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In 1979 an episode of CHiPs hit our screens. The California Highway Patrol, with Officers Jon and Ponch. This was Saturday night essential viewing for any kid, except this particular episode featured BMX Racing. It was really the first real glance at what BMX really was, and for us kids riding our tracker bikes, with one wheel bigger than the other, or two both the same if you were lucky; owning a BMX was a dream. It must have been 1981 when I got my first one. My pester power was inspirational back then! My persistent nagging paid off and on Christmas Day I came downstairs to find my 20” Puch Murray. Not the greatest of brands but it was mine, and it was a BMX. It was the time of the Raleigh Burner, The Piranha, or if like my mate Dan, lucky enough to have a Mongoose ‘Supergoose’. In fact it was Dan who I’d ride with the most. His family owned the Motocross Track dating way back to the 1950's and I mentioned in Part One called Golding Barn. When Dan wasn’t away racing Motocross, the track and the Industrial Estate was our playground. We built all sorts of jumps, out of scaffold planks and pallets, and we would shred round the farm for hours. In fact Golding Barn MX Track would finally see the end of the Puch Murray after one fatal attempt at the biggest table top, and cracked the frame beyond repair. I’d also joined Adur Aces BMX Club at Shoreham by Sea, and this place was so good. I was pretty crap at racing back then, in fact it was not until 30+ years later that I actually found my way in BMX Racing. I reckon back then I was pretty intimidated by the whole race scene, I think I thought everyone had better bikes, better kit, they raced other events and I didn’t. I suppose I just loved riding my bike, I loved the magazines and collected them religiously but never really fell in love with racing myself, I didn’t really commit or maybe I couldn’t. My Dad worked most weekends on shifts at Brighton Marina and my Mum did what she could, when she could, and took me to racing and club meetings. When I look back I think I was quite a solitary BMX racer for the most part, my closest friends didn’t want to race, and I also remember being properly shy back then in those club situations and maybe a little in awe of the riders that were really good and already sponsored. Club nights at the Adur Recreation Centre were never my favourite thing to go to, as I was mostly really happy just riding around the track or hitting a few jumps. My heroes back then were legendary Freestyler Bob Haro and racers Harry Leary and Eddie King, both American Icons of BMX Racing, so when my frame snapped riding with Dan up at the motocross track, trying to clear a pretty big table top, I finally got my dream frame, a DiamondBack Silver Streak, and I felt like Harry Leary. The Black and Silver race kits of those two riders were just so rad, and alongside Stu Thomson (Redline), Clint Miller (Kuwahara), and the Patterson Brothers (Robinson) these were just the raddest guys in my eyes. When pictures appeared in the magazines of them racing, tucked over the bars, elbows out, open face helmets, goggles on and a JT mouthguard, well I just loved that image. WE also had the great British riders to look up to as well, like Tim March and Andy Ruffell, duelling it out in the Kellogs series on TV. Sadly my skill level was seriously lacking but I was so hooked, I had every copy of every magazine, Christmas and Birthdays were all about BMX parts, paper round money went on accessories like Number Plates, stickers or new padsets. Bob Haro, did the most amazing illustrations of BMX riders and these are now legendary, and will be remembered fondly by anyone who rode in that era. Then along came the movie E.T. with the famous bike chase, with E.T in the shopping basket and that chase was led by a stunt double who just happened to be Bob Haro. These times were amazing, BMX was Rad and it was fuelled by my love of watching motocross too, I think I mentioned that ne before too. We’d watch the motocross at Golding Barn and then go and ride our engineless machines, stretching our legs out around berms, leaning the bikes over and turning the bars in the air like MX riders. If you could do a 360 you were king, I never could until years later and then they were still crap. Back then in the early 80’s freestyle was also getting bigger, riders like Eddie Fiola who rode for GT Bikes came to 'The Level' skatepark at Brighton so we went and watched his display and would then go and practice our footplants, endos (going up on the front whhel and trying to sit on the back one), roll backs and frame whips. When I began to hangout with another local lad Andy Brooks, we’d head off to Southsea Skatepark near Portsmouth. I remember being in absolute awe of one rider there. Sponsored by Redline Bikes, he had the coolest bike, his riding kit and bike was all white, with iconic parts like white Skyway Tuff 2 wheels, polished Redline Flight Cranks, and the infamous Hutch Bear Trap Pedals (these things offered the greatest grip but as the name suggests, if you slipped a pedal, would tear your shins to pieces. He was such a cool sight for a young rider like