Stopadoodledoo

Diablo (Dr. Johnny Spinal Chord Injuries F**king Match)

2010-10-16T05:22:00.002+01:00

So, we were supposed to ride Thursday and Friday at Diablo, then drive up to Windham for the final round of the World Cup on Saturday and Sunday. The plane that was supposed to leave at 6:20 a.m., left at 11:50 a.m. By the time we got to the bike park, we figured out that they were renting nothing but Jamis bikes, and we don’t ride Jamis bikes, so we had to go up

IS THIS THE REFRIGERATOR OF A GROWN MAN?

2010-04-06T03:39:00.001+01:00

This looks like a really nice little dirt jumper, but I am not sure I would pay $6,000,000.00

2009-11-28T12:00:00.002Z

Taiwan

2009-11-16T04:17:00.002Z

Just like Hong Kong, Taiwan has lots of steps to ride down.Conveniently, most of the steps in Taiwan are muddy wooden ones, with some kind of strange texture to them such that once you hit a certain speed, you can't spot the edge of each step and just get a continual stuttering from your forks while your bicycle happily accelerates underneath you.Fortunately, most steps in Taiwan are next to

Stopadoodledoo Riding School

2009-10-07T07:37:00.005+01:00

In November 2009...There'll be skills!There'll be thrills!There'll be massive medical bills!Join our cheery and helpful instructor, Colin Newbury and prepare to learn an awful lot of new swearwordsMore details, coming up soon!

Yeah, that's right...

2009-09-30T02:20:00.009+01:00

Yeah, that's right, I am riding like my girlfriend broke-up with me. I've a perfectly good explanation for that. It's ten degrees cooler than August, the monsoon has packed-down the sandy spots, the bogs are not as deep as they were in July, the diggers rebuilt the manky u-turn bridge at "High Point", Pauley drooled that shit-hot NASA polymer fork juice all over the 36 and DXH 5.0, the new

You don't hear that very often...

2009-09-23T04:40:00.003+01:00

Walking up the hill after doing a run, pick up on somebody else's conversation:So I had this girlfriend who was a Gothic, went to see her one time, and she says "look in the drawer, I'm saving all our babies" - it was full of all the condoms we'd usedSadly now I'm in Hong Kong and the most athletic thing I do is stand in the lift, I don't have so much access to these conversations. Are these the

The greatest apology of all time?

2009-08-14T02:55:00.001+01:00

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/hygiene/home/article190130.ece

Minnaar

2009-08-13T12:55:00.003+01:00

This clue leads to a website that might be of interest to angry downhiller philosopher comedians.

OBEY KARLHEINZ NICOLAI

2009-08-12T04:08:00.002+01:00

Did I Mention Bootleg Canyon?

2009-08-12T04:02:00.002+01:00

THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT!

2009-08-05T22:53:00.007+01:00

NOMAD, BASS, PROPHET, NOMAD, and SX TRAIL, Saturday morning, Ft. Pierce, Florida. Ride now. Yes, now. What are you waiting for? Planning on taking a nap and then watching a little TV? American Idol? Fox News? Sucez mes boules! And yes, I am gratuitously using the phrase "SOUCEZ MES BOULES" for no reason other than the petty little ego gratification I get from throwing around French curse phrases.

Balm-Boyette II (Balm-Boyette was redacted by jealous, Puritanical twit censors.)

2009-07-04T04:22:00.006+01:00

Bike Club Message Board: Initial Post: Hey everyone, I'm planning a day trip to Boyette on July 11th. I would like to leave by 7am at the latest and ride most of the day then drive back home and be back by 7ish that night If you want to go and you can drive and you can carry multiple bikes then let me know. I would like to arrange it so that the drivers don't have to pay

Where is everyone?

2009-05-16T08:33:00.001+01:00

Kent can't read any emails I send him because his ISP thinks I'm spam.And everyone else who reads this seems to be an angry Intense M6 owner.Can't think why that would be...

Amelia Earhart: Ja, Ja, Oder Nicht, Nicht?

2009-01-06T12:30:00.006Z

Would you do her: Ja, ja, oder nicht, nicht?

