Pearce Cycles - Bucknell, Finale

Last weekend the excellent Pearce Cycles team hosted the final round of their 2011 series at Bucknell, Shropshire. There had been plenty of rain overnight on the friday but the track looked pretty dry and great fun during the saturday morning track walk.
I'd ridden hear a couple of times before but never raced so was looking forward to things. First stop i headed over to catch up with Jimmer  http://www.j-techsuspension.co.uk/ and grab my rear shock off him, he'd been giving her a secret tune up and what with all my extra training this season (too many salt and vinegar crisps)... he'd upped my spring rate!

Practice started with a few showers but they mostly held off for the day which meant everything dried up real good and the track got pretty beaten up in places by the end of play. I'd spent most of the day practicing with Tommy 'gun' Adams who's pretty new to DH coming over from moto x so tried to help him out a little with line choices, hope it helped Tommy.

Off the ski jump up top I think,
Ref - Mikey Preston

Saw some proper rogue traders knocking around the pits selling anything and everything, if it stayed still for long enough it was on the 'stall'. Good work lads

Bucknell's pretty close to home so i headed back saturday night to spend time with my family, abuse the washing machine and generally get all my stuff together and prept for race day. The forecast was for heavy showers sunday so I cut a set of Wetscream tyres down just in case and managed to get some mega arm pump in the process.

Sunday morning and it was lashing down, rocked up to the race and first job was get the awning out on the van and put the kettle on... Seemed to spend much of the day waiting for the kettle to boil or making tea for the pit crew

Practice went well and i got all my lines somewhere near then made the mistake of doing a run with Marc Beaumont who showed me a few alternative lines which kind of played on my mind, some worked well for me but others i decided to just let go as i couldn't get them to work out and the fact he's a tad faster than me these days, ha

First runs were upon us and the heavens opened up about halfway through the Masters category to turn the track into a real splash fest. I was last man down and visibility was the real issue, i decided not too push too hard as i wasn't sure how greasy it would be, turns out it was still pretty grippy even on dry tyres but i didn't want to risk a bad run, came down in 3rd place just 0.6s off the front man. The rain seemed to keep on coming for the rest of the afternoon and the track conditions got heavy going in places.

Second runs were generally slower for most riders but i needed to push as i really wanted the win.. Was the fastest man down in my category on the second runs but still about 1s off the lead so had to settle for 3rd on the day.

On the plus side, managing to ride consistently through the season had paid off and I took first place in the overall which i was mega stoked with both for myself and also the SPS.

The Pearce rounds had been well attended by the SPS crew throughout the year and there were plenty of podiums to go round at the overalls, Freddie and Ben in the Juniors, Michael was a hot contender in the Seniors all year and Jenny snuck into 4th spot overall in the ladies. Also a big shout out to the Hereford crew, loads of riders, loads of podiums. Got a really great riding scene going on in the Hereford area right now, lots of keen and motivated riders which is always a good thing.

Full results http://www.rootsandrain.com/race299/2011-sep-18-pearce-cycles-5-bucknell/

Massive thanks to Dave, Lindsey and all the crew/helpers who once again put on an amazing series, you only have to look and see just how far people have travelled from to realise how good these races are, long may they continue.

Cheers for now

National Champs an Stuff

In the few weeks leading up to the national champs i'd done a couple of alternative races, mountain mayhem which is always a class event to be a part of and also joined my local roadie club for a one off 10mile time trial that i managed to bag 2nd place at with mudguards/lights and all left on my commuter ride.

Training's been going really well with the help of www.adywatts.co.uk and with a few early morning sessions under my belt I'd like to think I'm in good shape even if it just helps mentally.

Since the last BDS round at Llangollen 4 weeks previous where I'd managed 3rd spot ive gotta be honest id done very little riding, only managed to ride DH once... I'd wanted to spend some quality family time between races and make up for all the time away racing.



