Woodland riders racing round 3 2016

It was a funny kind of day!

Waking up to torrential downpour racing my bike seemed so unappealing but after faffing for a good couple of hours I decided if I didn't race my bike then what else would I do?
I got there later than usual, then a surprising turn of event distracted my attention. Before I knew it I had 40 minutes to get in my practice runs?
First run from the top I had too much pressure in my tires and my saddle way too high. Having never ridden the Altitude on downhill I was glad these were small trail side changes I could make.
Normally for a downhill race I would practice the course and have my lines in my head even before I turn up so choosing lines on the fly was stressful and not allowing me to really find the limits of the bike.
Second run was only half the track and although I still had trouble with line choices I had that small moment of joy where you let the bike go and it just handled every steep sniper root and drop in my path.
Even after practice I was still contemplating if my head was in the right place to do race runs. I considered that half the girls entered never turned up due to the weather, I'd made the journey to get there, I had also not raced the bike yet and knew it was great experience for racing enduro next month so decided I had nothing to lose.

Laura Griffiths Rocky mountains Altitude woodland riders round 3

My first run I made a really bad line choice so got stalled on some roots. After that I went off a jump into a tree stump and went over the bars still clipped in so ended up wriggling around on the floor trying to unclip… At least when I race I always give a good show!
So last run left to go and I was really trying to get podium. I was in a personal battle with my friend Juliet to steal third place from her!
My entire run was great apart from one of my lines had been taped off by between runs one and two so came to halt faced by race tape now completely in the wrong part of the modified track! Such a shame as I was 2 seconds off podium and would have loved to have given the Rocky mountain Altitude the podium spot it deserved!

Not one to let an off day get the better of me I still came away so stoked and happy that I had raced.  The track was hard and although I didn't push the bike or myself as much as I should have I had those moments where I felt completely in unison with the bike.

Check back next month to see how I get on at Triscombe UK Enduro

East devon trail building

So we've moved and it seem like nobody who lives where we do rides a mountain bike!

In our sleepy little sea side village I have never seen more runners in my life, even if you went out in the middle of the night you would see someone out for a jog! 

We've searched high and low  in every bit of damp soggy woodland so heading a 10 minute  drive to the next town we found prime building ground.

Gnarkill - round 2 woodland 2014/15

Round 2 was on Gnarkill. I had never ridden the track since it had a new start but I have to say it's one of my new favourites. Much more enjoyable than Scotsman used in round one. 

For the first time I choose to ride my new On One codeine, a 29er enduro bike. It suited the course perfectly over the Demo. 

The codeine came into its own on the flat turns and sailed over the roots and through tight techy sections. Honestly that bike can jump! whoever said 29er can't jump was obviously on the wrong 29er!

Being my second race back after over a year off I was much more settled and calm.

With a fresh perspective I put down a solid, safe first run putting me in 3rd place. Feeling confident that all of the girls were only a couple of seconds apart I really went for it on my second run. Unfortunately I clipped a tree and my cleat came out and I couldn't get it back in before the big drop. Even though I lost lots of time in the middle section I got a 1:29 again so must have flown through the start and end sections to have made up all the time. 

I finished in 4th but was really happy as I was 2 seconds off 3rd place so felt Im getting back on my game with a competitive time. 

From this race I learnt new shoes with different position cleats take more time to get used to than I thought!

I've been really happy with my progress doing all of the jumps in both rounds. It's one less advantage that all the 4x girls have.

yoga for downhill riders

crow pose

headstand

In downhill I have always found my biggest weakness when ridding with boys to be my strength. Without good core strength and upper body I've always found it hard to hold my lines and muscle the bike over obstacles. 

By practising yoga I have noticed a huge difference in my riding. From the humble beginnings of plank to headstand yoga has also taught me patience, perseverance and to focus my mind

In the video below I show my own routine I have built up which focuses on the core and upper body.

I am not a tutor so follow my guidance at your own risk

 

Throw yourself back into it!

woodlands rounds 1 2014

start ramp gap jum

Wow its been along time since writing a race update!

