Riding and Racing 2009

2009-09-25T12:07:00.001-07:00

1st place at the last NPS round at chicksands and a 10th place at the Schladming world cup!

Cant get much better! (I know it can but Its a pretty damn fine end to the season!)

PS EVERYONE should go ride Schladming 4x track as its amazing!

Photo - Charlie Philips

Next Catch Up!

2009-06-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

So there has been Dirtmasters, Bike Radar Live and Fort William since I last updated! I'm just never at home enough to sit down and type these things up!

Ok so Dirtmasters in Germany:

It was a wicked festival/comp type thing that was going on over a week. The was a wicked slopestyle course with stuff going on all week. I rode in it last year and got 11th in the pro category. There was also a big DH race going on too. The 4x track hadn't changed at all from last year, super narrow smooth downhill bmx track basically. It was a complete race to the first corner, which angered me, the was loads of guys from the world cups here as its quite a big central competition in Germany.

I rode this fun bermy track for most of the week with two of the German Norco riders Flo and Angie. Really good guys that put up with me all week!

The racing was pretty simple, just like world cups, with timed qualifying and then you were put straight into knock out heats. Brutal, but fair. I qualified 31st and was picked with Joost Wichman, the winner of the previous weekends world cup in andorra. I gated well in my first heat with him even getting out the gate slightly faster but falling into 2nd by the first turn. I wasnt going to make any rash moves now (not that I could anyhow as the track was so narrow) because I was in a safe position to go through. So stayed in 2nd and made the 2nd round. From here it got harder, Sydney Gerber, Flo (my german pal) and Joost again. ALL world cup riders! Damn! I got a good gate and hung back to the first turn for safety and fell into 3rdnd after some bashing in the first turn. As with my first heat I couldnt pass because of the track but stayed in 3rd and got knocked out. Prize money went to 20th and I got 21st! Gutted!

Bike Radar Live:

Probably one of the coolest events of this year. It was my first proper dual race and the track was really good! Bassically a pump track on steroids and tight awkward jumps that made it more interesting and less predictable. I spent most of my time practicing with Lewis Lacey (who was riding awesome all weekend) as I was camping literally right next to him so it made sense.

I qualified 15th, I wasn't too happy with the result but there was some big names racing! Gee Atherton, Romain Saladini, Brian Lopes, to name a few. I was picked against my team mate Bernard in the first round which went straight to 32's. It was quite funny. The rules were pretty simple once explained, if you win both races (you have to race once in each lane) you go through, if you win one and lose one, the person who won by the most time goes through. Unluckily for me, I won and lost one, but was beaten by about half a second more so I got knocked out! Not great but I had a great time racing something completely different!

One thing I havent mentioned yet... The weather, was AMAZING! Possibly the hottest weekend I have ever experienced in this country! 27ºC both days! Needless to say my fair skin got very burnt!

Fort William:

What can I say about Fort William that hasn't already been said? Its always a pleasure to go there and experience the patriotism. The track was similar to last year although it looked very weathered, although it was still fun to ride! There was a new welcome section on the track which I thought was pretty daunting but so much fun at the same time. The new rock section! So much fun on the little bikes bouncing through!

We were staying in an awesome little house just on the track side of the main town. It was warm cosy and I had my own bed! The walk in shower was perfect for washing bikes and I did utilize this!

Qualifying went CRAP for me. I had been riding the track pretty flat out in both practice sessions and then went down the track in qualifying like a granny. I was pissed off but I still made 38th so it wasn't tooooo bad. Pretty much mid pack. I drew an ok first moto with Fischbach and an american who I last saw at maribor last year. I got a pretty sweet snap out of lane 3 and cut off lane 2 so I could guarantee 2nd place into the first turn, sure enough I did and followed fischy safely down to the rocks where he slowed off and I almost dived up the inside then decided to keep safe and keep 2nd secure so I would make the 2nd round. Sure enough I did!