CHOICE ANXIETY, PART 2

2008-11-21T15:30:00.004Z

CHOICE ANXIETY, PART 1

2008-11-21T15:04:00.004Z

Markham Park, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA

2008-10-29T14:10:00.001Z

Break The Cycle - Irish DH DVD release

2008-10-22T14:26:00.003+01:00

Sharon Kennedy and Andy Yoong from Northern Ireland Production Company Honcho Designs, have teamed up with 10 of the best Irish Downhill riders including Irish Downhill Champion Colin Ross, Masters World Silver medallist Meave Baxter, and Irish pro Ben Reid to bring you a Downhill film with a difference.With most downhill Films focusing on racing, Break the Cycle instead aims to give you an

LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY'S LOGO

2008-10-16T22:05:00.003+01:00

( I dig chubby chicks.)

JUST IN CASE YOU'VE BEEN RIDING A LITTLE TOO HARD LATELY...

2008-10-07T00:02:00.003+01:00

Diet Croydon

2008-09-21T09:00:00.003+01:00

OK, not strictly anything to do with downhill mountainbiking (although the protagonist rides a bicycle, and it's not like being irrelevant has stopped us before), but here's a book written by one of the Stopadoodledooers. Can you guess which one?Click on the unappealing picture of a fridge to get to the bookIt's got kebabs in it, a truly awful pun about fungal infections, and a lot of people who

TROPHY WIFE

2008-09-19T11:24:00.007+01:00

If you are a woman driving this car, you are a trophy wife. If you are a man driving this car, you are a trophy wife.

SO, WHO'S THE FAT DUDE?

2008-08-26T02:50:00.004+01:00

THINK LOCALLY, ACT YOKELLY

2008-07-16T04:20:00.004+01:00

FROM WIKIPEDIA: Yokel is a derogatory term referring to the stereotype of unsophisticated country people. In the United States, it is used to describe someone from the rural South or Midwest. It may also be a slur for people from a Third World country. Synonyms for yokel include bumpkin and hick. In England, yokels are traditionally depicted as wearing the old West Country farmhand's dress of

Merry Land IV

2008-07-03T12:58:00.008+01:00

So, through divine intervention I managed to halt the Nicolai before sailing off to certain disfiguring injury or death. I backtracked and bushwacked around what was until then the nastiest rock drop I had ever seen only to discover that rest of the "trail" was more of the same. I have ridden in a lot of places, but nothing as gnar as what I saw in the "other side" of the Frederick Watershed.

Merry Land III

2008-07-01T12:18:00.005+01:00

So, this guy Delmer can get away with being Johnny Match because he rides like the faacking wind, and, as I found out later, gets all of his shit free from Yeti. (Just like going to the gym, where, if you wear one of those wide leather "kidney belts", you'd I better be able to lift a faacking house, if you show up at the trailhead and all your shit matches like faacking pyjamas, you will either

Merry Land II

2008-06-30T20:00:00.001+01:00

For the enlightenment of anyone not living hillbilly land, this is a conversion van.

Great discoveries

2008-06-30T08:42:00.003+01:00

Just to interrupt Kent's story of giant RVs (or whatever that monstrosity is that he's driving) and posting yourself bicycles, I thought I'd tell you what I found out at the weekend. If you can't afford to drink yourself into a stupor on imported lager, and the local Tsing Tao doesn't float your boat, just do a Sudafed and a half pint of Bombay Sapphire, and bob's your uncle, you'll look like

Merry Land

2008-06-28T11:39:00.005+01:00

So, I am driving a Chevrolet Stealth SS conversion van (which is neither stealthy nor super sporty, but does have TV and a toilet in case I want to take a dump and watch American Idol while I am driving) from Ohio to Florida. On the recommendation of Little Lord FauntIeroy, I have already Fed-Exed a Nicolai Helius ST and a Commencal Supreme DH for Friday delivery at the place of business of my

Another reason not to buy an Intense

2008-06-03T15:52:00.002+01:00

It will cost so much you'll be scared the paint might get scratched, so you'll cover the whole thing in cling film and then it was always look crap, rather than just after you've got it scratched to bits

You're all going to DIE!