Due to severe lack of funds my husband and I have had an entire season out of racing downhill!

We sure picked a good one to get back in to it!

Officially the hardest racetrack woodlands has to offer - the Scotsman... and of course some good old English rain!

It was a sloppy day on race day so all the previous days practicing and line choices didn't mean much so a fresh perspective was required. Having practiced all I could I knew it wasn't going to be an easy day.

The beginning of the track was straight forward, gap jump off the start ramp into a flat turn with tree stumps, try not to slide out of the corner and line up to pedal like mad and launch off another jump. Then on to my favourite section steep switchbacks.

All good so far and then came the horror of the bottom section....

It was steep, very steep with exposed roots criss crossing and sharp turns to negotiate. Once through those it was over some rocks and roots into the crap catcher, or around it, neither was easy!

Having practiced the crap catcher and going straight over the bars with everyone else I decided chicken line had to be a winner on this occasion although forgot to control my speed with the excitement of racing so still did an impressive hip slide down the hill. Once scrabbling around and back on the bike it was into the final section littered with rocks pointing in all directions keeping momentum was hard and the light was poor and in a fluster of nerves and frustration rode into a rock which stopped me dead! once having fought my way out I sprinted to the finish line.

It felt like my worst race ever and I was so frustrated and angry. I knew it would be hard from the start but in hind sight we all came off several times and our times were pretty close.

On reflection I leant a lot from racing such a hard track and am now even more motivated to push on with my training building my skill, strength and fitness for the next race.

A video for anyone who loves a bit of benny hill and riders falling in to the infamous "crap catcher"

 

mini edit Teign valley

Podium again

the face of concenration

 We went back again for another year of Falmouth urban downhill at Tremough campus in Cornwall.

The course was completely different, much longer with different stairs and jumps. This year 5 girls took part instead of just me! Is amazing how fast our race scene grows every year.

After an amazing days riding at cafe the day before I was feeling pretty good and there was only one huge gap jump I didn't do, which would have made up the time to second place.

podium maya Atkinson, tyde D'Souza, laura griffiths

Although it was fun I think I'm all urbaned out for now and missed roots and rocks, plus st austell brewery didn't sponsor this year so there was no beer to be won and we all need a good beer after a days riding!

my new Video - Tavistock woodlands

one industries mini enduro haldon

Despite my recent efforts to avoid the mountain bike world one industries mini enduro came to my doorstep and let's face it , it would have been rude not to take part. I have never entered an race so was pretty nervous at the thought of doing it. On Saturday I went with my husband up to practice and the stages were so much fun. The course was well thought out considering haldon was pretty much a forest on the floor with all the trees come down in the storms.  Unfortunately having the home advantage didn't mean much as most of the trails had been rebuilt. never the less it felt like riding a whole new place which was pretty exciting!

The course was so much fun, the timed sections were really steep and technical, very downhill style and racing the clock to reach the next stage start was exciting in it's self.

There's an art to enduro racing Compared to Downhill. There's bike set up, dealing with punctures and how much kit to carry, practising 4 stages instead of one and refocusing at every stage start. Dealing with mistakes is different, there's no second run and you have to focus on the next stage.

The competition was fierce, most of the girls had ridden enduro races before and knew each other. I was the odd one out! With no section times at the end like a DH race you never really know how your dong until results are posted. Despite by stage 3 having total jelly legs from exhaustion and holding of for dear life down a steep loose gully I came in 3rd place so got a podium place. I was over the moon as it was totally unexpected! 

I will definitely be doing one again, the race style is very intense but so much more for your money than downhill racing.

riding it's a love hate thing

When I started riding about 3 years ago I loved it and couldn't get enough of it. I read about it in magazines, and the internet and watched videos and visited bike shops. I was made up to find something I loved. Then even better I found other people that loved it too and there was the biking 'community'. I started off riding with my husband and his two dirty ratty sidekicks Jim and Si. They had crappy old bike and threw themselves off anything and I loved it, we all wore jeans and hoodies and no one expected us to be any good even though the boys were rad and not many women rode so soon I felt pretty good about being faster than boys we saw.

we started to meet more people and our riding circle increased which was fine at first But then it all got complicated like the good things always do and riding became more than me and my band of boys, we'd joined the riding community.

