You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Over the last few years, nbt and I have bumped into a few STWers when out and about, either walking or mtbing the local trails. All of these people were lovely and it was a joy to chat.
However one of two of these were very strange and not what you'd expect.
On a skiing holiday in Flaine, Grand Massive, a lovely lady leans over and asks nbt if he is nbt, this all up on a chair lift, wearing goggles and helmets. It turned out to be Sprootlet and we enjoyed a lovely afternoon with her and hubby (blimey she's a good skier).
The other meeting was on the Welsh coastal route on Easter Sunday. nbt and I were travelling along on our tandem, when 2 mtbers dive out into the road, coming in the other direction and shout stop. What a lovely surprise to see Lowey of this Parish and his partner. They each had a little go on the tandem, then we all went on our way.
It feels rather nice to be recognised and spending a little time with people in the 'real world'.
Has this ever happened to you?
I have had someone cycling the opposite way to me call out TJ. we were on the tandem. Also I have been asked if I am TJ when asking for obscure parts in a bike shop.
it's rather fun
Happened a couple of times and I've apologised each time...
Yeah a couple of times, but potentially it's as much people recognising the boy as much as it is me. Recently bumped into Doomanic at FoD, then a few weeks later again but at Cwncarn.
Not that I'm aware of - figured I can't count @nobbingsford as I've known him since we were at school together 😀
Edit - Actually...I have I think, many years ago outside Bikescene in Guisborough, but I cannot remember their name 😒
It was a female STWer who got me into this nearly 20 years ago - my employers' will never forgive them.
I've met a handful but not by chance, it's always been organised. Oh, and I've met Rogermoore many times because we used to work together.
Was stood on a steam railway station in Devon years ago and someone asked if I was Terrahawk.
I'm not. But I used to live round the corner from him.
Happened a couple of times and I've apologised each time...
😀
There's a guy in our cycling club who knows me on here as well.
When we had our Christmas social for the Health Ride Group, one of the ladies was wearing an STW beanie. Turns out she's on here - more as a lurker than poster - and she'd spotted my real name on the 502 club list.
A couple of folk on here I also know through work.
It happens to me a reasonable amount, but then I'm a big ****ing deal. I've also had a friend who appears in a lot of my photos get asked if he is me at traffic lights.
Happened a few years ago, at a gig! I honestly can’t remember the gentleman’s name, or, for that matter what gig it was at, sadly.
Sorry about that, but my memory for names is notoriously poor.
What bike were they on, @CountZero? 😉
The highest number of STWers I have ever met ,were all at the Ride to the Sun.
All of these people were lovely and it was a joy to chat.
👍
Has happened now several times while on our annual Alps trip. All sat round dinner table with other guests chatting about the normal stuff, where you come from, what you do etc.... and then at some point later in the week someone invariably has a light bulb moment and says something like "so you are a farmer from Wales? You don't happen to be welshfarmer on STW do you?"
I can think of at least 3 times it has happened exactly like that.
At the recent National DH at Cwmcarn the commentator when i walked over to see how the lad had done "he's in 14th..." which i thought was impressive that he remembered who my lad was... "i'll look forward to reading about it on Monday" was even more impressive as that implies he's from here too.
Happened loads back in the day at 24 hour races and when we had a regular Peak Midweek group that started on BikeMagic back in the day. Occasionally since - one guy recognised me from my Ragley Ti with warrantied, oversized, curved downtube out on local trails. I'm sure I've chatted with loads of STWers without ever knowing who they are. Oh, and on riding holidays too, bike tourism type ones.
I used to know DaveyBoyWonder decades ago when we were the age of building jumps in the woods.
It was lovely when MunroBiker (covered in blood!) came over and said hi to me at Glentress last year.
Also sold a bike to Chakaping!
There's a bloke in our cycle club who knows me and I've been on a ride with. Always good to say hello to other stwers
I get recognised regularly but that is at the local A&E.
I have had a few people spot me when I am out in public which is kind of weird but I guess it is from my "Are you bored enough to.." videos or the Big Bike Bash days.
There's a bloke in our cycle club who knows me and I've been on a ride with. Always good to say hello to other stwers
Was meant to be our little secret!
While walking locally, I spotted an old Orange P7 and said to nbt oooh look at that. The chap stopped and started chatting. He turned out to be Beagle from STW and recognised us.
