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What does cycling mean to you? 3
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8 – Alex Boyd 16 – Barry Forrister 24 – Ben Holt 30 – Ritchie Hunt 36 – Stephanie Weise 42 – Liam Coombs 48 – Tom Pitt 54 – Tom Taylor 60 – Benjamin Rose
Contents
66 – Sacha-Leon Maddison 74 – Hywel Fanner 80 – Ben Baker 84 – Nathaniel Carr 90 – Matthew Woodman 94 – Tom Greenhill 100 – Dave Cox 104 – Henry Cakebread 108 – Ryan MacEachern 112 – Josh Hayes Davidson
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Cycling may just be a mode of transport. It may just be a way to stay fit and healthy. But to some people it means so much more than that. It can shape your mind, body and soul. It can create wonderful friendships that will last a life time. All of this just because of one simple invention made out of two wheels and a metal frame. I wanted to find out what cycling means to the people who are passionate about it, and who see it as so much more than a mode of transport. Over my life I have tried out so many different types of cycling and have enjoyed them all. I have a million stories to tell and have formed incredible friendships all from one hobby.
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Alex B 8
Boyd 9
Alex Boyd
For the most part, cycling has opened up many doors for me. It has enabled me to travel the world and hang out with other like-minded riders, share stories and tell tales of our two wheel adventures. It has made me friends from the get go whilst developing me as a person and shown me the path to take in my life. One day, when I was only 9, I saw a clip on TV of a guy jumping off a pile of dirt and from then on I was instantly hooked.
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Since that day I’ve been out digging in the woods, whether it’s in the rain, snow, wind, or sunshine. Slogging over slabs of earth sculpted to perfection in the wet and left to bake under the sun. A series of jumps in a row is called “trails” and without it, I wouldn’t be half the person I am today. It has taught me patience & dedication, two traits that are hard to come by in this day and age. It has formed my body, given me strength and given me a positive mind. It has opened my eyes to nature, how the earth works and how we work around it. But most importantly, its taken me around the world, to others just like me digging in the dirt; in the cold, wet, windy winters just for that slice of pure unadulterated summertime sunshine fun.
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BMX isn’t just a hobby to me… It’s a way of life!
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Barry F 16
Forrister 17
Barry Forrister 18
Cycling’s one of those things where it’s easy to sit in a car and see cyclists whizzing past and think ‘why would you want to be out in the cold doing that!’ It’s not until you start to do it a couple of times that you realise it really is complete freedom.
‘Why would you want to be out in the cold doing that!’
It leads you to discover wonderful peaceful places you never knew existed. It always turns into an adventure. You get back in and feel completely exhausted but in a rewarding and refreshed way. I think it’s this that led me to start riding trails, and hopefully I won’t stop for some time!
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Ben H 24
Holt 25
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Ben Holt
The best part about it is how versatile the sport is! As long as you have the right sort of terrain you can build and just ride anything you want. Whether its fast flowing trails, or crazy steep sections with jumps and drops! The social side of it is great as well. You create friendly competition between yourself and your mates that is the best motivator.
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Ritchie 30
e Hunt 31
Ritchie Hunt
I have met most of my close friends through riding. It gets us outside in the sun and really chills me out. The weird thing about it is that if you get hurt trying a trick, you get up and try it again!
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Stephani 36
ie Weise 37
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Stephanie Weise
I started cycling last year as a replacement for driving, as cycling worked out 100% cheaper than driving. Since then I’ve become somewhat addicted, and treat it with the utmost seriousness and get excited about new cycling gear. It’s not the best bike, and I could probably do with a better one since I use it quite often and for quite long journeys, but since I acquired the bike for free, I find it hard to shell out the money for a nice decent one. I do feel immense envy though especially when other cyclists speed past me. And I also get leg-jealousy when people with ripped legs go past.
‘I’d rather be rain-soaked and happy, than dry and grumpy from sitting on a bus’
To me, cycling is the ultimate freedom since it’s the cheapest way to get anywhere efficiently, and I can’t believe I didn’t do it sooner. Why would anyone choose to be cooped up in a car, or squashed on a bus full of strangers, when you can be outside- and for free! I’ve had some of my most productive thoughts cycling, and it beats the gym or pointless jogging. I love it, despite turning up to every destination a mess. I’d rather be rain-soaked and happy, than dry and grumpy from sitting on a bus. It’s the only way!
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Liam C 42
Coombs 43
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Liam Coombs
Cycling, to me, is a great way to meet new friends and socialising. It is always great fun. Seeing new places or the buzz of learning a new trick is always so rewarding! It is all about having fun and to make sure you are enjoying yourself. I also find it a brilliant stress relief. If you’ve had a bad day just grab your bike, head out and cool off.