Anyway, last weekend 23/24th Llangollen played host to the national champs DH mtb and to be fair was a blinding weekend. They used the mental wooded top section which id never ridden before and then broke out in to the open about halfway down the old track finishing on the standard triple step downs.

I managed to walk the track late Friday night after a VIP up lift courtesy of team mate Tom 'TK' Kelly sporting a pretty sick mullet for the weekend. The track was pretty impossible to walk... I was hoping it'd be easier to ride than walk but wasn't holding out much hope as it looked gnarly as fook with crash netting everywhere and even rope access !



Just to add insult, Friday night it smashed it down with rain.

Saturday started a bit damp but then the weather just got better all weekend.

First run down was proper wild, I'd left High Rollers on as I knew it was gonna dry out but as I was about 10th rider down in first practice it was a bit tasty and just a matter of survival and staying on down the steep technical stuff.
I quickly switched to flat pedals which I don't think I've raced on before, ever... Saturday practice went real well and I caught up with all the SPS crew to talk lines, wife beater vests and general shenanigans.



The sunset Saturday evening was pretty cool as me and the lad walked the course.

Race day, everyone was up super early to get the first uplift and get some extra practice in before seeding runs. My V10 had been running sweet all weekend so with a few minor tweaks here and there she was good to go.

The track had got pretty beaten up during practice



But on the whole had held up well. It's pretty strange how on Saturday the top section felt pretty difficult but come Sunday it felt almost normal and most riders were starting to attack it a bit more.

I qualified in a solid 2nd place just behind James Hughes and knew I had a bit more to give for the finals which to be fair I was going to have to do to beat an on form Hughes.

Race runs were soon upon us and I was sat in start gate before I knew it, had what felt a blinding top section and was right on the edge, just below the big log drop I hit a hole and nose rode for ages before getting spat over the bars big time and cartwheeling down the track right on the steep stuff, I knew it was over there and then but got back on and tried to claw back time before over cooking it on the open section and going off track in to the soft mulch. Ah well, finished 7th in the end with Hughes taking the top spot and the jersey, good work lad.

Knew I was going to have to push if I wanted to win it so not too worried I went down, really!

Well done to SPS riders Tristan 2nd place masters (bout time kidder) and Billy for 5th in the juniors.

Off to Bala next race, canne wait

Till the next time

CG

Crud Catcher Curse - Rd3 Pearce Cycles, Hopton

Well, this last weekend turned into yet again another wet race for the Pearce Cycles crew, I reckon Peaty's put a curse on me since handing out a load of the excellent Crud gear with our Santa Cruz V10's at the start of the season... Everyone loves riding dirty tho eh!

With mixed weather reports heading in to the weekend it was clear that one thing was for certain, rain.

I turned up Saturday morning in the new race van which I'd finally managed to get sorted after months/years of toying with the idea so was cool to finally get it all sorted and take the big rig racing. Team mate Jenny parked up next to me and we kinda got a mini SPS pit area running for the weekend. We also caught up with other SPS team mates Michael, Ben and Freddie.

The track was looking good with a couple of new sections and corners thrown in to keep everyone happy. I found it pretty hard to get a good flow going in practice and then just when I did I went back up and had a run where I had three crashes... Tidy, so after getting my head back together off I went again to sort some alternative lines out in my last couple of practice runs.

As ever the uplifts were running great with minimal queue times and some people got as many as 14 runs in, I was either lazy or as I like to call it now I'm getting older, preserving myself for race day and did a modest 7.! Quality not quantity

The Sun shone for the rest of the late afternoon and into the evening so i walked the track, played army with my son Ben and Sion Whitecross and then had a monster BBQ with the family who'd travelled up to support me which was awesome and great to have them around.

Adrian Bradley (Bud) who was staying in his caravan next door gave us an updated weather report and he was so convinced changed his tyres to wets in the evening sunshine.. I was holding out with some optimism and turned in for bed.

Awaking Sunday morning to the familiar sound of rain on the roof of the van. Bud had the last laugh and a lie in no doubt.

