So far my mtb journey has had its up and downs, i can imagine most of us have very similar stories to tell. We all bear the scars and injuries this lifestyle brings for us, but we continue ! Some say we are crazy, but they just dont get it. The buzz, the aldraline rush what ever you want to call it, there is no better feeling than whizzing through the trees weeving in and out as your mind tries to keep up with all the information its taking in. For some its the thrill, some love the challenge, some just love being outdoors and for others its the balls in your mouth feeling when you take flight for even just a second or two. For me, i think its everything, i cant name one thing its the whole package. I am no hill climber i will give you that, the hill is just a thing to get up so we can come down. I dont care if we walk it, as long as we get to ride down it !
So as i think about 2017 and the adventures we got up to my mind has wondered and ive started to think why did i start a blog ? Well i guess its because i do get quite a bit of time alone, i live alone and i have my son Luca 2 days one week and 3 days the next week. I always get at least 4 days where i am alone, i run my own business so the day time is busy and if its a weekend day ive not got Luca i will be out on the bike with friends so i am far from lonely but the few evenings i am alone my mind does wonder a lot. I think thats a good thing, too many people these days label it with some form of new trend of mental issues. Its good to let the mind wonder, its what it does, your not any different to anyone else. Let it be free, be different, be you !
I thought why not put my thoughts along with my adventures in a blog, if no one reads it it wont matter its a good source of memories for myself and Luca. I shall be reading these when i am sat in a nursing home with nothing to do remembering the good times i had out on the bike and cursing myself for not looking after my bones and joints better haha.
Here i go then, my rambles and memories of 2017, the best one yet ! Luca is defo my best friend, i dont know where my life would be if i had walked away from him when me and his mother split. This boy gives me reason and a purpose to do my best, mountain biking all started because i wanted to be healthier and fitter (im still working on this part) to enjoy life with my son. Its such a great thing to see Luca enjoying the outdoor life as well, too many children sit in front of tv’s, iPads and xboxes all day. When he does he is like a zombie, i get no response or sence from him so i do restrict his iPad / games time (unless its raining 😏) and if the weather is dry we will always be out doing something on our weekends. I bang on about this a lot but this little boy really brought me to life ! I am 41 this year and they say life’s begins at 40, well it really did for me. I just think we as men finally grow up around 40 so life gets better anyway haha. Well we grow up a little 😉
This was also the year i also spent far too much on bikes, i used to have a drug addiction when i was a dj and im really not sure which is more expensive
🤔🤣 we shall get to that as i try to put this year into some sort of order i try to remember back to this time last year, Jan 2017. I remember i didnt ride much, i hate winter ! Getting out for a night ride takes so much more will power and energy, and then the washing of the bike and gear every ride. Thing is with winter is when i get home from work and put my tea on and sit down, my brain see’s it is dark outside and presumes its time to rest and get ready for bed. I stare out of the window nearly every night thinking I should go for a ride but rarely do. And weekend rides are the same, muddy slippy affairs with lots of washing to do when we get home.
Few of the lads took a trip up to Cumbria to check out a new bike park, Gnar.
Gnar was good, i love the idea of what he is creating. Proper 1 man in a shed in the woods builds a bike park, something i would love to do. Its a lot steeper than it looks and the push up is a killer but its great if love the more natural feel with the odd feature thrown in. We did visit again later on in the year hoping for dryer trails only to fond them worse, i think the more riders its had and the weather left it very muddy and slippy and we cut the ride short after a couple runs and headed off to Gisburn to play on the downhill tracks there. Will we go back to Gnar, yes i want to, but the trails need some maintenance. I need to go in the dry i would imagine its a whole different ball game then.
Feb was the first trip to bike park wales with the lads and brings us to our next video ...
Great trip again, i love this place.
Feb was also the month i took one of my work vans as my own van, i mean what kind of moutain biker can you be in a car. A van was the way to go ! And with that i had a plan, a LWB van as a camper van. Let the building commence ......
We had our camper, there was no stopping the adventures now, bunk beds for me and Luca.
