hello everyone - first posting after i just found this forum
what a great idea!
been reading this topic with some great interest as i was one of the first round here who had a mountain bike back in 1982
i saw in magazines some seriously trick stuff comin from the US and quickly decided i had to have one - sold my road bike for a ridgeback - then took it down to see Jack Taylor - well as you might know jack n his 2 brothers were from stockton on tees where i live (they have long since retired) they saw the bike i had and after i told them i wanted it modified for use in errrr 'british climate' he said well how - he had never seen such a bike before - he asked if he could borrow it for a few days to drool over it - lol - i had lots of mods done to it - moving cables to top tubes rear hub brakes, carring straps, water cage brackets, carrier brackets and so on - at the time most bikes just didnt have any sort of suspension just my backside n arms! lol
we used to have a meeting of 5-10 riders at great ayton area - going off into the north york moors every week some names - graham longstaff, fred cumber, simon kipling.. loads of others - these were days where it wasnt about speed but finding the deepest muddiest rutted track we could and trying to ride the full length of it... class days...
we had on a number of occasions the Orange mountainbike guys come over from the lakes - lester noble, dan... cant remember his name - they were really good racers.. very quick and they usually turned up with some pretty trick and new machines... i remember one day he turned up with a rear suspension frame he had made.. we where so jaw dropped - WTF is that!!!!!!!! on a hill it was unbeatable - as he pedalled the rear bit more - cool bit of kit!
some race events if anyone remembers
Viking Chase?? - cleveland search and rescue organised event - 13.5 miles either bike, run or walk - some mean climbs..
Boltby Bash?? - that was a mainly forest thrash with some very very fast gravel roads
Polaris challenge?? - 2 days orienteering over the NY moors - you had half the co-ordinates one day - half the next - camped out in between - was 'kin freezin.. peed down first day - froze over night - was boggy second - came 50th overall out of 500.. chuffed with that... :roll:
did the Man vs Bike vs Horse once - lol - got wet...
Grundig challenge in aviemore??? a round of the world champs
was called the calsberg challenge the year before same place - 60 miles off road through the rothiemurcus estate - 3 laps - bout 3 river crossing each lap with water waist deep - even had the army arm locked in a chain to catch people who got washed away!!! :shock:
anyone remember Jez avery? the one wheel wonder with his swiss flop or summink?? lol - was a magician on a bike..
i remember doing the cleveland colleges cyclo cross championships on my bike one year - there was 2 entrants - me n danny pluck - he turned up once at normanby college for the race straight from work at british steel in his donkey jacket and hob nails - raced in em too.. brilliant race - the track ended up in a total muddy slop like water.. nearly hub deep - we all looked like mud monsters finding it hard to move..
we had to be creative tho with the bikes - due to weather and mud we needed some mods doing.. rim brakes didnt work at the time - basic cantilevers just didnt have any power - had worked on many a design of mud scrapers, seat suspension (made a carry strap from an old leather belt for those long moors carries
)and on n on.. man i wish i could go back n do those days again.. i still have my bike in the workshop now - wouldnt get rid of it - now painted in stars n stripes with yellow n white stripes...
would be nice to meet or get in touch with some of the guys again - havnt seen them in over 20 years or more