MartinYorkshire
Retro Guru
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Once upon a time I asked my parents for a mountain bike for Christmas. This was the result of trying to get out on rides with my friends on my Stormer BMX (with white mags!!), which in itself was a nice bike, but lacking off road.
My buddies had a motley collection of bikes, a Dawes, Specialized Rockhopper, Marin Muirwoods and Eldridge Grade.
So Christmas day comes. Im excited. My parents had always been the generous type and considerate when it came to Christmas presents. I had been the recipient in previous years of such wonders as the original Star Wars Millenium Falcon no less!
I raced down stairs in, I think 1990 to find a bike sized wrapped package in the living room. This is 5am and Im wired to the hilt expecting to unwrap some wild mountain biking exotica.
Off comes the paper and underneath, in all its yellow and black glory.....
An Apollo Atomic.
Well, my heart sank immediately and to this day I am not sure my parents understand quite how profoundly this affected me.
A second package awaited me in a large box. By this time I was feeling a bit sick following the disappointment but as kids do, you tend to press on. The second gift revealed, well blow me if it wasnt a Britax Integra helmet in bright neon green. Basically an Etto for financially challenged and or clueless.
(http://about.nsw.gov.au/media/image...le-helmet-1253849344--5021924038656004096.jpg)
For the next 6 months I was felt like a pauper (not the case in reality). I was forced to pull out of rides when the going got tough. It was a total nightmare. I felt entirely humiliated.
Consider riding next to your best friend who has his beautiful new Deore DX Eldridge Grade on a rough backwoods trail. You're on an Apollo Atomic, which is embarassing in itself, nevermind next to people riding Marins and other "proper" bikes.
Well, suffice to say, when I'd asked for a mountain bike, my parents had fallen into the trap and gone to Halfords, instead of doing research on what a mountain bike actually is.
I still wince when I think about it.
However, there is a happy ending.
After about 3 months of total humiliation on the trails, I pulled my dad to one side and explained what was going on. That I felt embarassed because I couldnt ride properly and felt like my frame was going to break every five minutes.
My Dad, and Im lucky here, is a super understanding guy and once I explained my feeling he said he would sort it out.
Two weeks later, on a Saturday, he asked me to get into the car. I wasnt sure for what reason. Turned out we were going to visit a local bike shop where, after consultation with the Eldridge Grade owners Dad, he had decided to take me.
We arrived and I was introducted to a Yeti PRO-FRO and asked to try it for size!!!
If you can imagine the feelings of a young kid, sitting on a bike he'd only ever dreamed off from magazines, well, its hard to explain. Star Wars could go to hell as far as I was concerned at that point!
The sort of sad part of this story is that the Yeti was too big! I was horrified and so so wanted to grow another 2 inches to fit it. Alas, it was not to be and the bike shop owner told me to look at other models.
Anyway, sitting in the corner not far away, was an Alpinestars Al-Mega DX. I fell in love instantly. Amazing flouro colours, sweet group set, which was a mix of DX and XT, nice rims, everthing was perfect.
Within 20 minutes, a well contented MartinYorkshire rode out of the store, yes rode (!), on a 6 month old Al-Mega.
Suffice to say, the next ride I went on was a little bit different.
The bike went away long ago, but I'll never forget that feeling of owning my first "proper" bike.
My buddies had a motley collection of bikes, a Dawes, Specialized Rockhopper, Marin Muirwoods and Eldridge Grade.
So Christmas day comes. Im excited. My parents had always been the generous type and considerate when it came to Christmas presents. I had been the recipient in previous years of such wonders as the original Star Wars Millenium Falcon no less!
I raced down stairs in, I think 1990 to find a bike sized wrapped package in the living room. This is 5am and Im wired to the hilt expecting to unwrap some wild mountain biking exotica.
Off comes the paper and underneath, in all its yellow and black glory.....
An Apollo Atomic.
Well, my heart sank immediately and to this day I am not sure my parents understand quite how profoundly this affected me.
A second package awaited me in a large box. By this time I was feeling a bit sick following the disappointment but as kids do, you tend to press on. The second gift revealed, well blow me if it wasnt a Britax Integra helmet in bright neon green. Basically an Etto for financially challenged and or clueless.
(http://about.nsw.gov.au/media/image...le-helmet-1253849344--5021924038656004096.jpg)
For the next 6 months I was felt like a pauper (not the case in reality). I was forced to pull out of rides when the going got tough. It was a total nightmare. I felt entirely humiliated.
Consider riding next to your best friend who has his beautiful new Deore DX Eldridge Grade on a rough backwoods trail. You're on an Apollo Atomic, which is embarassing in itself, nevermind next to people riding Marins and other "proper" bikes.
Well, suffice to say, when I'd asked for a mountain bike, my parents had fallen into the trap and gone to Halfords, instead of doing research on what a mountain bike actually is.
I still wince when I think about it.
However, there is a happy ending.
After about 3 months of total humiliation on the trails, I pulled my dad to one side and explained what was going on. That I felt embarassed because I couldnt ride properly and felt like my frame was going to break every five minutes.
My Dad, and Im lucky here, is a super understanding guy and once I explained my feeling he said he would sort it out.
Two weeks later, on a Saturday, he asked me to get into the car. I wasnt sure for what reason. Turned out we were going to visit a local bike shop where, after consultation with the Eldridge Grade owners Dad, he had decided to take me.
We arrived and I was introducted to a Yeti PRO-FRO and asked to try it for size!!!
If you can imagine the feelings of a young kid, sitting on a bike he'd only ever dreamed off from magazines, well, its hard to explain. Star Wars could go to hell as far as I was concerned at that point!
The sort of sad part of this story is that the Yeti was too big! I was horrified and so so wanted to grow another 2 inches to fit it. Alas, it was not to be and the bike shop owner told me to look at other models.
Anyway, sitting in the corner not far away, was an Alpinestars Al-Mega DX. I fell in love instantly. Amazing flouro colours, sweet group set, which was a mix of DX and XT, nice rims, everthing was perfect.
Within 20 minutes, a well contented MartinYorkshire rode out of the store, yes rode (!), on a 6 month old Al-Mega.
Suffice to say, the next ride I went on was a little bit different.
The bike went away long ago, but I'll never forget that feeling of owning my first "proper" bike.
No pics though. 
