There is a myth whispered quietly between mountain bikers of a prize often looked for but rarely found. What it is isn’t entirely clear, the biggest rush, the smoothest jump, the longest – maybe never ending – trail, no one really knows. You don’t win the prize by entering a lottery or answering a question. To win you must first search for and find a thing esoteric and known only in a mountain bikers heart; all that is known is that it can be ridden and once found you must ride it like the world is ending behind you. The thing has a name, it’s called the Gnarr, and to ride it like the world is ending just behind your back wheel? That’s less complicated, you shred it. (apparently). Continue reading →
Art for Art’s sake and money for God’s sake goes the tune but this art is free. John rides Tuesday and Thursday and finds time to be creative in between cleaning the mud from the bike.
He has an exhibition on at Ropetackle in Shoreham (ropetacklecentre.com) until June. His website is john-north.com.
I chose this painting as it is titled the Art of Falling which is a subject well known to all of us. I have only reached craft level of falling which is roughly GCSE but with extra practice during summer I expect to improve towards journeyman. This is falling and jumping back on quickly and hoping nobody notices.
Obviously if John falls now we expect full on grace and elegance and he is not allowed to fall on his own as we need to be nearby to appreciate the art.
There are lots of other paintings on the website including more that are bike related but may be quite difficult to spot.
Each week the regular Tuesday riders receive a prompt to come and ride. These can vary from begging letter to wild promises of new snow, no snow, dry trails, freedom of rain guarantee or even a song like this.
I posted the real lyrics below to help you sing along.
Ash did.
He sang the song to his wife.
She took away his beer.
So if you want to come along and sing tonight be there at 7pm
There’s a reason for the sunshine sky’s
There’s a reason why I’m feeling so high
Must be the season when the trails are dry all around us
So let that feeling grab you deep inside
And send you racing where your fear can’t hide
And then go riding through the moonlit night like no other
Just let your ride flow like a mountain stream
And let your fun grow with the smallest of things
And let the brakes go and you’ll know what I mean it’s the season
Let the bike fly like a bird on a wing
And let it take you past dangerous things
And let your heart sing and you’ll know what I mean that’s the reason.
You can ride a bike fast, chase people up hills so by default you are healthy – maybe carrying a few extra pounds but you can ride so you must be in better shape than your average Jo.
Not necessarily – If your diet has a lot of the ‘bad’ stuff and not so much of the good, your insides might not be in as good a shape as you think. Continue reading →
Looking at the current STW thread on Jones, now topping 130 posts is easy to forget one thing, the Jones is a just a bike, nothing more, nothing less, it’s not a magic bullet, it’s not a cure for cancer or create world peace.
Coming from having only ridden hardtails (mainly due to the high cost of full sus frames) I decided to take the plunge into my wallet and buy a new frame. The hardtail I had was a Yeti Arc, although fast light and great for Stanmer trails, was aimed at the more xc end of riding.
I wanted a stronger frame I could take most places and not worry about breaking it, or myself, in the process, plus the 100mm of travel up front limited me to what I rode and how fast I rode it.
Padded shorts is a regular subject that always arises as a point of discussion for NO reason. Discomfort, rubbing,chaffing, hotness or blood running down a leg are NEVER mentioned but chamois cream seems to be familiar to some riders; not them but somebody they KNOW. Continue reading →
So you finish your ride : you are freezing and starving. The first thing you do is jump in a hot shower, eat something sugary whilst simultaneously reaching for the most instant dinner you can think of.
None of this however will actually help you feel any better past the immediate effects – you will still wake up starving and sore tomorrow wondering why you do it. Continue reading →
First, overcome fear, put on bike gear, get the shiny new 29er out of the shed, go and meet a group of guys you’ve never met in a car park and follow them into a dark, wet, wintry, unlit wood…… Literally the best experience I have had off-road in ages. Continue reading →
There is a myth whispered quietly between mountain bikers of a prize often looked for but rarely found. What it is isn’t entirely clear, the biggest rush, the smoothest jump, the longest – maybe never ending – trail, no one really knows. You don’t win the prize by entering a lottery or answering a question. To win you must first search for and find a thing esoteric and known only in a mountain bikers heart; all that is known is that it can be ridden and once found you must ride it like the world is ending behind you. The thing has a name, it’s called the Gnarr, and to ride it like the world is ending just behind your back wheel? That’s less complicated, you shred it. (apparently). Continue reading 
Brightonmtb.org 