Lately I haven't blogged much because quite frankly I'd had enough of the world of mountain biking. being bombarded by the pinkbike experts who always know best and meeting people all day who had the 'best' bike and knew everything about the latest equipment. And girls downhill in the southwest is having it's moment with the 661 mini downhill so facebook is bombarded with which girls shorts should we buy, and what bikes can girls ride, where can all the girls be next and we should all read women's Wednesday. YUCK! just cos were girls we are no different, stop separating us!

I'd had enough I went into hermit mode, my life of riding bikes with the boys had been slowly invaded over years and at first I welcomed it but now all I ever seem to think is shut up and ride, how did it become this?

Giving myself some distance from riding in general, my avoidance of all things social media and running I can now ride my bike again with the boys and love it :D I still get annoyed with the same things but I choose to ignore them and block it out. So I miss racing and that but isn't it really all just about you and your bike?

Sometimes you have an awesome day

riders Laura Griffiths, Emma Braithewaite, Danni Benn

Living A FORCE OF NATURE - Lula Darquier

Living A FORCE OF NATURE - Lula Darquier on Pinkbike

I am loving this video so much right now. I love how well she rides, the music, her family and the whole idea. We all have our own mountain bike life 

Spanish downhill- sun sea and roost

For a change me and my husband decided to do what normal people do for a holiday and catch a plane to somewhere sunny for a winter break. But we thought... that's too normal so we still needed our bikes to come too!

We decided on 10 days staying in a relatives apartment as our base in Benalmadena. In Benal there's a cable car which is bike friendly with the front wheel off and with the help of you tube videos we were convinced there's good downhill riding to be had and were stoked on exploring.
Our Friends came with us too so we decided to try some uplift days and found roost was the best company for getting back to us. They were really flexible and offered us one day to start and more if we wanted too. 

On our first days riding we rode with roost who took us to SRAM test track which is probably the most famous track out there, it's really sandy and rocky, it's a baptism of fire intro to Malaga riding.
The rocks are not so much the problem but the sand is if your not used to it. Honestly I was just sliding around all over the place at certain points but its great fun and the roost boys were really supportive and willing to help give advice on line choice and technique.

To get into to town for lunch rather than driving into town we drove further up the mountain to the telecommunication towers and rode a 15 minute downhill trail down with the longest biggest boulder rock garden I've ever seen it was totally amazing! The trail starts off fairly tame and not so much downhill style as it is a walking trail too but once it got going it was amazing with steep long rock slabs to negotiate, super tight steep sandy switch backs and loose off camber exposed sections. I'm not sure how anyone would walk some of it! clearly Spanish hikers like to go big or go home too! One thing i find funny about Spanish trails is they are all unofficial so a lot of them end near peoples back gardens and just pass through residential streets. It was the best trail I've ridden and think it will take something really special to beat it!

After a delicious dirty tasting kebab it was off to ride the trail from the Danny hart winter training in Spain video and to end the day back to the telecoms trail again. I have never rode so much in one day. The SRAM test track and Danny hart trail we rode about 7 times each and with the miles put in on the 15 minute telecoms tower trail twice by the end of the day we were exhausted but had huge beaming smiles on our faces and well and truly made up with riding in Spanish sand. 

We enjoyed our first day day so much that we went with roost again for day two. This time it was a long hour and half drive out to Mijas to ride Motril race track. Driving there it was getting

mistier and mistier and once we headed up the foot hills of the sierra Nevada it was pretty bad visibility and the Spanish weather was not the warm sun it was at Benal. The track was amazing though, much more English style building and the ground was mud rather than sand so instantly felt much more at home. It still had the Spanish steepness, length and difficulty tho that we were loving so much. It started with a wooded steep top section with lots of root steps and drops, followed by swooping deep gullies , then into rock gullies and off camber rock sections to negotiate with an excellent middle section with difficult drops which saw us all at some point going over the bars landing on top of each other in the gorse bushes. We decided on four runs before stopping for lunch and on the fourth run coming through the trees it really started to rain and the gully were flowing and when we came out in to the open it turned into a really heavy hail thunder storm. the ride down was amazing sliding around, soaked and covered in mud squinting through the rain and hail to see. Again the trail ends through residential streets where we met trail doggie who sat in the bus shelter with us in the pouring rain while we ate sandwiches filled with grit and mud. The boys went out for more runs but most of us were happy to finish the day after amazing runs on an amazing course which wasn't spoilt by the weather at all.

