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NEWS
Blast
from
the
past
Not
much
happens
in
February,
so
when
I
came
across
some
old
photo's
of
way
back,
long
before
we
opened
Nirvana
Cycles
I
thought
it
would
be
fun
to
put
them
on
the
website
&
show
how
much
the
bikes,
clothing
&
equipment
have
changed
since
we
first
started
mountain
biking
back
in
1989-
aagghhh,
our
Sunday
boy
Alex,
hadn't
even
been
born
then!!!
Our
first
bikes
were
a
Marin
muirwoods
for
me
&
a 2nd
hand
Raleigh
something
&
then
a
Marin
palisade
for
Simon
&
I
couldn't
believe
we'd
forked
out
£350
for
me
&
£450
(I
think)
for
Simon's,
on
bikes!
Mountain
biking
had
just
reached
these
shores
from
the
good
'ol
USA
&
it
was
great
fun.
Simon
had
always
ridden
road
bikes
but
I
wasn't
too
keen
on
that.
But
once
I
had
my
first
mountain
bike
I
was
sold-hook
line
&
sinker.
It
was
exciting,
dangerous,
beautiful
&
challenging.
We
rode
mainly
around
Dorking-
Leith
Hill,
Holmbury,
Ranmore
&
Boxhill.
But
Simon
also
raced
&
we
had
great
fun
going
to
the
'Malvern
Classic'
&
the
'Boltby
Bash'
two
classics.
At
the
first
Malvern
classic
we
watched
as
an
imprompt
lake
jump
occurred
in
the
sweltering
heat
&
Jez
Avery
did
a
bunny
hop
world
record,
41inches
I
think.
We
soon
progressed
from
the
Marins
to
buying
Trek
990
frames,
beautiful
lugged
steel
frames
&
custom
building
them.
Then
Simon
progressed
to
a
Trek
carbon
composite
frame
&
I
went
for
a
mongoose
carbon
frame
with
a
pair
of
the
latest
Marzocchi
xc700
suspension
forks.
The
riding
was
getting
evermore
adventurous..hence
the
pictures
of
us
jumping
in
Leith
Hill
quarry.
At
this
point
we
both
couldn't
get
enough
of
it
&
the
idea
of
Nirvana
Cycles
was
born
when
we
used
to
ride
past
a
long
time
empty
shop
(ex
poodle
parlour)
in
Westcott
&
thought
what
a
great
place
to
have
a
mountain
bike
shop.
So
on
the
1st
March
1995
we
opened
the
doors
to
Nirvana
Cycles.
We
were
incredibly
fortunate
in
having
some
very
loyal
customers
who
helped
us
&
supported
us
which
enabled
us
to
grow
&
gradually
improve
our
stock
from, for
example,
one
camelback!
to
a
range,
as
we
have
now.
We
really
did
open
on
a
shoestring.
When
foot
&
mouth
struck
in
2001
we
were
tested
even
further
&
once
again
some
very
loyal
customers
supported
us,
without
whom
we
wouldn't
still
be
here,
I
still
remember
Toby
bringing
his
bike
in
for
a
repair
when
the
trails
had
been
closed
for
weeks.
It
kept
morale
up.
The
riding
&
equipment
since
then
has
advanced
at
a
tremendous
pace,
with
both
advancing
the
cause
of
the
other.
The
thought
of
disc
brakes
&
full
suspension
was
unthinkable
back
then.
The
more
the
riding
moved
forward
the
more
the
technology
raced
to
keep
up.
Simon
doing
'some
weird
sin' Those
JT
sunglasses
were
cool!
Recently,
I've
started
riding
more
regularly,
after
finding
it
difficult
to
find
time
with
a
small
child
etc.
And
it's
made
me
realise
again why
we
opened
the
shop,
I
just
love
it
&
can't
get
enough.
I
love
turning
up
at
the
school
gate
to
pick
my
son
up
after
my
Friday
ride
with
the
girls
&
nobody
knowing
that
we've
just
spent
the
last
3hours
having
an
incredibly,
exhilarating,
scary
& challenging
time
doing
the
likes
of
windy
willow,
The
Tower
climb,
blind
terror,
abba
zabba
& many
more....Long
may
it
last.
Written
by
Jackie
20th
Feb
2007
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