I am a lifelong mountain biker who rarely lacks motivation. I had always ridden bikes off road like most kids but in 1976 I bought a “scrambler” for 70 pence. This was a bike which was dedicated to off road use. In 1977 I added a homemade suspension fork. I used the front suspension units from a Honda C50 motorcycle. I lost the use of the front brake but gained over 3 inches of plush suspension. I was the only one who had this in my area. After a few months my fork fractured but returning to a rigid fork I had plenty of off road adventures. I went to university but always promised myself that I’d build another scrambler one day, even if I was the only one doing it.

I needn’t have worried. By the mid 80s mountain bikes started to appear and in the fullness of time I got one. My riding developed with the MTB technology. I got a suspension fork (again!) in 1995 and a full suspension bike in early ’97.

I’d made friends through riding, we rode regularly and pushed ourselves hard. Now, sadly, the rest of my crew have allowed age and infirmity to intervene. I’m left needing to motivate myself.

This is the purpose of my blog. By describing my regular riding you may find useful ways to get excited about the best sport there is and find plenty of reasons to get out there. I’m riding soon and will tell you all about it afterwards.