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Altered Course - Video
by b3ans
Posted: Oct 10, 2008
A 7 month escapade in the UK and the Megavalanche.
I lived in London for 7 months with my brother between my Finnish military service and University. During the weekdays I worked in a cycle shop on oxford street, which could get pretty crazy sometimes. Thank god we had one day every week which my brother and I had off at the same time. These days were usually Saturdays. We would dedicate these days to DHing because we had to get ready for our up coming test, the Megavalanche.
I lived in London for 7 months with my brother between my Finnish military service and University. During the weekdays I worked in a cycle shop on oxford street, which could get pretty crazy sometimes. Thank god we had one day every week which my brother and I had off at the same time. These days were usually Saturdays. We would dedicate these days to DHing because we had to get ready for our up coming test, the Megavalanche.
Our riding spots were Aston Hill, Chicksands, Rogate and when we just wanted to session something close to home Esher Shore. Given that my brother has only ridden for a year and half, his skill set just went through the roof once I moved to the UK. I also gained confidence in cornering, jumping and most of all carrying speed through the roughest (and most ridiculous) of lines. We would constantly play cat and mouse down the hill where ever we rode and we pushed each other to get better and faster.
Not only did we push each other in the woods, but also on the commute to work and back. To keep our fitness up we both had about 13km to ride through the heart of London to work every day. We both used fixed gear bikes and pretty much raced each other every time we rode home. One day when riding at Esher Shore I met this guy called Tom, we instantly started chatting and he helped me find my phone when I dropped it in the middle of a run. From that day onwards we had a riding buddy that would be up for riding any day and in any weather. Tom's seriously smooth riding helped the both of us. Also my brother and I riding full sussers helped him to buy himself a Devinci Wilson 3! After a bunch of honing our skills we finally headed for the french alps to Alpe d'Huez. A weeks worth of breathtaking riding and the mega qualification got all three of use completely hooked on DHing. This video is a collection of what we rode before the alps and also the best footage we took in Alpe d'Huez. Hope you guys enjoy it as much as we did making it.
Alvi, Aki and Tom ripping it up:
- Alvi
Not only did we push each other in the woods, but also on the commute to work and back. To keep our fitness up we both had about 13km to ride through the heart of London to work every day. We both used fixed gear bikes and pretty much raced each other every time we rode home. One day when riding at Esher Shore I met this guy called Tom, we instantly started chatting and he helped me find my phone when I dropped it in the middle of a run. From that day onwards we had a riding buddy that would be up for riding any day and in any weather. Tom's seriously smooth riding helped the both of us. Also my brother and I riding full sussers helped him to buy himself a Devinci Wilson 3! After a bunch of honing our skills we finally headed for the french alps to Alpe d'Huez. A weeks worth of breathtaking riding and the mega qualification got all three of use completely hooked on DHing. This video is a collection of what we rode before the alps and also the best footage we took in Alpe d'Huez. Hope you guys enjoy it as much as we did making it.
- Alvi
33 Comments
- + 3
nwfr24
(Oct 21, 2008 at 0:48)
nicw those place's look fun
The main character looks like a complete nerd. Then he gets on his bike and hes the complete opposite.
what kind of helmet cam are you using? im thinking about getting a go pro but i wanna hear from someone that has used the new wide angle lense model
I used a Panasonic HDC-SD9 with a wide-angle lens. It was mounted to my visor using a bolt thru into the tripod threads and two thick plastic washers to dampen it a bit. I also ziptied the visor down to stop it from wobbling too much. The footage turned out better than we anticipate.d
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and one arm. He is the most hardcore person in the world. That was the alpe d'huez climb he was going up. 13km of non-stop one-legged uphill!
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I told you your story was going to be published! As I said before, great story. Would love to read of such trips/escapades more often. Well done!
Awesome! I might be moving to London next year; are there any good trails (DH or XC) reachable by train from London? What about by car, are the riding spots far?
Cheers
Cheers
By train you can go to Dorking for XC riding. For DH stuff I'd go to PORC if you're stuck with the train. By car you have more variety - Aston Hill, Chicksands, Rogate are all more DHey stuff and about 1-2h away by car.
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Hey, this is where I live...and ride and ski.
Glad you liked it.
I'm not a big fan of the Megavalanche though, too many people.
I prefer doing the run with just my friends.
Glad you liked it.
I'm not a big fan of the Megavalanche though, too many people.
I prefer doing the run with just my friends.
[Reply]
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Congrats, this is by far the coolest video I have seen in a while, You sure have some smooth trails that beggs to be ridden with speed. The Alp section with the race was awesome...Congrats guys, made me home sick (almost 
)
C
)C
Great Video !!! Funny Guys and cool riding !!!
Thanks a lot for "the light" in the dark and wet fall!
Thanks a lot for "the light" in the dark and wet fall!
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