準備，穩定，去!

Okay, the bags are packed, within the weight allowance set and we're good for the off. Hitting Dave Ives up tomorrow for a pre-China BBQ with the Ivesy family, Flem and the rest of the boys, should be a good laugh. He's built a trampoline bike so flip whips 3's. burgers and salad before heading off to Manchester airport to get our jetlag on towards China. Skipping time zones. It ain't no thing!

I'm really pumped! I also saw the riders list today its pretty low to be honest! I only have 12 in 25-29 male. Including Marco. Sheeeeeeeeet. I'm feeling 2 GB riders with W plates on the return flight home. Red eye.



Anyway, i'll hopefully be able to blog a wee bit whilst i'm away, and keep you filled in. But i'm not certain.

Up, up and away. Believe that. DC trippin' out to China. Love it.

Mansfield Weekend

Yo!

This weekend saw Rounds 4 & 5 head to Mansfield for the national series and it was an awesome weekend! I had a great time hanging out with everyone, racing, catching up and having a good old time. Racing went well, I knew I'd ridden well and felt good, although I did have some issues with my clips, but I've ordered some new ones for China so hopefully i'll not have too many clipping out issues in the East!

Mansfield put on an awesome event, smoothly ran without any drama, well done boys!



Thanks Rich!

Day one I had 2 1 4 in Motos and cruised into the Semi i drew a tough one, but to be fair they were both stacked! I got a good lane pick and chose 5 (Top tip from dives!) and had a mint gate and firsat straight i dived into turn one following Scott Waterhouse and managed a 2nd, which i was very happy with. In the main i had a good pick and went into 3, it worked out okay for me and managed to finsih 4th after Lee Baker, Flem and Daz Reidy. I was stoked! It's always nice to be able to head home between races, to have your own bed, a decent meal and no stress. I got some pro sleep under me and awaited Sunday for more action!



Saturday on the way to 4th.

Sunday I had a bit more of a nightmare with my clips, clipping out of the gate in my first moto i was dead last, doh! I managed to work through the pack and get 2nd on the line though! ha! I then won the next moto and 5th in the 3rd after a tangle on just about every straight. (Boo!) I made the semi and didn't get a great lane choice but my snap was good and i went into the turn in 4th, i rode a good lap but left the door a bit too open going into the final turn, Richardson boomed into me coming up to the first doubles on the last straight and i took off straight into the crowd! It was a pretty spectacular crash I think and i did hit the crowd quite hard (sorry!) I wasn't mad though, i was in good shape and i knew i'd left wayne the space to make the move. Even if it was a little bit of a tasty one.



On the way to winning the B.

In the B final i had Lane 7 due to the crash but managed the gate of the day and jumped into turn one in the lead, i unclipped out of the turn (ARGH!) and only Richardson come past - lucky! I got back on it and stepped on the gas, i managed to smooth him down the last straight and take the win. poetic justice I call it.. ha ha.

Lee baker doubled 19+ this weekend a fantastic ride from him!

So I was happy, and i'm feeling good for China, only 6 days away! An awesome weekend for sure! A chilled week ahead I think, no transport as the Vito is in for its MOT and a service, I hope it's alright!

Bloomy took elite both days Tuffy got 4th day one and second day 2 - not bad youth! Lauren managed to win on Sunday a great ride from her, you gotta be stoked with that! Ivesy got a 2nd on day one but some grief in the semi saw him out, he didn't race the B as he's saving his legs for China. No Marco, he hurt himself in the gym. Scott waterhouse current 19+ leader took a big one on Sunday hope you're alright bro.

Sick weekend!

Lifted.

Sometimes when you're feeling a little down about things, all it takes is a good session to bring things back around, a session where things come together to get out of that rut and move forward. This weekend was absolutely awesome for a number of reasons, I spent some good time with my friends, I spent a lot of time outdoors, in the sunshine and in the warm summer air, i got to ride my bike lots, and even get my climb on. Stoked!

To be honest it'd been a pretty rad week, but the weekend just pulled it all together for me. Friday night I had my first outdoor climbing experience and it was awesome, so much better than indoors. A lot more grip to be had, natural holds and tough gritstone to get your mits into, it was perfect. There was complete silence at Millstone edge in Sheffield and I climbed some good routes that I didn't think i'd be able to get up when I first arrived, a good 3 hour session lead to a big appetite and very sore hands!


