Twee (continued from Een)

So we had discovered that mountain biking could be loads of fun as well as keep us fit -BONUS! This prompted me to start saving up for a decent bike that could actually go off road without killing me in the process. Before long I made the impulse buy and was the proud new owner of a shining red Nishiki (again?!) Altron. Compared to my first Nishiki this bike was a technological marvel - chrome molybdenum frame and forks (no more hi-tensile steel for me!), cantilever brakes, real Shimano parts and the deal maker, rapid fire shifters!!

Harry was so jealous of me back then. He still had his Invader and you could bend his u brakes with your pinky finger and thumb they were so thin! I'll never, ever, ever forget the first time we attempted 'Kamakazi' hill. We were standing up on top of Beacon hill, overlooking Howick and Midmar dam checking this crazy piece of singletrack that plummeted straight down the face of this hill and eded up hundreds of meters lower. It was uber-steep and carved into a convex shaped hill so you couldn't even see where the trail ended. We both stood up there in silence, both knowing that there was no way in hell that our brakes were up to the job of getting us down in one piece. I mean, even my superior cantilever brakes weren't going to cut it!

Suddenly Harry had mounted his bike and before he could even place his 2nd foot onto the pedal he was at terminal velocity, flying and bouncing down this grassy hill, hanging on for dear life. I could see his brake levers were pressed right against his handlebar -in fact, they were starting to bend and buckle past his bar he was clenching them so hard! Just before he was about to disappear from sight, that supremely crap bike just couldn't take it anymore and flung Harry into the cartwheel of death. As Harry bounded downwards on his head and then ass, then head , then knees and again on his head, I started to crack up with laughter. It was the most comical sight I had ever witnessed. This kind of mayhem is normally seen on some lame TV stunt show, not by your very own eyes!

Harry eventually ground to a halt, pretty dazed and confused with my cackling and howling in the background and it took while to gather himself before shouting up to me, "It's not that bad.... You could make it with your bike!"

I think we took separate rides home that day...