With not a lot happening in the UK I was looking for a race to tick over after Moelfre as I feel like I’m starting to pick up momentum and get up to speed now with my confidence growing at every race, so it was off to the SDA at Ae forest where I had some dramas a few weeks back. It was 07 when I last raced a SDA and they’ve always been great events with good prizes.

 Anyway I headed up Saturday morning as its pretty close to us and got signed on ready for some runs, the weather was good which made a change the champs there the weather was shit! The track was pretty good, and real fast all the way it was going to make some close racing, the rock garden had nice wide line which was good as I didn’t fancy a big crash in the rocks again. There were some good loose turns at the bottom which you could get some mega drifts on and then into the good old step down which is always good. I got six runs in and on my last run I was just starting to get the feel for things, I had made some changes to the bike through the week and they made a huge difference just giving me more confidence. I headed home after practice for a good night’s sleep and a good solid meal. We got up early again and got to the track just in time for 2 practice runs, in the woods you couldn’t see a thing but hopefully it would be ok come race runs as the sun got up in the sky.

 I had a little snooze before my 1^st run and was feeling good, at the top it was pretty hot so I just chilled out in the shade until my run. The start was a bit awkward here slightly uphill with some loose rocks so you had to get the power down, the track was so fast so times were going to be real tight, my run was okay I had 2 off line moments which cost me a little bit of time so after seeing I had came in 2^nd I was confident I could bosh off a bit of time.

 Between runs I got refuelled and I was feeling good for the 2^nd run and it soon came around, it was same as last run just chilling in the shade then a quick warm up before setting off I was really pumped up and ready for it. I had a real good solid, smooth run and knocked about 2 seconds off my 1^st run time, now I just had to play the waiting game for the rest of the guys to come down no one was really getting to close until the last man down, I could see it was going to be tight and it was, I lost out by 0.41 I was gutted! But there were no excuses my run was pretty solid. So I’m looking forward to the English champs down at Caersws this weekend it should be sick.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

After Champery I headed to Morzine in France for a few days, its such a sick place to ride and a few of my mates were there from home so we got stuck into some good downhill before heading to Val Di Sole, Italy, World Cup Round 5!

This is another great track and a mental one as well! Any lapse of concentration and it will bite you hard! The whole track is just covered in rocks and roots with steep loose sections and deep dust! Anyway I hope you checked out my final track walk of the season, unless someone wants to pay my flight to America! Haha. Anyway the track walk went down a storm again I don’t know how me and sixpac keep coming out with stuff for them, also a big thanks to O’Neal for my swank new t’s and cap for the vids they look mega!

Back to racing, the track was looking good, I was here back in 2008 so I knew what to expect, but there was a few changes to the schedule with practice Thursday, qualifying Friday, then a short practice on Saturday and then finals on Sunday it was going to be full on!

Practice went good on Thursday I did 3 runs then 2 timed one’s but in the afternoon it started raining so the track was getting pretty slippy in sections but in others it was still deep dust. I did the timed runs just to see how I was going on track, I was 7^th but this doesn’t really mean a lot, I also did a helmet cam run with my go pro on just to watch back at night.

Friday and qualifying! I did two runs before qualifying but I was still a long way off my full potential on this course but I knew a clean run would qualify me okay. I excited at the top of the track and had a good warm up before my run but coming into the 1^st section which was probably the toughest I really tightened up which was strange, it was such a slow run I didn’t think I would qualify, I sprinted as hard as I could to the line and smashed the finish huck everyone went wild so I was shocked that I qualified 36^th and my time was 40 seconds faster than my timed practice run the day before.

Saturday was pretty chilled out with 3 hours of practice I went over lines after walking the track the night before I tried a few different things and found some pretty good smooth lines which were a lot better I was feeling a lot faster and everything was starting to fall into place.

Race day and it was scorching hot by 10o’clock the track was real dusty and loose but riding fast, I did 2 runs before finals and had finally found my flow on the track the last section before the drop off especially.

