BMX to Fixie

I started riding BMX in 1984, I was rubbish at it then and am still quite rubbish at it now.

don't quote the rules of trails to me sonny

(adopts yorkshire accent) when i were a lad you were welcome to ride anyone's trails if you'd put a few hours in with a spade, and didn't trash any lips.

Really good trails usually survive because of successive generations of riders building them up and welcoming the next generation in, on that proviso.

If you want your trails to be a secret that's fine, but in any case, Pinner's secret has been out for at least the last 14 years (when i remember pictures in Ride)

"Well, we all have stories..."

Let's not have a daddy dick trails off on the internet...

There's a dif between keeping trails secret and giving out directions, the place I help at is well known but I would never dream of giving out directions to it on the internet, it's just common sense, each to their own though I guess and in this case it doesn't actually matter.

I remember Pinner... old Union haunt...

I started riding BMX when i was about 16 or 17 (1996 or 97, can't quite remember) - just before trails became THE thing in BMX. it totally blew up around the summer of 1997, trails popped up everywhere and our trails became a bit of a hotspot - for Manchester/NW riders at least. But then street became the cool thing to do. I don't have a BMX anymore, largely because i moved to a big city, there weren't any trails, and I wasn't really ever interested in street riding. But if i ever get out of London - or if was able to find a spot to dig my own/help out with someone elses - i'd get back into it for sure

keep the faith, brothers

I live in East London and you can get to about 3 sets of trails within about an hour and a half, ride to Waterloo, train out to the trails.

Come winter it's a nice 45min to an hour spin out on the big bikes for digging...

Works well.

You can always get to some trails if you want to enough...

1991, used to say hello to someone if they wore vans or airwalk! Guaranteed to skate or Bmx. Spitalfields skate park, Invert mag halfpipe, Hoffman breaks shoulder. Ceramic rabbit jams. Bully bashguard. BMX Now mag. No internet, just B+W mag with shitty pics. Good days. Memoriiiiiiieesss!

I started riding BMX when i was about 16 or 17 (1996 or 97, can't quite remember) - just before trails became THE thing in BMX. it totally blew up around the summer of 1997, trails popped up everywhere and our trails became a bit of a hotspot - for Manchester/NW riders at least. But then street became the cool thing to do. I don't have a BMX anymore, largely because i moved to a big city, there weren't any trails, and I wasn't really ever interested in street riding. But if i ever get out of London - or if was able to find a spot to dig my own/help out with someone elses - i'd get back into it for sure

keep the faith, brothers

which trails were you riding in the NW?
did you ever go to poynton trails?

which trails were you riding in the NW?
did you ever go to poynton trails?

those were the ones - me, chris butcher, andy schofield, barney (who went on to get a bit of coverage i think) then later people like ian moore and the woodier brothers. maybe we know each other????

BMX for stunts, fixed gear for speed1 Simple. But Props to all who push fixed riding further everyday!

1991, used to say hello to someone if they wore vans or airwalk!

Yeah totally remember that. Its really weird now when you see chav sprogs or OAP's wearing DC's & Airwalk because they were the cheapest shoes they found in Sports World/Tk Maxx.

Remember when "Bench" was a bit like howies?

Yeah totally remember that. Its really weird now when you see chav sprogs or OAP's wearing DC's & Airwalk because they were the cheapest shoes they found in Sports World/Tk Maxx.

Remember when "Bench" was a bit like howies?

Yes! And remember when Howies was a bit more, well, affordable and stuff?

Yeah totally remember that. Its really weird now when you see chav sprogs or OAP's wearing DC's & Airwalk because they were the cheapest shoes they found in Sports World/Tk Maxx.

Remember when "Bench" was a bit like howies?

Yes and Bench had an offer to riders to take bundles of their clothes sale or return. I thought not many people would want it!!! Few years later Bench is in my mums Freemans catalog! Shit!!! Thought wrong...
Also, no internet to see how tricks were performed, just shitty sequence photos in zines.

Let's not have a daddy dick trails off on the internet...

There's a dif between keeping trails secret and giving out directions, the place I help at is well known but I would never dream of giving out directions to it on the internet, it's just common sense, each to their own though I guess and in this case it doesn't actually matter.

I remember Pinner... old Union haunt...

All very fair. i'm just itching to get back into it i think. I'm just round the corner from Volt BMX so i guess i've no excuse but to sort myself out a new ride and get back...

Never ridden BMX, but there's a little park in peckham, naylor road, where there's a regular training of quite a few kids who seem to do well. Their trainer was saying something about nationals and all that.

1991, used to say hello to someone if they wore vans or airwalk! Guaranteed to skate or Bmx. Spitalfields skate park, Invert mag halfpipe, Hoffman breaks shoulder. Ceramic rabbit jams. Bully bashguard. BMX Now mag. No internet, just B+W mag with shitty pics. Good days. Memoriiiiiiieesss!

Hey, some good memories there. I went to the Spitalfields thing too, The Rider Cup in 92 wasn't it? All the Hoffman team was there, Mirra, Miron. I remember Dennis McCoy backflipping the tiniest ever funbox like it was nothing. Who'd have thought back then that Spitalfields would end up the way it has now... Never went to the Ceramic Rabbit jams, but saw the video of one on that video "Smart People in a car crash" (or 'Dave Slade's adventures into LSD' as it should've been called...).

What happened to the flatland scene at South Bank?

The Hoffman thing at spitalfields was on telly too! Think i recorded Hi 5 every week to catch it, no bleedin internet eh!
They had ramps down there for a while, next to city types playing tennis.
I was a bit young at the time to get to the jams/comps at the time. Must dig out old zines and vhs tapes!

Oh and shops were few and far, especially as i was in suffolk at the time! Billy's cambridge, Get peddalin Colchester, Supebike Ilford, one in Muswell hill? all the rest on south coast.

Yeah, Custom Riders and Backyard were pretty much my usual choice back then. Oh yes, the Backyard Jams, now there was some riding. Sidley woods, that place was sick!