Skidding competitions.

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Archie_tect

De Skieven Architek... aka Penfold + Horace
Location
Northumberland
When I was little we lived on a long flat cul-de-sac accessed from a steep hill. We used to have various bike related games which kept us amused for the long summers... the favourites were:

Skidding competitions.... you ride as fast as you can to the dusty end of the street then slam on your back brake and hold the skid until you stop.... the furthest skid [marked by a stone] wins, or,
the furthest free-wheel [you just had to trust people and anyone suspected of sneaky pedaling was eliminated that round] to a stop, aagin marked by a stone.
There were five of us all around the same age. We also used to be buses, picking up imaginary passengers at lamp-posts and setting off tinging our bells.

Ah, the innocence of playing out!
What did you used to play?
 

vernon

Harder than Ronnie Pickering
Location
Meanwood, Leeds
Best Man Falls - we used to stand at the top of a hill or railway embankment and allow ourselves to be killed by imaginary weapons; grenades, machine guns, sniper's rifle, howitzer shells etc fired by the judging panel.

The death was judged for realism and presentation.

Some of the more spectacular 'deaths' became restrained on the embankments covered in brambles and nettles for all but the nutters.
 

vernon

Harder than Ronnie Pickering
Location
Meanwood, Leeds
We also had bobsleigh/ski jumping.

Down from the end of my street in Darlington was the entrance to North Road locomotive works. There was a large footbridge which spanned the tracks with two flights of stone steps with an extended flat step between the two flights. We had a discarded Formica topped table and used to borrow some cushions to use with the upturned table to make a bobsleigh. We had a look out at the foot of the stairs to check the the road was clear before two helpers launched the bobsleigh with its two crew members down the stairs. The craft would become airborne at the half way step, land on the lower flight and then careen over the pavement and across the road before using the kerb as a stop.

We had a training/induction program which progressively moved novices up the stairs until we were confident that they were ready for flight. The Formica would eventually wear out and there would be a hiatus in our 'winter Olympics' until we could procure another suitable table. We never had to wait for long. God knows where they came from.
 

threebikesmcginty

Corn Fed Hick...
Location
...on the slake
Skateboarding down the nearest steep hill was a good one, we had home-made boards made out of a piece of wood and a roller-skate, worked OK though. Used to have to dive off if a car was coming up the hill and the skateboards would rattle under the cars much to the owners annoyance.

One bloke who lived on the hill came up to the house once to complain, "every time I look out of my window I see your kids on skateboards", dad told him not to look out of his window, the conversation continued but ended abruptly with dad telling him to piss off! - cheers dad. :thumbsup:
 
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Archie_tect

Archie_tect

De Skieven Architek... aka Penfold + Horace
Location
Northumberland
Aw yes.... and cardboard sliding down the big muckstack... + we used to go black-berrying between the railway embankment and the canal- they were huge ones! Not supposed to trespass according to the signs but the wire netting had been flattened years before we found them!

+ biking through the long grass when you couldn't see above it then coming to a stop and falling off sidewards [maybe why clipless moments never bother me much!] :smile:
 

vernon

Harder than Ronnie Pickering
Location
Meanwood, Leeds
Using miners' shovels as impromptu sleds on the slag heaps at Trimdon Colliery when we used to visit our mining relatives. My Sunday best never used to staypristine for long during a visit to Trimdon.....
 

asterix

Comrade Member
Location
Limoges or York
Stone fights with the natives. It was mostly the slightly older army kids who did the fighting and we were in the 2nd row. Fixtures were always late kick-offs. In hindsight, unlike football, I don't they did a lot for Anglo-Greek relations. We also did potholing as there were a lot of well shafts, almost all dry and it was possible to climb down them.
 
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Archie_tect

Archie_tect

De Skieven Architek... aka Penfold + Horace
Location
Northumberland
Stone fights with the natives. It was mostly the slightly older army kids who did the fighting and we were in the 2nd row. Fixtures were always late kick-offs. In hindsight, unlike football, I don't they did a lot for Anglo-Greek relations. We also did potholing as there were a lot of well shafts, almost all dry and it was possible to climb down them.
Ah, fraternising with the locals... you weren't in Northern Ireland for a while then?
 

asterix

Comrade Member
Location
Limoges or York
Longer ago, I am afraid. Cyprus, 1955-60.
 

dellzeqq

pre-talced and mighty
Location
SW2
Last Across. Run across the street in front of an oncoming car. Last across wins. Most of the time. Strange to say I think some of my confidence in traffic stems from this.
 
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Archie_tect

Archie_tect

De Skieven Architek... aka Penfold + Horace
Location
Northumberland
Last Across. Run across the street in front of an oncoming car. Last across wins. Most of the time. Strange to say I think some of my confidence in traffic stems from this.
Some kids wanted to do this on the railway lines for some reason... suppose it was better than the M1
 

yello

Guest
Broadies - short for broad slides. Basically, get up a head of steam, slam on the rear brakes, plant a foot down and swing the back end round... ideally whilst staying on the bike. The idea was to kick up as much gravel, dust, debris, whatever, as possible. Much easier if you had pedal brakes. Coming off was called a wipe-out.
 
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OP
Archie_tect

Archie_tect

De Skieven Architek... aka Penfold + Horace
Location
Northumberland
Broadies - short for broad slides. Basically, get up a head of steam, slam on the rear brakes, plant a foot down and swing the back end round... ideally whilst staying on the bike. The idea was to kick up as much gravel, dust, debris, whatever, as possible. Much easier if you had pedal brakes. Coming off was called a wipe-out.
Putting a foot down got you disqualified.
 
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