Another favourite 'bumping into moment- nbt and I were at an RSPB reserve listening out for Bittens booming. Who should shout our names, but TON. We again had a lovely chat with him and his Mrs (they were on their bikes).
A weird time was a random chap shouted out bunnyhop, when passing us on the local canal, I'm on the back of the tandem and him on a gravel bike, still a mystery.
I rode past bearnecessities a few weeks back and said hello. He didn't recognise me. I was gutted. Spent all afternoon weeping.
I mean, you repair and service his weird old bikes for a few years and your old man works on his dilapidated house and not a hint of recognition.
Heartbroken of Morley
I used to know DaveyBoyWonder decades ago when we were the age of building jumps in the woods.
Those were the days - funnily enough I was looking for some old pics last night and found some of me jumping the road at Brayton!
I have had a few people spot me when I am out in public which is kind of weird but I guess it is from my "Are you bored enough to.." videos or the Big Bike Bash days.
I've met many from here at the BBB in the early days, what was weird was when LinkedIn suggested I connect to WCA. How did it know? We've only ever met in a field, work in different industries, never directly messaged and LinkedIn is exclusively used on my work PC.
I know a few on here. But thats because i've met them first doing bike stuff, then found out they were on here when chatting, not because i have been recognised.
Happened a few years ago, at a gig! I honestly can’t remember the gentleman’s name, or, for that matter what gig it was at, sadly.
It was Bono, U2. He was feeling blessed by his visit from a STW c'leb!
A few years back Rocketdog posted some pictures of my local area. I spent the next few weeks asking anyone with a beard that I met on the trails if they were Rocketdog - none of them were.
Only ever (knowingly) met 2 from here. One was samuri who I've not seen or heard of in years. The other is serving a life sentence for murder so unlikely to bump into him any time soon either.
Only ever (knowingly) met 2 from here. One was samuri who I've not seen or heard of in years. The other is serving a life sentence for murder so unlikely to bump into him any time soon either.
Wait, what?
Who in the hell was that? (Just asking in case it's someone I might have annoyed at some point.)
Only ever (knowingly) met 2 from here. One was samuri who I've not seen or heard of in years. The other is serving a life sentence for murder so unlikely to bump into him any time soon either.
Wait, what?
Who in the hell was that? (Just asking in case it's someone I might have annoyed at some point.)
TBF, given how lax prison seems to be these days, they're probably still a regular poster on here and probably ride a bike as much as many posters do as well.
What bike were they on, @CountZero?
Dunno, I can’t remember where the gig was, but if it was That London, possibly a Boris Bike…
…or probably not. 😜
I have had a few people spot me when I am out in public which is kind of weird but I guess it is from my "Are you bored enough to.." videos or the Big Bike Bash days.
Or possibly the cuts, contusions, bandages, casts, crutches… 🤭
Literally the first time I ever went to an internet meet up, it was a band mailing list thing, in Glasgow, in I think 96. And it was all going great, lovely to put faces to screen names and of course we were all deranged fanboys, til this one guy comes in and says "Which of you is LoveYourSelfAbuse13" (or whatever, I forget what the actual screen name was) and when he found him, smashed him in the face over some unforgivable internet slight. Then it all became a massive bar brawl. And when the police arrived they had some trouble understanding that we all knew each other but nobody knew anyone's names so we kept saying things like "And then Sherifffatman hit some guy with a stool".
So anyway meeting stw people has always been fine by comparison. I even got told once "Oh you're one of the normal ones", which is just incredibly insulting to the forum in general I think
A weird time was a random chap shouted out bunnyhop, when passing us on the local canal, I'm on the back of the tandem and him on a gravel bike, still a mystery.
You sure he wasn't just issuing a realistic skills challenge? We all know "wheelie" would be impossible on a tandem.
I rode past bearnecessities a few weeks back and said hello. He didn't recognise me. I was gutted. Spent all afternoon weeping.
I mean, you repair and service his weird old bikes for a few years and your old man works on his dilapidated house and not a hint of recognition.
Heartbroken of Morley
Wait, what?!
I'm so sorry I blanked you, I absolutely remember you and your wonderful shop - you were always my kind of person.
