10 Years Of Greatness

[BONGO]

Hi all! It's been a while! I guess facebook changed a lot about the importance of forums to at least know what people are up to. I've been out of trials for what seems like a lifetime, and it seems ridiculous that i still miss this forum, more than you think! It's still the sport, and the place, that started my complete and utter love for riding anything with two wheels though. I Started riding about 10 years ago, and looking back at all the years, nothing played out how i expected, and i'm in a completely different place to where i ever could have imagined.

I guess most of us would say the same? My job, fair enough, it's been the rock of consistency and boringness in my life, which sometimes i half wish wasn't there, as i was in a career job from the moment i finished A levels, in BT. 10 years in and it is how it is. Boring, often, but it is merely a tool to provide me with the cash to fund the life i'm choosing to lead, which is proving to be a bloody expensive one! Trials was a massive part of my life. It was the turning point of my life, the point where i knew i had found 'my sport', as far as two wheels anyway.

Thiking back to the trials years though, and my great memories aren't sidehops or gaps, but moments with mates, many or whom i met through this forum. Weekends in Preston with Matt, Chris, Stan and the preston boys. Going up to Keighley and having the Yorkshire weekends at Addingham and Shipley with Wayne, Mark and the boys. Then the countless drive ous all over the country, and local rides with John the mong, Anal, Phil Williams, DLB and Ian Thornton when he was up these ways! It's always the people that bring the memories back. Even now, and i have no idea why, i immediately think of Beeco at Shipley when i hear Kings of Leon! He was singing Mollys Chamber on a rock and i'd never heard of them before. Weird tiny memory that'll never go lol. Weird! Going to Loughborough and staying with Tart and Dave too! Remember the frog lads?! It's the small memories that are the best.

One of the most terrible times was obviously the DJ days. That timet left me with some of the most incredible memories i wished i never had to have though. He'll never be forgotten though and credit to this forum once again, as he's another top top bloke who i met through here. His funeral was still one of the most emotional and amazing days of my life. To think how that day was in still unreal.

I'm not sure why i'm bothering typing this, but it just feels good to think back. It's always been so much more than riding though, and only in hindsight do i realise this. This forum has changed and evolved to the point where i guess i barely know anyone on here anymore, but i'm proud to have been a part of it from the old days where to me, it was in it's prime.

The last ten years have without doubt been the best of my life. As a trials rider, i was 100% happy and excited to ride every single day. but without meaning to, i got drawn into bmx, which swiftly took over my life. The following years were every bit as good as the previous few, and possibly even better, but with injuries i was pulled out of bmx, tried to get away from wheels for a time, with fishing (?!) but was quickly pulled back to wheels, this time with engines. 4 years down the line i'm on the verge of entering my third year of racing motorbikes, where i will be in a national televised championship, after some great successes, several championships and moments that i'm really proud of, which all stated with a £400 Monty X-Stam from a lawnmower shop all those years ago. I've just bought an mx bike and have my first race on Saturday too. I never would've imagined things to play out like they have.

I've had some terrible injuries over the years, from losing 5 teeth, breaking jaws, pallets and noses, to breaking feet, wrists, elbows, dislocations, shattered knuckles, countless concussions, and knee reconstructions. If i'd known that was all going to happen, i'd probably have been too scared to ride, but every single one of them injuries had a thousand great memories attached to them and i'd do it all again given half a chance.

Not sure how to round this up, because i'm not sure why i'm even typing it all! I guess if i had a glass, i'd raise it to trials, this forum, my mates, and everyone on here who i've spent time with and ridden with for all these years. Thanks for the great times. All you young'ns, i hope you throw yourslef into riding as much as i did and get the feelings i still get today, with all the memories and enjoyment i've had. It's been the best years of my life and long may it continue.

To fallen riders, good times, Trials-forum and friends, thank you.

Bongo

[Trials Punk]

Sometimes its hard to know what to say to a post like that!