me, and I would just watch him ride. I remember my friend Andy just had no fear, whereas I was, and still am way more reserved, in fact scared. Probably a confidence thing plus the fear of consequence, and still a little like that today. Andy would be getting four feet of air out of the bowl, and I'd be getting one, and this was why Andy went on to represent Peugeot on their BMX freestyle team at the height of the BMX popularity. He moved away from our village, but it was always fun riding with him while it lasted and thanks to Facebook, we were back in contact. Sadly the only photo of me on a BMX from this period is below getting rad (thats what I thought) on my pre-snapped Puch Murray, at Christmas, maybe 1981 with my new Skyway Tuff 2's. The rest seemed to be lost somewhere. I rode BMX bikes until I was about 16 and then life moved on a little, but BMX was and will always be part of my life, and although I moved away from riding BMX as I entered my late teens, especially as mountain bikes became cool, it found its way back in 1995, but I’ll save that for part three of myself and bikes. Hope you enjoy and please leave some comments of you have any similar stories. Stay tuned for Part three, which began in 1995, was short lived but a legacy was left ro a fair few.     
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It's a rainy day here in the Wild West so I'm writing this quick post about tools to make us feel better, feel alive. Maybe it’s because I use them all that I'm biased, but If this very quick post reaches even one person who doesn’t already make the most of any one of these, or a single person ready to make a positive change in their lives then that's just fine. The possession of these few tools require no prescription, no drugs and no side effects, well maybe addiction, but a healthy addiction. Each one of these tools has helped me way beyond physical and mental wellness, they have led me to lifestyle changes over the years, relocation, creativity, experiences, achievements and memories not to be forgotten. The cost of these is almost irrelevant compared to the benefits you’ll gain from an initial investment. Each item is a topic of conversation on its own, but I would argue that each compliments the other, and by making a simple choice, just one of these tools will create change. The Tools Needed
Putting Pen to Paper I write because I like to write, Since I started writing blog posts back in 2005 under various names, I have little idea if people read these posts apart from the rare time I look at the page views, or the occassional comment from a friend, and thats so cool, so thank you. Writing is probably the cheapest of any pursuit because you only require a pencil and a piece of paper, the back of a cereal packet or a scrap of paper. Before I tap these words into a machine, i have notebooks and I always write in blue pen, just because I can. So I think the first tool should be the pen and paper. Both fit in your pocket, and where ever you find yourself, you can simply jot down your thoughts and take your mind off anything else and everything, or write about your feelings. The Benefits: Creative pursuits allow our brains to just switch to flow mode Cheap Mindful Pursuit You can write what ever you like, screw it up and throw it in the bin, or start journal Writing for yourself helps to clarify why you write and who for, a good place to start is for yourself. Disadvanatges: None. Just start Walking. Get a pair of shoes, then a good pair of boots and the possibilities are endless, just start putting one foot in fron of the other. For let's say £20, this will get you started, and for that price the only additional cost is time. How much time can you afford and let walking into your life and get out into the freshair? £20 and some time, it’s already an attractive tool. If you’re living in the inner city then add a train ride out to the nearest green space, or just walk in different directions, take a walk around your city, invent your own tour, and just walk. If you're lucky enough to already live in rural space, the fresh air and green spaces are totally free and already yours to enjoy. Oh, and get a thumb stick… just because! The benefits: Fresh Air Low Impact Exercise Lower Blood Pressure Calorie and Fat Burning Mindfulness and Present Disadvantages: None A Swimsuit or a pair of Shorts Sea Swimming or Wild Water Swimming seems to be the biggest craze at the moment. Everyone seems to own a dryrobe (other brands available) and want to experience cold water therapy. Predominantly and statistically, women are the main protagonists in this pursuit, but there are more men joining the ranks. Wild or Cold water swimming is changing the way people behave, perform, progress and improve their personal wellbeing. Some of these swimmers are fair weather swimmers, some are hard core 365 days a year, cold water fanatics. In the cities you may have lakes like Hampstead Heath Ponds, or Open water spaces, by the coast you’ll have harbours and beaches, but wherever you swim, please remember that safety is key, please ask experienced swimmers before you go. Benefits: Breath Work MIndfulness Blood Circulation Calming Community Cheap as