Sending the triple!

On Saturday I headed to Crewe with Warren to ride the recently revamped track. It is pretty gnar and definately not a track whereby you could arrive and nail things first off. It took me a while to adapt to the steepness but I was soon feeling it and after umming and arring at the first straight triples i sent them and it was an amazing feeling! Warren took some great pictures and i'll add them when i get the chance. MX supremo Warren was getting into things after a long break from his BMX and it was good to see him catching some air and enjoying the little wheels again. He also had his first experience of random starts, definately not something you can get to grips with in one session! We stayed for about 4 hours and it was a sweet session, a definate confidence boost and a lot of fun!


Triple - Thanks Warren!

After we drove back to Sheffield Warren and I hit up Dev Green with some coffee and watched the world (see girls) go by. You gotta love summer! We chilled there for a bit then popped in to see my Brother from Another Mother Will. We shot the shit for a while then decided to have a BBQ 51JR style, so off we went for steaks and salad (no carbs!) it was a real treat and i had a chilled beer to wash it down, I felt I had earned one!

Sunday I got up early and headed to Mansfield the weather was again absolutely perfect. And with over 200 riders up in there is was almost like a mini national! TM Rich Camm was there with the Urbanair stall set up and looking pretty factory with his new bench seats, he was running about like a bluearse fly but business is booming, good on you TM, and thanks for everything, the little things and the big things, they all mean so much.

A pretty stacked 17+ class with 29 riders, including Alan hill, Tuffy, Cal Strickland, Jessop, Barnard, Steve Williams, Tom Palmer, Andy Shaw, Tricker and lots of others. The motos proved pretty hard I managed a 2 4 2 which i was happy with but ended up with gate 8 in the semi. Its a long way round but can be good to make last minute swoops when everyone is making moves up the turn. I got a good gate pulled over a few lanes to get a better line, i dived in and everyone moved up as predicted but I didnt race it smart and really should have held off a little and dove into the inside. Instead i got held up and didn't have a good line for the rest of the track, but boy was it tight! So into the B final for me. I wasn't too fussed I knew I'd rode well all day and all week, it was a hard semi and it is all practise for the national there next week. I managed a 2nd in the B final.



Semi shot by Abi -Check her site out, plenty fresh flavours!

One pretty shitty thing is pro UK nice guy Kelvin Batey has had his funding pulled by BC therefore diminishing his chance of attending the worlds in China, which is his only opportunity to gaining a place into the olympics in Beijing. Kelvin is the peoples pro, a damn nice guy who has helped me out a great deal in the past, as he has a lot of people. People were making pledges by the end of the day to get Kelvin to China and represent. You deserve to be there, holding it down and doing your thing. You've worked too damn hard for too long to have the opportunity of a lietime quashed. Fuck them and do your thing, we got your back bro!

A fantastic weekend, full of highs and a minimum amount of lows. As it should be.

Out!

Bolehills Bonanza!

Been a good week, after my rubbish efforts at Germany and the sad news about Frank I can look ahead and move forward. Had 2 really good gate sessions at Mansfield and Chesterfield and tonight a 3 hour long session in the sun at Bolehills. Everyone was there and the session went OFF! Afterward a few people fired up the BBQs ad the tunes (courtesy of Phils blinged out Vito) and got things going, thanks for the food guys! Joe himself was up in the area and bought along pre-prepared mussels and king prawns, he had the BBQ ting dialled in - be-lee that! I made do with minimum carbs, plenty of salad and a couple of nice sausages and a burger, it did the trick.. I may have had a mussel or 3 too. Minter!

I love Bolehills and the vibe thats created up there sometimes. Its laid back and chilled yet you can get your race head on and lay it out race style at maximum speed, i felt confident in the turns in my clips in the loose dirt and got raggedy a couple of times but never went too far. Was ace. Can't remember when i did a 3 hour sesh and didn't get a bit bored!

Jim had a big fall and did his head a treat, his potty rolled back as he went down and left him exposed, looked very nasty and I hope you're doing alright mate.

