I like Skol
A Minging Manc...
- Location
- Sunny Ashton-under-Lyne
Hi everybody, I have been looking at this forum for a few weeks since I started considering buying a new bike so I have signed up (partly because I am a forum addict!).
First a bit about me. I have been cycling since..... well, since I could walk really and from the age of 10 used cycling as transport (mum, just nipping to my mates in Stalybridge.). Had various bike hand-me-downs at first, because I am the 3rd of 4 boys, but at the age of 15 got my first new bike, a £150 BSO mountain bike which got pushed to the limit and beyond as I ventured into the countryside. A couple of bikes later, at the age of 21, saw me buying my ultimate MTB in 1994, a GT Zaskar built up with Shimano XT. Now at the age of 37 I still have the GT and have been using it to commute at least once a week from Ashton to Hazel Grove to do the night shift for the last six months. It's a trip of just under 11 miles each way.
From my mid 20's to mid 30's I really let my cycling slip and probably did no more than 300 miles a year and possibly not even half that amount some years but still jumped on the bike occasionally to do the M/cr to Blackpool bike ride and also did the Manchester 100 miles 3 or 4 years ago with no problems despite only riding the bike 3 or 4 times in the 12 months before.
Now for the bad bits! I may be considered public enemy #1 by many as I spent 15 years as a van driver (my own business) and I am also a 4x4 off-road enthusiast, but before you all start hating consider this, As a proffesional and enthusiast driver I have the road knowledge to be a better, safer cyclist and being a cyclist makes me a considerate driver. Even though when cycling or driving I like to 'push on' I do not clash with other road users and being beeped at by other road users isn't something I experience.
Anyway, I am looking for a new bike and have one in mind (but that will be a seperate thread) and I look forward to being an active member on this forum if I can make a valid contribution.
Steve
First a bit about me. I have been cycling since..... well, since I could walk really and from the age of 10 used cycling as transport (mum, just nipping to my mates in Stalybridge.). Had various bike hand-me-downs at first, because I am the 3rd of 4 boys, but at the age of 15 got my first new bike, a £150 BSO mountain bike which got pushed to the limit and beyond as I ventured into the countryside. A couple of bikes later, at the age of 21, saw me buying my ultimate MTB in 1994, a GT Zaskar built up with Shimano XT. Now at the age of 37 I still have the GT and have been using it to commute at least once a week from Ashton to Hazel Grove to do the night shift for the last six months. It's a trip of just under 11 miles each way.
From my mid 20's to mid 30's I really let my cycling slip and probably did no more than 300 miles a year and possibly not even half that amount some years but still jumped on the bike occasionally to do the M/cr to Blackpool bike ride and also did the Manchester 100 miles 3 or 4 years ago with no problems despite only riding the bike 3 or 4 times in the 12 months before.
Now for the bad bits! I may be considered public enemy #1 by many as I spent 15 years as a van driver (my own business) and I am also a 4x4 off-road enthusiast, but before you all start hating consider this, As a proffesional and enthusiast driver I have the road knowledge to be a better, safer cyclist and being a cyclist makes me a considerate driver. Even though when cycling or driving I like to 'push on' I do not clash with other road users and being beeped at by other road users isn't something I experience.
Anyway, I am looking for a new bike and have one in mind (but that will be a seperate thread) and I look forward to being an active member on this forum if I can make a valid contribution.
Steve