2008-05-29T09:02:00.002+01:00

There's a race in Sheung Shui this Sunday, and here's some of the somewhat worrying advice from the organisers:"Recommend you to bring enough gels and salt tablets to get you thru the 2 hours as can guarantee many of you will start cramping up if you have not been doing much training or if you plan to attack the hills fast. High 5 gels will be giving out at the start (1 per person). Recommend 1-2

Specialized Rockhopper

2008-05-04T13:30:00.000+01:00

Specialized's website says: "A star in our line-up for more than two decades, blah blah blah Rockhopper blah blah ultra-refined blah blah alloy frame blah blah the smart choice for anything from a flowing fire road to a fast singletrack"FG says: Well, it’s a little different to my Giant XTC as it’s got more travel up front, but it’s a similar enough frame. Not sure what you mean about

Biking in Hong Kong (2)

2008-04-04T14:34:00.000+01:00

As promised on Monday, here's an update on the cycling in these parts. As any of you geologists or geographers avidly reading this will already know, Hong Kong is an island with a big mountain in the middle of it, with some sea around it. And some more mountains, and some more islands and sea and so on.A quick search of the internet turns up some websites of people from Hong Kong, on bicycles.

Santa Cruz Chameleon

2008-03-31T03:23:00.001+01:00

We never got a Tufftrax from Saracen for FG to review, but here's the next best thing - a primer-grey Chameleon from Santa Cruz.Santa Cruz's website says: "still as workhorse solid as ever, with a heavily gusseted head tube region capable of handling the loads of 160mm forks, blah blah blah super-bomber tough seat blah blah blah and a new hydroformed top tube.Blah blah blah stealthy new

A little bit of sulking does you good

2008-03-26T05:19:00.006Z

Like a strange dream from the depths of Drugzilla's brain, the whole of the UK is under snow this week and EVERYONE IS GOING TO DIE. In the meantime, Jason went riding, although not for very long as his brother was in a sulk and there was 3" of snow on the ground. He sulked because he didn't like having to push up the hill out of Elterwater over to Little Langdale (as soon as your back wheel

Biking in Hong Kong (1)

2008-03-24T10:54:00.004Z

Here are some steps:I'll have more to say about this in a day or two.

Whatever happened to April Lawyer?

2008-03-03T10:32:00.002Z

This interview gleaned a few details: when we found out that April ate the same breakfast for every race we immediately tried emulating her. Sadly, it was never made clear exactly what the secret 'egg concoction' is; Twelve Stone tried a dozen egg yolks in a pint glass, washed down with jam. Jason had an omelette and I missed the race because I was waiting three hours for my meringues to rise

Intense Slopestyle

2008-03-03T10:09:00.005Z

It's the shiznay on the biznay, it's mo'fizzle fo you shizzle, it's the new Intense Slopestyle, and we got Phil Mitchell to ride it for an exclusive review. And he said:Went for a quick ride around the local wood (Kirkhill). Didn’t fall off, which is a good thing. I have to be more careful about pedaling through rocks/roots (it’s lower).The bike is shorter than the AC and a little heavier. It

New Kona hardtail

2008-02-18T13:07:00.003Z

Let's face it, the King Kikakakakakakakapu and the Stinky Deluxe are overpriced, overhinged lumps of rubbish. What you really want is a hardtail.But not just any hardtail, oh no. For that proper urban-free-streetride image, you have to have something that looks like it was stolen by a skaghead, swapped at Cash Converters for fifty quid and then left out in the rain. And thus, Mr Chin Chin McGee

More reasons not to buy an Intense M6

2008-02-05T12:37:00.001Z

Because if they're not being ridden by Stallone-lookalikes, then it's by a bloke in a rubber suit trying to beat a land speed record. So you'll end up looking like an Austrian numpty.

Reasons not to buy an Intense M6

2008-02-04T13:47:00.002Z

Let's get some of the fairly obvious ones out the way first.You're not a ten-year-old. So you shouldn't be impressed by things named after guns. Named after guns by somebody who was so excited that he couldn't spell 'UZI' properly (probably putting in two z's because it looked like it might be more 'street'?) and had to name another bike after some bunch of nancy Yank soldiers (yes, stand up

Review: Specialized Fireball Lights

2008-01-14T14:37:00.001Z

[Guest review from Drugzilla:]Yeah you faackin wankahz, so I wanted to get some faaackin lights for my bike for riding at night. Trouble was, I can't spend too faaackin much 'cause I already spent a whole faackin lot on the old wheelbarrow, so I went and got these faaackin Specialized Fireballs. Fire Bollocks more like mate.Positives:They weigh a whole fackin lot so you get some good exercise,

Stopadoodledoo Awards 2007 - VOTE NOW!

