Yo!
Hope things are good with ya'll, life has been good to me recently, I can't complain at all. The last week i've ridden my BMX a bunch, hung out with my friends, hit PB after PB in the home gym with my Life Coach Warren, and done some pretty awesome stuff involving fast cars and motocross. It's been a hella lot of fun!
The home gym is great, we'll be getting into week 4 tonight and i'm feeling pretty good after giving my legs a good rest this weekend, I cannot stress how much better it is to train in the home gym rather than a commercial one, i'm psyched on it. Warren and I have been pushing eachother and we've had new personal bests on dead lifts already, along with the bench and the bent over row. Not to be outdone by each other we raise the stakes and are going big, and to be honest surprising ourselves a bit.
This weekend we went over to the motocross des nations and it was a hectic weekend of pure Moto. Getting to see Bubba stewart, RV, Phillapoets, Chad Reed, Pourcel and loads of other awesome guys doing battle was immense.
Before we headed down to Donington Park, Warren had to do a quick video shoot at JBS Custom Code car modifications, their showcase piece is a mark 4 R32 which can make something absurd like 800 break. With it being super dry Andy who owns it was giving it the beans, and it was flipping scary! We did a couple of bypass roads which weren't too busy and Warren followed in a soft top TT filming the R32 (which i was in), i've never been in anything so fast! We swapped over so Warren could get some clock shots and Andy took the thing up to 180mph - it came past the TT which was doing 120 like it was stood still, unreal! I'm looking forward to seeing the video that Big W is putting together, its an absolute monster and is a great showcase of what the guys down at JBS can do.
After that bit of excitment we went to Motocross Des nations and hooked up with Mason and Cooper, Wadey was in the joint along with some of the Sheffield shredders, lots of mashed up 15 year olds, old dudes drinking too much vodka and using petrol strimmers on eachother (?!) Kkkkhhhrazzzzy, and 40000 others.
The racing was amazing, if the viewing was a little restricted, but the track is huge and it'd be difficult to be able to accomodate 40000 people and everyone be able to see the entire track. I guess thats why arena SuperX racing works so well. I had an awesome time, spent very little and got to see some awesome riders. Bubba is worth the hype, he was by far the fastest cat out there all weekend, it was just his bike stalling after he stuffed up going into a corner and then not being able to start it that put him a lap behind Pourcel in the 3rd moto. Pourcel was all over Bubba leading for a few laps and keeping the no.1 rider honest for at least half the moto. USA won it overall with France in 2, Belguim in 3 and UK in 4 i think. The UK guys were pretty on it!
The weather has turned to shit again, and with the nights drawing in earlier, bike time will be a struggle. So gym sessions and rest I think this week. Along with growing my beard and playing my guitar, which i absolutely love.
Music tips - Gaslight Anthem, The Draft, Chuck Ragan, Tim Barry. Try it, you might like it!
Ciao ciao bambinos x x
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Monday, 22 September 2008
Ain't nuthin' but a thang
Sup Fellow Bloggers!
I had a good weekend up in these parts, excellent weather meant plenty of bike time! I rode my bike at the Bolehills for almost 6 hours on Saturday, RB.com was up in the place with his friend, Matt from Southern California. Always a pleasure to hit the Hills up with RB, and Matt was a super cool guy and I had a lot of fun hanging out. They got off and I went and grabbed some lunch and my Boy Will headed up and bought with him his new HD video camera. I had a lot of fun railing the turns and boosting the jumps and then getting some shots myself of Will shredding up the place. The footage looked amazing, HD is the shit! I think he caught the BMX bug a bit and i'm gonna price him up a nice little bike to get him started, be cool if he gets involved, the sessions at the hills are some of the best i've ever had, and it'll be just like old times!
So an awesome day Saturday, afterwards as the weather was so awesome we fired up the BBQ and had a few friendly faces come over for food and beers, it was really nice. I had a masive piece of steak, and it was amazing. We then headed out and hit the bars up for a couple more beers, there was a D&B flava going off down at DQ and we had some drinks and a rave up down there until the early hours, it was a great deal of fun, RB, Matt and his lovely girlfriend, Joe Himself was up in there along with Lulu the original raver. Was a good laugh, a girl threw her drink over me as I pulled a mardy face at her. Some people just need to smile a bit more. A smile will take you places, you miserable fack.