Friday tomorrow, then I think a session at Crewe on Saturday followed by Mansfield for the regional race on Sunday, should be a sweet weekend!

Out!

To Frank!

The family Shih Tsu, Frank moves on to Doggy heaven today.

He's been about since I was 11, a totally legit dog that survived a great deal and lived to the grand old age of (almost) 16. What a dog. I'll miss you doobage.



A sad day for sure.



On a more positive note, the weather has been amazing, Mansfield gates last night were a treat with Tuffy and Jessop to battle with. I was having some good gates and felt a lot better afterward.

Chesterfield tonight for more snaps than you can shake a stick at and then a chilled session at the Bolehills followed by BBQ's on thursday, be there! We'll raise a cold one to Frank.

The Germany Euro Champs Roadtrip!

The designated driver, Cruiser specialist, project manager, mothering-like with a cutting wit - Mal. G

10-beers-acid-chest 20" euro specialist - Tuffy.

"Hawkeye" Scott Waterhouse

Lauren "first straight pull" Smith

Dan 'heads gone' Clifford



We got off the ferry in Dunkerque fresh as daisies and almost completely unaware to the monster drive that lay ahead, 7 hours through 4 countries, with some mishaps along the way saw us arrive at our destination after our practice and pretty much shattered. The tents went up to AC/DC and off we went to check out the track.

The track looked amazing, surrounded with the grand stand and hundreds of banners, it was built expecially for the European Championships. It looked pretty tech with a steep hill and a wide open first straight, low doubles to manual, over a long step a roller and a super long table into turn 1. The second staight had a roller out the turn a tabletop into 2 steepish doubles and a lippy step up into the second turn. Rail that into a super tech rhythm 3rd straight. Super deep, steep and I wasn't sure how to approach it at all. The fastest way was to double then jump on, jump off a table, then to jump onto a step up and off again into a roller. Oof. Tuffy did it 1st lap. No sweat. Bastard!

On Friday we had some practice and got 6 laps. I was happy with my first 2 straights but I was struggling to find any ryhthm on the 3rd. I could've done with a few more laps for sure!

Mal raced cruiser on the Friday and was flooring germans with total disregard. With some good snaps and strong cornering he made it out of the Motos with ease. Straight to quarters and Mal was faced with a gate full of Germans, still bitter over 1945 they came for him. He didn't stand a chance. He shrugged a few off but was elbowed into the pro-section and out of the race. A valiant effort from the 40+ big dog who soon cracked open another beer.

The Saturday elite racing was just insane. Those guys are balls to the wall WFO and its a total joy to watch. We had 3 Brits in elite men and after strong rides they went out in the 1/8ths. Its just insane how fast these guys go, Sifiso took the win and I cleaned up in the sweepstake. Bosh!

On Sunday we had Lauren in 17+ women, Tuffy and Scott locking it down in 17-24 and myself in 25-29. Scott rode strong to make it into the 16ths to crash whilst battling for a qualifying position. Tuffy rode fantastic to get all the way to the quarters in his jeans, he was feeling the strain though by now, and got dropped in the quarter, a little more recovery time between races and certainly could have made the main. He had the track, the gate and the first straight pull neccessary, lay off the fry ups yoof! Lauren pulled a super stacked moto and after some strong starts and good first straights it all went to pot, Lauren went out in the motos.

In 25-29 I wasn't feeling too great, I really wanted to be confident on the track, but after the 2nd turn I wasn't, I had an alright first straight and a smooth 2nd but that 3rd straight was nails. I was in 4th coming out of turn 1 and after a little manual bump on the table I put in half a crank (??!?!!) and took off with my wrong foot forward. No idea how I stayed on but it did me, I finished 7th. With 2 more legit but not great motos I finished 5 & 5. Well and truly moto'd, and absolutely gutted. Marco held it down and put a great main ride together to finish E4. I feel sick thinking about that 1st moto, I let it get to me and blew my other 2. What a n00b.

I loved the track and would love to have something close to it in the UK, we're well off the pace. I'm thinking of making a tech rhythm straight at Bolehills.. People would come far and wide to hit that.

I feel like I've had the wind knocked out of me and just before China and that's the last thing I needed. I just need to keep positive, hit the gates hard these next few weeks and keep my head on.