Did a few last minute changes to my Santa cruz to get her running sweet for the mud and headed up for a couple of practice runs which went well. Cleaned myself and bike off after practice and set about prepping my gear for the 1st race run. When's it wet it's mega important to sort your goggles out and thanks to the SPS team we're well catered for using Smith Optics but even these I like to do a few modifications on to ensure clear vision when it gets as muddy as it was here.

Turned out my first race run was pretty ropey up the top and I went off course once then made a hash on a major line trying to make back the time. James Hughes put 10s into me at the split but I clawed 2s back at the bottom to leave me 8s down and in 2nd spot. Hughes was flying and I knew it was gonna be tough to get that kinda time back even with a clean run.




It was real wet and cold hanging round in the pits so I made sure I was warmed right up for 2nd race run using Jenny's turbo trainer and made a dash for the uplift. Got to the top and somehow had missed my run as they'd ran us in reverse order.... after a bit of confusion and haggling with the main man Sebastian I was allowed to go. This run went better and with all the rain it seemed to make the track even grippier in places. I came down fastest in this run but was still 4s off Hughes' first run time so bagged 2nd spot on the day with Will Gough in 3rd.

Came away leading the overall series so all in all a great weekends racing, stoked.

Rest of the syndicate crew also did well, Jenny 8th, Ben 5th, Freddie 3rd and Michael 3rd so great for the team. Smashed it.

Full results here http://www.rootsandrain.com/race297/2011-jun-12-pearce-cycles-3-hopton/


Well, this week I'm mostly training hard and getting ready for the Mountain Mayhem 24hr endurance XC race which I can't wait for. Basically a mix of the old Malvern Classics feel as it's at the same place, Eastnor Park. Think festival with bikes thrown in to mix. Might see you there or at Llangollen BDS the week after!

Cheers for reading

Rd 2 British Downhill - Moelfre Round Up

Well folks, the dust has settled from a great weekends racing at Moelfre which admittedly isnt my favourite track on the circuit, however the weekend was blessed with amazing sunshine but the dreaded Moelfre crosswinds struck during saturdays practice and unfortunately took their fair share of casualties (at least 3 air ambulance trips in total)

SPS Team Pit Area

On the friday evening most of the SPS team got together, walked the track and then chilled under the awning with Team Manager Tristan turning up the bass as we listened to Radio 1's 20 year celebration for Pete Tong which was pretty cool.

Saturday practice went well apart from the fact that there wasnt enough foam for the uplift to protect the bikes and pretty much everyone I spoke too had scratched their bikes unnessarily, Note to the BDS organisers this is surely basic essentials, the damage is now done but come on guys lets sort it out to prevent this kinda damage happening again at future rounds. Round 1 at Nant G was fine so how come this happened here!


Having fun in practice


The track was pretty much the same as last year turn for turn so everyone soon got the hang of it and the sun also made for a proper good atmosphere both down in the pit area and up on the hill. The SPS Santa Cruz V10's were eating up the braking bumps with ease.

Sunday morning I just did one clean pactice run, my qualifying run was quite early on so I wanted to take some time to check my bike over and get rested up ready for action. SPS team mate Tom Kelly had brought his turbo along so I made sure I had a good warm up on there to raise my heartrate before heading up for qualifying, ending up in 3rd place..

I was sorry to hear the news that the man mountain and possibly the nicest rival on track big Dave List had taken a tumble on his first run and had been chauffered to hospital with a broken collarbone, genuinely I wish him a speedy recovery and just hope they didnt have to cut his brand new race kit off... Get well soon Listy.

Race runs soon came around and it was great to have my family turn up to support me, it was a real job to stay hydrated with the sun beating down and it made a change from the last weekends wet and muddy Hopton.

Racing went pretty good although I rode the top section with a bit of caution, anyway I came over the finish line and in to the hot seat with only two riders left on the hill, both of which went faster leaving me with 3rd place overall behind Hughes and Page, pretty stoked with that for both me and the SPS point of view.

