Blog
Manchester Street Sessions 18-11-08
Thursday, 20 November 2008
Got out for our usual Tuesday night street session this week. We managed 8 MTB and 2 BMX riders this week so it was a pretty good turnout. With such a large number of riders we decided to stay out of the shopping area, and so after having our usual play at Urbis (see video below) we headed off to the Lowry Hotel. I might also add that there was a Paul Weller gig on next door to Urbis at the MEN and as I was gutted I was missing it I didn't want to hang around!
Anyway, we had a good play at the Lowry, hitting the vert wall ride and also a nice stepped wall balance ride which entailed wheelie dropping down 2 1/2 ft drops onto the lower section of the wall whilst avoiding an adjacent barbed wire security fence at neck level!
After this we moved onto Castlefield amphitheater and sessioned the stair drops there. The stairs here are big with a mega long transition. Perfect for flying off at top speed and using the lower steps as a transition.
Next we hit the Bridgewater Hall banked wall ride and rounded things off at the GMEX and Bar 38. When I say rounded things off, more like snapped things off as one rider decided to drop a set of 6ft steps at high speed, outside Bar 38, and on landing wrapped his rear mech round his spokes...but that's the risk you take using a geared full suss for street! I'll stick with my single speed hard tail me thinks...Good news is though, that one of the crew is a mechanic at Withington Cycles (blatent plug) and he said he'd sort the reapir out for free...result! FRJ
Glentress New 180 degree Wall Ride now open!
Thursday, 20 November 2008
Apparently this has to be ridden to be believed! I need to get up there and check it out the finished article very very soon!! FRJ
'The new freeride line in the Glentress Bike Park is now complete and awaits a frenzy of riders to grace its dizzy heights.
Aimed at reaching a wider range of riders, its walls are the perfect place to learn the skills needed before trying the more technical walls found in the bike park.
Leaving the start ramp, riders carve through a long and sweeping right hand bend and are faced with a whole range of options as they approach the 180°, 2 metre high wallride.
Come on early, come on late, ride high, ride low - whatever your choice you won't be disappointed. After the wall there's a series of catch berms with multiple lines, then to finish, a flat wallride to a step-up tabletop. Push up and do it again...and again...and again!'
For more info on Glentress check ot their site at www.7stanes.gov.uk/forestry/achs-5rnev4
Moelfre Uplift Weekend
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
Our friends over at Borderline Events are putting on another uplift weekend at their Moelfre Hall site in North Wales.
The uplift will be on the 6th and 7th December and the weekend will consist of up to 20 runs per day and both tracks will be fully open. The cost of the weekend is £35 which includes food down at the local pub on Saturday Night.
For more visit their website at or call 01524 388 388 / email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Freeride Junkie - Innerleithen Trip
Sunday, 16 November 2008
One of the Freeride Junkie lads and his local riding crew made a trip up to Innerleithan over the weekend of 18th/19th October for a bit of uplift action. Here's Tony's account of the trip...and yes that is the Inners car park above!!!
So the lads were up for a trip to Scotland, Spooky Woods, Bike Park on Saturday and DH Sunday was the order of events. Five of us were going up Saturday morning and another two joining us in the evening for a good night and a better day DH on the Sunday.
Well, the weather was bloody awful from the go, a LWB Merc Sprinter with high sides, 8 bikes and all our gear seemed a good idea till the howling gales on the M6 caught us, interesting – I drove from the border and Neal looked less than impressed as his van bounced around the motorway at the winds discression. Then the rain, not long after we arrived the Moffatt road past the Greymares Tail and St Mary’s Lock was flooded and closed, not a good omen for Sunday.
So the riding, wet probably describes it best, possibly very wet, or f**kin wet is nearer the truth, Spooky Wood was more like Drowned Wood, with a force gale in your face from the top. The jumps weren’t jumpable but the further down the hill we got the better it became, as we dropped out of the wind if not the rain. The new stuff in the woods near the end flowed nicely and by the time we got to the bottom everyone was smiling again – if a bit bedraggled! Time for the bike park ?
Straight in on the Northshore, of the drop, round for the ladder drops – of the big one, over the berm at the bottom – ignore the wall it’s raining! Hang a left and go on then I’ll hit the wall ride, but it’s raining, (as a side point here I’d like to mention the previous blog on FRJ were Bob mentioned doing the walls before it rained – good advice dude!!) SPLAT cue a Tom and Jerryish moment as my tyre instantly washed out on the greasy wood, pinned me to the wall to slide straight along it and hurtle into space to land in a big heap on the floor at the other end. Dragging myself up to shout Noooo!!!! As Julian came hurtling of the drop on his Stiffee with much the same idea in mind.