Here Here, I think that'l do!

[JT!]

where i will be in a national televised championship

Wow, congrats!

[anzo]

Looking back I started out in Motorcycle Trials - buying a 315R when I was about 13. Previous to this was a Yamaha TY which I had since I was about 7.

I sold up when I was about 19, after around 12 years in the sport. Of course I never got anywhere in those 12 years, I did compete but never ranked the top. I would say I was a good rider and could tackle most things without any issue, but I never took it too seriously, perhaps if I took it seriously at the time I could pull in some respectable results, but the fun of it was getting out, learning something new and being a bit of a show off. I was never 'academically' committed so I spent my time on motorbikes, trials bike and computers when I should have been studying.

I purchased an Onza T-Pro when I was about 16 which then turned in to a Koxx Monsterboy which I worked f**king hard for - beatiful frame (some may disagree), pink CK hubs, hope breaks all round...it rode like a dream and I sold it for £1000 to get hold of another car I urgently needed; I guess sometimes you have to give up something you love for more 'important' issues in life...no car meant no job, no job meant no money.

I've never even touched a trials bike since then. However funnily enough it all came flooding back when I drove through Derby city centre last night and saw a bunch of trials riders (at a guess Neil Tunnicliffe, Andy, Matt?) and I remember riding in the darkness, in winter wearing jeans, a tee shirt and a helmet and still being warm. Hell, I even miss the smackheads in Derby asking for 'a go on my bike'.

I have also met a couple of great guys on here, Tom Booth, Inur (fantastic weekend getting pissed and then trying riding to the hotel!), Andy (I can never remember his surname) to name a few. All great lads!

However I do keep glancing over the Tartybikes website and thinking I'll give it another go...hopefully I will, before I'm too old.

[Muel]

I purchased an Onza T-Pro when I was about 16 which then turned in to a Koxx Monsterboy which I worked f**king hard for - beatiful frame (some may disagree), pink CK hubs, hope breaks all round...it rode like a dream and I sold it for £1000 to get hold of another car I urgently needed; I guess sometimes you have to give up something you love for more 'important' issues in life...no car meant no job, no job meant no money.

The frame yet lives, it's been cracked and rewelded, and repainted, but my mate still has it and it still rides as lovely as ever. If it had a 25-30mm longer wb it'd be my perfect mod.

I'll probably start again one day. I quit because I got bored and wanted to get back into motorbike trials, which didn't really happen because I got part way through a mod on it and it's sat in the shed for 6 months.

Edited October 29, 2010 by Muel

[anzo]

The frame yet lives, it's been cracked and rewelded, and repainted, but my mate still has it and it still rides as lovely as ever. If it had a 25-30mm longer wb it'd be my perfect mod.

Awww nice, could you get hold of a photo?

I sold it to Josh Greenan, think he lived around Nottingham way...which I had it back now.

[JD™]

This is something really nice to start a Friday morning with. Thanks for sharing, and really glad you're having success in the motorbike world. What championship are you racing in?

Like you, I started riding about 10 or 11 years ago. I made the transistion from relatively high level youth XC through to a brief dabble with dirt jumping into trials. This was back when I didn't really know what trials was, I was just having fun getting up and over stuff! All of a sudden I started seeing bits and pieces in some magazine called MUBK or something that had a couple of 'trials' pages and I'm like "WHOA, that's kind of what I'm doing!" and I was instantly more hooked than I thought.

I found this forum not long before the server crash, having been on those MBUK forums for a while beforehand as well as section7, but I never really met up with anyone from here. It was a place for me to find inspiration and tips to keep me one step ahead of my riding buddies who didn't use the forum. A couple of years later I'd quit after getting where I wanted with it and the usual car, job, girls stuff getting in the way. I always carried on coming on the forum though - for some reason it's always been one of the best places on the internet. In fact, I think I've cheesily posted a link to Chit Chat in the BOTI thread a couple of times...

