Chicksands and more old friends.........

Skippy

This story is a bit late but we do have an excuse.
Over Christmas we met up with a couple of old friends for a Chicksands play.
Happy Jon came down from the Lake District for the Christmas period and did a few rides with us.
And.
Our good friend Skippy came over from Canada just to get in a seasonal ride with the Carnival
...and of course to visit his family and other friends.

Here's Skip and Jon posing.

We had a lovely day out but it was cut a bit short by Gill taking quite a big crash on her head.
It took a week to get shot of the poorly neck for her.
In the mean time our central heating went pop and we then lost the will to live for a while..
...as you do.
Before we knew it, Skippy had returned to Canada and we had missed the opportunity to get together for a chat and picture sharing over a beer or two.
So sorry about that.
Have to be next time Skip.
We will try and get over to see him I think.
He does live very near some of the best biking areas in the whole world after all.
Hmmmm...................
A Line..........................
(A Homer type drool)
Mind you. We do have a bump or two over here.

Many thanks to "Mickey" James for the pictures.

There is a Video of our day out available from Delbert.

(According to James it looks the same as any other Video shot there :O)

Chicksands and old friends...

Got an email from Suicide Dave saying he'd be over Chicksands this Sunday so loaded up the car and took a drive over there to say hello.
What a glorious day it was too.
Not too cold and brilliant sunshine that sparkled through the trees.
Gill fancied a bit of a XC ride so I swapped the Big Hit with Alex's Cove and we went off for a 30min blast around the woods.
I did get a few funny looks from people wondering why an old bloke would buy a shocking pink bike.
I didn't bother trying to explain.
Once back we got on with the job of launching off of anything we could find and riding a few wooden constructions.
Chris and Nicky were on the money with the north shore riding.
Later, just before leaving, we went to dog s**t sand pit where Nicky was dropping off 4-5ft lips.
Well done Nick. And hard luck Chris for having to match his riding nowdays.
We were very pleased to see Alex getting some of her nerve back and riding sections of shore.
It's not easy after a serious injury.
Then she nicked the Big Hit and sailed down the 4x course faster than she's gone for a long time.
Good girl.
We didn't get back home till late afternoon.
All suitably knackered but happy.

We had a very Mardley Sunday.

Sunday saw the sun come out for the first time in 16 years.
A lovely bright (and not too cold) day meant the headcam came out to play with us.
And, as soon as cameras and videos come out with us we go all silly and try stupid stunts.
Well. Be rude not to wouldn't it?
"Mickey" James took us to a secret fallen tree so that we could session it for a while.
Session in the Carnival's dictionary means .... "...to crash on and generally be stupid with"
Then over to Mardley where we found a tree to ride through. Or into really.
Once we had damaged enough fingers, by trapping them between the handlebars and the tree, we moved on.
This time at Mardley we were going to do all the drops that had been fenced off.
And we did.
Nickey showed us how to land on his head without getting too hurt.
"Halford" James showed us all how to bail on a drop without leaving your bike.
Usually we make sure a rider is ok BEFORE laughing at them.

This time.... Well... James just made it look so comical that we couldn't help have a titter.
:O)

Ride him cowboy!!

Luckily the video is on YouTube (clicky button on right) for you all to enjoy these crashes.
Good day out thanks.

First picture posted in 2007

Sorry but it has to be me.



:O)

"Mickey" James has taken 3 sets of pictures over the Christmas holidays.

All very nice. There are some great shots of individual members of the Carnival.

Ask him and I'm sure he'll let you take a look.

Nice one James.

Happy New Year 2007

Here we go again..
A new year. A blank canvas to paint on whatever we want during the next 12 months.
Gill is currently making a list of places to ride in the year ahead.
Alex is getting stronger on the bike again and is looking forwards to revisiting Afan to ride rather than sit in A&E for 4 hours.
I will be planning to learn all the trials skills that will make me a biking God.
(I plan to do this every year and fail to do anything about it)
(I've bought the bike, bought the protective gear and got all the videos)
(Just what excuse to make when I don't do it this year is beyond me)
Whatever you do this year..........Have a great one and stay safe.
DB

You know when something is bugging you .............