Another run or two and we were ready for the pub and a few beers, ok too many few beers, good food, good company and a tasty bar maid to leer at the Traquair Arms.
Mike and Dave turned up after a diversion around the floods and we joined up with Craig from Ride On, who had been road-showing the excellent Empire DH bike at Innerleithen, more food, more beer, the usual - saw us all stagger of to bed some time after midnight.
6.30 am saw Julian waking everyone up in time for breakfast at 8!! Thanks.
The drive up the road found the whole of Innerleithen Car Park and the fields all around flooded, only the road was clear and that by inches. Shit! Still after some hasty re-arranging the uplift went ahead via a diversion through the village. We managed 6 uplifts for the day so very good considering.
Uplift number one saw Julians Yeti 303 break down, so he spent the rest of the day on the Stiffee and the Empire courtesy of Craig. After Matador he was complaining the wheels would need re-truing but respect to anyone doing the big drops on a hardtail!
The weather held off and we continued in a muddy, wet smelly kind of a way for the day. My SOCOM behaved well – I am the limiting factor by far – handling the 8 foot and the seven footers with ease, Keith’s new V10 worked well, the Cane Creek Double Barrel is a superb shock for the well off!! Jacko’s Demo 8 still going strong, Mikes on the new Marin Dh and riding it very well, Neal’s on the M3 – the one with the wheels that won’t get of the ground ? Daves on another Socom and getting o well with it after a shaky start with a reverse 180 – in other words landing on his head!
So considering we were going to go home and not bother we had a great, wet weekend in Scotland.
Thanks lads, a great weekend, Cheers to Craig for the advice and lone of the empire to all who needed it.
Rays Indoor Inside Out Comp Video
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
Check out this video that's just been made available for Rays Indoor Inside Out event. What an awesome course. Can you imagine a course like this in the UK that took you onto the roofs of buildings though... Health & Safety would be all over you like an XL DH top worn without armour!
Adidas Slopedtyle 2008 Video - Saalbach Austria
Sunday, 09 November 2008
Check out this video of the Adidas Slopestyle event held in Saalbach, Austria earlier this year. If you like your slopestyle tech and street inspired then it's worth grabbing a brew and watching this in its entirety!
The Richie Schley Chronicles
Thursday, 06 November 2008
Freeride legend Richie Schley has been featured in more videos than Peter North. After spending so much time in front of the camera it's no shock that Richie was ready to seize some creative control; "I was really tired of wasting time on shoots and having to convince cameramen and producers that a shot was worthy, so I thought it would be great to ultimately have the final say. I also feel that I have a pretty good sense for what it takes to get the job done. That’s why I decided to produce my own video for a change."
Words by Cam McRae of NSMB. Click link for full article - NSMB - The Richie Schley Chronicles
Rays Indoor Inside Out Event, Ohio
Tuesday, 04 November 2008
This venue looks like great fun...pity we don't have anything like this in the UK... Here's a piece from Brain Lopes on the event.
'Like the namesake of the event, the course was set up half outside and half in the inside of the venue. The format was "time trial" style, with no qualifying required. And in true Redbull form Brian Lopes and fellow rider's, Chris Herndon, local kid Vance Nonno, pro Jeff Lenosky had to drop off a roof and over a car at the beginning of the course.
The format turned out to be favorable for Lopes, as the veteran Oakley /Ibis rider clocked in the fastest time of the day at 1:15.22. Followed by North Carolina's Chris Herndon who came in 1.5 seconds behind Lopes.
All in all, you can always count on Ray's events for some good fun and in keeping up with tradition from past events Ray's prize money was paid in all one-dollar bills. Can you say "Dollah, Dollah Bills...Ya'll"!!!
Thanks RAY (www.raysmtb.com) for another fun event!'
RESULTS
1. Brian LOPES
2. Chris HERNDON
3. Vance NONNO
4. Neko MULALLY
For more information please go to www.brianlopes.com
Cedric styles it up - Redbull Rampage in photos
Sunday, 02 November 2008
Cedric likes his jeans tight and white! Do we assume the Frenchman likes his irony?
Anyway check out the Rampage in 27 glorious photos from NSMB at the link below. Awesome!
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