The 2nd round was a very british pick. Me, Scott B, and Bernard, my team-mate, again! I had lane 3 again and this was a much harder race. I had a good snap, hit the first jump and got all squiff trying to pedal over it and lost a shite load of speed. I was pretty annoyed by this but I played it safe into the first turn in 3rd place, knowing full well that in the lower part of the course there wasn't much room for passing. I gave it all I had but couldn't get a decent line on Scott's inside. Relegating me and Bernard. Frustrating to say the least but it's racing and I'm still on the learning curve. I made 24th overall which is my second best result of all my world cups so I should be positive in that light!

All I had left to do was drive the 9 hours home all by myself in the fiesta! Not fun!

Next up is the NPS4x round 4 this weekend followed by the world cup in Slovenia then the Euro 4x champs the weekend after that!

Oh Yeh - I got selected to ride for the British European 4x squad! Something I am very very excited about! I cant wait! So thank you to British Cycling for that and all my sponsors along the way.

Over
and
Out

Pat

Right then. Slack as ever!

2009-05-20T03:15:00.000-07:00

Its been a long cold winter since i touched this blog, which isnt great but ive been working 2 jobs, and riding as much as i can to do well this year.

4 races down this year and its already been a rollercoaster!

My first race of the year was on my doorstep at chicksands for the 661 Mini Dh event on the pretty simple and easy (although still flat out) track that runs down the side of the dirt jumps. I was pretty happy on the track. I had a my new 4x bike built (see below) and i was loving the speed on the track. After the first runs I was sitting in the lead in elite knowing that i had had a good run it was going to be hard to make up time on run no. 2. Luckily, I found another half second and snitched the overall win by 0.023 seconds. The racing was intense because it was so close but it was a fun little warm up for the first nps4x down at UKBikepark.

Off to the first NPS it was down in sunny dorset which was a welcome change from last years mudbath!

I was having a good day in practice on saturday getting some good lines, and some spot on gates. Sundays racing was pretty shocking though to be honest. In my first heat I got a puncture on the logs on the start hill which put me on bad moods early on. Progressing through my heats I got a solid 2nd and 1st after a depressing 4th. Then comes my 4th heat. Racing alongside my ex team mate and long term friend, Tom Dowie, I came out the gate, me and him hell for leather down the first straight, then as we hit the step up I was edging past him and went too low, clipping my front wheel and pogo'ing myself over the bars straight onto my shoulder, I was pretty sure I'd broken my collar bone but later found out that it was ok. I was in a bad way and went a nice shade of green laying on the floor. Being 3 hours away from home and knowing full well my gf couldn't drive I pulled out some energy and courage to drive home. Not how you would normally drive though. Leah (my girlfriend) did the gears for me. The damage was in my ligaments and I thought i was going to be out for a while. But I got riding as soon as possible, as this is what the doc's told me to do. Big shout out to everyone that helped on the day though, Selby, The Laceys, and Lee-Loo.

Next up was a month after the shoulder incident in Houffalize. The 2nd round of the UCI World Cup 4x. Me and Tom D decided to road trip it down in Chateau le Fez. AKA my car. It took us about 6 hours in total and the car was packed to the brim. The track was really good, the corners were nice and wide and it made for great racing. I had a bad run in qualies and almost lost it in the 2nd last turn and with well over 100 entries I had to do well to make the final cut. Luckily I just scraped it at 56th out of the top 64. This put me in a bad position for saturdays finals as I had Gee Atherton, and Lewis Lacey in my first heat along with some swiss bloke, but I'll come to him in a mo...

I didnt really know what to think getting into the gate, but I knew it was going to be interesting having Gee in the gate. On the snap we were all level down the first straight and into the first turn, I looked right quickly to see where everyone was going into the turn, I made a quick dart and made a high low on lewis putting myself into 3rd place right on gee and swissy's butt. Into turn 2 and i went to make the same move again and the swiss guy had tried to pass gee and slid/spun out into the track. I thought i was clear of him coming to the drop, thinking i'd secured 2nd, wrong, my pedal clipped his front wheel on the floor and did a nice slow over the bars straight back onto my bad shoulder. Luckily no further damage was done and I was seeing the specialist the following wednesday (where i secured another dose of powerful painkillers.) My end result was 60th which upset me quite a bit and I felt quite annoyed about my shoulder again.

