The story...

Taking us back to 2002

Choice of 3...
1) New BMX
2) New fork and wheels for Chameleon
3) New camera and slave flash setup

Decisions decisions.

Nostalgia's never a good thing!

It's been a funny old week. I've been reflecting on the weekend and reminiscing about the old days of Fearingout.

Back in the day we used to mock the guys on full sussers doing trails. We used to mock the guys wearing helmets, camelbaks, arm and knee pads. We thought we were it - xc hardtails with a few choice upgrades, GAP shorts and cotton t-shirts, Vans trainers - the only comprimise being decent gloves.
Then slowly over the years the toys and gadgets have crept in... admittedly as we got faster and crashed more helmets and pads became a must (we all have a day job unfortunately)... but with it came base layers, camelbaks, special shorts and coats.

Somewhere along the way I think I got lost.

Anyway enough of the nostalgia bollocks - what do I want to do about it I thought?
Well I'm thinking DH shorts paired with short sleeved chequed shirts - piss pot or full face helmets and flat pedals...

Maybe I'm just having a mid life crisis!

Anyway got an email from Scott about the video preview below - cheers mate - it's made me re-evaluate things. I really enjoy making films - films of us lot riding. It's never been about the amazing stunts but Scott mentioned something that got me thinking? Do you lot really value it? At Innerleithen I was really upset with the piss take slow riding past the camera - maybe you lot don't value it as much as I do?

Fearingout used to be a lot about messing around with your mates, pushing back up to get a better photo, pushing yourself further and riding new stuff.
I'm going to take it back to it's roots this summer. Camera wielding rather than video camera wielding...

So tonight then, good ride.
Changeable weather, but Jon and Chris joined me and we had a good laugh. Charity Lane was BONE DRY - very quick (not so quick with a streaming nose though - damn cold) and great fun. It all bode well for the singletrack... which turned out to be AMAZINGLY fast - wicked on the roots! We stopped half way to investigate alternative routes around the fallen tree and have started a new line above the fallen obstacle. It was fun. Scouting for lines. Messing about and feeling like this is really where it's at!

Oh and big up Jon for his retro chrome BMX bars! Good lad - they look awesome!

Macclesfield Forest 14/5/09

Lee Quarry and Scotland Video

Scotland in brief...

Well got back mid evening after an eventful two days north of the border with Ross, Phil, Chris, Scott, Leo, James and Terry...

Day 1 the 8 of us hit up Glentress red route with a few extras and with Scott as the guide I think we managed a good mix of new and old. Lots of fun for the 5 of us who stuck together as James, Terry and Leo got seperated mid ride after some of us pushed back up Spooky Woods for a second run. High fives, whoops and hollas all round.

The evening brought curry and beer and me home early with me cold and the other lads back about 1ish bar Terry, Phil, Chris and Scott who somehow ended up invited to a randoms house for a few hours with a long walk home getting back after 3.

Day 2 and the supposed better weather never arrived - infact it got worse! Terrential rain at parts and gale force winds survival kicked in and we just got round as quick as possible at Innerleithen. A good ride, and some good descents, just shame about the weather.

Props to Terry for leading the pack all day despite his late night!

Some crap photos below - got a bit of video but really I should pull the finger out and get snapping again properly!

Scotland 8-9/5/09

Scotland - this weekend!

Scotland Weekender... It's come round fast hasn't it! Yeah this Friday sees us head north of the border to Peebles for a couple of days of singletrack heaven.

Weather isn't looking too clever so take a couple of sets of riding clothes plus some wet-weather gear. I guess we can't always have dry rides in the borders - mind you last April we had snow!

CLICKY FOR THE WEATHER

See you all at the Red-Squirrel car park (by the freeride park) before 12pm (lunchtime) on Friday!

Nothing like a crash...

...to make you realise your human!

Pushing the limits - that's my excuse. More likely just arsing about but anyway I now sport another nice graze to the fore-arm and a broken bike!

Lee Quarry was inspiring - completely different to my last visit and as Jon reported recently totally awesome.

We now have a really decent trail within 1 hours drive.

Anyway after fitting Ross's new headset and pedals he and I headed over in the Mondadeo. Good ride, good weather, good fun. Video will be in Episode 9 - possibly a taster before too!

Photos below. Bring on Scotland - at least the bike dilemma is over - the hardtail needs a new left hand shifter.

Lee Quarry 2/5/09

This is more like it...

Macclesfield Forest 30/04/09

This week Chris and I were joined by Tony - who's been riding in the area for 12 months but never had come out with us... a little aprehensive about his fitness (for now reason!) and the descending I think but he really enjoyed himself.

We did Charity Lane, which was wet but not a river this week... and then Tony encouraged us to do the bottom of the oven track - great stuff. The top half was a good laugh pumping the doubletrack for speed and launching off the little humps and yumps. Luckily I remembered as a I approached what looked like a big water bar jump on the horizon that it got a lot steeper - hell it was like dancing on ice on the loose stuff but great laugh. Trying not to kill myself without braking, not quite foot out flat out like Scott on Episode 7 but still - great fun. Then we showed Tony the singletrack which was a little wet and sketchy but worth it.

Lee Quarry
Ross and I are riding Lee Quarry on Saturday afternoon, hoping to be joined by Jon. Anyone else interested phone me or Facebook me.

Scotland
All plans are in place for the Scotland weekender - looking forward to it and riding with Scott again. Plans to fit three bikes in the Saxo though might not come to fruition. We'll have to see!

Bank holiday jaunt?

Does anyone fancy a ride up at Lee Quarry at some point over the bank holiday - I was thinking Saturday late morning and afternoon?

After Jon's glowing report the other week I thought it would serve as a good Scotland warm up and opportunity to get the video camera out for the first time in 2009!

Word from Warnock...

"Blue skies, 17 Degrees (felt like more), only 6 people on the trails all day...good stuff... Very rocky and dusty is how I'd sum up Ae at the moment... Deceiving "descend" sign. Down into Ups are my pet hates at trail centres"

Check out his Facebook photos via the link (click the photo).

Remember matey - wear your gloves!
See you in a few weeks for the Scotland weekender...

DVD update
First section on this years DVD is likely to be Lee Quarry in a few weeks though as warm up! :)

Wideopen Issue 9!

It's here - Wideopen Issue 9 has been some time in the making but go check out the new site and latest issue...

Word from Jamie:
Summer is here and the gate has dropped on the first races of the season… Seems like a bloody good time for a new issue of Wideopen magazine!

Yep – that’s right. Issue 9 of Wideopen is now online. As ever, it’s 100% free and online ready for you to download at http://www.wideopenmag.co.uk

It features over 100 pages of exclusive features, interviews, bike tests, goregeous photos and of course UK race reports:

- Tracy Moseley interview
- Propain Rage world exclusive test
- Exclusive look at ‘Rowan Sorrell’s’ proto DH bike
- Genesis Alpitude test
- Winter in Southern Spain with DHSpain
- Al Evans interview
- Gawton scene check
… and loads more

If that ‘aint enough we’ve completely re-launched our website to look better, work better and feature more great content between issues of the mag.

That’s it. Get over to http://www.wideopenmag.co.uk and check it out now!

***Can you help promo Wideopen? Here's 3 ways...***

- Update your status with "Wideopen issue 9 is ONLINE at www.wideopenmag.co.uk"

- Steal the wideopenmag.co.uk group photo and use it as your profile pic

- post a link to www.wideopenmag.co.uk on your profile.

Cheers everyone!

http://www.wideopenmag.co.uk