Chips Sense of achievement Disadvantages: It can be bloody cold! A Surfboard and a Wetsuit For a financial outlay of lets say £300 for a reasonable secondhand board, and £150 for a half decent wetsuit, Surfing is accessible but be warned it will take real effort. This is a real investment of time and all the energy you have. Millions have joined the ranks of trying to be a surfer since the Covid pandemic, but of those, many will give up, but few will make it a lifetime commitment. If you live near Bristol and you have £50 per hour to spare, you can go and learn or surf at the Wave, a freshwater mechanical wave that will allow you to hone your skills, but not really give you the beating of a lifetime in the ocean. If you want to spend that cash on fuel instead and get to the coast; as an Island, we’re surrounded by the Sea and Ocean. To surf you will require the following attributes - Commitment, Perseverance and determination to succeed. Surfing is the hardest thing you will ever have to learn, but with the right board, and the right mindset, surfing will change your life completely. Benefits Connection with the Ocean The joy of riding a wave Mindfulness beyond anything you’ll ever imagine Fitness and Core Strength Continuous sense of progression and achievement Disadvantages: It's a selfish pursuit Crowded Beaches Hard Bloody Work You’ll never master the act of surfing The Simple Bicycle During lockdown, bike sales rocketed, the roads and trails were filled with new bike owners and like those that joined the surfing masses, many of these bikes are gathering dust in the garage or garden shed. As bike industry sales slow down, bike shops are suffering and need your support, but there are second hand bikes for sale in abundance now, add a decent helmet and you’re good to go. If you live in the city you’ll have the traffic to contend with but you might be lucky enough to have cycle lanes or city parks. Even riding to work is a great way to get out of our cars and save some fuel, I did it this summer, once a week I commited to riding to work and loved it. If you don’t fancy riding during the day, then ride at night. Get some lights and enjoy the quietness of your urban or rural surroundings. If you fancy taking your riding offroad then the UK has some of the best bike parks in Europe. Bicycles can literally pedal you around the world, commit to cycling and the hard work and you’ll be wanting to ride further or longer. If you find that too hard then there are always E-bikes but good luck getting one of those for £300. Benefits Low Impact exercise Community and clubs to join Super fun on or off road Health and Wellness Mindfulness and being in the Present Disadvantages: Bikes get expensive the more you get addicted! I hope this very simple and basic guide helps someone, and any queries about your new life, please drop me a line.    An old transaction that benefits both parties has been known as skills for skills or trade for trade and I’m not really sure if there is even a proper name for such a trade, it’s certainly not found in a simple google search. I do know that for many many thousands of years people have swapped skills in return for another skill, or food like grain. No money is ever exchanged, just commodities, good will or professional skills in some form. Until about 5000 years ago when the ‘Shekel’ was developed by the Mesopatamians, people had no choice but to barter for things they needed. The first known currency could then be used as a way of purchasing goods and bartering the best price with coin. I did see that the Latin word for salary was Salarium and Roman soldiers were given an allotted amount of money ‘Salarium’ to buy salt or ‘Sal’ as it was known, which was an essential commodity. We still haggle over prices to this day and my recent trip to Turkey was testiment to that. The point of this post, there is always a point but I have to ramble to get to it, is how refreshing it’s been to work on a project where payment has come in the form of a beautiful new surfboard, shaped by Hugh Brockman from Bos Surfboards, here in the Wild West of Cornwall. I’ve had the pleasure of working on Hugh and his partners barn restoration in the most stunning rural setting near the Helford Passage. Originally the work came about as a means to help them out so that the scaffolding could be removed to avoid more rental costs. I happily offered my skills to point in the higher levels of the granite, filling the joints with a combination of lime and grit, a traditional method, that then needs tapping back with a stiff brush, and when done well looks great. Payment for this pleasure was either cash or boards and I thought for at least one entire second and replied, “boards please”. Ironically I’ve been working on the barn on weekends when I can, or when the weather allows, and that means my own surfing time has been limited, but it’s been a pleasure to help restore an old building that has a rural landscape vista that is priceless. When the property is finished I’ll be proud to say that I’ve helped out and my work will be seen for years to come. I’m writing this a day after my first surf on my new board I will say that paddling out, which is the