The rest of the crew all did well with most riders really improving and heading towards their own personal goals. I'm under no doubt that the help, support and information that the SPS provides us all and the time that Steve, Tristan, Ratboy, Andy Kyffin and Ricky Bobby put in/volunteer is totally invaluble so huge thanks guys, just wish I'd had this insight 10+ years ago!

Noteable mentions to Nathan who took 2nd in the Experts and Jenny who romped home in the senior womens to also take a podium. The junior category is mentally close this year and arguably the most competitive category, watch your backs front runners because the SPS boys are a coming. Oh and not forgetting the Boss who finished a close 2nd behind Gee Atherton and I hear Steve also took a nice new Tag watch home for his awesome speed trap effort, big props.

Catch you soon

Pearce Cycles DH Rd 1 - Hopton

This past weekend was the first round of the midlands regional DH's ran by the excellent Pearce Cycles crew which are always ran super slick and have a loyal band of racers attending.

During the week i'd been training hard with http://www.adywatts.co.uk/ who's really helping me out with my training this season, he's got an awesome studio with everything you need and nothing you dont, simple, he also really knows his stuff. With the lighter evenings i'd also managed to get out for a mid week XC ride which was a bonus.

The van was loaded up with the new steed and was Hopton bound early on saturday morning. On arrival I bumped in to a fair few local riders from Hereford who were all super keen to kick start their season off with good results. I signed on and decided to walk the course.

The top section was the same as we'd practiced a few weeks before when the SPS crew had their training camp here so I was already feeling pretty confident on my lines after being shown the way by the likes of Steve, Bryceland and Marc B so things were looking good. The bottom section cut onto an older course that I can remember riding bits of probably 10 years ago but over time it's been refined for the better and on the whole made for an awesome race track.

It was cool to bump in to a load of the SPS crew (Tom, Ben, Loosedog, Jen, Freddie and Michael) and all catch up and help each other out through the course of the weekend. Everyones pumped with the new bikes and kit and all getting to grips with the set up.

Saturday turned out to be a real beauty of a days riding, the sun was out, the track dried out loads a.m and was deep in dust by close of play. There were plenty of lines to be had if you took the time to seek them out or hung around to watch the fast boys through... The dry conditions gave me a chance to give the bike a shake down and get the suspension dialled right in, I'm still refining the set up at the moment each time I ride and it was cool to run a few things past friend and proprieter of http://www.j-techsuspension.co.uk/ Jimmer, who told me a few trade secrets, cheers lad, her goes up and down now very well indeed!

Hopton's just down the road from me so it was a luxury to travel home saturday evening, see my family and get a good nights kip.

Open Section

Sunday morning, first thing I did was take that nervous peak out the curtains, the kind you really wanna look but also you dont, in case it's wet... Well, it was gorgeous and sunny at home...! 30 miles north at Hopton was a different story though, the Shropshire hills were hugging the cloud tight bringing with them plenty of heavy showers and transforming the track in to something resembling the somme in places.

It was raining steadily for the first race run and the track was still pretty grippy on High Rollers, there was lots of last minute tyre changes going on in the pits but I stuck to my guns and went with the dry's.. Onboard the new V10 i'd been growing with confidence all day saturday and knew if I held it together and hit my lines i'd be capable of posting a good time. I managed to catch the guy infront for the last 150m or so which made me ease off a bit and distracted me from my lines a little but I came over the finish line and in to the lead with the fastest time of the day so far. I was so stoked but knew some of the fast boys were still on the hill. Luckily my time was good enough to hold on to first place after the first run which meant I was last man down the hill for the second race run. It was cool that my family had come along to watch and I definitely got a buzz out of them being there to support me even if the dogs did have one hell of a fight, all bets are off, the terrier won... paws down!

More showers came and went throughout the afternoon. I headed up the track and watched the Expert and Elite riders come down and witnessed SPS team mate Tom Kelly go down pretty hard on the final section, gutted, he looked right on the pace until then as well.