When I headed up for my run there was loads of people on course, I could here them all going wild as I went up in the lift with funky noises coming from plastic toy guns and stuff. Warming up at the top I felt sharp and strong and looking forward to my run, this was the best I’ve felt coming into a race all season I went so hard out the start I almost missed the first corner all I can remember is bouncing around it, it was wild, down the first gnarly sections I was real clean, not the fastest but smooth, I knew I was good on the lower sections so getting through the top was the biggest thing for me.

After that I was started to get into the flow and the mythdog was hooking I had a few loose moments but that was no dramas just the final section to go and there was one corner I was having trouble with in practice I came in good I and lined up the section then suddenly I was going over the bars it was like slow motion I remember getting up and seeing my bike above me I grabbed it as fast as I could. I was so mad so I just let it hang out coming into the finish, I pedalled into the huck which was sick, I went pretty big off it I thought I might as well get something from this race and that was to go bigger than anyone off the drop Haha I almost didn’t make the next corner! I ended up 42^nd I don’t know how much time I lost in my crash yet but I think about 10 seconds which would of put me 16^th I think but it only makes me more determined. I’m looking forward to the BDS round 4 next weekend at Moelfre.

Champery! The Race I had really looking forward to since I saw it was back on the calendar this is the track that really does show the men from the boys.

 I met up with sixpac and Milky to do the track walk on Wednesday everyone was buzzing talking about last time we were here, as soon as we jumped on the lift we could see some major changes, the bottom section down into the car park had gone and there was some bad boy jumps now into the finish which looked sick! Just what downhill needs… loads of jumps! After that the lift sharply goes upwards and you can only see little sections of the track so we bailed off the lift before it got to the top and headed to the start of the track to do the super track walk. Out the gate it was looking the same apart from a mega hip at the end of the start straight, after that it was pretty much the same just a lot more man made to make it a bit easier. After that the only other real change was a step down in the mid section then a bridge over the road which was a lot better. As long as you hit all the jumps and stayed on you were on for a good one here.

Thursday practice and it was very dry, dusty dry but to be honest I wasn’t really feeling it I don’t know why, anyway I bashed on, I set a goal of doing all the jumps on the first run which was sick, I did 4 runs and then did a timed one with my go pro camera on which was cool to watch back.

 Friday, Qualifying, and it was pouring down! I thought oh shit, luckily I had just got some new Michelin spikes and they looked killer so I banged them on and got my jacket on ready for a run. The track was unreal I was feeling a lot quicker so I just did one run before qualifying. At the top I was real nervous but confident at the same time although my run was a disaster to say the least, I came off 3 times and passed two riders in my run I was laughing my head off it was so much fun, I kind of forgot it was qualifying, anyway I ended up 31^st which wasn’t to bad!

Race Day and it hadn’t stopped raining, I headed up for a run and the course was really chopped up in one section, me and marc Beaumont had a laugh at a few people here trying to avoid a drop but it was easier just to go off it and because where I had ended up I had to take a shonky line around it the track was riding good, I even got some line help of Nico Voulliouz! The track was a lot harder and some lines were no goes also coming into the finish jumps was real sloppy it was hard to keep speed through there. I did two runs before finals. I was so nervous here, I knew what I could do if I could hold it down and a few of my friends had come over to support me. Come finals the weather had let up, this was kind of good and bad, good your goggles didn’t get to mucky, bad that the mud had turned to cake it was going to be hard to judge what to do in the race.

Out the gate I went hard hitting the first section pretty good, then I had my first spill, I didn’t think about it too much and just got on with things I knew everyone was bound to have some sort of problems, then I came off again before the 1^st split I couldn’t believe it so then I attacked even more and then just before the 2^nd split I came off again! I don’t even know myself what was going on, there wasn’t far to go anyway the open section which I hit well then the steep switchbacks then the jumps and home! I got down the switchbacks then it was just that cakey left before the jumps and I slid out I jumped back on but was in such a hard gear I just made the 1^st little jump and went for the next bigger one, I pulled up so hard to try and make it but it wasn’t enough I cased pretty bad so the other two jumps I had to roll over I lost so much time. In the end I was 34^th not the result I was looking for. After 3 crashes at the 2^nd split I was 23^rd if only I had stayed on after that it wouldn’t have been so bad! A good result here would have given you a good chance of getting on the British team for the worlds next year. Once I got packed up it was off to Morzine for a few days this was something I was really looking forward to and some good time on the bike!

