Wednesday, August 31, 2005
hello, this is my first update, if james cant be assed then i spose i have to, this probly wont work anyway!
max high on the racer line
louis on the 3rd
will table new line
we have been riding a fair bit recently, bits and bobs at wingham, stuffs running good and fast. we have had a few sesions with the churtsey and epsom lot wich has been good. its good to see your trails being enjoyed by others people.
me, max and will went to barend the other week and loved the trails, everything is real smooth, the locals have put a lot of work in there for sure.
churtsey are my new favourite trails! shit is banging down there.
max high on the racer line
louis on the 3rd
will table new line
we have been riding a fair bit recently, bits and bobs at wingham, stuffs running good and fast. we have had a few sesions with the churtsey and epsom lot wich has been good. its good to see your trails being enjoyed by others people.
me, max and will went to barend the other week and loved the trails, everything is real smooth, the locals have put a lot of work in there for sure.
churtsey are my new favourite trails! shit is banging down there.
Hellohello. Its crazy hot today and I'm working, ah well, its money. This summer has probably been one of the best ever. Been so many places met so many great people and have had fun everyday. Highlight has got to be the Porsche Carrera2 driving, the boxter didn't stand a chance. Its good having a job because money doesn't just grow on trees you know, unless your lucky. Anyway. back to Plymouth on the 16th September. Should be good. Back to riding indoor and concrete parks again. Its not to bad because it rains a lot in Plymouth so indoor parks are always good.
Good times at Domain indoor park, very tight vert wall carve.
Better ride as much trails as poss i guess. Ive uploaded some pictures from some competition in Plymouth, some vert thing on a beach. Not to sure, my sis took them so i have not a clue who/where it is.
In other news Si's leg is getting better, healing slowly. A skateboarder almost got beaten up by a little black kid that was just shouting at him... dont get me started. Wisley looking good. Just tiding up, dont come down.
Go to Cyclopedia because Gareth's bmx section is getting good. He knows what to get in stock, no normal crap you get, high quality parts. Advert for it soon.
Good times at Domain indoor park, very tight vert wall carve.
Better ride as much trails as poss i guess. Ive uploaded some pictures from some competition in Plymouth, some vert thing on a beach. Not to sure, my sis took them so i have not a clue who/where it is.
In other news Si's leg is getting better, healing slowly. A skateboarder almost got beaten up by a little black kid that was just shouting at him... dont get me started. Wisley looking good. Just tiding up, dont come down.
Go to Cyclopedia because Gareth's bmx section is getting good. He knows what to get in stock, no normal crap you get, high quality parts. Advert for it soon.
Picture sections been updated:
Randomness
Street
Milford
Wisley
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Couldnt ride today because I woke up with a fucked neck, how shit is that. Anyhow went to Milford and took some pics, go see in the media section. Then stopped off down Wis with Aitken and Digs and took a few more, again, go see.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Video
Quick update, made video of woburn from Sunday. Another video coming soon when im not feeling hungover or working. Lovely.
WoburnAug05.wmv
Pretty much sums it up
Oh and also heres a turndown
WoburnAug05.wmv
Pretty much sums it up
Oh and also heres a turndown
Monday, August 22, 2005
Quick update because I've gotta go out in a min. Woburn on Sunday, very good day, I didnt ride much myself but ate shit-loads of meat....mmmmm meat.... Matt licked Jimmy. Look at pics for what else happened, although that was the highlight really. pics > Woburn
Reminder about Fri night: People come to kingston, will be sick.
Reminder about Fri night: People come to kingston, will be sick.
Havent been updating much recently because of lots of riding, good thing too because its now raining non stop. Went to woburn the other day. Its a long way to go, M25 then M1. Was a really nice day, hot and lots of people were there. Will put up some pictures from my camera that seems to be slowly breaking. Gareth has got some good ones from his pro camera so I'm sure you will see them up soon. Making a video at the moment, big file tho. Might put together a woburn one. Lots stuff been happening at a location that i should really talk about so you will just have to guess what has been happening. Vague i know.
Have a look at this video if you love pegs: http://www.peg-leg.net/PLFL.mov
Have a look at this video if you love pegs: http://www.peg-leg.net/PLFL.mov
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Found this site with Cornwall pics on... really good pictures, also funny ones like this one below of Matt falling off and Seb laughing at him. haha.
More pictures here> http://www.pbase.com/prisk/saturday_06th_august
G's pics here> Trails Road Trip '05
More pictures here> http://www.pbase.com/prisk/saturday_06th_august
G's pics here> Trails Road Trip '05
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Whos up for going out in Kingston on the weekend of fri 26th? Its Dig's and jimmys Birthday on the wednesday before so it'd be cool if we could get a big crew out. Woburn and Milford boys up for comin down? Leave a message in the book.
Gareth
Gareth
Hey, its Gareth here, I've been pressured into a large roadtrip update by James so here goes... Im struggling to remember stuff so bear with me if i get things wrong!
Day 1
Everyone met round Dig's house at about 11.30
Starting lineup:
Elliot
Digs
Aitken
J Rae
Rob
Jimmy
Sam
Tilly
Justin
Div
Ricky (Duke)
and myself
with G and Nick on cameras.
We arrived at Romsey, sweet trails, I'd say one of the best spots of the trip. It rained, lots.