Second race runs came around with the majority of people going a touch slower than their first, i stuck with dry tyres which was a mistake and paid the price with a very average run, at one point I pulled a tear off from my goggles and pulled them half off my face so had to re-adjust and also got stuck behind the tree on THAT right hander before the fireroad right infront of Marc Beaumont who was watching and was well impressed, all amatuer stuff..... Luckily for me the time from my first run still stood and I took my first overall win for the Steve Peat Syndicate, mega pumped.

Check out full results here http://www.rootsandrain.co.uk/race295/2011-apr-3-pearce-cycles-1-hopton/

Right.... off to wash all my muddy kit

Getting Aquainted

As you all know the new SPS Santa Cruz V10's turned up in time for the first round of the http://www.halobritishdownhillseries.com/homepage.html and now just over a week has past by and I've gotta say I'm still not bored of looking at it...

Keeping it local

First up, it's always nice to take a new bike to your local trails, you know what things should feel like up there and it's a great place to get stuff dialled in. Got to be honest, the V10 seems to fit me just right and i've settled right in on it almost straight away. It tracks so well in the corners and over the rough stuff it gives you time and confidence to ride hard.

My boy Josh, same corner, different style..!

This weekend is round one of the Pearce Cycles DH being held at Hopton, ive not raced at this venue since about 2000 so it's gonna be pretty cool heading back to an old stomping ground. Hopefuly catch up with some of the SPS team who are also attending.

Any way, if you make it to the races, come track us down, say hello, have a brew... whatever

Cheers Tom for the shots

BDS dh Round 1 - Nant G

Well I've got to be honest I didn't sleep much on the lead up to the weekend, not sure if was the excitement about getting my new Santa Cruz V10 the fact it was the first big race of the year for me and the newly formed SPS team, too much protein shake or just a combination of all these things



Check out this picture of the dream team building up my bike... Big props to all at Northwest Mtb Centre who worked damn hard to build a staggering total of 14 complete V10's in one shift under the watchful eye of pro mechanics Andy Kyffin and Ricky Bobby.

We travelled up to a very sunny Friday afternoon at Nant G with my main man big George behind the wheel and also SPS team mate Ben Humphries jumped in for a one way journey and was subjected to the obligatory Jurassic 5 funky beats.




Soon after we arrived I couldn't wait to get over to the Steve Peat Syndicate pit area, say hello and more importantly get my grubby mitts on my new bike.... Needless to say it looked the absolute shizzle with the custom team graphics on which really set it apart.

We all did a track walk with Steve and J. Bryce late in the afternoon after we bagged a lift up the hill in Peaty's flash new Vito Sport.!


Friday evening sunset was insane

Saturday morning came around super fast and all of the team were decked out in their flash new Royal Racing gear and 661 protection ready to go shred on the new bikes. Conditions were pretty dry for north Wales and everyone was soon getting their bikes dialled in, I had a little mishap on trying a dodgy line and bent the rear disk real bad, luckily with the backing of the SPS and Sram I was soon back on track after the SPS mechanics kindly fixed her up for me, cheers boys.

Saturday evening the rain and the wind came in real bad and caused some carnage in the pits...

The whole team were buzzing come race day despite the damp conditions, I only managed one practice run which was dead smooth and I hit all my lines so decided to save myself for seeding/racing.... This paid off as I qualified 3rd with a steady run.

Some of my friends from Hereford had travelled up to watch so the pressure was on to make my race run count.!

I'd hit all the technical section pretty good and managed to keep up my corner speed, went through the speed trap pretty fast and felt strong on the final pedally section (maybe all the training is paying off www.adywatts.co.uk) came over the finish line and into the hot seat with only 2 riders left, pretty stoked. Listy was just off the pace which makes a change and then the legend Nigel Page (CRC team manager) was last on the hill, he went faster by just over a second and took the win leaving me with 2nd place and bagging the first SPS podium of the day. It was rad having Steve and a load of the team there at the finish line to congratulate me, cheers guys.