I've just started riding again to try to keep some of my youth fun alive while running a business and having a mortgage and all the other boring adult stuff. This time round I plan to meet a lot of the guys I've come to respect and admire on the forum but know only through an avatar or a couple of videos.

I'd join you in raising that glass to trials and TF - they both deserve it.

Great people, great banter, occasional stupidity and all in all good times.

[Muel]

Awww nice, could you get hold of a photo?

I sold it to Josh Greenan, think he lived around Nottingham way...which I had it back now.

PM'd.

I was pretty good mates with Josh a few years back, we used to meet up and ride a fair bit.

[casualjoe]

I used to search for trials vids about 10 years ago and kept wondering why it showed up loads of gay ass writing about trials, never heard of forums before haha

Cheers for inspiring me to reminisce 10 great years, I still enjoy riding today.

[Ali C]

Hey John! I was actually thinking about you the other day, how odd that you then show up and post this topic. I remember the first time I met you, I think it was Preston and I was just thinking "who is this loon on the Monty?"

It's great hear you are still on two wheels, well done for getting far with racing, please let me know when it's on tv!

Have a good' un

[BONGO]

Cheers Ali lol, i remember plenty of days watching in amazement as you did stupid things round Hebdon, Shipley and Addingham lol. Silly skills. JD i'm going to be racing in the Thundersport GB F600 championship mate. Nothing now until next year though, if same as this year it'll be on throughout the year on Motors TV. Mallory park round is on at the moment on Motors actually, and in the last F600 race you will see my mate racing my bike after he broke his. Orange #177. He crashes it too

i got all reminiscent this morning with this lol. It's been good though!

Bongo

[JD™]

Cheers Ali lol, i remember plenty of days watching in amazement as you did stupid things round Hebdon, Shipley and Addingham lol. Silly skills. JD i'm going to be racing in the Thundersport GB F600 championship mate. Nothing now until next year though, if same as this year it'll be on throughout the year on Motors TV. Mallory park round is on at the moment on Motors actually, and in the last F600 race you will see my mate racing my bike after he broke his. Orange #177. He crashes it too

i got all reminiscent this morning with this lol. It's been good though!

Bongo

My old man used to race on the same bill as the Thundersport GB lot, this was about 10 years back too though. I think it was the supersport championship or something, can't remember though. Good luck, and I'll try and catch some races next year.

[Davetrials]

Ten years on and i cant really add anything to what bongo has said. im no way near as involed in the sport as i used to be but i still love it and i love all the people and amazing friends ive met on the way!

dammed nice topic to read, john good call!

[Al_Fel]

FAG!

[Max Quinn]

Here here! You stopped riding bmx fully then? Used to love your style!

[Bucky]

great post john

pretty much the same sketch here, started riding tyketrials in 98 wow what a lifetime ago that seems

managed to keep competing until 08 and slowly but surly since then it seems everything has taken over where trials used to be.

cars, girls, work etc etc

some of the best times iv ever had were out on the bikes having a chilled ride with some great friends. i miss that.

still catch a look at trials rider locally and think, pahh i could do that years ago and probably could now. lol not so simple like it used to be though.

[AdamR28]

Get a camera, shit him up!!

[Fish-Finger-er]

funnily enough, you came up in conversation at work the other day, (talking about a bloke who works with me hurting himself on his enduro bike regarding sick pay, and your issues came up), at that point i did think "what the f*ck happened to bongo (so did a search for you on the directory)

its kinda mental to think how far trials and the trials community has gone, and it annoys me a little bit that i got sidetracked by drink, girls and money at the age of 15/16 and never put anymore into it.

at the same time though, i think as the sport has evolved and the quality and diversity of riding has increased, the trials community has declined, maybe its just me being a bit cynical, but a lot of the arguments and the like that are seen now, nothing ever seemed to happen like that in like 02-05, it was happy days, if someone scammed someone, the whole community seemed to be against them, now when someone scams someone, in the uk, in a lot of cases,some people side with the scammer( I liked the way how in romania(i think) when someone scammed a few people on tf, the riders over there, pretty much disowned him).