We set up the tents for the first time and headed to the pub for some food. After food it was still raining so we stayed for a drink, naturally. G nearly got thrown out when he threw a packet of ketchup at Sam and it landed in his drink, splashing the bar man. Someone, I think it was Tilly, had one fo the funniest videos I've ever seen on his phone, everyone was pissing themselves and I think we got some strange looks from people over the noises coming from it. Ask him to show you sometime... Anyway, the pub closed so Elliot drove us back in the bus, where we stayed for a goodwhile drinking some more, I cant remember all that well but Im sure the video footage is going to be funny. Shakey Head!!! Got woken up that night by Jon scrambling wildy for the tent door and then throwing up just outside, which had to avoid when entering or leaving the tent for the next 2 nights, awesome.
Day 2
Woke up, Jon didnt, all day. We got the trails riding, it was surprisingly dry considering the weather. A good session went down, eveyone was well up for it after not being able to ride the previous day. Jimmy and Div wee both twisting the last set, and I think Jimmy did the last 2 sets in one run. Everyone was looking pretty good here, Tilly did some nice table over the twisty hip.
Large Macdonalds session before quiet drink at pub. Back to bed, avoiding the puddle of vomit.
Day 3
Woke up to rain, and to find the Romsey unrideable. The decision was made to go to Bar End, just to have a look since we figured it'd be far to wet. When we arrived there we were amazed to discover that they were almost completely rideable, only the back line was too wet. A sick session went down, Jimmy and Sam goin high on everything, Tilly and Justin looking smooth and stylish, and Rob and Aitken getting tech with the little twisty line, before linking it into the big sets at the end of a line i dont knwo the name of. I was loving the needle hip, sick jump, and te last set, massively long and high lips are the way forward. My fave trails of the trip by far. Rory turned up later, showing his local-ness by being super smooth everywhere. Also one of the soundest people I've ever met. BBQ went down using cheap grills from tesco, good shiiiiit. Afterwards we had a bit of left over meat, so we decided to fire it out of Jons three man catapult, I dont know if I've ever laughed so much in my life... We left and drove to a campsite, I have no idea where it was but it wasnt far from Romsey.
Tents went up, then El, Digs me and Aitken went to the pub while everyone else did something else. Came back, bed.
Day 4
Shower! Best shower of my life after 4 days of sweatyness. Felt good to be clean, although I had to by kitchen towell to dry myself because i forgot to bring a towell. Loaded up the Vans and headed towards Bournemouth to Colehill Trails. After a fair bit of searching we found them, they were faaar to wet but looked pretty cool. Met up with Matt and John in their camper here. Nice to see them both, havent in a while and their both funny as anythin. Decided to head up to bath to see the trails there. On the way there many people where heckled and had stuff thrown at them, mostly by Ollie. He has a gift for that sort of thing. On arrival at the trails they looked awesome, lines everywhere all covered in carpet, and of a nice fun looking size. On riding them however, no one really got on with them. They had a strange, feel, maybe due to the carpet. For most people I expect that this was the low point of the trip, for me it was at least. A small session happened though, Ollie was doing some very nice tables on a small jump.
When everyone got bored at bath we set off for Davages house in Glastonbury, minus angry Jon, who left us at this point to go on holiday. On the way G dropped his hat out the window while filming and jimmy annoyed a pikey who threatened to petrol bomb the bus if he saw us again. Something about Jimmy calling his mate a scruffy bastard. And oh yeh, apparently we're foreigners... Anyway we got past the pikeys and made it to Jims house, who kindly offered to take the lot of us in, but we felt bad so he showed us a place in the woods we could stay. But first food, a kebab place in town, after which Matt, Ollie, John, Seb and Jimmy had fun chatting up some underage girls while other people went for a pick up. Back to woods eventually, puttin up tents in the dark is hard. I couldnt find my sleeping bag in the dark so ended up puttin on all my clothes to sleep, was cold, not fun.
Day 5
Once everyone was up we headed towards Kerswell (?), stopping at Tescos on the way for breakfast and to abuse their toilet facilities. After much driving down skinny lanes where you cant see over the hedges we arrived at the trails, which are next to a field, and hench pretty open.
Unfortunately it was particularly windy that day, which made things...interesting. I decided I couldnt be bothered with the wind as bad as it was, so sat down to watch a very unpredictable session. Everyone was riding good, but every now and again they would get caught by a massive gust of wind and go sideways. Later the wind died down a little and some sick trains went down, loads of riders crossing lines all the way down. Its all on video so check it out. Then everyone chilled for a nice barbie sesh. The wind had almost gone completely by now, so I decided i should at least have a bit of a ride. So I did. I didnt get on with the trails to well, but it was fun anyway.
Once it had got dark we decided to pack up the vans, intelligent that. Newman showed us a playing field he reckoned would be cool for us to stay on. It was a pretty sweet setup, nice even ground. El got the genny and floodlights going, which i would have expected to annoy the people in the houses, but they didnt complain, so that was cool. Sat up throwing weetos at Jimmy into the early hours of the morning.
