Cowley Road ramps 7th March 1993...

It was purely by chance I managed to get this photo, it was a passing photography student whom enquired if she could take some pictures for her college work at the time. I believe that Alex & I both got one, which she developed herself & bought back to the park the following week? The image is a bit marked & scratchy but I still love it, wonder if Alex still has his? be cool to see it if so...

I'm riding my Mk 1 Hoffman Condor in blue
Beefed up rear dropouts & Alex's Canti mod front brake set-up
Haro kneesavers in black & chrome which actually broke off going over that very spine.
Manly 71's, sprocket pocket, OPC & DX's - bang on!
Zeronine wristwrap gloves, Dyno elbows & Hammer dogbowls/shins
Original 'the Crow' art T-shirt & a rather fetching hat...

That park was the tits, I remember some great sessions there as Sunil & I used to hit the place up at least once a week bitd. Also the Jam when Gerry Galley came over & totally ruled the place - awesome times indeed.

SWINDON RULER!

Birmingham to Oxford 1992...

This was a while ago, I did the B/ham - Ox ride with a work mate at the time & it was a great days ride. Seem to remember I cained the final 10 miles too! must have been a fit young man back then? I also remember Dawn waiting for me at the finish line & she was pregnant with our 1st child at the time.

I'm riding a Fisher Hoo-Koo-E-Koo (elevated stay Mountain bike)
Skinny road tyres
Scott AT4 bars (cut down)
Wardrobe by Cannondale & lenses by Oakley
Original Shimano SPD shoe/pedal combo
I don't recall who made the funky headwear tho...?
I'm also wearing a 'fanny' pack around my waste which I saw in my shed today

Go banana power!

Nearly 4 months!

Without a post, jeez I'm slack...

I've not really had the inclination to update for a while, sure I've been biking (lots of road rides & some BMX) but nothing has really made me want to talk about it.

I've been doing some good miles on my single speed (managed 82.5 of a century ride I took part in) & I've been riding Spiceball ramps, having some front brake sessions with Rayo now & again.

I've just got my printer/scanner set up & I found some old pictures that I wanted to share & maybe add some memories in words to...

Monday Monday...

Is a track by The Mama's & The Papa's

So the start of another week. It's hot & sunny & right on the money for a few miles out in the country on the bike with the breeze in your face. I had arranged to meet Tony for his recovery ride & we had a nice ride out which included much laughter a banter about the tribulations of life as we ate up 20 odd miles before we even knew where we were. Post ride we checked out some old BMX mags I had found in my folks loft when they moved house recently, drank coffee & talked films & cars until it was time out.

Splendid start to the week & I'm hoping my back continues to improve...

24 miles total

Back problems = no riding...

I've been suffering with a bad back which has kept me out of the saddle for a few weeks & I was getting quite down about it at one point as it seemed everyone around me was enjoying the nice weather out on their cycles. I have been wearing a back brace for a few weeks & along with a mountain of tablets, I am now feeling some improvement. So I have ridden my BMX a couple of sessions, once @ Long Itchington & the other in Banbury @ Spiceball. The ramp at long itchington is small, 4' high & no more than 16' wide but it is a little quicker than most small ramps I have ridden so was a bit of fun & a good release just to be back on the ply. I plan to return to session it with Joe this week sometime... The other session at Spiceball was great, I had my fingers crossed that Rayo would be about & true to form, his car was in the car park when I rolled up. We had a great session & he made some really good front brake tricks which stoked me up to go for it a little more. In all, we had a real good sesh & I was happy just to be able to ride again :-) As I'm sure you're aware we tend to take good health for granted & it's not until something prevents you from doing what you love, that you really appreciate what it means to you.

The other part of this post is regarding my road bike. I've decided to see if a shorter stem will maybe alleviate the back issues & to be honest, I've been more hesitant to get back on my Kona than my BMX. Iain D talked me into a gentle ride out just to see how we got on & we did have a good trip all told. During one of our usual loops out, I was feeling good so I said we should do the 5 mile run from the Top of Sunrising to Wroxton & time it, to get an idea of how long it takes me. Well off I went spinning my legs as fast as I could manage & I managed a 13:20 which I think is quite respectable for a mere novice such as I! I think I'll have crack at beating it every now & then to see if I can get it down much more than that.

So in conclusion, I'm being cautious & making sure I don't overdo it which really means stay off the steep up hills on my single speed for a while!

19 miles done.

Paddy Wagon 09 Review...

Found this review of the current PW:

Paddy wagon 2009

A weeks worth...

Done several rides over the last week to try to resolve my back issues (it isn't really helping):

Sunday

Iain & I did a nice big loop around some villages that I hadn't ridden to before. The weather was nice & it was a good ride out.

28 miles done.

BH Monday

Hooked up with some guys I've met through the shop & did part of their all day ride. We ended up over the other side of Brackley & I came back from Syresham down the Welsh Lane, leaving them to their meal time destination. The weather was pretty poor but at least the rain didn't really kick in beyond a few spots.

36 miles done.

Tuesday

Keeping it going, I decided to do one of my usual routes. I ended up with a puncture at 5 ways so spent 1/2 hour sorting that out. My seat pack of stuff for this eventuality turned out to work fine but I struggled with the valve on the replacement tube as it wasn't long enough for my deep section rim. I have now changed them for the long valve variety :-) The mini pump I bought did put 80 psi in the tyre but only after a rather excessive number of pumps... emergency only I suppose.

17 miles done

Thursday

After work I was feeling a little irritable so I went out for a quick blast. Took the Shipston Road out through Taddy & swalcliffe & attacked all the hills well & then went cross country to Shutford. I ended up riding all through Shutford trying to see where the roads went (they didn't) & then carried on over to the Stratford Road through Balscote & the kissing seat where I stopped for a drink & gaze across the country side for 5 minutes. The sunny weather makes these country lanes all the more enjoyable.

16 miles done

Sunday (again)

Iain & I did the Warwick Road-Camp lane-Edge Hill-Sunrising-Wroxton- N Newington loop. I asked Iain to check the distance from Sunrising hill to the Village Hall in Wroxton as Gmaps says it's 5 miles. Proceeded to spank it all the way with a head wind & it was indeed just over 5 miles. May start to time myself on this bit as it is undoubtedly my fave piece of road to spin out my pedals :-)

20 miles done


117 miles total from those rides which I'm very pleased with.