Joe and myself ran home, i got sweaty, had another shower and then hit the hay for a few hours, it was another pearler of a day on Sunday so i got up and got the XC bike out. A good breakfast and plenty of fluids set me up for what turned to be quite the epic! Warren headed over, along with Big Dave White, Rob Forreal and Oliver Cooper, we drove a little way out and started at Cutgate, we rode a pretty tough route up to cutthroat and all the way over to Woodhead, a ride in itself which is about 25kms! Then we grabbed some food and had to turn around and come back! Warren had a bit of a technical failure on the whip which meant he had to pedal the whole way as his freehub siezed, the XC route would have been a tough way home, so we took the easy option (ha!) and rode the strines road all the way back to Snake Pass. Anyone that has ridden the Strines will tell you its no joke on a road bike, hell on a moutain bike! But we survived and got back to the van shattered!
An ice bath, protein shake, some good food, then i went to watch tropic Thunder with Will, seriously funny film which i very much enjoyed. I can't feel my legs!! Ain't nothing but a thang.. Awesome!
I bought a guitar today, i was feeling pretty down and i've been very keen to start playing a bit recently, I played for about 6 months many years ago, but soon gave up on it. I believe i'm much more patient than i was back then, and i'm excited for the new challenge to strum things up and wail on occassion. its a very cheap guitar but actually won the best acoustic guitar under £1000 a few years back, and it only costs £79!
So a nice weekend all in all, great weather, I saw many of my friends and had a darn good time. Let's do it again and again.
Finally, RIP Finley, Dom and Kim Bent's sweet young son who passed away on Sunday morning, my thoughts are with you both at this time. I can't possibly imagine what you're going through. Things like this just shouldn't happen.
I had a good weekend up in these parts, excellent weather meant plenty of bike time! I rode my bike at the Bolehills for almost 6 hours on Saturday, RB.com was up in the place with his friend, Matt from Southern California. Always a pleasure to hit the Hills up with RB, and Matt was a super cool guy and I had a lot of fun hanging out. They got off and I went and grabbed some lunch and my Boy Will headed up and bought with him his new HD video camera. I had a lot of fun railing the turns and boosting the jumps and then getting some shots myself of Will shredding up the place. The footage looked amazing, HD is the shit! I think he caught the BMX bug a bit and i'm gonna price him up a nice little bike to get him started, be cool if he gets involved, the sessions at the hills are some of the best i've ever had, and it'll be just like old times!
So an awesome day Saturday, afterwards as the weather was so awesome we fired up the BBQ and had a few friendly faces come over for food and beers, it was really nice. I had a masive piece of steak, and it was amazing. We then headed out and hit the bars up for a couple more beers, there was a D&B flava going off down at DQ and we had some drinks and a rave up down there until the early hours, it was a great deal of fun, RB, Matt and his lovely girlfriend, Joe Himself was up in there along with Lulu the original raver. Was a good laugh, a girl threw her drink over me as I pulled a mardy face at her. Some people just need to smile a bit more. A smile will take you places, you miserable fack.
Joe and myself ran home, i got sweaty, had another shower and then hit the hay for a few hours, it was another pearler of a day on Sunday so i got up and got the XC bike out. A good breakfast and plenty of fluids set me up for what turned to be quite the epic! Warren headed over, along with Big Dave White, Rob Forreal and Oliver Cooper, we drove a little way out and started at Cutgate, we rode a pretty tough route up to cutthroat and all the way over to Woodhead, a ride in itself which is about 25kms! Then we grabbed some food and had to turn around and come back! Warren had a bit of a technical failure on the whip which meant he had to pedal the whole way as his freehub siezed, the XC route would have been a tough way home, so we took the easy option (ha!) and rode the strines road all the way back to Snake Pass. Anyone that has ridden the Strines will tell you its no joke on a road bike, hell on a moutain bike! But we survived and got back to the van shattered!
