Imaginate!
My crazy obsession with trials biking started some time in 2017. While browsing videos in YouTube, I noticed an interesting looking video that had appeared in my “Recommended” videos. I believe it was Danny MacAskill’s Imaginate. I wasn’t really into bikes or anything, but my curiosity was piqued, so I watched the video. I was completely blown away! I had never seen anything even remotely like that before!
But I still wasn’t hooked. Since I watched Imaginate, YouTube’s algorithms recommended another Danny MacAskill video. So I watched it. That probably happened a few times. At that point, I had to find out more, so I exercised my Googling skills to find out just what the type of biking Danny MacAskill does was even called – I had no clue.
After learning a little more about what trials biking even is, I decided, “I can do that. I am doing that!”.
I Bought A Trials Bike
The only bike I had to start with was a Trek 820 mountain bike, so in July 2017, I started with the basics: learning trackstands (balancing in place on 2 wheels). The Trek 820 is a fairly low-end mountain bike. It’s also heavy, and doesn’t have great brakes (critical for trials). So, in September 2017, I bought my first trials bike – an Echo Mark V with 24-inch wheels.
First Trials Biking Competition
The fever had bitten me, but I didn’t know anyone who rode trials. I was asking people at work, in Facebook, you name it. I finally found a trials biking discussion form where someone nearby was about to host a trials competition.
So, with no idea what I was really doing and knowing nothing about biking/trials culture or the people, I actually competed in my first bike trials competition in October 2017. I figured I’d give it a shot, despite the fact that I could barely trackstand, let alone perform any other trials moves.
I am so glad I did! The event offered an incredibly positive and uplifting experience during the competition – the riders were all encouraging each other, not trash-talking. I also met some new friends – local trials bikers – that I now ride with on a regular basis.
So, that is the story of how I got started riding trials.
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