2008-01-09T21:58:00.000Z

Just in case you don't remember some of the highlights (yawn) of the last year, here's a reminder of a few of the things you can vote for from the previous 12 months:Best ProductWas it the pair of Manitou Nixons that Cushtie bought for a song, only to find that the song was 'Manitou have made another shite set of forks, la la la la la'?Or was it the airgun that Jason used to shoot holes in his

Bike review

2008-01-09T21:53:00.001Z

From our guest reviewer, 'Chin' Markie Mark:Sanderson Hardtail - "For the first week it was lovely; you really get to enjoy every bump and lump on the trail, the compliant steel frame having just enough 'give' to feel zingy but controlled. Unfortunately, in the second week, it felt far too unforgiving and alive, leaving me aching and tired. This may be because I progressed from a basic to an

Bike for Sale

2007-12-26T13:54:00.000Z

Bike review

2007-12-15T21:49:00.001Z

From our guest reviewer, 'Mark' Chin:Specialized Stumpjumper - "For the first week it was wonderful, very stiff, suspension just right, gave me that edge when descending as it soaked up the terrain. Unfortunately, in the second week, it 'deadened' the trail, leaving me unfulfilled. This may be because I progressed from a basic to an expert level in the space of four hours of riding, but I blame

It's me, not you

2007-12-10T12:21:00.000Z

Without wishing to sound like an old codger, it does seem like London has got more violent of late. People always bang on about how safe things were in the old days (unless you're being nailed to the floor of the Blind Beggar or being kicked to death or whatever else) but I really have noticed in the last year much more intended or actual violence than before. Why? Have I changed the

Bike review

2007-12-01T21:46:00.001Z

From our guest reviewer, 'Mark' Chin:Evil DOC Hardtail - "For the first week it was lovely; you really get to enjoy every bump and lump on the trail, the compliant steel frame having just enough 'give' to feel zingy but controlled. Unfortunately, in the second week, it felt far too unforgiving and alive, leaving me aching and tired. This may be because I progressed from a basic to an expert level

What dat mean?

2007-12-01T01:36:00.000Z

Human personality traits which can be reliably measured by any of a number of rating scales, show a considerable heritable component. The tridimensional personality questionnaire (TPQ) is one such instrument and was designed by Cloninger to measure four distinct domains of temperament — Novelty Seeking, Harm Avoidance, Reward Dependence and Persistence — that are hypothesized to be based on

My weekend

2007-11-26T10:01:00.001Z

I'm going to break a rule of etiquette here, because generally it's not acceptable to lecture somebody on their morals. However, without the person being there to defend themselves, maybe it's not so rude.Last weekend, the family flew out to see my brother, who lives near Gothenburg. Not quite en masse, because I wanted to work that Friday rather than use up holiday, and also because I hate

MY FAVORITE MEN'S ROOM HAND DRYER

2007-08-06T12:28:00.002+01:00

SPORT COURSE, SHOWSHOE, WET VIRGINIA"DRY" CONDITIONSMY FAVORITE MEN'S ROOM HAND DRYER

A romantic afternoon

2007-07-17T12:48:00.001+01:00

Whilst I was passing out in front of a film about Finnish ski jumpers, Jason & other half drove to Cobham so that they could have a "'lovely walk by the River Mole'. It started off nice, then crossed through a field full of angry bulls, over a bridge crossing the M25 and back, then down a country lane towards Wisley (where the youths go to do their jump work). Anyway, about 3/4 of the way down

Crabs, Downhill

2007-06-06T02:48:00.000+01:00

Of course, you and Mr. Newbury are invited as well to the downhill/crabfest. Downhill, crabs, what else is there? Wait a minute, you Brett Easton Ellis fan, do you even eat crabs? O.K., you are invited anyway. Last week June, first week July. You tell me.O.K., we've got Nicolai Helius ST with a Fox 40, a Gemini with a Romic and an 888 (no not pink) and a splendid Orange 5 (which is actually black