Day 6
Everyone was up fairly early, got the vans packed and headed of in the general direction of Decoy. Yet another Tescos stop on the way for a bit of brekkie, they should have been a trip sponsor really. I am informed by the reliable source that is Mr Digby that Jimmy very nearly got kicked out of this one for, and I quote 'looking evil', something to do with staring at te lady behind the cafe counter or something. Anyway, we left and arrived at Decoy. The trails were a bit of a disappointment to be honest, very comp orientated, just three big sets in a row as the main line, and everything looked a bit shady. Only a few people bothered to ride here, 'evil' Jimmy, Sam, Davage and comp Matt I think were the only ones. Jimmy was going fucking high on the first though, and Matt had some nice twists on the large, and was also the only one to attempt the sketchy lookin bigger hip line, with varying degrees of success.
The rest of us had a play on the track, which was awesome, soooo smooth and well maintained, although it was impossible to make it round a full circuit in one go at full speed. Me and Rob ahd a great time getting tech with some manual sections, jumping into manuals and manualling triples and stuff. A few races were had, but I've got no idea wat the results are, although Seb was looking quick, he must have been doing some squat thrusts and drinking his power-shakes the previous night. I think Ollie was the only person to jump the first straight big set, which was pretty large. An unsuccessful attempt by Ricky 'straight outta compton' was amusing. Anyway we all got bored pretty quick and it was decided to head off to portreath, but not before Rob entertained us with his juggling skills for a while, which was very impressive.
We arrived in portreath to find what I belive to be the best official dirt spot in the country. The Woburn boys hae done an awesome job of the trails, and yes they're actually trails rather than comp jumps, which is nice. The 4x track also looks amazing, although a little bumpy to ride effectively on a bmx.
This is Steve, he runs things down at The Track in Portreath, he rules. A large marquee had been put up for the weekend, which we slept in that night, it was nice not to have to put the tents up.
Night 6
The funniest night of the trip, and thats saying a lot because most nights were very funny. We took the minibus down to the beach at portreath. After being refused entry to the first bar, the 20 or so of us ( a few over the minibuses intended capacity) ened up in a place that may well have been called Shakers. Food was ordered and eaten and then the drinking began. Ollie, John, Seb and Matt had their own very sophisticated looking table, with wine and everything. This didnt last very long. A fair few bottles later and Sebs shirt was getting ripped up to form a rather attractive looking bra-type contraption (elliot has pics) and Ollie was pebble-dashing the toilet, but not before buying me a cigar, which was nice of him. Everyone else was drinking a combination of beer and many varying shots. Apparently, according to the barman, we went through 3 bottles of aftershock, along with other random things. Comp Matt got slapped across the stomach with a variety of objects, and had the marks in the morning to prove it. Things get a little hazy here, but we eventually left, and there was a good bit of tussling at the minibus. I vaguely remember being in a puddle at the bottom of a large pile of people, it hurt. Somehow we got home, I think Elliot was driving, so cheers El. The genny and lights were set up in the marquee and a bit of indoor speedway went down. Although I dont think anybody made it past the first corner. I have memories of the groud coming towards my face, and of seeing Justin go head on into one of the large tent poles at a fair speed. Some bright spark (possibly Jimmy) then deicided running races would be a good idea. He tripped me up on the first corner and I looked up to see G getting full on rugby tackled, at a sprint, by Champers, it looked like he was going to be dead, but hes still alive. Someone managed to convince comp Matt that a bunnyhop backflip would be a good idea, it wasnt, although it was hilarious to watch. How he didnt break his neck I'll never know. Ollie in the meantime had been sitting in the corner of the massive tent in the fetal position, looking like he was about to die. Eventually everyone went to bed, but not before Jimmy started chucking around some french bangers, kindly donated by Champ. Some random kid got one down his sleeping bag, which must have sucked for him.
Day 7
A pretty chilled day, sessiong the trails. It was a bit windy for most of the time, although it died down in the evening and a sick session was had, with enough people to loop round to produce infinite trains, which should look good on camera. We all rode until it got to dark, then a BBQ was had. it was decided at this point that angry Jons legacy (a bomb shaped object with russian writing all over it that he believed to be a smoke grenade) should be unleashed. El made the first attempt, but pussied it. Steve then stepped up, and threw it by the cord that we believed set it off, so it flew away from us. It lay on the ground and fizzled with sparks coming out the end, everyone looked scared and stepped back a bit. Loads of orange smoke came out the end, which smelt like it was going to burn your lungs out. Nice. It got thrown around for a bit before it died. Im glad it was a smoke bomb and nobody got blown up. Relatively early night, I think everyone was feeling it from the night before.
Day 8
Got up fairly early to do a bit of work on the trails. We got everyting patched up all nice, then Matt, John, Jimmy and myself went to the swimming pool to get clean. First though, predictably enough, we stopped at Tescos. It was the biggest Tescos ever, sooooo big! Took ages to find a towel, ended up finding them in a well random place. The swim was one of the best things all week, we went on the slide, which was surprisingly sketchy, about halfway down there was a tight turn that almost made u do a full loop, but not quite, which was cool. John and Matt taught Jimmy to dive, watching Jimmy go under water is funny. Out of the pool, shower with Tescos value shower shit, nice and refreshed. Back to The Track (imaginative name that) for a bit of riding.