Next on the agenda was a mtb tattoo, i had an idea of what i wanted and took it to a local guy. He did a fantastic job of getting what i wanted.
From this ...
To this ...
Do you recognize the guy on the bike 😏 nice shadow of myself on my leg.
Oh yes i bought a downhill bike, Trek Session 88. Great bike but i preffered my Santa Cruz for bike park wales and really only rode the downhill bike at Stiniog and Revolution once so it was sold as wasting space and gathering dust. I guess my riding is not up to par enough for a downhill bike, these bikes need to be rode fast to get the full benifit. Fast is not something i am on a bike, come on i am 41 years old - type 1 diabetic and overweight due to never doing any type of exercising before i found mountain biking, cut me a break haha.
But my riding in whole had improved, i was finding flow and speed at places i was comfy with .... que a ride back at the old stomping ground degla, and to test the new gimble i purchased for the go pro.
As you can hear i was having fun, degla was no longer a place where i held on with a death like grip, rigid body scared of what might happen, i was loose on the bike and enjoying it. Confidence was gaining and i started to feel worthy of the £5000 carbon Santa Cruz Nomad that was between my legs.
Now with the camper ready but spring not quite here yet I thought it was best I tested out sleeping in it on my own before I subject Luca to my diy of insulating a van. A weekend back at Bike Park Wales and a trip to Forest of Dean was on the cards for me, little weekend away all on my own.
And bumped into Taylor Vernon at BPW, had to ask for a selfie.
Also tried a bit of rock climbing, I’m not very good at this neither haha. But hey this seems to be the year I am trying all sorts out.
Luca’s 7th birthday was coming up in May so obviously my mind was on what bike to get him, now my mind thought if I got him a haibike hardfour 24” wheel he could do more than Degla blue with me and I can ride my hard tail around the trail centres at my pace as he has a battery. So I paid a deposit so it would be here in time for his birthday, and would you know a couple weeks later this gem pops up on facebook for sale for £500, bargain ! Went to see it and it was brand spanking new, looked like it had been around the park once and never used. So I had to get it. Now he will have 2 new bikes come his birthday so I let him have the kona stinky 24” and sold his hotrock 20”
Luca was now a proper mountain biker as well, age 6 with a stinky and soon was his 7th birthday and he would have 2 bikes !
Time for our first trip away in the camper just me and my boy, we headed off to the lakes.
Great trip away with Luca, he loved the lakes. Need to get back when its hot so we can jump in the lake.
He was pretty good on his new size bike so a trip to Degla was needed to see how much better a full sus was on the blue for him.
So we are up to May, Luca’s 7th birthday and he got his ebike, back to Degla again ! This time the red, Luca age 7 rode the red trail ... and better than some of the men haha.
And finally ...... we had some sunshine ☀️ spring was here the clocks changed and it was time for a new hobby, last year when we went to Cornwall Baz lent me his Santa Cruz pintail longboard as Luca was taking his longboard. So this year I got my own board and we spent Sunday nights skating around Southport pier.
Someone we knew Broke there shoulder in May on his bike and he had BPW tickets so me and Baz took a mid week trip. back to BPW again ... why the hell not.
I am going to finish this post here as there is so much more to come in 2017, fort bill / more rides / adventures and a very unfortunate event for a close friend.
So far things are amazing, my riding has come on a lot, I am having fun and relaxing a bit more, Luca has his new bikes and he is loving getting out at the weekends with his dad and tells all his friends and his mum all about them. Its safe to say the mtb bug has took over my life, its become a way of life a lifestyle. I can finally go back to wearing clothes i feel comfy in, back to having my own identity instead of trying to think what others would like me to wear. Yes I am still single by the way but for the first time in my life I don’t care, I’m happy and happy with who I am. Life is great and its all down to the new mindset and new lifestyle that mountain biking has gave me. Ok not 100% mountain biking but it’s helped shaped who I am, helped me be positive and let me be the person I always knew I was. Rene G is back in a whole new form and I love it.
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