Do you ever get that feeling??
Something's been bugging you but you don't quite know what it is.
Well.
Ever since the council put "that" fence around the Mardley bowl it has been a little challenge in my head to still ride all our favourite drops.
Why should we let them spoil our harmless fun?
We did go back and ride drops each end of the fence.
Then, looking back at my previous post about Mardley, I saw that I had written.
"Wobbly Knee is not doable. No run in."
THAT is what has been bugging me.
I have looked a couple of times and there was about half a bike length between the drop and the inside of the fence.
So.
This Sunday we took a nice little ride over that way.
Once at Mardley, Chris found a new drop-off.
It had a nice run-in and looked a good drop for us to do.
He managed to get it squirley as he landed on wet leaves.
That made us laugh.
No doubt, we'll be back there to all have a go.
Then off to Wobbly Knee.
I had a couple (3-4) of dummy runs and nearly manage to throw my bike off the edge but finally managed the tight turn and off the drop I went.
Following that we had Nicky, Chris and Gill going off it.
I was really pleased that we have now managed to do (almost) all the drops that were fenced off from us a few months ago.
Carnival 1 ... Council 0.
A special well done goes to Alex who rode the complete ride although she was very tired at the end.
It can only get easier my girl.
We had the usual slips and crashes during the ride from a few of the Carnival.
Mini took a heavy fall and moaned about his ankle, knee, hip, wrist and everything else.
...as you do..
James "Mickey" showed Mini how to do the front end crash properly.
Straight down like a sack of spuds and then leap back up with a grin on your face.
He he he.... A classic comedy dismount.
:O)
A good ride had by all.
DB

Rain rain rain rain ................

It's done nothing but rain over the last couple of weeks.
We still go out and ride in it but it does take the edge off the fun and games a bit.
Still....
I suppose you have to earn your good days eh?
And we do have good days.
It's just hard to remember them as you're plugging through foot deep mud and failing to get enough speed for that little jump that you'd been doing throughout the Summer.
So.............
We need a little reminder of what we were up to just a couple of weeks back.
Here's a short film clip to cheer you all up.

Happy days.
DB

Return of the Alex. The Carnival Strikes Back.

A long long time ago.....
In (Afan) a Universe far far away.......
The Dark side took from us one of our own....
She has been in the wilderness for many months....
But now she has been returned to the Carnival....

And what better place to be for that return than...............
CHICKSANDS.

An elete band of merry men (and women) went over to Chicksands to have a good old muck around.
We actually had two ex- invalids with us.
Alex, of course, who is coming back from major knee surgery and Mark who is coming back from a major error in judgement and a broken hand.
We took with us the (new) headcam and another video camera to capture the day.
I wasn't expecting much in the way of special footage there but how wrong can you be??
We managed to capture enough good video to put together another Chickie film.
Now.........
What can we call it?
I know..
Chicksands 3!
Gill managed to capture the biggest prang I've seen in a while.
A couple of chaps who followed me down the XC section just after the jump area.
With video still running..Gill captured the trailing guy coming in to land nose down......
Yoicks....... cabin doors to automatic!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_46xaiSRwI
He survived with a lot of gravel rash and broken Sunnies.
He was more concerned that the glasses were Oaklies and borrowed from his riding partner.
A great day had by all and a few new jumps and drops nailed.
DB

A newbie to riding..........

I think we take for granted the ease in which we jump on our bikes and go for a ride.
We've ridden for years.
Probably, (like me) you were riding bikes soon after learning to walk.
So....
It comes as a shock to us that some people have never ridden a bike.
How difficult can it be?
My sister-in-law, Lynne, was tempted out for a little ride with us this Tuesday evening.
She rode my little jump bike to start with because it is the smallest of all the bikes.
It has a saddle that cuts you in half but we didn't tell her that!! He he....
After a few wobbles she finally got into some cycling shorts (joke) (Sorry Lynne).
After a few wobbles she got pedaling and followed us off around the block.
As a newbie to riding, she had no idea of how to work the brakes or gears.
Gill talked her through changing gear but I think she should have concentrated on the brakes first.
First time she needed to slow down (a family of walkers coming the other way) she dragged both feet along the ground and kind of wobbled and wavered all over the place until she had stopped.
The family looked suitably (un) impressed.
Lynne survived the ride and said she had enjoyed it.
She's even planning to ride the unused bike she has sitting in the shed when she gets home.
Quite why she was limping as she left for home? I'm not sure I want to know.
:O)
Be glad that you don't have to give a thought to "how do I ride" as you leap onto the trusty bike and race off somewhere.
I've posted a picture or two to remind Lynne that she actually rode a bike and survived with only one bite in the back of the leg (from a rampant pedal) and a sore backside.
Well done.