first test of any new board, felt so comfortable, but I had a really great feeling about this board and reckon this is because of the way it happened. I collected the board about two weeks ago but have not had a chance to ride it. I can safely say that Hugh has made me the most beautiful longboard and I could not be more stoked, and he’s also made one for my wife as well. However, this is about mine and not hers!! Mine is 9’9” with a beautiful triple T-Band stringer, the centerpiece of the board that gives the board strength. Wrapped in Volan Fiberglass cloth and deck and tail patches too, the aesthetics of this board are sublime. However, as beautiful as it looks it means nothing if it doesn’t surf well. The same as the work I’ve done for Hugh and Georgie, if its done wrong, then the building is vulnerable to the elemetns. The design and functional qualities of this board that myself and Hugh discussed are nothing new, nothing groundbreaking, but we spoke in depth, and once we'd decided what would work best for me, he set about shaping this into reality with his very skilled hands. I must add here that if you do have a custom board made from your local shaper, make sure it’s made for how you surf, and the waves you surf the most. Most of all be honest about your ability and what you would like to achieve. It's been nearly twenty years since I had a surfboard with a square tail and this was the first change we made. A square tail allows the surfer to pivot more when turning, essentially allowing a more abrupt turn, or even a stall, like slamming the brakes on if needed and putting all you weight onto the back of the board, slowing you down and getting set for the next section, by letting the pocket of the wave catch up with you, realse the brakes and go again. I’ve been riding pintail surfboards for all this time, and this allows a more drawn out turn, and suits my surfing style very well. (I’ve included a picture of my pintail next to my sons on the beach, both shaped by Hugh to show the style of board I’ve been riding for many years). I’m a practitioner of the dropknee turn which is a traditional manoeuver that I was inspired to perfect after spending years my early years surfing watching the masters in videos dating back to the 60’s like Phil Edwardes, Nat Young or Midget Farrelly (pictured), through to stylists like CJ Nelson, Devon Howard, Joel Tudor, Ray Gleave and the the man I mention below Tyler Hatzikian. The pintails suit the dropknee perfectly but I wanted a change at the tail of the board, and change helps progression (even at 53), and can open up new experiences when we surf. I can’t fully reflect on the boards turning ability yet as my first surf was dictated by the waves and they forced me to noseride and not turn, but the couple that I did do, WOW! What I can say is that the square tail and tail kick let me stall, and set me up for a nose ride, which brings me directly onto the concave. Underneath the nose of the board, a concave is skillfully blended into the foam from the tip down towards the centre of the board and this provides lift when noseriding. When you stand on the nose of the board, with the tail locked into the curl of the wave behind you, the lift allows you to ride the board from the nose, which is the best feeling. I’ve preferred boards that are ‘clean’, i.e. No concave. I was heavily influenced many years ago by an amazing film by Jason Baffa, ‘Single Fin Yellow’. In this film, master shaper, super nice guy, and all round Californian legend (my hero) Tyler Hatzikian, shaped a stunning 9’6” single fin pintail. The film follows the story of the board, shipped around over to Beau Young, (son of Nat Young) who surfed it then handed it onto the next surfer, and so on until the board arrived back with Tyler in California after being surfed in a variety of waves. Tyler chose to keep it ‘clean’ with no concave and I followed suit. Being a heavier chap, I didn't want any drag on my boards, and for me personally noseriding is something that happens when I'm locked into a perfect wave, not forced or done because you think you have to. I suppose I didn’t feel like I wanted any extra lift let alone drag. But now I have lift, and didn't feel any drag because the concave is blended, my first surf with concave for a very long time was like experiencing levitation!! Every wave I had in a two hour session, in fast peeling offshore conditions led to a monstrously long noseride and a huge boost in confidence. After a couple of waves I stepped forward and stayed there, with my toes fully curled over the nose of the board, I stepped back and went forward again. Noseriding is the best feeling in the world and the decision to add concave to this board has been the best decision so far. Surfboards are amazing things, brought to life by skilled craftsmen and women. Yes, they’re expensive and prices are rising as are the materials needed to make them, but I will always be an advocate for hand shaped custom boards. Whenever you have a chance to do so, please do. When you play a part in the boards design, they will come to life when you surf them. Yes, cash is great and pays the bills, and could have easily taken an hourly wage