Rider:
crusty member online [1 comment]
Ways to connect: visit my website: http://ibwfcc.mixxt.com follow me on facebook
Location:
Stockton On Tees, England
Club Affiliations: CTC - Cyclists' Touring Club
yACF
IB Wheelers & Friends
Member Since: January 2009 5 Year Distance Chart
2024 Miles Traveled: 0
2024 Rank: currently unranked
Lifetime Odometer: 17,827 miles
History:

click to enlarge
When I was a small child my dad bought me some Japanese self-assembly bikes which fell to pieces while I was riding them.

Then I got a sky blue Raleigh Chipper because I was too small for a Chopper.

After that I got a Grifter which had 3 whole gears but was so heavy if it fell over it needed 3 friends to help you get it back up again.

As a teenager I got a racing bike with drops which I never got the hang of. I sold it when I was about 18 and I didn't have a bike again till I was 29.

That was when I got together with Lindagordinho. After we'd been together about 2 weeks she pushed me into a bike shop and made me buy a bike. It was the Raleigh Genesis and it was absolutely baffling because it had 15 gears! It took me ages to get the hang of a triple chainring.

Since 2005 our cycling has really taken off, with lots of tours and long day rides. This year we've started doing Audax rides and met some great people along the way.

LG and I recently completed our first 200k ride in 13 hours and as we arrived home she asked me 'Are we proper cyclists yet?'. Well, so far this year I've done 3 Sportives, 6 Audaxes, 1000 miles of commuting, a Coast to Coast, 3 day rides of more than 100 miles and 20 other day rides of 50 miles or more and I still don't know the answer. I still just feel like somebody who rides a bike. 
Bicycles
2014 Giant Talon
Hardtail XC Mountain bike


Lifetime Odometer: 467.3 miles

Hewitt Cheviot SE
Touring Road bike


Lifetime Odometer: 731.2 miles

2012 GT Avalanche
Hardtail XC Mountain bike


Lifetime Odometer: 380.1 miles

click to enlarge 2010 Trek Pilot 2.0
Road bike
Description:  My intention in buying this was to get a reasonably fast and light bike which would be comfortable to ride on Audaxes and other long day rides. It's a fairly upright riding position, the gears are small for going up hills slowly and I'd have to say, in terms of value for money, it's been fantastic. I only wish I'd got it sooner.

Lifetime Odometer: 6,238.9 miles

click to enlarge Dawes Synthesis
Road bike
Description:  This was my wife's Christmas present which was lent to a cycling vicar who buckled the backwheel in a charity ride horror smash.

Then it was used as the spare bike on a charity coast to coast ride. All this time it was kind of a backup bike, not really getting its moment in the sun, until last year when I started riding it as my main touring bike, and since then I've ridden it in England, Scotland, Wales and India. I've become really attached to it, and when I couldn't find it in Delhi airport I was genuinely upset. But thankfully it turned up and so now, on we go, together.


Lifetime Odometer: 3,273.5 miles

click to enlarge Dave Yates Deano Special
Fixed Gear Road bike
Description:  Recently we've been very fortunate to have the opportunity to try out this marvellous fixed wheel creation courtesy of Deano.

Lifetime Odometer: 30.1 miles

click to enlarge 2005 Dawes Sonoran
Touring Road bike
Description:  Been all over on this and had many replacement parts. 4 major tours and counting. I paid £330 for it and I've had the greatest time on it. It got stolen once but the Police managed to find it before I'd even noticed it was gone.

Lifetime Odometer: 4,876.8 miles

click to enlarge 2005 Dawes Horizon
Touring Road bike
Description:  LG's lovely, lovely tourer. But very, very heavy.

Lifetime Odometer: 183.1 miles

click to enlarge 2005 Schwinn FastBack Sport
Road bike
Description:  Not my bike (but I bought it). I once did 100 miles on it in under 7 hours. Those were the days.

It's actually my stepson's bike and I've had some great rides on it. Unfortunately since I got my Trek it's been sadly neglected and it's currently hanging in the garage.


Lifetime Odometer: 1,497.3 miles

click to enlarge 1998 Raleigh Genesis
26" Comfort bike
Description:  When I first started seeing Linda G in 1998 she took me down Stockton High Street and as we were passing Skinnergate Cycles she barged me in the door, made me sit on this and then she made me buy it. If I wasn't prepared to be a cyclist she said, we had no future together.

Until 2005 this way my only bike. Now I use it for commuting and going to the shops. It is rusted to hell but it has been a faithful servant, even though I have not looked after it.

Update 13/02/2010. Now it's gone. It's served me well but I got rid of it because I know I won't ride it any more. Sometimes you just have to let go.


Lifetime Odometer: 59.7 miles

click to enlarge 2009 Kona Caldera
Hardtail XC Mountain bike


Lifetime Odometer: 39.0 miles

click to enlarge 1985 Dawes Giro 300
Road bike
Description:  Obi's bike

Lifetime Odometer: 5.2 miles

Revolution Country Traveller
Touring Road bike


Lifetime Odometer: 31.3 miles
No planned events for 2024

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