maybe its as ive grown up, the magic of trials has worn off, but it feels to me, as if the kids starting out in trials today arent having the same experience we had when we started out and that saddens me a bit. sure the availabilty fo parts etc is better, but some of my fondest memories where taking apart bikes on a friday evening, bolting 2 32t rings together, grinding the spikes off, and then refitting the crank with a bit of a coke can, just so i could ride saturday morning. You wanted to ride so bad, nothing else mattered.

but all in trials was, and largely still is brilliant. partt of me wishes i could go back and do it all again, but then me knees, ankles and lower back disagree with that statement.

[BONGO]

Max, i've as good as packed in mate yeah. I've never said one day "that's it", and i do go to Rampworx and play every so often. The riding isn't so important anymore, i don't miss it. I still see my mates from bmx so it's all good.

Anal, i know lol i was actually thinking it was faggish as i was writing it hahaha. Had some good times though! Remember our hissy fit in Southport lol. Over literally nothing, we wanted to twat each other and literally 5 minutes later we were having a blast on the walls again!!!

And Bucky, cars and girls??? Or vans and girls?!

[Sneakers O'Toole]

. Even now, and i have no idea why, i immediately think of Beeco at Shipley when i hear Kings of Leon! He was singing Mollys Chamber on a rock and i'd never heard of them before. Weird tiny memory that'll never go lol. Weird!

It's been ages sine I've been on TF so it was a bit suprising to see my name pop up in the first topic I looked in! It's kinda groovy to know I'm imprinted in someones memory.

[Bucky]

vans..... lol cant beat a nice astra van.

nah i like to think iv grown up a bit now iv got a dirty passat diesel. still keep an eye on the old van market just incase something takes my fancy.

[Greetings]

I've been riding for over 9 years now and I really can't imagine where I'd be if not for this sport. It has completely changed my life in every way, right from the first days where I'd spend all my time riding, through meeting new people, manning up and opening a business which subsequently enabled me to start doing a very expensive sport while still having a lot of time for social life. None of this would have happened if I didn't choose to persevere and get my fist proper trials bike, a 221 X-Lite with a square bottom tube which was quite literally falling apart.

To the trials community, I salute you.

[MadManMike]

I've met some cool people through TF - I talk to loads of people on MSN and stuff and would class quite a few of you as friends. I've had constructive pointers with my music stuff and TF is by far the friendliest forum I've been on.

I'm like most, been out of trials riding for about 6 years but still can't leave here - this forum is just like Hastings haha.

Congrats to all mods, Danny & Tom for making this place what it is.

[F-Stop Junkie]

at the same time though, i think as the sport has evolved and the quality and diversity of riding has increased, the trials community has declined, maybe its just me being a bit cynical, but a lot of the arguments and the like that are seen now, nothing ever seemed to happen like that in like 02-05, it was happy days, if someone scammed someone, the whole community seemed to be against them, now when someone scams someone, in the uk, in a lot of cases,some people side with the scammer( I liked the way how in romania(i think) when someone scammed a few people on tf, the riders over there, pretty much disowned him).

maybe its as ive grown up, the magic of trials has worn off, but it feels to me, as if the kids starting out in trials today arent having the same experience we had when we started out and that saddens me a bit. sure the availabilty fo parts etc is better, but some of my fondest memories where taking apart bikes on a friday evening, bolting 2 32t rings together, grinding the spikes off, and then refitting the crank with a bit of a coke can, just so i could ride saturday morning. You wanted to ride so bad, nothing else mattered.

And the circle of life is complete... People were saying the same thing in 2003 when you were joining the forum!

[AdamR28]

Going to Loughborough and staying with Tart and Dave too! Remember the frog lads?! It's the small memories that are the best.

Finally found these, been looking for about a week!

16th Jan 2004, good times...