or 'Salarium', but when Hugh, a skilled craftsman offered to trade his skills for mine, how could I say no, and I hope that I have played a part in bring an old derelict barn back to life. I'm already looking forward to my next surf and I'll feedback on the turning ability but for now, I'm so grateful and stoked for a new board that will be used for years to come. Bos Surfboards www.wearebos.com       Teşekkürler Turkey Apologies for the delay in posting again but its been a busy couple of months. WE've actually been on holiday. I thought I would never go on another all-inclusive holiday, and I’d made that decision after a disastrous effort in the Dominican Republic back in 2006. Back then I felt trapped by the resort, and it was the hassle outside of the resort and in the markets, the street vendors was not something I'd experienced on previous travels because I'd not been to India or Asia. My wife thought it was hilarious, watching me haggle or trying to avoid eye contact. When they brought the market inside the resort I was literally hiding behind palm trees to get to the restaurant without being collared by the sellers. Roll on to 2022, post Covid and we found ourselves having a family holiday abroad for the first time in a very long time. Along with our close friends we found ourselves in Turkey. All-Inclusive and back amongst the mass tourism market that I’d studied during my education. The impacts of mass tourism have been, and continue to be so destructive and it still fascinates me, so I did feel a little overwhelmed by our decision at first, considering I had my heart on bike packing around Brittany this year. But now I'm home and pretty stoked on our holiday, I wanted to write about a few things that caught my eye. Firstly let me explain the things I dislike about travelling outside the UK. Let me start with my anxiety getting to, and at the airport. It just seems like such a race against time from the moment we leave home. A 3.5 hour drive to Bristol Airport hoping that there are no traffic issues. As time is being cut into those two hour preflight deadlines, finding a car park space that has been pre-booked can be the next obstacle and highly raised blood pressure and a little family stress time. Then you enter the actual building and here begins the overall feeling of being on a cattle drive to get into the departure lounge. The crowds, the banging of baggage, the people who don’t understand that sorting your bag out in the middle of a narrow walkway is just poor form. But, once I’ve dumped my baggage, and I'm through the security and passport control I’m literally a different person. Even when you start paying for overpriced food and drink. £7.50 for your first holiday pint is a big hit, but we indulged, had some overpriced food and purchased some duty free last minute holiday socks, and relaxed in a plastic seat waiting for a gate call. This is when my love of people watching begins, everyone does it I reckon, just watching the world go by, watching our fellow holiday makers go about their business. The rush to get on the plane is hilarious too, like their seat is going to be given away. We got stung for another £24 just metres from the plane because one of our hand luggage bags was too big (I hadn't taken into account the wheels) when the overhead lockers are huge and the flight was not full in the slightest. Herded onto the plane we sat back in our seats that have never been built for comfort, especially if you have longer legs like me, and I reckon they’ve cut the cost on plane construction by removing a layer of sound proofing to reduce the noise, or is that just me? Although now pretty relaxed into the flight there must be a knack to sleeping on a plane but in all the years I’ve only found one, and that was Jack Daniels when it was issued a freebie, but that little gem has gone too unless you're willing to pay £8.50 each. So I put my ear pods in and tuned into my favourite podcast ‘The Ride Companion’ and said my farewells to my family sitting next to me and ignored them for the next four hours! This flight alone will lead me to investing in some noise cancelling headphones to block out those passengers who just feel like they have to be heard. Lastly, is it now the norm that you can just wander around the plane having a chat, whilst the cabin crew squeeze past. I’m sure the Cabin Crew used to be a little more strict, like the old Sisters in a hospital. Anyway the flight was pleasant, and the pilot was given a round of applause for landing the plane safely and doing his job. As a mention the only time I’ve ever given the captain a round of applause is when we legitimately thought we were going to die after three attempted landings in the Austrian Alps and when he finally aborted and took us to another airport, we clapped based on that decision alone, not the fact that he landed a plane. When we finally reached our destination after a two hour transfer (hour 10 of our journey from home) our room was clean and tidy, but our ‘paid extra’ garden view was equipped with two industrial ventilation vans and a wall full of air source pumps. The noise was like being back at the airport walking out to the plane. But after a