Practice for the comp began, lots of snaking going down, and wayward knees everywhere. I had a bit of a ride, enjoyed doing some bow-leggers for the crowd. Its weird riding with people watching. Aitken somehow landed the job of commentator for the comp, and did a great job, everyone I've spoken to was really impressed. I was appointed a judge, so all those people moaning you can blame me if u werent happy. Anyone bitch cranking was instantly put out of the running, and style and control was taken as a major factor. So thats why you didnt do well if you were one of those just hucking big tricks. Special mention to Elliot riding in open for some of the most stretched bow leggers I've seen in a while. Also to Tilly for riding really smooth and pulling some nice tricks I didnt know he could do. Pro was pretty sick, biggest thing attempted would have to be Si's flip transfer attempt, fucking nuts. Unfortunately on his second attempt Si decked himself with a massive gash in his leg. It then started raining so the comp was ended. Glen was chosen as the winner in the end, because he was doing a wide variety of tricks and looking nice and controlled. Also he seemed to be having a really good time, which seemed pretty rare amongst the comp riders. I had been drinking from about 4 so was well on my way by this point. It was Elliots birthday, so the tent had some music, and some dudes playing some footage from the trip on the ceiling. The DJ was awful. I dont know much about that night because i got on the Tescos value Cider and premium lager a bit to early and the I dont remember anything until waking up the next morning in my tent. Apparently a few people went to some club full of sluts and had a good time, so if anyone knows that story feel free to leave it in the guestbook.
Day 9
Woke up, amazingly with no hangover. It was a beautiful day, pity the comp wasnt on then instead. Had a good sesh on the trails with everyone before it was time to leave. James had come down for the weekend and had very kindly offered to give me a lift home in his car. Hopefully that made a bit more room for people in the minibus. The drive home was fairly uneventful, with a stop Jame's nan's house, where we saw his Aunties pink limo, which is pimp as. Im sure hel put a pic up here soon. Got passed by mark on the way home, then passed Matt and John in the camper.
Took some arty photos due to boredom.
Thanks
This trip was amazing, Im so glad I went. I'd like to say thanks to everyone that went, I got to get to know some really cool people in that week, and everyone ruled. Its been feeling really strange since I've been back not to be around everyone and riding and having a laugh every day, as sad as it might sound, I miss everyone. It was one fo the best weeks ever, and I really hope it happens again. Special thanks goes to El for organising everything, and him, Digs and Jon for driving.
More pics up in the media section in the 'Trails Roadtrip 2005' album. Hopefully El will get some of his up soon to.
Cheers everyone.
Roadtrip Pictures here> Trails Road Trip '05
Day 1
Everyone met round Dig's house at about 11.30
Starting lineup:
Elliot
Digs
Aitken
J Rae
Rob
Jimmy
Sam
Tilly
Justin
Div
Ricky (Duke)
and myself
with G and Nick on cameras.
Elliot managed to blag a van and a minibus, big up europcar, you rock. After a lot of waiting for people and a trip to Tescos we started packing the vans, everything fitted, just. I think it was at around 2 or so we set off.
We arrived at Romsey, sweet trails, I'd say one of the best spots of the trip. It rained, lots.
We set up the tents for the first time and headed to the pub for some food. After food it was still raining so we stayed for a drink, naturally. G nearly got thrown out when he threw a packet of ketchup at Sam and it landed in his drink, splashing the bar man. Someone, I think it was Tilly, had one fo the funniest videos I've ever seen on his phone, everyone was pissing themselves and I think we got some strange looks from people over the noises coming from it. Ask him to show you sometime... Anyway, the pub closed so Elliot drove us back in the bus, where we stayed for a goodwhile drinking some more, I cant remember all that well but Im sure the video footage is going to be funny. Shakey Head!!! Got woken up that night by Jon scrambling wildy for the tent door and then throwing up just outside, which had to avoid when entering or leaving the tent for the next 2 nights, awesome.
Day 2
Woke up, Jon didnt, all day. We got the trails riding, it was surprisingly dry considering the weather. A good session went down, eveyone was well up for it after not being able to ride the previous day. Jimmy and Div wee both twisting the last set, and I think Jimmy did the last 2 sets in one run. Everyone was looking pretty good here, Tilly did some nice table over the twisty hip.
I was well into the 3rd set at Romsey, it had a nice pointy lip which you could boost nicely once you got used to it. Ollie and Seb joined us today, which was cool, Ollie was doin some nice tables, and Seb had some sweet lookbacks on the twisty hip.
Large Macdonalds session before quiet drink at pub. Back to bed, avoiding the puddle of vomit.
Day 3
Woke up to rain, and to find the Romsey unrideable. The decision was made to go to Bar End, just to have a look since we figured it'd be far to wet. When we arrived there we were amazed to discover that they were almost completely rideable, only the back line was too wet. A sick session went down, Jimmy and Sam goin high on everything, Tilly and Justin looking smooth and stylish, and Rob and Aitken getting tech with the little twisty line, before linking it into the big sets at the end of a line i dont knwo the name of. I was loving the needle hip, sick jump, and te last set, massively long and high lips are the way forward. My fave trails of the trip by far. Rory turned up later, showing his local-ness by being super smooth everywhere. Also one of the soundest people I've ever met. BBQ went down using cheap grills from tesco, good shiiiiit. Afterwards we had a bit of left over meat, so we decided to fire it out of Jons three man catapult, I dont know if I've ever laughed so much in my life... We left and drove to a campsite, I have no idea where it was but it wasnt far from Romsey.