After Houffalize I decided that resting until Andorra was probably the best thing to do. Coming into Andorra, I felt fresh and happy, even with the shocking weather! Luckily, the first day of practice was cancelled due to the persistent rain. This meant the track stayed nice for us on friday and qualifying. Waking up the following day, the sun was beaming down the valley and I couldnt wait to hit the track for practice and qualifying. Andorra has my vote as the toughest track on the circuit. Its steep, loose as ken, and balls out. I was having fun in practice and liking the track although didnt feel like I was at race pace though going into the qualification round. If I'm honest, i rode like a twat on my run not hitting stuff hard enough and keeping things far too conservative. This put me in 40th out of 56 riders. Not great.

I was determined in saturdays practice to hit stuff hard and get loose. I had my eyes on the first turn, knowing I was going to be sat in the outside lane again like the last round, I had a line in my mind that i could get away with and maybe use to pass. In my first heat, I had Lewis again! something i need to stop doing, and Quentin Derbier who had qualified 8th. So it was going to be a hard race from my perspective. Out the gate i was slightly behind as my gates were quite bad this weekend. I kept up though coming to the step up into the first left hand s-bend I swung right up the bank on the outside, unclipped and turned down the bank hanging it loose straightling the s-bend, I went passed quentin like he was stood still and slotted in behind lewis down the step downs, I didnt hit the brakes that much into the berm and overtook lewis into the triple/quad after the turn, leading the heat the 2nd last corner quentin had a go at me and got ahead and then right at the line lewis came charging next to me and it was a photo finish. I was through! I was so happy, I jumped straight back on the lift back up to the top for the 2nd round. Into this I had the outside lane again. This was it, I knew my line was working in the first turn so I hung back out the gate and waited till the first turn. Pulled right away from everyone up the bank again swooped down foot out and went from 4th to 2nd in one move. I was very excited knowing that this was the best i've ever done. I waited until the corner where I got done in the first round and snuck up the inside and passed the guy in front of me going into first over the line, I was ecstatic! The best I've ever done, quarter finals!

The next race was pretty daunting looking at it. I had Graves, Jurg Meijer, and the guy I had taken in the previous heat, so I knew i could beat him. Out the gate I made the same call and hung back waiting in the first turn, swooped again, went into 3rd behind meijer. I was happy with this, but was thirsty for the semis and waiting again until the 2nd last turn where I could make a move, I didnt go tight enough, with another bike length I think i'd have forced through. I was so happy with my riding I didn't even care that i'd been knocked out. I was the best placed brit and was so happy!

Next race is this weekend in Germany, the Dirtmasters festival over near cologne, then its bike radar live back in the uk, then the fort william world cup! Cant wait to see what I can do there!

Pat

Right - A lot to report on!

2008-10-13T14:05:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since i last blogged, for some reason i lost touch and managed to forget about my blog! Doh!

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

Chicksands Nps4x Round 3

2008-06-16T02:46:00.000-07:00

So it was the return of the national series this weekend at chicksands. The turn out as ever was excellent and all the main faces were there in force! The track has also seen some noticeable changes, the roller to table has seen an upgrade in size in the roller, making jumping the whole thing doable now. The inside double into the triple has also seen a raise in height making it harder to clear smoothly at speed. the new flat corner has also seen and extension of the dirt mound and some logs on the inside, making it really good fun, not a follow the leader.

I have finally sorted out my gates too! I spent all saturday practicing gates on my jump bike, which is a slog to get moving as it has a hard ratio singlespeed set up. This sharpened up my reactions because i needed to get moving earlier to get out the gate. So when i got onto my race bike, my gates were on it with spot on timing.

