What got you into MTBing???

lovewales

Ridden bikes of various kinds from being a kid the first being a blue budgie :oops: , then went onto other forms of bike. Had a few years on a motorbike and when I bought my first car bought a new bike the reason for this I can't remember but living in the peaks it had to be a mtb.

I had a big off in Wales a couple of years after which left me unable to do anything for about 4 years so the bike was left in the shed.

I then had my girls and they started to ride bikes, whilst visiting sherwood pines for the park we decided that we really ought to let the gorls ride their bikes there away from the road. Had many an hour trying to get my eldest off the stabelisers, whilst the youngest just went, so I took to running around the fire road shouting bet you can't catch me, which did the trick; I do not have the greatest knees so decided my bike would have to come out of the shed. It was horrid a broken pedal that we could not get off bearings going etc etc. So when I started teaching a few weeks later with my first pay I decided to go and buy myself a new bike a Kona Lanai.

My youngest daughter then decided at 3 she liked the look of the single track so off she went on a rigid cranked disney bike with solid tyres and absolutley loved it we spent many hours seeing who could get the muddiest.

But children grow (a lot) and 6 years later I dread to think how much we have spent on biking related goods :?

If it were my eldest daughter writing this she would say that she was coerced into it (but secretly likes it when no friends are around) my youngest would say that she saw a fun bit of single track and my hubby would say he just had to follow

Gwaredd

bigchazrocks wrote:

I'm in Tidworth (yup, I'm a squaddie). Not found anywhere amazing. I've get Salisbury Plain literally on my doorstep, though, I've not found anywhere thats great to be honest

Collingbourne woods is your best bet round here for anything technical & traily, though there are a few good hills over the back of Tidworth woods stretching from behind the new Tesco to the golf course.

Grovely wood is OK, but I've not found it as good as Collingbourne.

KonaMiniMula1

I'm 14 and have been riding since I got my first half decent bike, a muddy fox when I was 10, which I still have actually. It was the most reliable bike ever. I now have a much lighter genesis core 10 (much better up the hills).

Need to save up for a while and get a road bike. 8)

diamondbacker

My Dad is quite a keen cyclist and when I was younger I'd often go out with him. In recent years he's got back into it and bought himself a nice road bike. I was quite impressed and bought one too, but he lives in rural Ireland and I live in an urban area of the North East.

Going out on the busy roads here wasn't much fun so it stood almost unused for a bit. Anyway, I recently decided as I live close to the coast to coast cycle road and Beamish Woods area I'd get myself a half decent 2nd hand mtb to try and get fit/see if I enjoyed it.

Enjoying it immensely now, just need to get a better bike!

Bungalow Bill

I was born on a bike thats about all there is to it really, fell of said bike for a few years with medical problems but now well and truly back on the bike. Got this summer to train and drop a few stone then back to DH racing next year.

plasma_man

Had a Raleigh burner then got a diamond back somethingorother. When I lived in Scotland, I stayed right next to Tinto Hill in the southern uplands, there was a bunch of us into bikes and some great trails around. When I started working, I worked 4 on 4 off which was great to go away during the week and do some of the great scottish runs.

Belv

About 2 years ago i gave up martial arts and wanted to do something else. I had already cycled to work (on a rigid mtb) for years so thought i'd go along to the local cycling club and see what 'proper' road riding was all about. Got myself a second-hand road bike, contacted the club and was all ready to go along the following weekend. On the friday before i had an accident on the way home from work and bent the forks on the road bike so i went along the next day on the old commuter to the club's offroad ride instead.

And had so much fun that i've still never got round to trying road riding!

donjoaoresort

Hello to all

Wish all the riders all the best



John
www.donjoaoresortgoa.com

Anonymous

the one and only Raleigh Grifter!...heavy as, steel frame.. ace fun though....
then I got a bmx, no looking back there, jumps gallore, smashing myself and the the front forks in, great fun...look mum no teeth!

the latest bike I have is the 1st "proper" bike i've ever owned. previously i've had several hardtails that max out at £200, rigid frames...nice fast machines, well as fast as pedals would allow.

going full sus this year! it's just great fun being on a bike, no rules, noOne to answer to, windy hair, playing with the hills, talking to yourself, it's just the utter sense of being calm with your mind, letting the brain rest from the day to day rubbish that most of us have to grind with.

now the summer is here it's even better!

.blitz

In the early 90s mrs blitz and myself were into mountains in a big way. We were working our way through the Munros and we were driving up to Scotland whenever we could.

The logistics of the first 80-90 Munros were fairly easy - just park up and start walking - but the rest were remote and inaccesible. So we had the idea of getting one of those new-fangled mountain bikes and riding in to the mountains. It worked really well; ride in, hide the bike in the undergrowth, climb the mountain, ride out again and back in time for tea and cakes.

At the time MTBing was a means to an end and it was probably 2 or 3 years before I got into MTBing just for fun.

gaz047

around 1990 (god thats flown!) training for xc running races going up a bridlepath, two mtb'ers flew down past me, thought i like the look of that, borrowed my mates raleigh mustang to give it a go and that was me hooked

Chaz.Harding

Haha, in 1990, I was only 2!!

Glad to see there's so many fond memories here! It makes a change from either - rants at crap drivers, the SPD vs flat debate and FS or HT!!