Girls and Squirrels

2007-06-05T02:41:00.000+01:00

Hello, girls and squirrels. I have just returned from 9 days of touring the American southwest on a viciously overpowered Japanese motorcycle. New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona. Typical adventures included riding through a hail storm that shattered car windshields; dodging a rented moving van that blew out a rear tire just as I was passing it on a curve at approximately twice the posted

The Alps

2007-04-09T10:11:00.000+01:00

OK, so I have no life and time on my hands. Here's some of the video we shot in Les Gets and Morzine in the summer of 2005. Probably easier than trying to get a DVD burnt for anybody who's interested:The Gully RunSwiss DH CupCeline Gros, PleneyMore to come later; or just go here

What's wrong with Intense's new hardtail?

2007-03-22T23:03:00.001Z

1. The wheels are even bigger than 29ers - where are we going to get the tyres for 36 inch wheels? Off your grandad's DH penny farthing?2. Look at the huge dent in the top tube - if they can't make the prototype without bashing it with a great big hammer, do you really think it's going to have any decent build quality?3. Everyone knows that Marin make the best hardtails anyway

New t-shirts very soon

2007-01-10T21:52:00.000Z

Like that, do you? We'll have a limited range of Granny Wagon t-shirts coming soon, along with the 'Drugzilla Made Me Do It' design, and possibly something in pure gold.Oh, and there's two Respect The Cock t-shirts that I found in a box on top of my wardrobe - both medium, one Northern Scum Green and one in pillar box red - email the usual address if you want one and we'll talk postage.

Fun things to do with a singlespeed Part 2

2006-12-28T11:17:00.000Z

6. While riding along a flat cycle path, let one of your friends bugger about with the ETA setting on your fork. With any luck he'll put his bar ends or some other part of his retro shithouse couldn't-afford-gears-despite-earning-an-unholy-wage-as-an-accountant-or-something-else-mindbendingly-interesting bicycle into yours, and you'll go flying over the bars, to hopefully land on your head, or

WHO NEEDS A SHED?

2006-12-27T16:55:00.000Z

THE OTHER KENTWHO NEEDS A SHED?THE BIGGEST HILL IN SOUTH FLORIDA

Dirt 10th Anniversary

2006-12-14T14:09:00.000Z

Yup, it's ten years since some bunch of people in Devon or Wales or somewhere which isn't London realised there was a market for big photographs and blurry text that you couldn't read properly. As opposed to Stopadoodledoo, where we've specialised in lots of small photographs and text that we couldn't write properly. Anyway, happy birthday Dirt. One day we might have as many issues as you.

Fun things to do with a singlespeed

2006-11-28T14:22:00.000Z

If you've just bought a new Love/Hate from Dialled Bikes, you can:1. Use the headset press that Ratboy stole from his last workplace before the army, to put the headset in2. Use an adjustable wrench to beat the bottom race down the steerer tube3. Use a grinder to get the steerer to just the right length, without any nasty burrs left over to cut your hands on, and instead of having a jagged edge

Folding bicycles

2006-10-25T00:39:00.000+01:00

This is what happens when you get bored and click on one of the Google adverts.Next week, we interview the bloke who commutes through central London on a road bike, wearing a full face helmet and a Dainese body suit. The muppet.

DIY interview

2006-10-25T00:36:00.000+01:00

TRAIL ETIQUETTE, PART III

2006-10-24T12:05:00.000+01:00

For future reference: The next time a tractor-trailer truck hauling 4,000 pounds of fish hucks off an overpass and crashes to the ground spewing it's cargo all over a half acre of the trail right at a point where six different parts of the trail intersect, and the highly spoilable contents are left to bake in the Sun for several days resulting in a noxious cloud of breathtaking stench, such a

Trail Etiquette, Part II

2006-10-18T03:10:00.000+01:00

After thinking about it for a while, I realized that my threat to snatch someone off his bike the next time he tried to blow past me without announcing his approach was just the sort of response that a macho rider would want. It would provoke a confrontation, and give him an excuse for physical violence. Then it occurred to me that perhaps the appropriate response would be to catch up with him in