Tents went up, then El, Digs me and Aitken went to the pub while everyone else did something else. Came back, bed.
Day 4
Shower! Best shower of my life after 4 days of sweatyness. Felt good to be clean, although I had to by kitchen towell to dry myself because i forgot to bring a towell. Loaded up the Vans and headed towards Bournemouth to Colehill Trails. After a fair bit of searching we found them, they were faaar to wet but looked pretty cool. Met up with Matt and John in their camper here. Nice to see them both, havent in a while and their both funny as anythin. Decided to head up to bath to see the trails there. On the way there many people where heckled and had stuff thrown at them, mostly by Ollie. He has a gift for that sort of thing. On arrival at the trails they looked awesome, lines everywhere all covered in carpet, and of a nice fun looking size. On riding them however, no one really got on with them. They had a strange, feel, maybe due to the carpet. For most people I expect that this was the low point of the trip, for me it was at least. A small session happened though, Ollie was doing some very nice tables on a small jump.
When everyone got bored at bath we set off for Davages house in Glastonbury, minus angry Jon, who left us at this point to go on holiday. On the way G dropped his hat out the window while filming and jimmy annoyed a pikey who threatened to petrol bomb the bus if he saw us again. Something about Jimmy calling his mate a scruffy bastard. And oh yeh, apparently we're foreigners... Anyway we got past the pikeys and made it to Jims house, who kindly offered to take the lot of us in, but we felt bad so he showed us a place in the woods we could stay. But first food, a kebab place in town, after which Matt, Ollie, John, Seb and Jimmy had fun chatting up some underage girls while other people went for a pick up. Back to woods eventually, puttin up tents in the dark is hard. I couldnt find my sleeping bag in the dark so ended up puttin on all my clothes to sleep, was cold, not fun.
Day 5
Once everyone was up we headed towards Kerswell (?), stopping at Tescos on the way for breakfast and to abuse their toilet facilities. After much driving down skinny lanes where you cant see over the hedges we arrived at the trails, which are next to a field, and hench pretty open.
Unfortunately it was particularly windy that day, which made things...interesting. I decided I couldnt be bothered with the wind as bad as it was, so sat down to watch a very unpredictable session. Everyone was riding good, but every now and again they would get caught by a massive gust of wind and go sideways. Later the wind died down a little and some sick trains went down, loads of riders crossing lines all the way down. Its all on video so check it out. Then everyone chilled for a nice barbie sesh. The wind had almost gone completely by now, so I decided i should at least have a bit of a ride. So I did. I didnt get on with the trails to well, but it was fun anyway.
Once it had got dark we decided to pack up the vans, intelligent that. Newman showed us a playing field he reckoned would be cool for us to stay on. It was a pretty sweet setup, nice even ground. El got the genny and floodlights going, which i would have expected to annoy the people in the houses, but they didnt complain, so that was cool. Sat up throwing weetos at Jimmy into the early hours of the morning.
Day 6
Everyone was up fairly early, got the vans packed and headed of in the general direction of Decoy. Yet another Tescos stop on the way for a bit of brekkie, they should have been a trip sponsor really. I am informed by the reliable source that is Mr Digby that Jimmy very nearly got kicked out of this one for, and I quote 'looking evil', something to do with staring at te lady behind the cafe counter or something. Anyway, we left and arrived at Decoy. The trails were a bit of a disappointment to be honest, very comp orientated, just three big sets in a row as the main line, and everything looked a bit shady. Only a few people bothered to ride here, 'evil' Jimmy, Sam, Davage and comp Matt I think were the only ones. Jimmy was going fucking high on the first though, and Matt had some nice twists on the large, and was also the only one to attempt the sketchy lookin bigger hip line, with varying degrees of success.
The rest of us had a play on the track, which was awesome, soooo smooth and well maintained, although it was impossible to make it round a full circuit in one go at full speed. Me and Rob ahd a great time getting tech with some manual sections, jumping into manuals and manualling triples and stuff. A few races were had, but I've got no idea wat the results are, although Seb was looking quick, he must have been doing some squat thrusts and drinking his power-shakes the previous night. I think Ollie was the only person to jump the first straight big set, which was pretty large. An unsuccessful attempt by Ricky 'straight outta compton' was amusing. Anyway we all got bored pretty quick and it was decided to head off to portreath, but not before Rob entertained us with his juggling skills for a while, which was very impressive.
We arrived in portreath to find what I belive to be the best official dirt spot in the country. The Woburn boys hae done an awesome job of the trails, and yes they're actually trails rather than comp jumps, which is nice. The 4x track also looks amazing, although a little bumpy to ride effectively on a bmx.
This is Steve, he runs things down at The Track in Portreath, he rules. A large marquee had been put up for the weekend, which we slept in that night, it was nice not to have to put the tents up.
