Name:
Terry K (otherwise known as the Gollum)
Occupation: Tech College IT
Manager
Current bikes: Trek Fuel
EX8, Decathlon Rockrider 9.1, DDG Mutha, Kona CoilAir (ALL full suspension -
5", 4", 5", 6" respectively)
Dream Bike: DDG with perfect
pivot bearings and better rear tyre clearance
Favourite bike clothes: 661,
Kona, Aldi
Favourite Car: 1960s Jaguar Mark II,
2.4litre, Ford Lotus Cortina Mark I, 1.5litre
Favourite colour: PURPLE!
Favourite food:...... Peanut
Butter
Other enjoyments: MotoGP,
Superbikes, DTM, Speedway, Photography, studying the Female Form.
History: Done a bit of biking. I started on what we called
a "boneshaker" which was a 10 inch framed beastie with steel wheels and NO
TYRES. Sounded great on the corrugated concrete road where I spent my
childhood. I learned to slide a bike pretty early because steel does that on
concrete with no help at all. The neighbours hated me for it and I was only
six!
I also hereby lay claim to being one of the earliest "Mountain Bikers". I
was now 10 and had an 18 inch Royal Enfield Tourer with straight handlebars
and single speed (of course). We used to scramble like the motorbikes (long
before it was renamed MotoCross) in the woods on Coach Lane
where Church Green estate (Benton) is now and regularly staged
"matches" against Longbenton. Our highest mountain was about four feet high
but we were only 3 feet so it was massive.
After that I got involved in Cycle Speedway with the Newcastle club in 1965.
Still got the bike I ended my CS career on, last ride in UK Veterans
Championship 2005 at Wednesfield in the Midlands.
Started this new-fangled MTB malarkey around 1998 with the
purchase of a Univega Flyte 730 hardtail (yep, me on a hardtail!) to do a
Coast to Coast with my old mate Colin. We did about 7 of them and loads of
Charity rides. Ended up organising them. Got the bug.
I kicked off the MidAirCrisis web site as a
laugh in 2003 or thereabouts as it seemed a good idea to log some of our
rides and give vent to my journalistic incapabilities. It developed into a
monster and now a fourth major tidy-up is underway. Amazingly the site picked up
between fifteen and twenty thousand hits a month in it's first year and this
year ranges from 51,000 to 77,000, so still doing a roaring trade! I created
newcastlemtb.org in May
2007 after having a dream, and following a natter with Derek and John on
10th June at Dalby Forest, launched it as the front end to Newcastle's first
MTB club with the aim of encouraging more riders out onto the trails.
Success.
Since then we've had hundreds of enquiries and 70 or 80 different riders
appearing at least once. Currently the regular squad we have is the best
bunch of riding mates you could wish for so I'm pretty happy with the way
things have turned out. Just got to make sure someone keeps it going when I
finally headbutt that tree with my name on it!
Favourite trails: All the
Scotties bar Newcastleton - waste of a good drive. My Number One may well be
Laggan Wolftrax now, since our Highland Fling. I think I like ragged
technical (i.e. dangerous) stuff more than most.
Bike Hates: Keith must have
read my mind here - almost word for word I agree with him -Thieves (house
burglars and bike thieves), mutt marchers, horse riders, motorised vehicles
when I'm cycling, pedestrians, equestrians, canine-ians, most other homo
sapiens and ordinary Ians. (just kidding lads).
Personal Hates: Bullies, Butch
girlies, Anyone who thinks Julia Roberts
(The Gob) is a pretty woman, Smoking.
Personal Achievements:
Surviving until now after almost 6 decades of being a speed freak. Finding
the perfect wife. Having three fantastic daughters. Being the only MAC man
to crash on The Slab, and the only one to crash on Dalbeattie's Slab,
Terrible Twins and Qualifier rocks (all on separate visits, mind you). Being
the first MAC man to ride EVERY Seven Stanes Trail (all EIGHT of them).
Lottery Win?: I'd buy a little
island with a big hill and an uplift for my ex-Greg Minaar Honda Gearbox
MTB. Oh, and a Lamborghini Miura with a six foot Swedish Lady Chauffeuse who
is good with her hands (for maintaining the Honda, of course). YES Gents -
the island would have a BRIDGE linking it to the Mainland!
Keep watching and if you fancy a ride out with us, drop us a line here:
bailout@midaircrisis.org.uk
MidAirCrisis