Michael and Nathan both won their respective categories and all the rest of the team who stayed on done good. Hope Freddie heals up quick.



And to finish a great weekend off what better than having to wait till 19.30hrs till we got towed out of the bottom field, that's racing folks...

Thanks to everyone involved with supporting the SPS team, in particular Tristan and Steve for their hard work in pulling it all together. It's gonna be a great season for the SPS for sure...

Lastly, hats off to George who despite breaking his hand during Saturday's practice wanted to stay and let me race rather than go to A&E, they breed em strong up Shobdon






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SPS Training Weekend - Hopton

Well as far as weekends go, that was right up there with the best of them.

This last weekend was the second time the whole SPS team had got together and it was pretty cool to catch up with everyone and see how their winter riding and training had been going. Also had some extra big time pro's and friends of the SPS came along for the weekend by the names of Josh Bryceland and Marc Beaumont. It was ace to catch up, hang and ride with these guys.



The whole team were lucky enough to be staying at http://www.blazingbikes.co.uk/links, these guys have got an amazing set up going on with the new bike shop, camping pods and the awesome Station Inn pub next door. Big props to Richard the owner who
is a top fella along with all the staff especially Will and Mike who got things sorted for us all. Be sure to check the facilities out if your over that way!


We were blessed with some dusty trails at Hopton on the Saturday and the excellent Pearce Cycles team took care of the uplifts. We got a few runs in to loosen up, Ratboy loosened right up and had a biggie early on, hit his head hard along with splitting his eye open so decided to rest up for the rest of the day... The rest of us then did a load of sections with Peaty and Marc which was ace, Marc sent a huge gap off the back of a berm which looked insane. Both Steve and Marc shared some lines with us and pretty certain everyone came away all the faster for it.

We all headed back to Blazing Bikes HQ to get cleaned up and check the bikes over, then hit the pub for some much needed dinner and of course some hydration...

Steve and Tristan surprised us all with some goodies from new sponsors http://www.evocsports.com/ and http://www.smugglingduds.com/ which basically comprised of a sweet new trail riding pack from Evoc that that was rammed full of new boxer shorts. Loosedog Lewis managed to slip in to a little posing pouch for us all and wowed the restaurant guests by getting jiggy, Sheffields answer to the mankini, good work pal.

Sunday morning started pretty wet under foot after heavy rain during the night, we all had some breaky together and then headed off to Hopton again for another awesome day on the bikes. My boy Josh tagged along and was more than stoked to ride with the likes of Steve and J Bryce. Cheers boys for helping him out and looking after him, he was made up to say the least especially with Steve following him down and Bryceland helping him out on sections.

The weekend was soon coming to an end before we knew it so it was time to pack up say our farewells and hit the road home.

So, everyone is heading to the first round of The BDS next week at Nant G, the bikes are being built as we speak so look out for us all next weekend we'll be on the spanking Santa Cruz V10's and sporting some fresh togs from Royal Racing and looking the

That's it for now

Catch you all soon

MIJ - Nant Gwrtheyrn Round Up

Well the time had come after months off since my last race to load the van and get on the road for my first visit to Nant Gwrtheyrn which is a former quarrying village on the north coast of the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales. I was rolling with young Dan Coulson who's local to me, super keen and has style for miles.

We arrived on friday evening and with Dan being uber keen he did a torchlit walk of the course whilst I accidently found the bar straight away with a little help from Jason Carpenter! some old habits die hard.

Any way, after a lengthy delay SPS team player manager and room mate for the weekend Tristan Tunstall rocked up with his race prepped food from Waitrose (he doesnt do things by halves) and brought the rain with him.