(I'm still waiting for your Dad to pop by and collect what I owe him and finish the job! Hope he is well btw)
Thanks @Northwind now listening to Carter US for the first time in a very long time
It happened again in Bakewell a few weeks ago. A chap was passing the cafe we were having a cuppa in, he spotted nbt and myself and popped in and introduced himself as Rick, we are still none the wiser as to who he is. Apparently he was mtbing a couple of years ago, as were we and got chatting to us about bikes on our local trails.
Not STW'ers but another cycling forum. Used to pass a chap every day on my commute, each going opposite directions. Realised it was a member on a forum over time - he's even on my wife's facebook list (I don't do facebook) - he was one of two internet mates that visited me in hospital with a broken spine.
Another was a chap losing a lot of weight, bumped into him on my commute as I recognised him. Helped him out a few times with bike repairs as he lived locally. Others, we organised rides.
Been to two weddings we've known each other that long, and now go on regular bike weekends, and some go abroad for weeks away. Most of us have been cycling most of our lives, big mix from MTB and road backgrounds, and some started by commuting to work. One or two we've dragged into MTB (most of us ride road mainly but have always had MTB's).
We do seem to have at least one DNF when we get together - i.e. crashes or some such. KAW, one rider's knee went on the 3rd of four days so he limped to the station to meet us that evening back at the car. Another crashed on the final grassy slope back to the car in the Clwydian range and bust 4 ribs and punctured a lung, two have had rear mechs explode whilst out in the wilds (again another limp home), and another crashed at 40 mph with tyre blow out - trip to hospital. Pennine Way we survived. Oh and the guy we've dragged into MTB has survived. His introduction was Marin Trail and he even came off on Dragons Back. Took him a bit, but he went and got a carbon hardtail and has done the KAW and Pennine Bridleway on it.
We keep in touch over What's App mainly.
Hats off to the bloke with the broken spine coming into hospital to visit you! 😉
I wonder what would happen if every STWer met at the same time in the same place 😬
Probably a great swinging of bombers and the police being called 🧐
I used to see a van near me bearing the user name of a stwer and I think the poster was from the same area approximately.
I met a few on rides bitd. I think there may be one of the silly kents still around here. But genuinely random meetings, I met an occasional poster from here at a bar in the Flamingo in Las Vegas. I think I was wearing a STW t shirt at the time, which prompted the conversation.
I know muffin, Bike revive, Munro, Wrightyson (not here any more) and possibly a couple of others. Pretty sure there are some Matlock lurkers that I may know but don't reveal themselves.
The only 'bump into' I can think of is I think I may have seen Tracey once in passing - asked on here and got told off for 'paging users'
Bumped into a few over the years Always nice to put a face to a name
seen a bloke at FoD with a STW tee on. Did'nt approach.. seems weird. not the bloke I might add.
I used to work with @the_lecht_rocks about 15-20 years ago, although I don't think he's active on here anymore. His current employers are maybe a bit more strict with the internet use 😆
We both also worked with another guy, Derek (can't remember his username, loved Nicolai bikes), who was active on here around the same time but sadly he passed away.
Kind of reverse bumping into, think I've cottoned on that I know @onewheelgood. Early retirement thread + username got my spidey senses tingling, NBD post sealed it.
I have yet to tell him IRL.
Only on the monthly forum member meet ups
I have yet to tell him IRL.
Now you've got me wondering
worked out after I got home on the weekend I was likely go-karting with @benz through a mutual (non cycling) friend.
Bumped into 'Stanley' and his Mrs. today. They were on their gravel bikes, we were on the tandem (oiling the chains on a hill top). So great to see him looking well.
Not in person but I believe there's a few STWers over here. Maybe a summer meet up at a suitably chosen pub in Freo might be nice?
Hi Bunnyhop... great to see you and NBT yesterday.
What a glorious day to be out 🙂
Do we need a low-key greeting? A question we can ask someone, and a set answer, that if the person being asked wasn't on STW wouldn't make the person asking look like much of a fool/weirdo.
There's another lovely corner of the internet that I frequent that ask "Are you on e-mail", to which the answer would be "you simply have to be these days".
May I propose "Do you know Jeremy?", with a reply of "Yes, he once once owned a tandem"
I've also had a friend who appears in a lot of my photos get asked if he is me at traffic lights.
I came here to say I asked someone if they were @Munrobiker once (at traffic lights). It wasn't, I felt sheepish, so keep my head down now.