All praise the tubeless tyre

Because this may not have happened.....



This is Ivan Oulego, a Spanish rider that has been on the downhill scene for many years and is renowned for his all-out riding style. But at the Worlds in 2000 high on the Sierra Nevada - his style got the better of him and sent him tumbling into the dust. I am in the process of databasing my transparencies for my stock so don't be surprised if little nuggets like this-that never saw a drum scanner or printer's ink- appear from time to time...

When the fun has to Stop

The general feeling amongst the PAYE set is that us freelancers can do what we please when we please and that taking a few hours out of a day for something as frivolous as a bike ride/walk/run/long lunch/illicit love tryst, dogging session (choose your fave) is expected. But we know different. When we are not shooting, we have all the other dull stuff like admin, chasing money,filing, databasing, keywording, phoning leads, chasing money - well you get the picture.
BUT getting out of the house for some fresh air IS recommended for sanity's sake -and today the weather was ace for a ride in the woods. I decided to risk the new seatpin that had given me a little gyp on the bike's maiden voyage, after degreasing it as much as I could. And all was fine for about half an hour when I felt my knees slowly but surely drawing closer to my chin. I took the post out a wiped it with loose dirt and tightened the clamp bolt as much as I dare with a stubby multitool 5mm key.
But was it going to have it? Nope. No dice. I bumped into another mountain biker and was chatting to him as I re-tightened the bolt. I heard an ominous click and then left it well alone. But as I mounted the bike the bolt snapped with a resounding crack. Shit. Nothing to do but pull the pin out and put it ,together with the saddle, into my pack and ride home standing up on the pedals. That's when THE FUN STOPPED. My knees are shite at the best of times and I didn't to aggravate them further. But I made it back.
Then I noticed a drawing pin, of all things stuck in my rear tyre. No choice but to pull it out. Pssssssss. Flat. Two repair jobs and an interrupted ride. Not good but better than being stuck in that office on a sunny day. Right kids?! ;-) (A drawing pin FFS!)