My motos went well and i managed 1st, 2nd, 1st, 1st. Which i was super happy with. This put me 3rd in the points overall behind Scott Beaumont and Lewis Lacey, which i was happy with. I had Lewis, Dave Richardson and Ian Hopkins in my semi with 2nd gate pick. The gate dropped and i had a good gate snap just behind lewis and my left foot unclipped! It took me about a second to find the pedal and clip back in, by that point i had gone from 2nd to 4th, Great! So coming into the triple i was in chase mode and i was following Dave into the old last corner, attempting to make a move, watching him get a bigger and bigger drift, bang, he went down and my bike got tangled in his, i checked he was ok, got untangled, and rolled over the line in 3rd, B final it is.

Due to one rider dropping out due to a crash, the B final only had 3 riders. Me, Dave, and Mikey Haderer, as guest rider from america, who raced fort william and came to race to fill a weekend. Mikey had the snap with me just on his inside, until he had a catastrophic chain snap and he came across me on the first straight pushing me off the track leaving a clear outside for dave to come through and get the win. With Mikey's chain on the floor somewhere and a mangled rear mech he couldn't pedal and let me through to chase Dave, but it was too late and i came 2nd, 6th overall.

Now i have a long break and a holiday for 2 weeks in France riding downhill. Cant Wait!

Pat

New Sponsorship!

2008-06-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

Crank Brothers Uk are now supplying me with gorgeous parts for my downhill bike! I will receiving some black and red 5050xx pedals soon and an Opium headset, super lightweight and stunning. Cant wait!

www.2pure.co.uk - The Uk importers of Crank Brothers, Clif Bar, Lizard Skins, Nite Rider and Ultimate

Pat

Events Events Events!

2008-06-12T11:01:00.001-07:00

Well, there's been 3 consecutive competitions since i lasted wrote, but I've barely been home to sit down and blog!

IXS Dirtmasters in Germany:

Well i flew out to Cologne late last month to travel over to Winterberg in the German mountains for the second annual Dirtmasters competition, which has Dh, 4x and slopestyle comps over the weekend, i competed in the latter two. Rolling up to a pretty large slopestyle course with some pretty big features was something I've never done before and what made matters worse was the fact that i was the only english guy riding! Meaning i had no one to talk to, so i dug out my ipod and befriended the old thing and put on pendulum all weekend! I was riding in the pro class and i was nervous as i hadn't ridden my dirt jump bike in about a month so it all felt a little odd and twitchy to begin with but i soon got back into my flow for qualifying. Saturday was the busiest day as i had qualifying and finals for slopestyle and qualifying for 4x all in one day! first was the 4x! which i managed to get 18th in! ran down to get changed and straight onto the slopestyle course, putting in a solid run of tables, 360's and backflips and a no hander. Thinking i hadn't qualified i went to look at the sheets and i was 11th! with the top 20 going into the finals! doh! I put 2 solid runs together and came 15th overall. Sunday saw the 4x action and i was eager to get on the very bmx inspired track to get some gates and practice in. In my first heat i managed a close 2nd behind a european rider and then in my second heat i had the rider i came second to and the german national champ, a bad gate, and being pinched off in the first straight saw me into 3rd place and knocked out, putting me 25th overall. Not a bad weekend!

World Cup Round 2 - Andorra:

The long boring drive through France seemed to take longer than usual and i got very bored, arriving early afternoon on the wednesday we had enough time to walk the crazily steep 4x course and also the dh track. The 4x track was one of the craziest i had ever seen, with big jumps, and a very loose/damp surface. I rode qualifying well and pulled out a pretty good time putting me 44th, 3rd gate pick, great! But i had made top 64 so i wasn't too worried! Racing saw me pitched against 2 well performing riders, Joost Wichman and Matt Simmonds. I got a good gate and stayed in 2nd behind Joost all the way down th first straight, down the step downs, over the quad and logs, into the big jumps, which i hadn't jumped until race day purely because they looked so sketchy and soft and the crashes i saw in practice put me off until i really had to do them! The first require slight braking, the 2nd then required a grab of the brakes to then pedal your arse off for the last huge double, unluckily for me i managed to slightly over clear the second one, so i pulled off to the side and ride through the soft stuff ahead of matt, he managed a smoother line than me and pedalled past into the second last corner, leaving me in 3rd and knocked out! checking back later i had got 39th overall, so i had improved on my result from Maribor!