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Tom 48
m Pitt 49
To most people, cycling is just a means of commuting or getting from A to B. To me it’s much more than that. I’ve been cycling since a young age and it has taken me amazing places and brought me brilliant friendships.
Tom Pitt
Riding BMX has taken me around England, riding various skate parks and dirt trails. It’s not just the riding that makes me passionate about cycling, but the fun times you spend with your mates. Having a laugh around bonfires is a regular occasion while building jumps to ride at our local trail spot. Going on road trips to different parks often result in doing things we’d never planned and all in just having a great time. Without riding, I doubt I would have as many good mates as I do today.
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‘It’s not just the riding that makes me passionate about cycling, but the fun times you spend with your mates.’
I also ride road bikes. It’s all about going places and seeing how far you can ride in a trip. When cycling you see a lot more, you can often miss amazing things when driving as you’re going that much faster. Road cycling enables you to take everything in as you travel; but also get in some good exercise!
Cycling has been proven to be one of the best methods of fitness and keeping in shape. And what better way to do it than go on a 60-mile ride through the countryside while taking in the sunshine and amazing views.
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Tom T 54
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Tom Taylor
Cycling, for me, is definitely the excuse I use to get myself out of the house and into the woods for hours at a time. The best part about it has to be when your out on a ride on your own, nobody around for miles, and all you have is the sound of you bike gliding over the terrain and the wind whistling all around. I first started riding a bike when, years ago, I bought a small plastic ramp for the driveway. As a child and it just developed from there. Now I’ve moved on into the world of downhill riding, and I can comfortably say I will never look back.
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Benjam 60
min Rose 61
Benjamin Rose 62
Because as soon as I take the first pedal and I feel the wind on my face I feel like all my stress and worries have gone out the window, it’s just me and my bike and we can go where ever we want, when we want and nothing to get in our way.
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Sacha Madd 66
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Sacha-Leon Maddison 68
The best stories I have to tell all involve my bike, whether it’s on a road trip to ride different places on my BMX or just cycling somewhere interesting on my road bike. There is no better experience that loading up the car with your friends, and all of your bikes, and setting off, with no destination in mind and nowhere to stay, just somewhere different and exciting to go to and ride.
‘There is no better experience than loading up the car with your friends, and all of your bikes, and setting off.’
I would not be the person I am today if it wasn’t for my bike, it has taken me to places that I never would of seen and I have shared experiences with people I never would of met. There is nothing better than the freedom of being on your bike, no rules and no judgment; you are free to express yourself.
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Hywel F 74
Fanner 75
Well, Its a long story and hard to put into words but a simple explanation is that it encompasses my life. I had a funny thought just the other day that was that when I think of BMX in particular, it is not so much of a hobby it’s more of an intrinsic part of my life. I don’t think of it as a sport, but as a need. I need to ride. It really is a number of things, an outlet, a space to think, a form of expression, a social event and a form of exercise for the brain, as well as the body.
Hywel Fanner
I have gained so much from having BMX in my life and have scars to show and am sure there are many more to come. If I go to the gym its not to be fit, it’s to prepare for the hits and falls I suffer on the bike. I have ridden every style of riding and I have chosen BMX, as it is the simplest and most easy going on the wallet.
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‘With a little determination you can have endless fun.’
BMX is the most accessible discipline within the cycling world. With a little determination you can have endless fun. If I were to sum it up, I would say riding is the greatest love of my life. It is an enabler to a better life.
I thought of this question the other day; Would you rather be financially stable and never have to worry about money but lack the time due to work commitments to really do what you love... Or be worried about money and often struggle financially but have the benefit of a life full of what you love? It is obvious which I have chosen. Of course you can fit in between but then that’s what could be seen as a hobby. If you are fortunate that both are one then you are living the good life. I am close, but have a way to go.
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Ben B 80
Baker 81
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The reason I love cycling so much is that it’s the one thing I have where I can block everything else in the world out. It’s how I met all my best mates.
Ben Baker
Plus there is nothing better than going fast!
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Nathan 84
niel Carr 85
Nathaniel Carr 86
I’ve always had a huge interest in cycling and have been riding and racing for many years now. Whether it’s riding bikes or fixing them, I just can’t seem to drag myself away from them. I’ve worked in a bike shop since the age of 16 and could never imagine myself doing anything different. Whenever I am away from work I am either riding or fixing my own bikes. It’s one of the few things I am solidly passionate about.
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Mat Wood 90
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Matthew Woodman
I started cycling regularly when I got a full-time job straight out of college, I would ride my old racing bike to work and back 4 miles everyday. It got to the point where the trip took me 10 minutes each way. And that’s why I love cycling, I hate mornings so for me I could just roll out of bed hop on my bike and be at work in less than half an hour. Over the course of the time I’ve had this same job I’ve been through four different bikes and am at the stage now where I’m totally lost without one. Every time something breaks and I’m left without transport it makes life so much more difficult. Cycling is perfect for me because whatever the weather, its quick, free and great exercise. I cycle for commuting and pleasure every single day.