An ice bath, protein shake, some good food, then i went to watch tropic Thunder with Will, seriously funny film which i very much enjoyed. I can't feel my legs!! Ain't nothing but a thang.. Awesome!
I bought a guitar today, i was feeling pretty down and i've been very keen to start playing a bit recently, I played for about 6 months many years ago, but soon gave up on it. I believe i'm much more patient than i was back then, and i'm excited for the new challenge to strum things up and wail on occassion. its a very cheap guitar but actually won the best acoustic guitar under £1000 a few years back, and it only costs £79!
So a nice weekend all in all, great weather, I saw many of my friends and had a darn good time. Let's do it again and again.
Finally, RIP Finley, Dom and Kim Bent's sweet young son who passed away on Sunday morning, my thoughts are with you both at this time. I can't possibly imagine what you're going through. Things like this just shouldn't happen.
Tuesday, 16 September 2008
The Sun Shines On the Righteous!
What a cool weekend, i wasn't entirely psyched for Coppull on the run up to the event, the weather had been awful, rumours went about that the surrounding area was totally water logged and i just had horrible images of the track in my head. But I was totally wrong, it was all good! The track was well groomed and was running mad fast, the jumps were moulded nice and the aptly named Chaos Corner was just awesome, i could have railed that bitch all day long! It was like a pump track on that bottom section, mint!
Anyway racing both days went well, there were only 13 riders on Saturday and 15 on Sunday so no semis, so Moto results counted. I managed to get 7 points on Saturday qualifying 4th and 6 points on Sunday qualifying 4th again. A couple of moto wins and holding my own. I just need to ride my main event like i race my motos. It's almost as if i back off in the final.
I do get frustrated, I can snap and pull, my track speed is good, so why do i get 2 6th place finishes?! Sure its a good result in 19+ but I have had better, and I just wish i could be more consistent, and podium more damn often.. Not just once a season - ha!
Anyway, the bike looked sick, i rode well and i went away happy and uninjured. Shouts to the fallen few Billy Fieldhouse, Scott Waterhouse and Tre Whyte took big ones and I hope you guys are all doing alright.
In other news, I think i need to do something else for a bit. At training tonight with Warren between squats we were chatting about Ultimate Fighting, or any fighting for that matter. A sport which demands you to switch on and be focussed, overcome nerves and hold it down, on the spot, no pussyfooting about, just a straight up ruck (in a controlled environment), where you gotta bring it, otherwise you'll get beat on. There aren't many sports where at the blow of a whistle, or a ding of a bell, or the call of the gate, demand instant focus, commitment and effort.
Racing bicycles and fighting both do.
No team to fall back on, no sitting at the top of the hill waiting to roll in before an attempt, just ding ding, let's go!
As i already race bicycles and let my head defeat me come the high pressure occasions, maybe doing some UFC-esque stuff may be what I need to regain confidence and belief in myself, or at least just have a hella good time and change things up for a bit. It's definitely something i'm going to look into.
Anyway, the nights are drawing in much faster, so a little bit of Bolehills here, a little bit of road/XC there, before the dark rolls in, then it'll be hectic training sessions, night rides, and who knows, maybe some fighting to pass the winter months.
Anyway racing both days went well, there were only 13 riders on Saturday and 15 on Sunday so no semis, so Moto results counted. I managed to get 7 points on Saturday qualifying 4th and 6 points on Sunday qualifying 4th again. A couple of moto wins and holding my own. I just need to ride my main event like i race my motos. It's almost as if i back off in the final.
I do get frustrated, I can snap and pull, my track speed is good, so why do i get 2 6th place finishes?! Sure its a good result in 19+ but I have had better, and I just wish i could be more consistent, and podium more damn often.. Not just once a season - ha!
Anyway, the bike looked sick, i rode well and i went away happy and uninjured. Shouts to the fallen few Billy Fieldhouse, Scott Waterhouse and Tre Whyte took big ones and I hope you guys are all doing alright.