Trail Etiquette

2006-10-18T03:08:00.000+01:00

This is me, bitching. I have seen a lot of crashes, near crashes, and bad vibrations lately when faster riders come up on slower riders and try to pass without saying anything to let the slower riders know they are about to be passed. This is rude, unsafe, stupid, and messes with my tranquility. There seems to be some sort of macho thing about blowing past people without saying anthing. It

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH DARREN BERRECLOTH

2006-10-16T04:21:00.000+01:00

Just after his huge crash at this year's Monster Park Slope Style event at Snowshoe Mountain which broke his rear wheel into several pieces, we were able to get the following exclusive interview with mountain bike legend Darren Berrecloth:Stopa Correspondent: "Faaaaccccckkkk duuuuuude, are you O.K.?"Berrecloth: "Don't buy Sun rims."

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH TRACY MOSELEY

2006-10-15T20:48:00.001+01:00

Yeah, that's right. Only Stopadoodledoo get to interview Ms Moseley and ask her these questions. The kind of questions that the rest of the UK scene are frankly too scared to ask:Who started riding bikes competitively first, you or your brother? EdDid riding with Ed help you to progress, much as Rachel Atherton cites riding with her brothers to have helped her? Most definitely, we used to mess

Our first proper interview!

2006-10-01T14:07:00.000+01:00

We emailed Tracey Moseley, and she replied!To every question! Including the one about owls!Not a peep out of Greg Minaar, though. That makes me think that maybe it was a mistake to ask him if he preferred Lethal Weapon 2 to the other films in the series. Ah well.Will write up Tracey's responses in a nicely formatted page soon (unless I actually get round to putting issue 6 together properly this

Monster Park UFO

2006-09-05T13:12:00.000+01:00

Thomas Vanderham, as seen on North American Air Defense Radar:

It's neither big nor clever

2006-09-04T10:43:00.000+01:00

It's Playground Law, a wondrous repository of all the evil things you ever did when you were at school...P.S. Rode 62 miles of the South Downs Way on Saturday. It was shit. That is all.

It's delicious and delightful

2006-09-01T10:56:00.000+01:00

It's a http://www.blackwidowbakery.com/demo/meatcake/">cake ... made of MEAT

Stopa correspondent in horrific crash at race

2006-08-30T13:25:00.000+01:00

Yes, I can report that on Bank Holiday Monday, Cushtie was the victim of a horrendous crash whilst racing at Peaslake which left him tangled in his frame and unable to free himself unaided. Luckily, he escaped without injury and his jalopy of a bike (singlespeed Klein fitted with 63mm SID's, gear kept slipping all day)remained unscathed.The race? A slow race over a fifteen yard course at a

Inauspicious Commencement

2006-08-29T12:47:00.000+01:00

O.K., so everyone knows that when I’m ridin’ dirty, I ride a Chrysler TOWN and Country minivan with Stow ‘n’ Go seating. The seats disappear into the floor, and this allows me to pour all of my gear, all of my trail bitches and all of their gear, two pounds of Ethiopia Sidamo, ten bags of Cheddar Cheese and Pretzel Combos, thirty cans of Sobe NO-FEAR and three hundred CD’s into the van for the

Monster Park, Minuscule Movie

2006-08-21T05:18:00.000+01:00

Stopadoodledoo credentials may part a sea of poseurs with their palm sized camcorders and video phones, and usher you beyond the barriers directly into the action, but a downpour of rain it does not deflect.Just before rain moved in and put the complete kibosh on Sunday's planned hangover busting final, Jamie Goldman tested the waters with this impressive 20' backflip stepdown.

Snowshoe: Equipment Check

2006-08-15T16:37:00.000+01:00

Has anyone seen my full-facer?I am not sure I want to ride Snowshoe again dressed like this:

We have a proper interview

2006-08-09T23:07:00.000+01:00

Hopefully. If he responds to our questions*, our first proper celebrity interview will be on here next week. If not, we just have to make all the answers up.* Unfortunately, our questions consist of: things about space hoppers, films, Chris Kovarik in a rage, grumpy parents, teenage BMXers, cuckoo clock engineering, Sam Hill's underpants conundrum, and slamming your hand in a car door. Do you

This pub is oval

2006-08-02T11:26:00.000+01:00

Ah, the Oval Tavern, haunter of our dreams, purveyor of fighting juice, forgiver of us for letting off pellet guns in the back garden, all our sins in your orizens...

