Right then, here goes...
France 2008!
I went on a really great holiday out to France this year and got to enjoy 2 weeks(ish) of sunshine in Morzine with my friends. We drove out which was the biggest slog i have ever done in my life and if i go again i will most definitely fly! I met loads of new people and got shown a load of new fun single track hidden in the area that was harder and more technical than the normal tracks so it was good to train on. It felt good being on the big bike for an extended period as I generally spend most of my time on my hardtails messing about. I spent a morning filming with good friend and videographer Aaron Bartlett who is filming a new british mountain bike movie, Foot Out Flat Out that i have a section in so we set about getting some good footage over in Les Gets before the mountain became too busy. I had a good time away! Came back uninjured, had a great tan from t-shirt line to glove line, and from sock to pad line. I came back fired up for the Moelfre NPSDH race!
NPSDH round 4 - Moelfre:
We drove there in the sun, woke up in the typical welsh wet fog, blowing a right gale, and thats how it stayed for the whole weekend! Possibly the wettest race I've been to for a while and being that most of the track was open to elements it made it pretty challenging to actually get down without being blown off course. The course was slightly different this year. The original switchbacks had been ditched in favor of a new and improved switchback line that didn't aim directly down the hill. They were good fun and it definitely felt refreshing to have something new. I felt good in practice but the ever present rain and wind made things increasingly difficult. I was so fed up of wet feet that i created a new craze of plastic bag socks...
...surprisingly warm and comfortable! My result didn't go to plan, i tried my absolute hardest and pedalled my rear end off but for some reason still ended up right down the pack in 19th. All i can put it down to was the gusty'ness of the weather.
NPS4X Round 6+7 - UK Bike Park:
It was straight out of Moelfre into the last double header weekend of the national 4cross series which has been really good this year. I was riding well all of saturday in practice after getting lost late on friday night and pitching up late. The track was odd for a 4x track, it had an impressively long first straight into a series of short straights with hairpins and a hip drop leading into a berm to the finish. I rode strong all of saturday having some good moments in the wetness that followed us from wales. I held my own right up until the semi-final and got pinched on the first straight leaving me in a tough to get out of 3rd place. I didn't let this hold me back and I won the b-final getting 5th for the day.
Sunday was a new leaf and i knew i could give it my all as there was less pressure to worry about points, i was out to get a good result, and a good result is what i got. My motos went well with a string of 1st's and 2nd's. I hit some pre semi final nerves because of saturday but i got my elbows out and rode with the wind behind me, riding like i was in the final. I got myself into the A final with Will Evans, Scott B, and Oggy. I had 3rd lane pick, not the best but the length of the first straight really equalled it out. The beeps went and i got the best snap I've had this year! getting my bad ahead of oggy's and level pegging with Scott, something i've aspired to do all year. I chased him right to the line right on his back wheel, i was ecstatic! The last national of the year was my best result to date and i came 6th overall in my first year in Elite which I am truly astonished at as I really didn't think I was going to have the pace this year. I walked away from this weekend with a good sense of what i had to do for next year to improve and work on my performance and fitness.
Eurobike:
I had the lucky opportunity of Identiti bikes taking me to Eurobike this year which was awesome! The biggest bike show i have ever been to and it was amazing to see how big the industry actually is with every company showing there in one form or another. I was entered to ride the dirt comp, and i was absolutely packing it. I hadn't ridden my dirt jump bike for about 2 months prior to the event, bar nibbling at the local skatepark. After seeing the competition that was there, some of the biggest names in freeride and dirt jumping. I knew i couldn't place but i tried my hardest doing a few flips and various other tricks. It was a fun event and i was really happy to see all the '09 products and kit.
Schladming World Cup Final!
I was really excited about going to Austria to ride the final world cup as it came back to europe after missing 3 rounds on the trot due to them being far far away. I have to say i was expecting a more impressive course, but due to unforseen circumstances Phil Saxena did his best to make a good course from what resources he had. Thankfully it was dry when we arrived but my forks decided to take a turn for the worse and i opened the van door to a nice puddle of oil on the floor and no damping so i missed the first day of practice waiting for Marzocchi to arrive to repair them. This made thursdays practice critical as i had to go into qualifying with half the practice of everyone else. I could blame it on my forks, i completely messed my lines up on the penultimate turn knocking me out of the running and placing me 77th, but I learnt a lot from that race and will us it to my advantage next year. Luckily for me, the heavens decided to thoroughly open when racing started so i stayed nice and dry and i picked up some good knowledge from being able to watch for once.
NPSDH Round 5 - Innerleithen:
I feel like every race this year has been a bit of a wash out of rain and horrible weather so it was nice to turn up at Innerliethen with a bit of sunshine and blue sky. Granted the woods were pitch black and It was very hard to see where you were going at the best of times. The track was wet from previous days rain but it was passable and enjoyable with controlled drifts here and there. My bike felt fast as did I and I rode hard in practice but over-did it a bit and by the time qualify eventually came round I was cream crackered and i rolled gently down the hill placing 17th after saturday. I felt absolutely rubbish about this and knew i could do better after a good nights sleep and a warm shower and some food. So after all these i was awake bright and breezy on sunday and ready to race. In a good end of season frame of mind like i was at Uk Bike Park. Race runs came round and the I felt confident in myself. I hit every line I wanted to and was completely ragged the whole way down the hill, blowing both feet off at one point and riding the top tube, then right at the bottom i headbutted the bar twice and blew another foot off, i really thought i had messed this up and done terribly but i looked at the clock and for a brief moment i was first until 2 faster riders came down and bumped me into 3rd. I was so happy to be on the podium again at a downhill race as it's a discipline that I rarely get to ride properly.
Filming:
I met up with Aaron Bartlett again up in my area for another days filming at some local trails to finish off my section with some dirt jumping. I dragged a couple of mates out and we had some serious fun in the late september sunshine. We got some great footage that i cant wait to see in the DVD which comes out in November.
Right! I'm all up to speed now and i just have the Chicksands winter race to look forward to which is this weekend. I'll report back then.
Pat
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