In other news, I think i need to do something else for a bit. At training tonight with Warren between squats we were chatting about Ultimate Fighting, or any fighting for that matter. A sport which demands you to switch on and be focussed, overcome nerves and hold it down, on the spot, no pussyfooting about, just a straight up ruck (in a controlled environment), where you gotta bring it, otherwise you'll get beat on. There aren't many sports where at the blow of a whistle, or a ding of a bell, or the call of the gate, demand instant focus, commitment and effort.
Racing bicycles and fighting both do.
No team to fall back on, no sitting at the top of the hill waiting to roll in before an attempt, just ding ding, let's go!
As i already race bicycles and let my head defeat me come the high pressure occasions, maybe doing some UFC-esque stuff may be what I need to regain confidence and belief in myself, or at least just have a hella good time and change things up for a bit. It's definitely something i'm going to look into.
Anyway, the nights are drawing in much faster, so a little bit of Bolehills here, a little bit of road/XC there, before the dark rolls in, then it'll be hectic training sessions, night rides, and who knows, maybe some fighting to pass the winter months.
Wednesday, 10 September 2008
Don't let the pouring rain, temper you day by day..
In the words of the great Matt Pryor, one of the frontmen on The Get Up Kids, who I have been listening loads recently. I love the Get Up Kids, and i think i always will, somerthing purely simple and charming about their music, especially there older stuff. I hold close many fond memories listening to the Get Up Kids and associate it with many happy, and some sad parts of my life, the kids always provided the perfect soundtrack to my every mood.
The weather has been awful, it led to the cancellation of the Midland champs, so I went and rode my Charge in the Peaks at Sheep Skulls with G and Warren. Jim was also there, but he didn't ring us, so I'm not going to mention him.
We had some good runs and after i had a tire change up i felt much faster and more confident in the turns. I do love it up there! It drains very well as its super steep, and always provides grip and smiles.
Anyway after a few runs i guess i was getting cocky and hitting the kickers and having it more than usual, I went into the bonmbhole at the bottom of the course and was slightly too compressed and blew my foot off my pedal, it span back around and slammed my shin. Its been ages since I busted my shins up, and its a pain I was happy to forget! Damn! My shin is real tender and swollen and has 3 deep puncture wounds and some others. I can ride, however walking isn't pleasant. Getting out of bed in the morning is crippling!
Anyway I'm keeping it rested... Sort of. Last night Warren and I did our first session in the home gym, i did some light squats, working from 20 up to 55kg, just making sure my form was good. I plan on going heavy after the season has officially ended. Right now, slightly more explosive, lighter weight and high rep. It felt nice to squat even though my shin hurt. Also did some pull ups. It was cool to train and not feel any pressure.
Afterwards we watched NEVER BACK DOWN!! A super cheesey film, which was highly entertaining and was full of cliche and morals. Still, a good watch for sure!
Coppull this weekend, if the weather holds off, it will be a good weekend and i'm looking forward to seeing my Northern Brothers and riding my push bike.
Over and Out.
The weather has been awful, it led to the cancellation of the Midland champs, so I went and rode my Charge in the Peaks at Sheep Skulls with G and Warren. Jim was also there, but he didn't ring us, so I'm not going to mention him.
We had some good runs and after i had a tire change up i felt much faster and more confident in the turns. I do love it up there! It drains very well as its super steep, and always provides grip and smiles.
Anyway after a few runs i guess i was getting cocky and hitting the kickers and having it more than usual, I went into the bonmbhole at the bottom of the course and was slightly too compressed and blew my foot off my pedal, it span back around and slammed my shin. Its been ages since I busted my shins up, and its a pain I was happy to forget! Damn! My shin is real tender and swollen and has 3 deep puncture wounds and some others. I can ride, however walking isn't pleasant. Getting out of bed in the morning is crippling!
