much always rode bike but never off road.
After several years off bikes due to kids and marriage, a mate hounded me to get a bike again as he guessed i'd enjoy mountainbiking.

The day i got the snip i hobbled to the LBS and bought a CB cape wrath, a week or so later the mate heard i got a bike, came round and took me to the local DH trails, late october, getting late/dark and absolutely pi$$ing it down.

Cheep flat pedals, v-brakes and a massive grin later i was hooked, this was only 2004.

karin. wow. cool story.

Started for me sometime in the early 90's … with a trip to Centre Park!

Hadn't ridden a bike since I was 16, I thought I was going to die but the bug bit. It must have done, as for the last 4 years I've ridden for a living.

Summer 1991 (i think, sketchy memories) which would make me 21. I set off from Barcelona on my Claud Butler Majestic and after a few days of making my way down the coast with inland forays my rear wheel started dying. I nursed the bike back up to Barcelona and, on the way met a Yank with a mountain bike. I envied his sturdy steed.

My mind clouded by weed, I came to the conclusion that Spain had no bike shops so flew back to the UK. Remembering my dad telling me a few months earlier that he'd got a mountain bike (Al Carter 'Professional')I decided to go and visit my folks. He hadn't used it, I borrowed it and went and had a blissful couple of weeks taking it up to the Hebrides. Brought it back and had a week with them which meant taking it round/over the Cheviots and Simonside. The bug bit. I got a Univega Alpina and my poor Majestic began to gather dust…

Very inspiring story Karin, that's what i was after. Thanks to everybody else who has posted stories, supportive and sensible replies. Seems i may have caused a slight rift…crikey! My bad, only posted it as a passing thought that ended up in words on the forum.