The Makeshift Pits (Full SPS Enchalada to follow at all supported rounds)

We woke up on saturday morning and went about setting up the make shift pits with some help from the rest of the SPS team who were now turning up in full force (minus Jack & Ally)

Practice was pretty hard to get a good flow going because the steep course was causing some carnage with riders and bikes splattered all over the hillside. Now, i've had a few years away from racing DH up until last season but it has to be said this is a serious course remeniscent of some of the Welsh Dragons back in the day and made a refreshing change to ride a race track that makes you kind of anxious whether you're going to stay on or not each and every run, the secret was all about carrying good exit speed and keeping it flowing, do as I say not as I do....

Lamborghini Tractor (Farmers take note!) Plenty of BHP to get up the uplift road

Race day soon came around and everyone was up and super keen to try and get some qulity practice runs in without tiring themselves out on the bottom pedally section, which, even with all the training we've been putting in i think everyone would agree was brutal. I know my legs were burning!

Racing was a mixed bag of affairs and pretty sure no-one had a super clean run. I managed 3rd in my first run with a pretty average run then had a massive boulder to pedal interface on my 2nd run and hit the ground hard, luckily i had my 661 protection on as it defintely saved me from anything more serious, fortunately my 1st run time still kept me in 3rd place overall and i bagged my first podium for the team whcih i was stoked with.

CG in the woods

Some of the boys over cooked it both runs or had mechanicals etc which was gutting to see for them but i know they'll re-group, gather their thoughts and come back stronger for the next event, just you watch.

It was great to see a big presence of SPS riders making the podium and it soon became clear that as the team grows throughout the season there is some serious potential for many more podiums positions. Billy Matthews and Freddie Oxley both podiumed in the juniors and Nathan Vials put a storming time in to take the Expert win, great work.

Well, let the good times roll!

The Build Up - SPS Debut..!

Dusty XC training ride

Well this coming weekend 19th/20th will be my first race of the year at http://www.simplydownhill.co.uk/ and also the first of many under the SPS banner throughout the 2011 season. Can't wait now to get the season under way especially at the new venue of Nant Gwrtheyrn and also gonna be cool to catch up with a load of the team.

Spent quite a bit of time in North Wales over the years and it never fails to impress me, reckon it's gonna be a gnarly track.

Good job i've been put through some tough training with http://www.adywatts.com/ who's hit me with a totally new approach to training which is tailored specifically around the kinds of rigours involved with DH mtbing. Needless to say he's got me fast twitching to near perfection... and the plus side is I almost look stacked even if a little haggered after all the early morning jaunts...

In the mean time i've got a bike to prep

Hey you guys, get along to full size screening of THE GOONIES at the Courtyard, Hereford Sat 12th feb

Well the weekends practically started (it is Thursday right) and I thought I'd post some fundraising info about a good friend of mine Ben Botwright who's running the London marathon this year to help raise funds for spinal research.

This Saturday (12th) evening get yourselves down to the Courtyard in Hereford for 20.00hrs (20.30hrs showing) and come along and watch a full size cinematic screening of legendary 80's film THE GOONIES... It's open to all and tickets are only £6 pp with all proceeds going towards spinal research. There will be drinking involved before, during and after the show so get yourselves along for an evening out with a difference and to help raise money. 80's fancy dress is optional.

Now for those of you who don't know Ben, statistically his genetics don't add up and straight away scream out 'natural runner' at you (below left) but I know his Arabian background just screams endurance and stamina and not just at drinking.!



(gimp optional)

Well I can honestly vouch that this boy has been putting in some serious preparation and has already put a few more established and serious runners to shame so I'd just like to say that I wish him all the very best for his London 2011 and hope it's not too emotional.

Bloggin Ell

Well I'm all brand new to this malarky and kinda got so excited about the riding I forgot to get any snaps... Boo

Any way the weekend went a little like this - training, free booze, 150kg dumb bells and the riding was all about the icey 1.44

Really looking forward to kicking off the season now onboard the new ride

Blog up and running for 2011 season!

follow this blog for 2011 season updates

Watch this space

I'll be using this to blOg my 2011 season, watch this space