Cruelty in Tilgate

2006-07-31T10:53:00.000+01:00

We haven't been to Tilgate for a few weeks but some other idiots have...

It's that crazy American again

2006-07-25T18:17:00.000+01:00

[What do you think makes Kent more angry? The events below, or the fact that we're so slack we don't get around to publishing his rant until a good 9 months later?]So, the lady who answers the fucking telephone says they are open for downhill until October 9th. I don’t want to be there on the last weekend, figuring it will be a fucking beehive of dweebs trying get their money’s worth out of the

T-shirts

2006-07-19T19:40:00.000+01:00

More t-shirts are going to be ordered soon, but I thought you'd do well to hear what designs were available.(A) The classic Respect The Cock in white on Northern Scum Green / Cushtie Safety Orange / Pillar Box Red.(B) Supercock emblem in red & yellow on blue, to tie in with the new film(C) STOPADOODLEDOO Athletic in boring white on boring black.Votes below, please.Oh, and does anyone know where

Are all Americans like this?

2006-07-18T17:57:00.000+01:00

[Last year, Kent went to Snowshoe to do a bit of riding, and although he told us how he got on, it went in the mystical Issue 6, and so nobody ever saw it. Somehow I feel it deserves a bit more circulation, so here's his story:]We never once saw that dwarf Bourdon the whole weekend. I'm betting he was holed-up in one of the high end slopeside condos with one or more of the three Vietnamese

Tis the season for crashing

2006-07-18T17:30:00.000+01:00

Hot on the heels of Jason doing his collarbone a week or two after starting to ride again, and my top-tube-denting, testicle-grazing crash last night, the Vancouver contingent must have been feeling a bit jealous. Or rather, to celebrate Laura getting a new bike, she fell off it. All those of you who don't like blood, look away now...All those of you that do like blood, what are you? Vampires?

Ouch, ouch, and again ouch

2006-07-18T10:11:00.000+01:00

Inspired by Jason's activity last week, I took the Klein out for a ride. Have to get fit for the Singlespeed World Drinking Championships in August, after all.Everything was going far too well. Actually rode some singletrack in Kent that was more than five yards long, and didn't involve barbed wire / tiger shit / perpendicularly bisecting hawthorn bushes. And then all of a sudden, on a flat,

The wild, wild west [Croydon]

2006-07-17T10:03:00.000+01:00

Here's a picture of the outlaw 'General Lee' Jason:.And here's the actions of a loyal follower (right click to download)

The BFG does a stunt

2006-07-12T14:00:00.000+01:00

Ok, not quite up to Jason's spanging-himself-standard, but here's a little movie from the set of Peep Show, for all you Faceginamaniacs: (right click here to download)

Oops a daisy

2006-07-12T13:39:00.000+01:00

As you will have seen in my recent posts, since getting over my broken hand and building up the 24Seven in the last three weeks, I have been on a bit of a mission, not only to regain a modicum of fitness but also to try and re-learn how to ride and more importantly, jump on a hardtail. You see, I can get over big doubles fine on my 223 by pumping the suspension but try that on a hardtail and you

The things you see.....

2006-07-10T15:56:00.000+01:00

Peaslake Stores seems to be the Statue of Eros of the biking world; sit in the bus shelter long enough and you will see every biker that exists, including the weird and wonderful. As we have already seen in these hallowed pages, this was the location that Fire Extinguisher Man was spotted, the inspiration for the earlier accessories rant passed through on Saturday and the famous Hardcore Freeride

Bike accessories

2006-07-10T14:38:00.000+01:00

Now maybe I am a bit of a fashion victim but one of my pet hates is people who have shitty accessories cluttering up their bikes. I have to admit that my first couple of bikes were adorned with bar ends (but NEVER on risers), Brake booster arches and one of those stupid looking saddle bags but that was the early 90's and everybody had stuff like that on their bikes. I can categorically say that I