The National Champs was a race I was looking forward to all the season so when it finally came around I was buzzing.

I headed up on the Friday night with my mate Marv, we checked out the track just before dark and it was looking good, there were some good changes up top which looked sick, some cool jumps, turns and a funky triple stepdown. Lower down they had added a newish off chamber wooded section which lead into the good old stepdown and finally there was the bigger gas to flat line into the field even with a little uphill into it, it was still better than the other finish.

On Saturday morning I walked the track again just to go over things and then it started chucking it down!Once the rain backed off I headed up for some runs the track was riding real good and drying up fast.Then on my 2^nd to last practice run I had a pretty big crash in the rocks it was all good though as my bike took the worst of it!

Sunday and more rain it was the track was so hard pack it didn’t really matter there was only the bottom woods that were slippy so once you made it through there you were home and dry! I did 2 practice runs before seeding and I decided to cruise through and give it all in the finals.

Once I left the start gate my cruise run kind of turned into a flat out one, and it was going pretty good, a lot of people I knew had headed up to watch me at this one so no pressure! I was taking a gutsy gas to flat line in the rocks but you had to be precise, there was a little rock about 4ft back off the top of the section that you had to hit and it was a blind landing, anyway as I took off the rock I was going to far right and landed on a pretty hefty rock which spat me off big time, as I was going through the air I thought I was going to miss the rocks and land on the dirt, I hit the last rock with my upper leg, as I bounced I was sure it was broken and all I could think about was the back to back world cups next week. After laying in the bushes for a few minutes I finally came round, I think it’s a good job I’m fit or it would have been a lot worse. It was a hard pill to swallow for me, I was gutted I couldn’t race but I could barley walk so it was home to get packed for Champery!

This weekend was round 3 of the British Downhill Series in Llangollen and a race I was really looking forward to, Big six pack came over to sunny Cumbria for some riding on the Friday morning before we headed down south! We had a real good session on some big booters and ended up getting carried away finally heading home at 6 at night, we quickly got the van packed and headed down to Wales.

I rode here at the Welsh champs a few months earlier so I had a good idea what to expect, we landed down at ten and quickly walked the track just before bed.

We awoke Saturday to mega sunshine and clear blue skies, we had some breakfast and headed on up the hill, I was feeling real good this was my type of track and I was having loads of fun, on my 3^rd run I got carried away having a big crash wrecking myself and my bike, I had dislocated my finger which a medic put back in it was pretty sore so I rested for the rest of the day.

Race day, I got up early and my hand was throbbing and about the size of a balloon, I got it taped up and headed up for a run, it was real sore so I cruised down and modded my grip with a big bit of padding on the end for it to rest on.

Qualifying I decided to just get down the hill which was going pretty good until the last corner and I had a big slide out, I just made sure my hand didn’t hit the ground, I crossed the line 3^rd to last haha it was no dramas though I knew I was more than capable of doing well here so I got sorted out for finals.

I went hard out the gate carrying good speed along the top, but the bumps were taking toll on my hand (I could only hold one with one finger) and my hand came off the bar before the 1^st left it was all good though as I stayed on the next few turns were fast and loose before heading onto the next fast chamber where my hand came off again I knew I had to hold on tight for the next section which I just made it through, it wasn’t fast by a long way but I made it, then the last two corners that had gave me trouble over the weekend, I boshed them, then it was jump, jump, jump and sprint to the finish, I came across with a 1.48 which put me in 8^th place and 6 secs off the win considering my condition it wasn’t a bad result but I was still disappointed. The next day I went down to A & E as my hand was black, turns out my finger is broke in 2 so its 2 weeks off the bike but I’m really looking forward to national champs in 3 weeks its going to be mega!

Team Mythdog is in Leogang, check out the track walk.

We headed up to the big fort William with dirty milk man + milkshake = milky who had stayed at mine after the isx. Unfortunately there wasn’t enough room for him in the factory mythdog team bus civdog, so he grabbed a lift with my Romanian gypsy mate Marv in his pimp van that only runs on special fluid.