polite concern raised with the amazing reception staff we were gratefully moved to a room with a stunning sea and mountain view, for which I generously tipped the staff. The hotel was pretty huge and as a people watcher, surrounded by people in a resort I got to watch a lot. This would not be an honest blog post if I did not mention this next bit because it was pretty shocking and it did seem to become part of my holiday memory. I was genuinely taken back by the amount of people that are vastly overweight, many of them British, and it’s worrying. Personally I still have, and probably always will have a ‘family pack’ and admit I’ve been body conscious much of my life. I don’t go brown easily and mostly resemble a cooked lobster, and I’m often found seeking shade or more factor 50+, I generally come back off holiday looking like I’ve never been. When, like me, you look like an egg cup in a wetsuit, I’ve spent a lot of time pointlessly comparing myself to others, but in 2001 thanks to a lads surfing holiday to Costa Rica I stopped being so bothered. When nine lads of all shapes and sizes surf together it confirms that we are all different, and we all have our issues, it just doesn’t matter. But I will never compare myself to others ever again. This certainly isn’t a dig at those people, or ‘weight shaming’, or any of that, this is a paragraph about what we all observed and what seemed to become part of my holiday. Is this the right place to comment on this , who knows, I’m sure I’ll find out if anyone reads this, but it’s clear to some that the messages of health and diet education, or advice for personal well-being are really not getting through, lifestyle changes are being ignored and sadly for some of these people they are a ticking health bomb, or it’s already counting down. This aside they were there to have fun as we were and fun they had. The hotel was great, the evening entertainment was fun, and with the help of free alcohol we let loose on the dance floor for a couple of nights. Our days were spent in the sea swimming, maybe it is because we all spend so much time in the ocean we opted to avoid the chlorinated swimming pool, and spent our days practising our death dives, the kids never left the water after unpacking their rubber rings we’d packed and brought with us! My only job each day was to put our towels on the loungers on the pontoon. Yes I was that person, I was that tourist down there in the dark at 6.45am gathering enough loungers for our two families, and set for the day by sunrise I was having my first swim in the calm waters before breakfast. We signed up for a full tourist boat trip around the coastline of Marmaris and it was stunning. We stopped at a local market town and haggled over genuine fake clothing, probably the most unethical purchases I’ve ever made, we swam and went snorkelling in crystal clear waters, we floated over an Octopus who seemed totally unbothered by another boat load of tourists and spotted a couple of amazing looking fish. The coastline is dramatic with mountainous peaks rising out of the Mediterranean providing a stunning backdrop to a day well spent cruising around on a boat run by some really friendly staff and owners. This landscape has also kept development to a minimum. The urban sprawl like that of Spain or Malta has not happened here to the extent seen in other resorts because It simply can’t; there is nowhere to go beyond a 1 mile radius from the coast in the bay except up a mountain. Marmaris felt contained by rock and I that is a good thing. There are no monstrous high rise hotels, but during the pick ups for our excursions I noticed that space is a premium in the town, residential apartments are in the shadow of tourism, and when we reached the foot of the hills, the last stand was nature itself, I can imagine it might feel a little claustrophobic as space diminished. I didn’t feel like I experienced the real Turkey to any real degree, how can you staying in an all-inclusive resort, and I know there are far better ways to visit a beautiful country like this. But we made the most of it. We tried a Turkish bath which was great fun, but this felt a little staged with the effort to extract more money from you for the photographs and foot massage amongst other extras, and this was always going to be part of the this experience, that’s how they make their living. Would I go back to Turkey? Probably. Did I enjoy the holiday? Absolutely. Was it nice to go beyond the local Radius of West Cornwall? 100% This trip gave me time to think of new creative ideas, to write, to rekindle old passions and topics I'd studied 30 years ago, it brought back memories of being on a university study trip to Malta and the taking students myslef to Spain studying tourism management, I looked at aspects of tourism with fresh eyes, and it made me look at a resort from the eyes of a mass tourist…Myself and I very much enjoyed it! Teşekkürler Turkey ‘Thank You Turkey’  |
AuthorHi, I'm Russ Pierre, a Cyclist, Surfer and outdoor enthusiast. Please join me as I have some fun on my adventures and write about all the stuff that makes me tick. Archives
December 2024
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