Night 6
The funniest night of the trip, and thats saying a lot because most nights were very funny. We took the minibus down to the beach at portreath. After being refused entry to the first bar, the 20 or so of us ( a few over the minibuses intended capacity) ened up in a place that may well have been called Shakers. Food was ordered and eaten and then the drinking began. Ollie, John, Seb and Matt had their own very sophisticated looking table, with wine and everything. This didnt last very long. A fair few bottles later and Sebs shirt was getting ripped up to form a rather attractive looking bra-type contraption (elliot has pics) and Ollie was pebble-dashing the toilet, but not before buying me a cigar, which was nice of him. Everyone else was drinking a combination of beer and many varying shots. Apparently, according to the barman, we went through 3 bottles of aftershock, along with other random things. Comp Matt got slapped across the stomach with a variety of objects, and had the marks in the morning to prove it. Things get a little hazy here, but we eventually left, and there was a good bit of tussling at the minibus. I vaguely remember being in a puddle at the bottom of a large pile of people, it hurt. Somehow we got home, I think Elliot was driving, so cheers El. The genny and lights were set up in the marquee and a bit of indoor speedway went down. Although I dont think anybody made it past the first corner. I have memories of the groud coming towards my face, and of seeing Justin go head on into one of the large tent poles at a fair speed. Some bright spark (possibly Jimmy) then deicided running races would be a good idea. He tripped me up on the first corner and I looked up to see G getting full on rugby tackled, at a sprint, by Champers, it looked like he was going to be dead, but hes still alive. Someone managed to convince comp Matt that a bunnyhop backflip would be a good idea, it wasnt, although it was hilarious to watch. How he didnt break his neck I'll never know. Ollie in the meantime had been sitting in the corner of the massive tent in the fetal position, looking like he was about to die. Eventually everyone went to bed, but not before Jimmy started chucking around some french bangers, kindly donated by Champ. Some random kid got one down his sleeping bag, which must have sucked for him.
Day 7
A pretty chilled day, sessiong the trails. It was a bit windy for most of the time, although it died down in the evening and a sick session was had, with enough people to loop round to produce infinite trains, which should look good on camera. We all rode until it got to dark, then a BBQ was had. it was decided at this point that angry Jons legacy (a bomb shaped object with russian writing all over it that he believed to be a smoke grenade) should be unleashed. El made the first attempt, but pussied it. Steve then stepped up, and threw it by the cord that we believed set it off, so it flew away from us. It lay on the ground and fizzled with sparks coming out the end, everyone looked scared and stepped back a bit. Loads of orange smoke came out the end, which smelt like it was going to burn your lungs out. Nice. It got thrown around for a bit before it died. Im glad it was a smoke bomb and nobody got blown up. Relatively early night, I think everyone was feeling it from the night before.
Day 8
Got up fairly early to do a bit of work on the trails. We got everyting patched up all nice, then Matt, John, Jimmy and myself went to the swimming pool to get clean. First though, predictably enough, we stopped at Tescos. It was the biggest Tescos ever, sooooo big! Took ages to find a towel, ended up finding them in a well random place. The swim was one of the best things all week, we went on the slide, which was surprisingly sketchy, about halfway down there was a tight turn that almost made u do a full loop, but not quite, which was cool. John and Matt taught Jimmy to dive, watching Jimmy go under water is funny. Out of the pool, shower with Tescos value shower shit, nice and refreshed. Back to The Track (imaginative name that) for a bit of riding.
Practice for the comp began, lots of snaking going down, and wayward knees everywhere. I had a bit of a ride, enjoyed doing some bow-leggers for the crowd. Its weird riding with people watching. Aitken somehow landed the job of commentator for the comp, and did a great job, everyone I've spoken to was really impressed. I was appointed a judge, so all those people moaning you can blame me if u werent happy. Anyone bitch cranking was instantly put out of the running, and style and control was taken as a major factor. So thats why you didnt do well if you were one of those just hucking big tricks. Special mention to Elliot riding in open for some of the most stretched bow leggers I've seen in a while. Also to Tilly for riding really smooth and pulling some nice tricks I didnt know he could do. Pro was pretty sick, biggest thing attempted would have to be Si's flip transfer attempt, fucking nuts. Unfortunately on his second attempt Si decked himself with a massive gash in his leg. It then started raining so the comp was ended. Glen was chosen as the winner in the end, because he was doing a wide variety of tricks and looking nice and controlled. Also he seemed to be having a really good time, which seemed pretty rare amongst the comp riders. I had been drinking from about 4 so was well on my way by this point. It was Elliots birthday, so the tent had some music, and some dudes playing some footage from the trip on the ceiling. The DJ was awful. I dont know much about that night because i got on the Tescos value Cider and premium lager a bit to early and the I dont remember anything until waking up the next morning in my tent. Apparently a few people went to some club full of sluts and had a good time, so if anyone knows that story feel free to leave it in the guestbook.
Day 9
Woke up, amazingly with no hangover. It was a beautiful day, pity the comp wasnt on then instead. Had a good sesh on the trails with everyone before it was time to leave. James had come down for the weekend and had very kindly offered to give me a lift home in his car. Hopefully that made a bit more room for people in the minibus. The drive home was fairly uneventful, with a stop Jame's nan's house, where we saw his Aunties pink limo, which is pimp as. Im sure hel put a pic up here soon. Got passed by mark on the way home, then passed Matt and John in the camper.
Took some arty photos due to boredom.
Thanks
This trip was amazing, Im so glad I went. I'd like to say thanks to everyone that went, I got to get to know some really cool people in that week, and everyone ruled. Its been feeling really strange since I've been back not to be around everyone and riding and having a laugh every day, as sad as it might sound, I miss everyone. It was one fo the best weeks ever, and I really hope it happens again. Special thanks goes to El for organising everything, and him, Digs and Jon for driving.