Big Brett my mechanic for the weekend was over as well for some training as he one of the posse now, so we headed to some mx on the Monday were I rocked the big 250 2 smoker in the b’s for some hard pack action.  It was a mega day, team eskin street was on the pipe along with enduro champ jonny balls walker who took top honours although he said he was tired for the 3^rd Moto so when the gate dropped me and jonny had a joint hole shot and he pushed hard in the 1^st turn I was right up his arse and I thought I would pass him so I did it was quite a clean move for me and a set about bashing on as I was hungry to take the win,  as the final lap was coming round I could still hear jonny so I kept pushing then on the final lap I slid right out on a off chamber turn and threw away it all I was devvoed. I ended up 2^nd overall which wasn’t bad considering I hadn’t rode for about 2 months. Jonny won and big Ben brayton was 4^th.

Anyhow back to the fort we got there Thursday morning and got signed on, I was well stoat when I blagged Brett mechanical a pass and a nice p sticker for the civdog so I could drive right in. We then headed up to check the track and see the new changes, I had rode the national there but there was even more changes which was sick, it was on with the mega track walk, Tom was still pretty rough from the radio 1 big weekend after a hards night Dee jaying but he still bought his sense of humour keeping the track walk alive.

Once that was out of the way I waited till it was online so I could see how funny I was and if it could beat the Maribor debut fortunately it did as the ending was mega.

We went to the digs for the weekend it was a tidy little bandb in the fort just for me and tom but where was Brett mechanical going to sleep? I was laughing my head off because I thought he was going to sleep in my car then I told him to go ask lasso if he could stay I didn’t actually think he would but he did and he did alright out of it 1^st night he spent on the floor, 2^nd night on a airbed and the final night on a bed! But I will explain that one later and all for 15 quid! 5er a night what a gypo.

Practice went good got a good 5 runs in I think, the track was so sick loads of lines and in and out of the woods which was good then the lower section was pretty much the same but was carrying good speed in the dry. Not being top 80 I was gutted I couldn’t put a timed practice run in but that would be sorted come Sunday.

Saturday the day of the dreaded qualifying loads of people had came to support me and with it being the home race so to speak I was feeling a little bit of pressure. I did 3 practice runs and was feeling good.

Brett mechanical came up to the top so we could get psyched we headed to the gate it was time I put my lid on then my goggles , it was all good, just needed a quick drink as my mouth was a little dry I turned round and Brett mechanical was already on the lift wtf like he wasn’t hanging about so I had to bosh out the gate with a dry mouth, it was a good steady run and I came across the line in 44^th after setting off 131^st so it was all good I knew I was in, it was such a relief, I ended up 46^th in qualifying, buzzing! Gutted for meat ball who didn’t get in and that’s how Brett ended up with a bed as tom made a quick get away and headed home.

That night me and mechanical headed out for a nice meal with my girlfriend and her family in a nice little pub after that I headed for a early nights sleep to prepare for tomorrow.

It came around fast, we had a lot to do though as the mytho was in bits, no tires on her no forks! What was going on. I went over to sram and picked my forks up after some loving they were feeling sweet then it got some fresh rubber on her it was ready, big shout out to Ralph malph for sorting me with some Allen keys. 3 more practice runs under my belt and I was ready for it.

Heading up the hill was unreal the atmosphere was something else, its always great at the fort but this time it was different it was tense up at the top with all the euro boys on turbos and shit getting in the zone I just did my own thing got the tunes banged on and kept myself to myself until it was time.

Before I knew it I was in the gate and I was on a charge my run was good I pedalled well up top and hit every section strong I just haven’t felt how I used to feel on the bike yet and that’s out of control wild speed but its coming! Coming into the motor way I could hear the crowd going wild team Cumbria were there I could still hear them at the bottom. I felt real fit right into the finish now it was just the waiting game to see where I would end up, in the end it was 45^th I was a little disappointed but I’ve made some changes to my set up this week and it has transformed the bike so we will see what round 3 in Leogang brings!

Click here to view the embedded video.