World Cup Round 3 - Fort William:

I hitched a lift with my downhill sponsors, Mtb-bitz to fort william to help them set up and man their shop in between riding. We arrived late wednesday night for registration on thursday for the 4x. The same day saw qualifying, the midgies were out and the track was very loose and rocky, i didn't really expect anything else from Fort William. Due to a lack of starts the 4x qualifying cut straight to 32 riders. Something i was very worried about because i hadn't managed a top 30 result yet this year. By some divine miracle i pulled out a good qualifying result, 25th! i was so happy to have made the cut and be in there when so many didn't make it. I also did a helmet cam of the 4x track for Dirt magazines website, which was fun, especially as i had forgotten what billy had said to make it work at the bottom, and i was just fiddling with it until it beeped! luckily it worked and thats now online! So then, onto racing, I caught a glimpse of the moto sheets and i was immediately silenced, as i had Cedric Gracia, Scott Beaumont, and Mikey Haderer (an american i had made friends with at maribor) in my first heat. It wasn't an easy race, and i pushed hard to keep up with them all to the bottom, after the large tabletop i took the corner flat out and I'm not sure what happened but i ended up on the floor in a heap and a sore leg, so i picked up myself and my bike and rolled down to the finish line, scraping together some points. Somehow i still managed 28th overall for the race which i am very pleased with as i have improved on every world cup race result so far.

This week sees the 3rd round of the NPS4x, returning to Chicksands, so a local race for me, which is a good thing!

Pat

Nps4x Number 2 and 4x National Champs

2008-05-21T02:30:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was the Nps4x round 2 and the 4x National Champs. Early i hear you say, well theres no better time whilst everyone is still fresh! Saturday was kicked off with some lovely rain. and a soaking clay track. This mean racing was fun and passing was very hard. So i played it safe and managed 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd in my motos, not what i would have liked. Straight into quarters and i tried very hard out of the gate and was in 3rd all the way to finish. Knocked out, and in 16th place overall. I Wasn't too pleased with it but I was more concentrated on sundays racing.

National Champs

After much waiting about and a changed course that was different to say the least from saturdays track that took us across the mountain board jumps. It was fun and technical at the same time. With a full field of seniors and elites, all mixed. Into qualifying and i came through in 12th, a nice place to be and i was pretty happy, i would have liked top 10 but i wasn't too worried. After quite a long wait we went into the knock out phase and i managed to squeak 2nd through all my 1/8, 1/4 and semi and held off a lot of fast riders. I was in the A final! I was happy and i was nervous about the racing but i was focussed getting into the gate as the last race of the day. I knew i was going to fighting from the back and i was determined coming into the first corner to try some moves. So i tried a high-low maneuver and got a little keen on the first jump in the second straight, landing flat and unclipping, hitting the next double one footed, then bouncing over my bike unclipping my right leg and going up the step up off my bike. I was frustrated to not be on the podium, but 4th place in my rookie year in elite is not a bad result! So i was still smiling when i got to the bottom!

Im off to germany this weekend for the annual dirtmasters competition so ill report back next week.