Northwind

I used to ride a lot, got my first bike almost as soon as I could walk and then always had a bike... Rode to school every day, and eventually outgrew my BMX at just about the right time for kids' mtbs to come on the scene, so I got one of those (raleigh marauder) which was terrible, then a fairly nice steel carrera... Nothing you'd recognise as mountain biking now really, no long distance, lots of jumping and thrashing around in the local woods with my mates... Then, just stopped, for about 10 years.

What got me back into mtbing was a serious knee injury- cycling was recommended as physio, but also, even though I'd never ridden at all for years I'd always had the bike in the garage and known that I could ride if I wanted. When that was taken away, I suppose I realised I was missing it, and the fact that I was so close to never being able to ride again made me want to try again. So, got a cheap bike and a copy of WMB, and by pure luck in that issue a mate of mine from uni, who I'd not seen for ages, had a letter printed. So I dropped him a text and the next thing I knew, we were at glentress Never looked back.

Thewaylander

Any one notice that most ladies in these threads respond either - my other half or my ex... or my ex ex ex hmmm

gaz047

chaz you lucky git! seems a distant memory now being 21
i don't bounce as well as i used to thats for sure

Chaz.Harding

Haha, I actually 21 today!

No going out and getting wasted unfortunately... Doesn't feel like I'm an 'adult' though... Scary days, lol.

Thewaylander

I'm 28 and approaching 29... and i don't feel like an adult yet either so don't worry i don't think you ever do unless you let yourself

phz

Thewaylander wrote:

I'm 28 and approaching 29... and i don't feel like an adult yet either so don't worry i don't think you ever do unless you let yourself

absolutely

39 here and still a big kid

possibly a bit of an issue since im a teacher ...

slainte rob

Kiblams

After my brother taught me to ride at the age of 7 bikes were our freedom, we used to ride 10 miles down a canal to a place called Chasewater near Cannock, some of the only times in my childhood without adult supervision. we used to find the biggest coal hills and quarries to ride on our second hand £30 bikes.

When I reached about 14-15 and started drinking and dating (I am sure there is a correlation there somewhere ) I stopped riding. School, Sixth form and University shot by and before I knew it I was overweight and looking to get fit again.

Bought a cheap rigid Raleigh to ride to and from work until it was stolen last christmas. Decided to get a proper mountainbike with the potential to upgrade over time in January and have been hunting down hills and forrests after work ever since.

Lovin' it!

2tired2ride

Started out a youg nipper riding a Diamondback skindog bmx aroung the streets just mucking around, then got a very cheap blue mountain bike for my birthday and started taking it to my local woods loved it and didnt break anything on it Then got introduced into Track cycling so sold the BMX and started racing over in Newport. Got bored of racing and bought a Gaint Acid (the shame :? ) mountain bike after selling the blue mountain bike and started going to the wood everytday after school. Slowly emigrated to the skate park/street and ended up on a trials bike. Then realised there was no one else who had a trials bike and was not one to ride with so bought a BMX and spent most of my evenings after school at the skatepark. Sold my trials bike and BMX. Left school and bought a Boardman Hybrid to commute on to college/work. Felt a need for speed and bought a Boardman road bike after selling my Giant acid and joined my local road bike club. Misseds the woods and challenging terrain so put deposit on Voodoo D-Jab mountain bike.

gaz047

happy birthday chaz! get any bike stuff for your birthday?
32 years old and still get told to grow up

Chaz.Harding

Thanks gaz047!

Well, not really bought anything for my b-day to celebrate to be honest. A few weeks ago I bought a bashring, and some brake pads, but that's a need more than want

Besides, if you 'grow up' and take yourself too seriously, you get old and die, or become some kinda up-tight idiot!

Lifes too short NOT to have fun, right? :P 8)

SpinningJenny

Thewaylander wrote:

Any one notice that most ladies in these threads respond either - my other half or my ex... or my ex ex ex hmmm

Not I!

gaz047

you should definatly treat yourself chaz 21is a big one!!
your right there mate, don't fancy checking out any time soon
guess ill have to keep ignoring the pleas 8)

supersonic

A belated happy B day! Tis my bros today, should be a few pints sunk tonight!

dave_hill

The day I realised that riding on the road is neither fun nor cool.

meat

turned 40 in feb of this year and got my first every bike lol.... a giant trance 3 ... have to say love every min of it ...

Chaz.Harding

gaz047, personally, I don't think birthdays are really that big of a deal, to be honest.

I bloody hate the attention, and feel awkward when someone even says 'happy birthday' (but it's ok in letters, and on the forum. Thanks guys!!), let alone gives me a card!

But, I'm another year older... Quite surprised I've survived 21 years to be honest...! :shock:

Stay young forever! My step dad has perfected the art, I'm sure. He's 64, and still acts like he's 16. Mad! Still fights with the dog, and makes childish, immature jokes with everyone. Quality.

gaz047

lol im the same with birthdays as you chaz, just think of it as an opportunity to justify new bike stuff (only time of the year i can get away with a new purchase with no flak from the long haired general and christmas of course)
your step dad has the right idea, definatly the way forward 8)

Chaz.Harding

Definitely mate! Gotta be childish most of the time, it's FUN!!

Sometimes serious, but not too much!! 8)