More pics up in the media section in the 'Trails Roadtrip 2005' album. Hopefully El will get some of his up soon to.
Cheers everyone.
Roadtrip Pictures here> Trails Road Trip '05
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Just a quick update before Gareth does a massive one. Couple of video shots. Rode skatepark and trails today, both so much fun, love it.
Skaterham news: From skaterham.com
Its back.....the skaterham foam pit:
Ever wanted to land those gnarly tricks without hurting yourself?due to popular demand, the acclaimed "best foam pit in the country" is back from Thursday 8th September 2005 until christmas.15ft wide, 24ft long and 6ft deep of soft foam blocks!
Trails:
We are pleased to announce that planning permission has now been granted for the dirt jumps within the garden at the back of the chapel. work is already underway.watch this space...
Images from Cornwall trip:
James barspin at mount hawk.. use to be better still fun mini tho
Backflip foam, love it.
Aitken commentating, Seb, Mark and Gareth(drunk)
360 Whipage
Decade by stu(?).. look at the queue for the foam pit!
Mat 360 2nd
Skaterham news: From skaterham.com
Its back.....the skaterham foam pit:
Ever wanted to land those gnarly tricks without hurting yourself?due to popular demand, the acclaimed "best foam pit in the country" is back from Thursday 8th September 2005 until christmas.15ft wide, 24ft long and 6ft deep of soft foam blocks!
Trails:
We are pleased to announce that planning permission has now been granted for the dirt jumps within the garden at the back of the chapel. work is already underway.watch this space...
Images from Cornwall trip:
James barspin at mount hawk.. use to be better still fun mini tho
Backflip foam, love it.
Aitken commentating, Seb, Mark and Gareth(drunk)
360 Whipage
Decade by stu(?).. look at the queue for the foam pit!
Mat 360 2nd
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Cornwall - The Track
Roadtrip - Last location - Cornwall.
Well after leaving my house at 7:00 and driving for 5hours all the way to Cornwall I was pretty tired. Arrived at Kelly’s dads house and then headed straight back out to mount hawk which was about 3 steps away from her house.
Mount hawk
Mount hawk has changed since I was there a couple of years ago. It’s a lot more skateboard friendly with transitions that don’t seem to go anywhere and lots of flat banks. They have recently built a new vert which must have 2/3 foot of vert on, its huge. Sadly they got ride of the jump box rhythms and also the quarter to quarter wallride. The mini there is still the same and is one of my favourite around.. Its in the top 3. Rode for 3 hours solid and because its in a huge warehouse/barn thing we were sweating like crazy. Was a good session though, got some double peg stuff done a rail and Si was doing some good lookbacks on the mini.
The track
After mount hawk we took a trip to the track which is basically this huge field with a big 4x track zig zaging down it. It also has a huge foam pit, trampoline bike and some nice trails up top. This place is all set up to be the next Woodward.. (did you know Woodward started with a bmx track) Anyway, lots of fun was had in the foampit, especially when nighttime set in.
Trails
The trails where built by the Woburn lot so they were smooth and fun. There were 3 different lines, hips and step ups everywhere. They are going to expand them so they continu down the hill to the end of the field which means there are going to be loads of them. Comp runs were really good, Loads of stuff went on. Matt, Glen, Jim, Rory and Smiffy were all doing the usually flips, the crowds loved it. In the final run there were no hand backflips and no foot backflips on the last set by Matt . Rory finished with a huge truck driver over the last which was cool to see. Glen had some nice variation tricks apart from backflips.. can cans, superman's, superman seats, 360’s etc. Rory was on fire pulling of backflips, superman's, 360’;s, trucks… The final result was Glen – 1st, Rory – 2nd, Matt - 3rd. Gareth, Digs and someone else was judging, Aitken was commentating and because he new all the tracks and everyone who was riding he did a good job, im sure the 4 cans of Tescos brand beer and 23p spaghetti helped.
The last run of the comp was Si's, after going through from the semi's for trying a backflip transfer he was defiantly going to pull something big. And we werent disappointed, he tried a huge transfer backflip, this transfer was huge, no one was doing it and Si backfliped it. Sadly it didnt end to good. The rotation wasnt enough and the barend went into his leg and cut his leg open. Ambulance came took him away leaving me to drive his car home and to the hospital. After waiting 5hours in A&E and gaining a sick bowl hat 12 stiches were put in to close up his leg. If anyone has any pictures of it please send them in and ill send them on to Si email> digitalbmx@hotmail.co.uk.
Didn’t get much media as was busy and battery died. Gareth took 200 pictures on the roadtrip and they are all going to be good so watch out for them soon. Elliot and others should have some good pics, so I hear.
Was at the skatepark today with Dave. He has wood bike, hasn’t sold his car yet, still rides every now and then, drinks lots, likes 180’s.
General Riding video soon.
Well after leaving my house at 7:00 and driving for 5hours all the way to Cornwall I was pretty tired. Arrived at Kelly’s dads house and then headed straight back out to mount hawk which was about 3 steps away from her house.