Pat

Maribor World Cup

2008-05-21T01:26:00.000-07:00

So i set off for maribor in transit with my Identiti team mate Bernard Kerr, who had kindly offered to give me a lift to the first world cup. It was a bloody long drive to get there taking something like 16 hours to get there. leaving late wednesday morning we arrived in maribor at 7am on thursday with everyone setting up and the pits taking shape. Walking the track it was a bit of an eye opener looking at how crazy the track was and how also how rough it is. This wasn't going to be a walk in the park. Thursday evening was practice and the track was a lot more fun than it looked. I got a bit star struck being around the likes of lopes and gracia but i wasn't going to let that faze me. I was here to race. Scott Beaumont, Lewis Lacey and I were doing fast practice runs together to suss out lines and see where the passing places, On my final run i was pushing a bit hard, especially after the long drive. I came down towards the last corner after the big hip and as i came over this random carrot bump, like a speed bump, in the middle of a flat corner, 2ft high on the inside tapering down to the ground on the outside. I came into it behind lewis, tried bunny hopping it, clipped my back wheel, and went straight over the bars and i was glad to be wearing my body armour as i took it straight to the ribs. This crash left me with some bed clinging cuts and a head ache, but i was ok and i got up and walked off with not a lot of wind in me.

Friday was qualifying day and i was nervous, a completely new type of racing i've never experienced except at a DH race, but this was different. It meant more and i was itching to see whether or not i could make the cut out of the 100'ish riders. Being 2nd from last place qualify didnt help either as i had to wait for my run and it was getting chilly at the top. Getting in the gate, i was nervous, and shaky but i got pretty good snap and pedaled my ass off and pinned almost every section shot down the last straight and over the line, the benefit of being last did mean i knew straight away if i was in or out. I rolled over the line in 44th. I was happy!

Saturday was race day and i was still nervous, but at least i knew what to expect this time. I looked at the heats, and was amused to see i was racing Lewis in my first heat, someone i race at nationals on a weekly basis. I got a reasonable gate and was just in third down the first straight behind lewis and Guido Tshugg. Taking a wide line in the first corner to cut back in across the off camber, i came into the 2nd corner right behind Lewis, he clipped the flag, which in turn sprang back up into my bars, taking my wheel out, game over! I wasnt too pissed off though, i rolled down to the wall ride to find the guy who was in third on the floor picking himself up, so i thought this was a chance to at least get third, which was fine, until i came into the place i crashed in on thursday. Getting over the carrot, into the next obstacle my front wheel washed out and i hit the deck again, being over taken and going back into 4th. Not a great first world cup, but i was happy enough to gain the experience of just qualifying.

The 2nd crash in my heat.

Busy Boy!

2008-05-06T02:58:00.000-07:00

Cor! ive been busy! Since my last post ive been to Chicksands to race the first round of the nps4x and then to Ae Forest in Scotland racing the first round of the npsdh. So, ill do a mini report for both:

Chicksands:

The weather was really odd for this race causing some odd light but the rain stayed off so it was a good day. The Elite class was packed out with 18 riders! which i think is a record (bar national champs). The whole race had over 200 riders, which again is a record i think. Chicksands always manages to draw a big crowd. Which is great from a crowds perspective and a riders! All the cheering and camera flashes make the riders push just that little bit harder!

Racing!

The motos went really well, i got 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd. Getting 1st in my first moto really calmed my nerves as i was a bit unsure how i was going to do after the winters riding. My fellow ex-team mate Tom Dowie, who had also made the big step up to elite this year also placed well putting us into good positions in the quarter finals. My quarter final went well with a 2nd place to put me through to the semi's. Lining up in the gate - it could have been an A final! i had second gate pick after Scott (Beaumont) and chose lane 2 with Oggy and Dave (Richardson) on my outside. I got a rubbish gate (poor excuse i know) and got squeezed into the first corner by Scott and Oggy and followed them down to the last corner, where i made a tactical move to get into 2nd but it didnt pay off and i ended up in 3rd, into the B-final. Me and Tom went head to head and i messed up putting me into 3rd - 7th overall, Im happy with that for my first Elite national.

Scotland!

