Rider profiles-Paul Mayo
I've only ever had a handful of bikes since being a kid. My first bike was a Roadstar dragster, which came with training wheels. That bike went through hell and back, I remember jumping it off a set of ramps used to get things onto the back of a truck/trailer. I'd been hit by a car on it, (crumpled rear guard, I was fine) and eventually it died. It'd be a real looker in this day and age with people doing up dragsters, etc. I've always liked riding bikes because between that dragster and the bikes I have now, I've never owned a bike. In my teens my mates all had high end mountain bikes and when I had the opportunity to buy one I did and from there the love affair began.
I ride mountain bikes but I'll also enjoy watching road races, especially the Tour de France. My life is now complete having met Phil Ligget in Geelong. I haven't raced yet, I'm not fit enough, but I should get out there and just do it for fun. I'd like to race in a 4x, they look like fun, just have to get back into jumping before I do that I think. I really enjoy a nice fast trail. I'll draw the line at going so fast bits of my body will get broken, and smashed against trees but I do love to ride fast enough to think, ohhh, this could be bad if I fall off.
I'm not a G & D Cycles Sponsored Rider, I'm just one of the blokes who hangs around the place making it looked lived in. It's a great shop to visit, I remember first harrassing Hans in the Cottrel Street shop when they first opened. He was the first person I saw the day of the "great incident of 02" When I had a broken wrist and was in need of a new helmet. Think I may have been in a bit of shock as I walked in and plonked my dead helmet on the counter and asked for a new one.
I currently own 3 bikes: Giant AC named Abercrombie, a chopper named Alice and a Wheeler czx 4000 named Julie, (get it dualy/julie...)
Favorite things and other stuff...
Age: 30
Favourite Trails: The old Weir to Highway along the river trail which doesn't exist in parts any more... The You yangs are fun too.
Hobbies: PS2, reading, writing, Riding, Jiu jitsu, Bonsai plants, Warhammer Fantasy, Playing guitar, etc,etc
Favourite Music: Anything from classical to heavy metal, not radio crap top 40 stuff.(I've become my dad I think...)
Favourite Movies: Saving private Ryan, Black hawk down, Starwars sextet, anything scary/creepy.
Favourite foods: It'd be easier to write down the things I don't like...
Worst Crash: The great incident of '02 would be the highlight. I over jumped the old jumps down near riverside, I was on my own and I usually don't jump with a helmet on, it was just the fact I was riding through werribee that I had it on. Over jumped the jump by about a good 5 meters, everything was in slow motion and I was pointing face down at the ground. My mind was blank, I didn't even clip out. The front wheel hit the ground, the bike bucked out from under me, As my head hit the ground I thought, "hey helmets do work" as it took the hit and broke. The bike then pulled out from under me and hit my knee as I was forcibly unclipped. I sat up looked at the bike and slumped down again in the face of the jump behind the one I'd hit. Broken wrist, very sore knee, bent forks and a new helmet on the trip home. I haven't been able to pull my hands off the handle bars since then when trying to jump, just started back doing 1 handers again.
Funniest Bike moment: Well I thought it was funny. I was about to ride down the stairs at Sunshine Train station and let an older woman go down the stairs first before I did. She was touching the bottom step as I started my descent. The stairs are pretty steep and the landing in the middle is short so you have to be right over the back wheel or you can get flicked over the bars. The bike started going down the stairs making all the noise you'd imagine bikes make when you ride them down stairs. The woman at the bottom has turned around, done a double take and then started to run. I think she thought I was after her, In some elaborate "BMX Bandits" bag snatch attempt. I thought it was funny, she probably didn't.