And back to spinning.....

Alex came spinning with us this Monday for the first time in many months.
Plenty of resistance on the bike so that it wouldn't run away with her.
I think we all were all pretty nervous for her but she did the spinning and most of the floor exercises and lived to tell the tale.
That return to Chicksands is a little bit closer for her now.

Went over Mardley to look at the new fence...

And there it was in all it's glory.
Council must have spent a few bob there.
Why bother though? Who knows.
The bad news is that Wobbly Knee is not do'able.
No run in.
The good news is that the other slopes and drops are accessable.
They've left enough distance between the fence and the edge so we can just ride around the fence and down into the bowl.
Very thoughtful of them.
:O)

Wobbly Knee is no more...

As the Sol's were sailing the Solent, the Carnival ride went out as usual over Mardley way.
Sadly, the report back was that the council have fenced off all around the edge of the Mardley bowl.
That means that Wobbly Knee drop and all the other drops and slopes are no longer ridable.
A bit sad for those who hadn't got around to doing them yet.
I think it may be time to look harder in that area for new stunts to keep us scared.

The weekend is nearly upon us..

The weekend is nearly here again.
The Sol family are off playing Pirates on a boat this weekend.
The Carnival will be placed in the capable hands of James "Mickey" Michaels for the Sunday ride.
Please remember to rip the p**s out of him throughout the whole ride and generally heckle from the back.
Well........ It's only fair isn't it?
That's what you do to me.
:O)
Have a great ride.
See you all soon.
DB

The Carnival in Cannock.

The forcast for Sunday was for heavy thundery outbreaks so..........
To cheat the weather gods, I left off the mudguards and off we went to Cannock Chase to hook up with Eamonn and the boys.
True to form, we had a lovely dry day and even a bit of sunshine.
Cannock being Cannock, we found a few places where the going was a bit squidgy but mostly the going was good and firm.
Eamonn guided us through some nice singletrack and up some long gravely climbs.
It had to be done to find the next bit of downward trail eh?
The boys, James and Tom had a good ride again.
I think they have both grown a foot each since we last saw them.
It made it difficult for them to pedal with three feet!
Boom boom!
Gill took a good off on some slippy roots and had a roll around the floor.
Then young James put a foot down only it was the side where the hill sloped away.
He seemed proud of rolling 20ft down a hill without his bike.
Another great day at the Chase.
Food after was as good and cheap as ever.
Many thanks to Eamonn for the guiding.
We will be back.

Alex is pretty in pink.

This Saturday was a great day for us.
Alex got on her bike for the first time in 5 Months.
It was a nervous affair with all caution taken to not over extend (bend) her leg.
After 5 mins she was riding comfortably and enjoying the ride.
We rode around the block for about 15 mins.
It's going to be a long road but we will enjoy riding down it.

It'shh the Northhh Downnnss.

This Sunday The Carnival returned to the North Downs for some Surrey fun.
Suicide Dave kindly dragged himself out of the pub just in time to lead us.
Now I shouldn't laugh, because I have been there many times before myself, but................
Sui getting ready for the ride was a sight to behold.
Slurping on a bottle of orange juice (a magic potion to counter a dizzy head?).
"Oh. My front tyre needs pumping up"
Puts orange bottle on the path.
Bends over to pump tyre.
Orange bottle rolls away down the hill.
Camelbak bladder leaks water over Sui's head.
Oh well.
It can only get better.
(I hope)
:O)
Didn't stop the lad from riding like we know he can.
The ride was a great one as we suspected it would be.
Lots of hill climbs but always something to pay back the hard work at the end of them.
Sweet singletracks and fun bits to fall off on was the order of the day.
We got a tour of some of the play areas which looked a little scary for an old bloke like me but maybe next time we can pad up a bit and have more of a go of those.
Most of us took a few slide-offs and minor crashes but survived to ride another day.
Everyone rode well and came back with a smile on their faces.
The day was finished off nicely with a food stop at Peaslake.
Hmmmm...
Cheese straws.