I left on the friday to get there in good time to set up the shop for MTB-Bitz and relax before the weekends racing, the weather, as ever in scotland was not being friendly and setting up an awning in the rain has never proved fun, to say the least! After getting set up i found my Identiti (4x) team mate Bernard Kerr and drove up the fire road with a couple of guys to walk the track - nothing like an uplift to walk the track! When we got to the top we were shocked to see that we were in the cloud - being pelted by wind and rain! The new top section of the track was a complete bog and did not look enjoyable until the first set of trees. Walking it proved harder than riding it! I lost count of how many times i slipped over and ended up sliding down on my back. After bumping into my girlfriend coming up the track as i was walking down near the bottom i decided to wait at the bottom for her so i could get dry and warm again. As soon as she was back down we began to build up her new frame - from scratch into a blinging new bike! which looked amazing!

Saturdays practice was interesting, as it was cold and very very damp, and you couldn't see more than 50m! but even being so wet it was rolling very fast and proved quite fun actually! Slipping and sliding around but surprisingly i managed to stay on my bike! Qualifying was scrapped because of the track condition which allowed more practice runs which really helped me to get my lines together. this also alowed time for the organisers, Simon Paton and Steve Parr to cut out a couple of dodgy looking roots and get the track running nice.

Sunday sun! The eventually popped out on sunday from late morning onward to dry out the track as the day went by, making riding a lot more fun as you could actually see where you were going! My run wasnt until 16.20 so i had ages to wait! After getting up to the top of the track and watching my girlfriend go off for her race run i walked the top section of the track and looked at lines on the top section, got my head focused and knew exactly where i was going in my race run. I lined up and left the start pedalling like mad trying to get up some speed through the top bog, but i managed to hold all my lines and kept good speed rolling over the line into 4th place, in senior. Which i was really chuffed with as it was my first podium at a national downhill.

Off to Slovenia tomorrow for the first round world cup at maribor! ill report back next week!

Pat

The season begins!

2008-04-14T13:22:00.001-07:00

I will be at chicksands this weekend racing at the first nps4x of the season. I am excited to see how this season will go and i cant wait to get in the gate with the big guys of the sport.

Gadget Show Appearance

2008-04-14T13:18:00.001-07:00

As you may have read i went to take part in channel 5's gadget show a few weeks ago and it will be aired on the tele at 8pm on the 21st of april, obviously on channel 5! look out for it!

New bikes!

2008-04-14T12:48:00.001-07:00

I've had my new bikes about a week now and i thought it get them on here!
Heres my new 2008 jump bike, the new Identiti P66, a 26 inch wheeled specific jump bike.

Im running 2008 Marzocchi dirt jumper 1's on it with Halo freedom wheels with a Halo DJD rear hub and schwalbe tabletop hubs. Gusset Pigmy 2 cranks with a 27t Gusset 4x chainring and slim jim pedals. Gusset Open prison bars and git stem with ODI o-grips. i also have a Gusset seat and post.

Then here is my new downhill bike, the 2008 Solid Mission 9 with a Rock Shox Vivid 5.1 rear shock which feels amazing, and i cant wait to test it at the races.

Im running 2008 Marzocchi 888 RC3 World Cup forks and Halo freedom wheels, Shimano Saint cranks with an MRP G2, chainguide keeping the chain on. Sunline bar, stem, seat, pedals and headset. Thomson seatpost. 2008 Avid Juicy Carbon brakes and Sram x0 rear mech with x9 shifter, finishing it off with ODI ruffian grips.

Im really looking forward to riding these bikes through the season.

Gadget Show Testing!

2008-03-18T15:26:00.000-07:00

Me and the Mtb-Bitz gang are heading up to birmingham to test some odd new bicycle contraptions for channel 5's show, The Gadget Show. Its going to be a laugh and we get to ride some crazy contraptions!

Pat

World Cups!!

2008-03-11T13:22:00.000-07:00

I received a great email today! Saying that ive been accepted onto the British Team and im now eligible to ride in world cups!! What a result!! I have never been so excited and i cant wait for the first round in Maribor, Slovenia. Its going to be awesome.

Pat

New site!

2008-02-28T13:45:00.000-08:00

New Site is now up and running! check back for more posts! photos and videos!

thanks for looking!

Pat

This part of the site

2008-02-28T13:41:00.001-08:00

This is where i post what ive been upto :)