BMX, Friends, Cold Beers and Smiles for Miles.

Been a while blog fans - apologies! It's been pretty hectic last couple of weeks, no racing, but plenty of bike time, whether it be a 50 mile road bike extravaganza or a mint session at the track or trails, i've been on it!

Got back from an awesome little roadtrip this weekend past, a few of us headed down to the south west to hit the tracks and trails in them parts. On the trip we originally had 12 or so riders but many dropped out, due to being afraid of the rain, camping, or just because they weren't feeling it.

So we were left with 5:

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Oliver "OC" Cooper
Lauren "designated driver and jump champ" Smith
Ryan "i don't do camping" Yearsley
Raz "Razzing about" Razzamatazz

So we started in Derby and had an awesome session at the revamped track there on Thursday night, They had there new gate installed and set up and it was feeling pretty sweet, dropping fast although there was a slight lag on the final few inches so I kept clipping it which felt a bit wierd. Just needs some tweaks and it'll be cock on. We rode for about 2.5 hours and i was pretty knackered come wrapping up time. We headed into town that night and had an awesome curry and then hit the sack after a pint at a pub with a miniramp and a dude with a shabby beard.

We loaded up early doors and hit the road, our first stop was Bath track, which although not being exactly technical or difficult, did provide us with a couple of hours of enjoyment. Everyone tore it up and the holiday vibe was in full affect, we were on out bikes and not at work - perfect. After we tore the joint up, we loaded up and hit the road for Exeter which has recenly been refurbed and was pretty sweet, i was totally feeling it, but it was shutting its gates very soon after we arrived. The lovely ladies held on for just over an hour and we got that bad boy dialled in. A few peaky jumps and everything was very smooth, i was pretty pumped on it!

We soon had to leave though, so we packed up and headed for the hostel, this was a treat - ha! But what do you want for £17 a night?! We hit up the dance floors of Exeter and i pretty much had Arena nightclub on lock. cooper and LS dropped some bombs on the dancefloor and Ryan played it cool on the sidelines, occassionally throwing shapes and allowing chicks to catch a glimpse of his "o-fish" rolex in the disco lights. Raz was a mover and a shaker, and the mohican struck fear into the locals. Gerrof my danth floor!

The following day depressed me, so i'm not going to write about it, rain rain and more rain, British summer time, what a load of shat.

Sunday was better although super windy, we headed to Portreath track and they had a race on at the facility there, the wind was mad hectic though so we did practise for a couple of hours and rode the trails which were awesome, i just wish the wind chilled a bit and we could have done more, but it was relentless. We did a few hours there and once racing got underway we headed to the Blackwater track around the corner. This was also a lot of fun and we hooked up with Chad and Harvey from Bournemouth and they joined in our session, the wind was awful, but we still shredded it up and rode everything. Pick up manuals came thick and fast from Ryan, Coops was manualing straights like it weren't no thing, Lauren got her jump on and Raz did some kick outs. We busted out some pump races and backward laps and it was like some kind of CK Flash training session!

MOTO!

We did a few hours and then headed to Newquay, everyone was lame when it come to jumping in the sea, but myself and Lauren stepped up and dived in, it was absolutely freezing but the wave was pretty cool, i love swimming and being in the water, pretty much 2nd best to being on the bike, so i was stoked to be there, you soon got used to the temperature and i was enjoying being thrown about by Mother Nature! After an ice cream (Cornish, of course) we did some sprints up a killer hill, took in some gnarly views and did some skids for the kids. I've never been to Newquay before and although some bits looked well shady i was feeling the vibe.

We managed to find a campsite nearby and blagged a free camping spot, no one was at reception when we arrived so we just pitched up and got our BBQ on, a couple of magners down us necks and some evening entertainment, which was diabolical.

After a rough nights kip, no air bed, ground mat or owt, we got up, hit the showers, had breakfast and made a screeching exit from the park before we got busted. Back on the road for the final day of the roadtrip, the weather was alright, pretty muggy and the odd shower but to hell with it, being the last day we just shredded every second we could, we did Decoy first and i have a lot of time for the vibe down there, the step up into the 2nd turn is massive and i was bummed i didn't have a pop at it. The ground up to it was pretty sodden, and after a few runs i just wasn't sure, so i bailed on it. Cooper had some tester runs for me though - thanks man! It was one hell of a step up, i'd love to see it done. we had an awesome session there and things were going off, loads of airtime and banter, Ryan had some tech lines going on and Raz busted out the kick outs. Lauren jumped the smallest jump in the world after being scared of it (!?!) and Cooper was just shredding the lines like a local.

After Decoy we hit Tiverton, not exactly tech, as Cooper, ryan and myself jumped everything first lap, but still it killed an hour and was a good mojo track for Lauren and Raz, although he nearly killed himself. Twice. Lauren jumped everything though and there were some decent sized jumps so that was awesome! Coopers jump to manuals were hectic, he is a shredder, everyone was vibing!

After Tiverton we hit our final track which was Burnham, we just had an hour there as we were all feeling pretty pooped, but it was a good hour nonetheless, Coops is a man of tradition and totally didn't feel the tarmac. Ryan demonstrated several times the force and reckoning of his 1st straight, Raz did the table tops and Laurens bump jumps and second straight jumping was cock on, it was a good session. Pretty much over Burnham as a track though, nothing challenging and a final straight from hell, i'm glad i didn't bother with the national a few weeks back, played out!

We headed back home to our beds and back to horrible reality of work, personal dilemmas and the distant feeling of flicking your bike off a beautifully crafted lip and catching perfect backside. Ahhh, all but a distant memory, so tonight - Bolehills for more of the same!

Here's hoping to better weather, more bike time, friends, whips and hips.