Anyway I'm keeping it rested... Sort of. Last night Warren and I did our first session in the home gym, i did some light squats, working from 20 up to 55kg, just making sure my form was good. I plan on going heavy after the season has officially ended. Right now, slightly more explosive, lighter weight and high rep. It felt nice to squat even though my shin hurt. Also did some pull ups. It was cool to train and not feel any pressure.
Afterwards we watched NEVER BACK DOWN!! A super cheesey film, which was highly entertaining and was full of cliche and morals. Still, a good watch for sure!
Coppull this weekend, if the weather holds off, it will be a good weekend and i'm looking forward to seeing my Northern Brothers and riding my push bike.
Over and Out.
Wednesday, 3 September 2008
Keeping it mixed!
So i always get these coded text messages from Paddy, never really knowing what they mean, and they always contain extra acronyms each time one is sent. They are a complicated mesh of locations, times, and type of riding to be done.
In the past i've had
xc in the wc 6
hc xc in the wc
xc red top
Amongst others.
So Paddy is bang on the XC, that much is obvious, but recently Warren Harper has gotten on the bandwagon, John loves it, Cooper is mad for it, Jim is all over it like hair on soap, Nick vibes it and Mackie and David White don their lined shorts on the regular so i was beginning to feel like i was missing out.
Alas, no more!
I bought one of these and i'm picking it up tonight, it's special.
And i'm stoked on it! So through winter i plan on getting some lights and doing some night XC rides along with some night road rides through the tough months.
The plan this winter is to do weights again, Warren and I decided to go halves on a squat rack, weights and bench set up, and we'll train at our Leisure in his home. The training in the morning before work was always a killer. Waking up at 6:15am to the pitch black and leaving the house onto the soulless streets, the windscreens smattered with frost, and my breath leaving my body like a geyser awaiting an eruption.. It shan't be missed, even though it was character building.
So with the road bike, the XC bike, the BMX bike (obviously) some climbing, weight training and core work, it should be a good winter, and i feel prepared for it.
In the past i've had
xc in the wc 6
hc xc in the wc
xc red top
Amongst others.
So Paddy is bang on the XC, that much is obvious, but recently Warren Harper has gotten on the bandwagon, John loves it, Cooper is mad for it, Jim is all over it like hair on soap, Nick vibes it and Mackie and David White don their lined shorts on the regular so i was beginning to feel like i was missing out.
Alas, no more!
I bought one of these and i'm picking it up tonight, it's special.
And i'm stoked on it! So through winter i plan on getting some lights and doing some night XC rides along with some night road rides through the tough months.
The plan this winter is to do weights again, Warren and I decided to go halves on a squat rack, weights and bench set up, and we'll train at our Leisure in his home. The training in the morning before work was always a killer. Waking up at 6:15am to the pitch black and leaving the house onto the soulless streets, the windscreens smattered with frost, and my breath leaving my body like a geyser awaiting an eruption.. It shan't be missed, even though it was character building.
So with the road bike, the XC bike, the BMX bike (obviously) some climbing, weight training and core work, it should be a good winter, and i feel prepared for it.
Tuesday, 2 September 2008
LOL!
I have a certain number of websites I check every day on the mainframe, among them is LOLcats which tickles me pink on every visit.
This one is pure genius, so good i had to post it up here too.
The weather is a bit hit and miss today, but its currently looking good for the Bolehills session later, hope to see many up there, throwing bacon like it ain't no thing. I went up last night and made the back straight a bit lippier again, it looks well pro even if i say so myself.
This one is pure genius, so good i had to post it up here too.
The weather is a bit hit and miss today, but its currently looking good for the Bolehills session later, hope to see many up there, throwing bacon like it ain't no thing. I went up last night and made the back straight a bit lippier again, it looks well pro even if i say so myself.
Monday, 1 September 2008
Where My Summer At?!
This weather is WEAK! I'm well over it!
The weekend was good, however. Friday night I hit the tiles with Will and the lovely Lucy, she is but 19 years of age, and celebrated in style with Will, Greg, the Apple crowd and a bunch of others, it was good fun, but I wanted to ride my bike so took it steady and headed back much earlier than the hardcore yoots!
