Alex Leech riding footage. Radlands & Oxford. 1993

[SaMAlex]

Well after mucho pissing about, I have finally managed my first Youtube upload. It has involved months of work trying to get a VHS to DVD rig working, then a few night working out how to get the footage from the DVD onto the PC (thanks for the help MeddlE). Then a bit of editing on the PC (another first for me), and finally uploading the file.

The clip is old footage of me riding at Radlands (Northampton) and at the old ramp in Oxford. It was all filmed by Sean Goff cos he always had a video camera with him and he’d sometimes point it at me.

Hopefully there will be more footage to follow

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[Flaz]

       sweet! 

[Lazarou]

That was awesome! Brilliant riding from the best period in BMX! I've said it before and i'll say it again you were totally ahead of your time!

You can't learn style like that! I used to love that little quarter under the vert ramp at Radlands!

All the youngsters should study that vid! This is soulful stylish riding, a joy to behold! That's how it's done kids!

[billstup]

Nice one Alex 

[darkersomeday]

all good

cheers for taking the time to put that up dude,

check the fakie stuff! maaaaaassive,

rad as fook!

was sean goff the skater?

[superbikedan]

alex,   that was kool as, not longh enough for me

proper kool tricks and your last one    that would be up with

the best today 

[welsh denny]

rad riding, especially the fence abubaca's (or blunts) and that 540 nosepick was so smooth.............
great stuff.

[SaMAlex]

Thanks guys, really nice to hear such kind words.

That footage is all pretty much unseen. It was all just Sean filming, cos he always did and it was never used for anything.

Dan, that is about all I have of me riding. There is some other stuff that was on actual BMX vids. I might go looting some of that and post it up, haha.

[superbikedan]

alex  dig deep and find some more,  love it

had a conversation with twobobrob last week,  and we spoke about

the 90s riding,  so fooking good,  really wish i was a part of that era

still,  least i was a part of the beginning of bmx 

[welsh denny]

i know i've got some footage of you from KOC's, BCR jams and maybe more odds & ends. as i've got so much stuff to remaster it could take a while but will post up as i come across any.

[SaMAlex]

i know i've got some footage of you from KOC's, BCR jams and maybe more odds & ends. as i've got so much stuff to remaster it could take a while but will post up as i come across any.

That would be great, thanks, I got one trick in your BCR on the VCR, I was pleased with that. I rode in quite a few of the comps in that vid and in Tidy.

[Trev]

cool vid alex...  tricks you were doing in 1993 and 14 years later they are still very rad tricks which would blow away a lot of the kids today. 

[QUADROPHENIA]

i said it before and i will say it again, miniramp god, sean goff still skates the vert at epic on old boys sunday mornings, radmf

[harris]

    nice one mate ,good to see some original footage.

[brass monkey!]

nice one Alex !

[TwoBobRob]

Excellent   


I learnt wallrides at Radlands on those two quarters against the wall.  Happy days....


Loving the big blunts and 540 nosepick   

[mi16kie]

I forgot that you used to use chopper freewheel protectors as hub/spoke guards.
   Way ahead of your time alex.

[MeddlE]

Yay, it worked, good footage.  This and the Tidy footage are some of the best I've seen recently.  Really wish I'd been riding in the 90's instead of whatever it was I did back then.

[andy619]

wow Alex, great riding.

I don't remember indoor parks or outdoor ramps like that when I was there, when did places like radlands and epic start to be built?

[SaMAlex]

Radlands was opened in 1991 (I think, maybe even early 92). I found some more riding footage there from when it was first opened. It was always more of a skate place (skating was much bigger than BMX in the early 90s). They had a massive mini ramp at first, but they took it all down for a street area.

Epic was much later. It guess at 2001?

[TwoBobRob]

Yeah, must be about then.  I was hearing about it when I gave up in 2000.   In between those two the other parks of note were  Bristol and Wakefield.  I had a hand in the development of both of those parks and had some bloody good sessions there. 

Newport popped up the mid 90s also, but I never really liked that park....  and Boneyard in Chester (chesterfield?)  was around the same time.  That was a cool little venue as it happens.  Liked it there.   Mount Hawk?  late 90s maybe?  Never been there   


While were talking old indoor venues, I've got to mention my place.  The Upminster Barn held a 27ft wide vert ramp and a wee little mini crammed in the remaining space.  Opened in 94 and shut down by the council in 95  (grrrrrr........  )  I had pretty much everyone down to ride at one point or another.  I made friendships there that last to this day  (and enemies too) and a couple of pictures in Ride to boot.  A proper adventure for me, and a time in my life that I will always look back upon as just about the best   

[dirtyvans]

wicked stuff alex 

its a shame our generation missed out on cheap video cameras, even cameras to a degree. Now i try and do a bit of video wherever i go, especially with the recent threats to close southsea etc.

i'm trying to knock up a little video of my local riding spots, it would be nice if other oldboys did the same, as i'd like to see what others on here are riding and having fun