Mount hawk
Mount hawk has changed since I was there a couple of years ago. It’s a lot more skateboard friendly with transitions that don’t seem to go anywhere and lots of flat banks. They have recently built a new vert which must have 2/3 foot of vert on, its huge. Sadly they got ride of the jump box rhythms and also the quarter to quarter wallride. The mini there is still the same and is one of my favourite around.. Its in the top 3. Rode for 3 hours solid and because its in a huge warehouse/barn thing we were sweating like crazy. Was a good session though, got some double peg stuff done a rail and Si was doing some good lookbacks on the mini.
The track
After mount hawk we took a trip to the track which is basically this huge field with a big 4x track zig zaging down it. It also has a huge foam pit, trampoline bike and some nice trails up top. This place is all set up to be the next Woodward.. (did you know Woodward started with a bmx track) Anyway, lots of fun was had in the foampit, especially when nighttime set in.
Trails
The trails where built by the Woburn lot so they were smooth and fun. There were 3 different lines, hips and step ups everywhere. They are going to expand them so they continu down the hill to the end of the field which means there are going to be loads of them. Comp runs were really good, Loads of stuff went on. Matt, Glen, Jim, Rory and Smiffy were all doing the usually flips, the crowds loved it. In the final run there were no hand backflips and no foot backflips on the last set by Matt . Rory finished with a huge truck driver over the last which was cool to see. Glen had some nice variation tricks apart from backflips.. can cans, superman's, superman seats, 360’s etc. Rory was on fire pulling of backflips, superman's, 360’;s, trucks… The final result was Glen – 1st, Rory – 2nd, Matt - 3rd. Gareth, Digs and someone else was judging, Aitken was commentating and because he new all the tracks and everyone who was riding he did a good job, im sure the 4 cans of Tescos brand beer and 23p spaghetti helped.
The last run of the comp was Si's, after going through from the semi's for trying a backflip transfer he was defiantly going to pull something big. And we werent disappointed, he tried a huge transfer backflip, this transfer was huge, no one was doing it and Si backfliped it. Sadly it didnt end to good. The rotation wasnt enough and the barend went into his leg and cut his leg open. Ambulance came took him away leaving me to drive his car home and to the hospital. After waiting 5hours in A&E and gaining a sick bowl hat 12 stiches were put in to close up his leg. If anyone has any pictures of it please send them in and ill send them on to Si email> digitalbmx@hotmail.co.uk.
Didn’t get much media as was busy and battery died. Gareth took 200 pictures on the roadtrip and they are all going to be good so watch out for them soon. Elliot and others should have some good pics, so I hear.
Was at the skatepark today with Dave. He has wood bike, hasn’t sold his car yet, still rides every now and then, drinks lots, likes 180’s.
General Riding video soon.
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Long Drive
Right, Cornwall. Yep, just getting stuff together to head on down there. Packing car and eating dinner at 10:30! is that normal? meh. Well as ill be down in cornwall riding this and this, so i wont have time to update. Meeting the Roadtrip people down there so some good stuff should go down. Here is a random update, Hopefully get pics for update when i get back.
Ipods are cool, this one is playing the greatest song.. Ms Jackson - Outcast.. yep
Broke toe after drunken fight on beach with someone 5 times taller then me..
Si.. who is ment to be building the quarter pipe!?!
Lorry back in the day, when she didnt hate me.
Daves car is old school, think hes sold it. Last i heard he rides kingston skatepark once a week and from what a bmxer said to me he can boost the box at kingston 'sky high'
Tom in assford park. The worst park i have ever been to. Tom stopped riding because of women and work.. tut tut thats all i can say
Andy, top bloke, looking scary in this picture.
Mass food eating, can you taste it, mmm
My Home for winter
Digitalbmx, yep
Ipods are cool, this one is playing the greatest song.. Ms Jackson - Outcast.. yep
Broke toe after drunken fight on beach with someone 5 times taller then me..
Si.. who is ment to be building the quarter pipe!?!
Lorry back in the day, when she didnt hate me.
Daves car is old school, think hes sold it. Last i heard he rides kingston skatepark once a week and from what a bmxer said to me he can boost the box at kingston 'sky high'
Tom in assford park. The worst park i have ever been to. Tom stopped riding because of women and work.. tut tut thats all i can say
Andy, top bloke, looking scary in this picture.
Mass food eating, can you taste it, mmm
My Home for winter
Digitalbmx, yep
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Vid and two pics, lucky you
Finished the barend video. Did it while watching resident evil, pretty much everyone dies been a hero, same old same old acton film. Bar end was really good, could of been worse. Woke up in the morning to see rain, was really shitty. Drove the hour drive to Winchester, anyway got there to see everyone sitting down, it just started to really rain when i got there. Bit annoying but people were still up for riding. A couple of hours went passed and everyone was riding most lines. Barends changed loads since I've been there, its all looking really good. Lots of filming for the roadtrip video was done, some stuff was done but i cant remember what, have a look at the video and you can see, bored of typing..
RoadtripBarend.wmv 10.6mb
Two random pictures today..
Sherm standing next to wingham 5th lip been built in the winter days.
Sian skating down a long hill
Archives
RoadtripBarend.wmv 10.6mb
Two random pictures today..
Sherm standing next to wingham 5th lip been built in the winter days.
Sian skating down a long hill
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