I got up early Saturday and headed over to Derby, there was a low key coaching session going on which I helped out a little. Very little. And did a load of gates and hit all the jumps, it was a good session and i'm pumped to race on the track this coming weekend, a full lap of this bad boy is no joke! After we'd ridden for a bit we headed over to Jay Alianos - Oh mumma..
A private set of trails in the backyard, absolutely amazing. This would be my dream set up, along with a little gym, a garage, and a sprint straight with a 2 man pro gate.. The house could be a piece of shit if i had that!
We got there pretty late and missed out on the vibe, but it was cool to catch the last bits of the session, it was awesome, plus the weather was amazing, the sun shines on the righteous. Stay Strong Stephen.
That night there was an after party vibe in Worcester which was a lot of fun, a live band and then a drum and bass DJ set which Gunner and NW9 ripped up - MACHETE!
Heavy stuff, and it was good to rave it up a little bit too! Lauren, myself and the Yearsley were vibing and gym-loving-party-killer-Oliver was all over it too, mint! All up in the place were the Norwich/Ipswich guys, Joey, Scoobs and the Trickster, good to see them guys letting their hair down and throwing shapes. A really good night for sure! We snuck back into the hotel quite late and hit the sack, 4 to a twin room and blagging free breakfast - sweet!
The weather on Sunday was pretty grim, so trails was off, instead we headed to Wrexham pump track and shredded there for almost 3 hours, that place is so much fun! Then we went to Crewe, it wasn't running as nice as my last visit and i felt a little shady so didn't hit the triple this time around, dang. Next time i gotsta get back on it.
Back to Earth, and back to work today which is rubbish, this week I got some maintenance at the Bolehills tonight, followed by a filming session tomorrow night - get yourselves up there, it'll be going off! A heavy training session at Derby on Wednesday and then corner practise with Cornering God Steve Taylor on Thursday - it's all going off!
Believe!
The weekend was good, however. Friday night I hit the tiles with Will and the lovely Lucy, she is but 19 years of age, and celebrated in style with Will, Greg, the Apple crowd and a bunch of others, it was good fun, but I wanted to ride my bike so took it steady and headed back much earlier than the hardcore yoots!
I got up early Saturday and headed over to Derby, there was a low key coaching session going on which I helped out a little. Very little. And did a load of gates and hit all the jumps, it was a good session and i'm pumped to race on the track this coming weekend, a full lap of this bad boy is no joke! After we'd ridden for a bit we headed over to Jay Alianos - Oh mumma..
A private set of trails in the backyard, absolutely amazing. This would be my dream set up, along with a little gym, a garage, and a sprint straight with a 2 man pro gate.. The house could be a piece of shit if i had that!
We got there pretty late and missed out on the vibe, but it was cool to catch the last bits of the session, it was awesome, plus the weather was amazing, the sun shines on the righteous. Stay Strong Stephen.
That night there was an after party vibe in Worcester which was a lot of fun, a live band and then a drum and bass DJ set which Gunner and NW9 ripped up - MACHETE!
Heavy stuff, and it was good to rave it up a little bit too! Lauren, myself and the Yearsley were vibing and gym-loving-party-killer-Oliver was all over it too, mint! All up in the place were the Norwich/Ipswich guys, Joey, Scoobs and the Trickster, good to see them guys letting their hair down and throwing shapes. A really good night for sure! We snuck back into the hotel quite late and hit the sack, 4 to a twin room and blagging free breakfast - sweet!
The weather on Sunday was pretty grim, so trails was off, instead we headed to Wrexham pump track and shredded there for almost 3 hours, that place is so much fun! Then we went to Crewe, it wasn't running as nice as my last visit and i felt a little shady so didn't hit the triple this time around, dang. Next time i gotsta get back on it.
Back to Earth, and back to work today which is rubbish, this week I got some maintenance at the Bolehills tonight, followed by a filming session tomorrow night - get yourselves up there, it'll be going off! A heavy training session at Derby on Wednesday and then corner practise with Cornering God Steve Taylor on Thursday - it's all going off!
Believe!
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