We had 3 walkers with us (Alex, Abbie and Mark) who walked for 3 and a half hours.
(not counting the pub stop)
They were as worn out as us by the end of the afternoon.
Many thanks Sui for the guiding.
You did a great job.
Roll on next time.
Click on the righthand Fotopic clicky thing for all the pictures from the day.

One small step for Woman. One giant leap for Carnivalkind.

Good news of the week.
Alex went to physio on Monday and got put on an exercise bike.
She managed to turn the pedals all the way around.
That is the first time she's been able to do that in 4 long months.
Well done Alex.
Keep up the hard work and you'll soon be back riding just as shiv as the rest of us again.
:O)

Chicksands it was then.....

After our Chamonix week there were a lot of tired members of the Carnival who could not muster the energy to come ride on Sunday.
So....
A sunny Sunday at Chicksands seemed the best thing to do.
What a lovely day it turned out to be too.
Gill, James and myself rode a quick lap of the XC route while Abbie and Alex had a walk in the woods and looked for wildlife.
I was on the little jump bike so every climb threatened to pop me knees out. (excuses)
Both Gill and James rode the horrible steep climb at the start of the route with no problems.
Then off we went to the freeride area where Mark and Mini were waiting for us.
It was all very quiet in the morning so we took the opportunity to ride the 4 Cross course.
That was great.
All jumps were doubles or tripples, so that slowed us up a bit, but we still had grin factor 10 on each run.
There was a problem for Mark on one of our last runs.
Just as we went round the bottom section I caught sight of Mark landing a double and then coming directy at me balanced on the front wheel.
I thought at the time he was going to take me with as he flew through the air!
"Come on little fella......... can someone take a picture of Mark on my shoulder"
Gulp!
Lucky (for me) he landed just behind me.
Unlucky for him, he later found out he had broken a bone in his hand :O(
We then went on to the dual course and ripped (rolled) that up for half an hour.
Time then to move on to the jump area.
James got some great pictures of the action with his Okie Cokie 2000 whizzo camera.
(He can give you the correct description of it. All I know is that it's a good'n).
Mark was getting some nice big air.
That's the first time he's really joined us in the jumping.
He was looking good and in control (for once).
Gill too was looking good too and getting a lot of air beneath those wheels.
All too soon, 4 hours of fun had passed and it was time to retreat to the carpark and get some food eaten.
Thanks all for another great day out.
Thanks to James for being the photographer.

And so........back in the real world.

Here we are.
All back to work and slightly depressed after Cham.
What should we do to cheer ourselves up?
I know.
Go for a bike ride.
Weekday riding means we can't set out until 6-7 Oclock in the evening.
And now Summer has past us by it looks like this outside.













Hmmmm.......
Not quite a view of the alps is it?
Never mind.
As we ride we can plan our next adventure.
Suicide Dave has offered a guided tour around "Little Canada".
(Trails built in the North Down)

Haydn has pushed Mark forwards as a guide to a South Downs spectacular.
I think Gav may be down that way as well.

Eamonn (JA) is waiting for the Carnival to return to Cannock so he can ripp the p*** out of me.

Chicksands is sitting there waiting for the return of the Carnival Part 3.

So... Not all bad news then eh?
Let me see. Where shall we start.............Hmmmmmm......

Chamonix 2006

Hi all.
Well the Carnival made it safely home from this years Chamonix road trip.
A few cuts and bruises but that was to be expected.
The riding was of the most extreme we have done so far in our trips around the world (ish).
Our day two ride saw us taking one cable car to the top of a mountain and then a second to the peak of the Brevant.
From here you can really see the full extent of Chamonix Valley with Mt Blank towering in the background.
The first decent from the top was more hike-a-bike than swoopy.
After traversing for an hour to another peak we had lunch.
Then it was Scary down, down, down for the next 2 hours to the tune of howling disc brake rotors.
Wahoooooooo!
5 rides in 7 days was good for us.
The weather was very hot all week, which was good.
The week before had been very wet and they even had a bit of snow in town!
The wildlife in and around the mountains was varied.
We saw: Cows with bells.
Horses with bells.
Giant Crows.
Orange and Yellow Toadstools.
A big hovering bug type things which looked like a miniature Humming Birds.
Big Crickets.
A little bird with concussion.
A (f******) Eagle.
And Butt Cheeks.
But didn't see any Mountain Cats........... Meeow......"W......"
All in all a great week with a great bunch of mates.
Oh yes.....
We got driunk a lot too.
:O)