In The Beginning.... Forum History.

Big hugs Corny

@HatBeard I loved and hated that ride 😂😂😂😂 but really just loved it.

I tried to upload the photo of us walking up Ditchling but FB won't let me save to my phone. Think. You can find it?

I've been on this forum for a decade and I have met and made friends with the most incredible people. I'm with you corny in saying this place has saved my life more than once. The love and the support from total strangers with the biggest hearts.

Forum drinks and forum rides have such a fond part of my memories. I wish we could do more, even now. Sad we all have grown up.

I joined in 2008, after one of the stagehands at the wyndhams theatre recommended this site to research parts for my fixed gear bike.

Several UK and European tours, north drinks, GSIAD, London Classics, Hell of North London, Urban hill climbs and Guinness Rides later.

solid memories and friendships developed. Thanks to the members here..

Was in the first 1000 in here '07. Came over from stw having been a mtbiker before getting a sweet fixie to commute on. Still riding it with one wheel built by @hillbilly BITD and the other from elsewhere in here.
Early days of south's drinks, football rides, bright times parties - all amazing.
Funny how the forum's grown up over the years.

I keep meaning to post here, but don't know how to put it in to words.

I was here pretty early. 2007 and a double digit user number, in the 70s.

There used to be a "Special Interests" sub forum on the site that became bikeradar (Cycling plus???). Apparently fixed wheel was a special interest. I think I remember dicki being on there?

VB posted in there about this place and that we should check it out.

Changed my life.

Riding up Highgate West with dicki and lpg was my first real life outing.

Then some drinks at the Three Kings in Kings Cross.

Night rides, polo, in jokes, the brightest of times. Trans-Atlantic connections, life long friends. Mortal internet enemies that make me smile now.

I would honestly be a different person right now without here.

Kept seeing cool bikes locked outside the Coach and Horses, every Monday, on my evening commute. Famous South drinks... I suspect @cornelius_blackfoot 's titanium machine mentioned a few posts back must have been one of them. One day I dared stopping to ask was it was all about, and a friendly crowd (Corny was part of it) invited me to join LFGSS.
It was 2008, I'd moved to London couple of years before that, but people I knew at the time were mostly friends of my then girlfriend, my housemates, a couple of Frenchies and @coppiThat ! The forum became such a big part of my London life. Not going to repeat what many have said already... What a bunch of lovely people! Always such a treat to bump into one of your old faces, though this sadly happens less these days...

The two for one burgers, and finding a burger buddy.

I was on the Belle & Sebastian forum and was aware of the Boss’s other project, so this was the obvious place to pitch up a few years later when I was getting into bikes.

I’m not in London and I’ve only met a loose handful of you, but I like it here.

Was the B&S forum as hand-wringingly earnest as I'm imagining it?

All human life was there. Including trench warfare, at the end.

Did it descend into political squabbling, general posturing and long discussion of the merits of different brands of paint?

I came for the gear inches, stayed for the piss taking.

Went backstage as guests at a Belle and Sebastian gig at Massey Hall in Toronto about ten years ago.

Was just the band and a few people standing around in the most painful awkward on the spectrum silence imaginable..... Horrific

I think I was hipped to this place by by my IRL buddy, @cornelius_blackfoot when I was looking at a new bike in late 2007. I joined in early 2008 having lurked for a few months needing tips to tinker with my then-new Genesis Flyer. I'd been riding BMX and geared in London since the 90s but only really got into to fixed through Corny and this place.

Just found my first post, which was on an "I miss the old forum" thread from March 2008. https://www.lfgss.com/comments/6012668/. Sage advice from 2008 me there.

I was more shy in those days and didn't join many rides or become a regular at any drinks although I did pop along to a few here and there, mainly at LMNH and many impromptu post-work drinks at The Blackfriar. I moved to South London in 2012 and spending some quality time at Le Reej with a few forum elders, most of whom have now moved on both IRL and from here.

Between 2008 and 2016 when I moved out of London LFGSS became a big part of life for me. It was actually a bit of a shock on leaving, to discover my well established identity of "Drunk cyclist who plays the guitar" was actually transitory. The forum continues to be a bit of a lifeline in this latest phase of life.

Despite the early reputation as being unfriendly, I've always found that this place something of an oasis from the cesspit of normal social media. It's hard to define but what some people see as snark and snobbishness, I always found to be a collection of people who were really into something to the extent that they felt comfortable having certain standards and opinions, an often being funny and self-aware while doing it. Virtue signalling and humblebragging is kept well in check in a way that it isn't in the free-for all of the normie netz. I think this place doesn't suffer fools as much as elsewhere and i've always found the tone to be refreshingly irreverent, but without being edgelordy, compared to other virtual hangs.

Vive la Lufugusus!*

*except the puns. the puns can fuck off.

This thread is bringing a tear to my eye and a ghost hangover.

Other notable moments:
@NurseHolliday snapping a chainring on Wood Lane after norths en route to pizza on some daft lopro and power sliding like a boss instead of stacking into a parked car.

Frozen bridges ride

The infamous forum camping trip. If you know you know.

The infamous forum camping trip. If you know you know.

Shhhh

I've made it to the Corny @cornelius_blackfoot shortlist.

I was riding a hybrid, but when I had to pay £100 for a new set of sprockets, thought I needed something simpler. Bought, and still have, a Lemond Fillmore but I am sure I spent hours trying to work out why a Langster was the right idea. My first post related to chain stretch, and if I had paid more attention to the 'slack chain' posts I would have understood.

Went to Norths because the hill was a challenge, and stayed for a number of years. I have never lived in North London.

The forum is solely to blame for the 2 bikes behind me in the study, and others downstairs, but also for some life long friendships.

PS I clearly spent far too long tagging many threads, but mainly the Norths one

Aside from throwing up halfway up ditchling the next morning this is pretty much all I remember..

2 Attachments

I rode off a bridge after my bollocks fell off then landed on the motorway and got run over and died, and really wanted to post my experience somewhere and chose here, the rest is history

First ride was Rye, scorching, pub lunch, well more like pub supper by the time we got there, managed to get the last train back but some stayed over, what a life, think it was supposed to be Camber Sands but no one could be arsed carrying on once we'd picked up the scent of ale and pies

The infamous forum camping trip. If you know you know.

Ooooof

If anyones got the route for @Fresh vintage jersey ride that’d be ace. One of my all time favourite rides…

I have vivid memories of seeing you all heading back towards London on the way to Camber Sands before you'd even crossed the North Downs when I was out on a ride. Christ knows what route John had put together.

Haha! I had no idea. WHERE HE GOES, I FOLLOW.

I'm pleased to be name checked in such esteemed company.

A quick view shows I, apparently, joined in 2007 but know there was quite a lot of lurking prior. Another check has 274 LFGSS names in my address book so I must have done a bit in my time although why and how I've tagged people is sometimes a mystery as plenty of the names mean nothing.

I do have it somewhere will try to dig it out..