Questions, questions

2006-07-10T13:59:00.000+01:00

Or as Jason would say:What's the time Mr. Wolf?What's the time?What's the time Mr. Wolf?What's the time? What's the time Mr. Wolf?What's the time?What's the time Mr. Wolf?What's the time? I say it's 1 o'clock2 o'clock3 o'clock4 o'clock5 o'clock6 o'clockIt's spooling after dinner7 o'clock8 o'clock9 o'clock when you're when you're with the boys10 o'clock11 o'clockMr Daddy long legs crawling up to

Sorry seems to be the hardest word

2006-06-30T19:28:00.000+01:00

Back in 2002, I bought a 222 off one of Jason's northern chums, because he'd done his back in while doing up his shoelaces in Lanzarote. For a while, this meant I had the best DH bike of all the Stopa crew; at the time Jason had his banana yellow Bullit*, and everyone else had tiddly little things like Rocky Mountain Switches and the like.Well, I say the best bike. Never mind the lack of

Another new bike

2006-06-20T09:37:00.000+01:00

Well, not exactly new, it's a second hand frame and is built up with most of the stuff off the PA, which was last season's 'Jason Must Have' bike until I realised that riding up hills is hard work, closely followed by smashing my hand up and finding that alcohol is indeed a friend of mine.Now don't get me wrong, the PA is a lovely frame, an absolute joy to ride and light and comfortable enough to

Gestaltadoodledoo

2006-06-13T20:14:00.000+01:00

Here on The Manor life gets a bit dull looking after my collection of miniature Swiss naval ship collectibles. And so I ventured out of the confines of the grounds for the night. Friday night's festivities can be summarized best with these noteable evening events:- Little Lord leaving his credit card at a bar when he was distracted by a rack best described as "grapefruits in nylon stockings"- A

Tandemania - first ride

2006-05-26T18:34:00.000+01:00

Excluding the four hundred yards to Lidl and back, that is.Managed to ride for three hours yesterday without crashing or the stoker punching the captain in the back of the head. Almost punched out some prat called Uncle Bumpy who tried to cut us up by riding between us. Ah, the rich tapestry of tandem riding.Anyway, so far so good. We wimped out of one steep off-road descent, but that was only

Tandemania - phase 1

2006-05-23T00:44:00.000+01:00

Have just finished rearranging the house to accomodate the tandem, the wicker pig and all the junk that I've accumulated in the last 2 years. Would never have believed how many knackered inner tubes I'd piled up behind the sofa. Ah well.While that was going on, I had one of the minions out back taking apart the Prince Albert and every other bike in the shed, and fitting bits to the tandem.

Tandemania - it begins

2006-05-21T22:55:00.000+01:00

This orange monstrosity is the latest addition to the Stopadoodledoo stable.Now Jason doesn't have any excuse for not coming out riding (apart from that he's going to have me up front trying to steer this thing between the trees). He can happily pass out from the booze or the instructions the aliens are radioing in to that tin plate in his head, as long as he keeps on pedalling. Hangovers and

Losing the enthusiasm

2006-05-17T13:48:00.002+01:00

You want to know how much biking I've done in the last two months? None. The grand total of fuck all. The closest I've been to a bike is that it is sat behind my armchair, in which I have spent a lot of time drinking, watching TV and getting fatter and lazier by the minute. I have my excuses (of course I do), in that I really like drinking and have broken my hand in a bizarre collapsing incident

REVIEW: Fox Racing Goggles

2006-05-17T09:42:00.000+01:00

That's right, we've got an exclusive test of the first set of Fox Racing Goggles in the UK!Or rather, Jason got a pair of Oakley goggles off the top of his wardrobe, and used a black magic marker to cover up the logo, and some tipp-ex to write FOX on the side instead.Big wow. They're goggles, they fit around your helmet, and you can see through them. If it's a really sunny day, you might want

Groupies

2006-05-17T05:35:00.000+01:00

And so I headed to my first downhill race... Wait, that's dull as fuck let's fast forward to the climatic battle scene between oiled and sweaty combatants...My unique combination of honest inability to ride a downhill mountain bike quickly and my abrasive personality has apparently developed quite the following of groupies amongst the "in crowd" of local riders who now hang begrudgingly on my