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Tom Greenhill
I used to ride my BMX all the time, was a great social activity and something all my friends had in common. It’s also a great way to meet new people. People who ride BMX tend to be the people that you have a lot in common with, studying something creative like Media arts, graphic design or photography.
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Since moving to London I have grabbed myself a fixed gear bike. Something completely different! Same story of one gear but the whole way you use the bike is completely different. Not being able to coast is he major thing, being ‘fixed’ to the bike is a very strange feeling. It soon becomes a part of you, slowing down by slowing your peddling and avoiding using the brake. Not only a great way of transport, but in the same way BMX has found me so many friends, fixed gear has too.
‘It soon becomes a part of you.’
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Dave 100
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I got into riding nearly 10 years ago now, through a friend who use to go up the Mendips and decided that I wanted a piece of the action. Plus it looked a fun way to lose my puppy fat!
Dave Cox
Looking back it’s amazing how that thing made from a few bits of metal and rubber has changed my life. I’d say over 80% of my friends today I have made through riding one way or another and have been to places I never would have if I didn’t ride. Even after riding all this time I’m still not bored and can’t wait to get out at the weekend!
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Hen Cakeb 104
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Henry Cakebread 106
It’s not as simple as you might think. It isn’t just the fear in the bottom of my stomach whilst I pedal dangerously fast at a quarter pipe, or the hope that I will land the trick un-scathed and bruise free. Or even the feeling of freedom I get at the peak of an air and the sense of accomplishment I get after landing a trick. I love it because of its community.
It’s a sport that encourages people to come together with the mutual fascination with how far we can push ourselves.’
It’s a sport that encourages people to come together with the mutual fascination with how far we can push ourselves. It is a sport that gets us out of the house and into sun away from brain dead computer games that do no more than help us twiddle our thumbs. It’s a sport that encourages riders to strive and accomplish. It’s a community set on helping one another, to push each other to do the stupidest things whilst always having fun. BMX isn’t just a hobby, it’s something to start and never finish. It is never ending, a passion, an addiction.
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Rya MacEa 108
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Ryan MacEachern
My dad influenced me heavily on my love for cycling as he is a well recognised face around town “I always see your dad on his push bike”. He has never driven in his life and has always cycled, I always wondered why until my 17th birthday, instead of a car I got a GT mountain bike. My home town (Exmouth) is too big to walk but too small to justify a car or bus travel so it was a great in between, I use my bike daily and will ride until the day I can ride no more. I rode my GT into the ground. I used it to ride to my foundation course everyday at Exeter college, a 22 mile round trip. Then decided to buy an old Raleigh equipe race bike. Over the years I have added small bits and now it currently sits stripped of its rear mech and has become fixed gear, it’s my daily rider and I will never throw it away. Exmouth has over 2 miles of golden sand with a cycle track running parallel as well as bike tracks linking to other coastal tracks and I don’t enjoy anything more than being out and about. When the weather lets me down I have a Keiser Spinning cycle in my shed that means what ever, happens I can get my fix. I love cycling.
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Josh H David Davi 112
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Josh Hayes Davidson 114
I grew up in Cardiff, and learnt to ride a bike at the grand age of 5. Cardiff is mainly situated on a flood plain and is very flat with some fantastic cycle paths. Cycling is easily the fastest way to travel around the city. You can escape into the countryside in a matter of minutes. People travel from all over the world to cycle through the “Taff Trail� which follows the Taff river for miles, right up into the Brecon Beacons national park. I grew up cycling the lower parts of the cycle path with my family and when I was old enough the higher parts with friends. I have always felt free and at home on a bike. I am a fan of traveling fast but hate the guilt of carbon emissions, making the bike the perfect compromise.
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Why you should cycle
I hope after reading this you feel inspired to ride. Cycling is about creating friendships and memories that will last a lifetime and not just about getting from A to B. Cycling has made me the person I am today and have never regretted a moment of it. I urge you to pick up a bike, or buy a one, until you find the joy that millions of people feel every day. If you do one thing differently this year then it should be that you should cycle more! I hope this publication has made you realise all the opportunities that cycling brings, and has shown that it is much more than just a mode of transport.
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Special thanks to Alex Boyd Barry Forrister Ben Holt Ritchie Hunt Stephanie Weise Liam Coombs Tom Pitt Tom Taylor Benjamin Rose Sacha-Leon Maddison Hywel Fanner Ben Baker Nathaniel Carr Matthew Woodman Tom Greenhill Dave Cox Henry Cakebread Ryan MacEachern Josh Hayes Davidson Nick Bardill Hannah Lane
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