After a days rest it was time to explore the cable car opportunities. A pass for the week was only €60. By then the weather was back to being warm and sunny. On our first day at the cable car we were lucky to meet an English couple who showed us the two main run although it is actually easy to find the runs it really helped us to work out the knack of getting the bikes in the cable car and quickest way back to the cable car station! The main run we rode was rockadillo which is in the video. It's super sandy again which us girls found a tad easier than the boys with our more gentle gliding approach. It's got everything you could possibly want from a trail with steep technical rocky single track, tight berms, drops and jumps. Each section is great in its own way and so much fun to ride over and over. 

Apart from the riding we had great nights in the local Irish bar and meals out in restaurants with friendly Spanish owners telling us their stories and plenty other stuff to do with a lush beach, marina and dolphinarium. Its so English friendly with all the ex-pats running bars and a much more relaxed way of life. 

we can't wait to go back soon!

rachel atherton interview

Endtroducing: Rachel Atherton

This interview by DIRT just makes me love her even more!

Angus sure is one lucky pooch!

Best quotes-

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever given?
Get a dog.
Get a bike.

What one thing would you change about yourself?
My inability to house a straight set of teeth in my mouth.

Leatt DBX ride 3 review

For christmas I got a Leatt DBX ride 3 neck brace or because I got it in white to go with my white helmet "toilet seat" as it is affectionately known as by my husband and friends!

I was pretty excited to get it as I've been wanting to get one for ages, especially as my friends have them and everyone at the southwest champs race did too. Also doing bigger jumps and feeling a bit more vulnerable it seemed a no brainer.

We seem to have had this conversation about body armour quite a lot lately with various people.

Its been mentioned to me and my husband a lot that we don't wear much body armour. All we usually wear is helmet, soft knees and gloves to ride downhill, and now leatt braces. Not being fans of hard knees and shins, mx roosters or padded shirts we get a lot of comments asking how we feel safe to ride steep tracks or do bigger jumps but if you never have worn these things you don't think about it. Not being big or clever about it we often go for just jeans, helmet and gloves. Guess thats what comes with riding with the old school sprung era guys. Keeping it real Steve peat style!

I digress somewhat!

First impressions when you open the box there are plenty of adjustment pieces to fit your leatt brace to you. The padding looks really high quality and feels really thick high quality to with stand use and being washed. The brace itself feels quite plasticy but sturdy. Overall it feels quite heavy when you first pick it up, its also very firm. Sounds silly but its hard to imagine wearing it when your riding when you first pick it up because it is so unflexable. The hinges were stiff at first but feel robust and well made and easy to use to get the brace on and off once you have done it a couple of times.

My husband helped me to fit it but it would be easy to do on your own with a mirror. I fitted the straps but decided to try wearing it with out them which was fine. It does move around a little when your riding but not so much that its annoying. The fit on the back piece and shoulders is so good that it feels secure. 

Once you put a helmet on your realise that your movement is much more restricted than without the brace. Because the padding is tough aswell its kind of clonky when you hit your helmet on the brace. At first I felt unsure that I'd made a good decision getting it, it did make me feel a bit awkward turning around to see people behind me, also I couldn't bend down enough to do the zip up on my coat easily. It fits well over my jersey tho and my coat went easily over the brace.

Once I started to ride in it it did feel strange but I soon got more used to it. Only time I noticed it getting in the way was on one long steep berm, I could't quite turn my head as much as I would like to see the exit of the berm.

Also I did a jump and landed awkwardly on the front a bit heavy and couldn't lift my head up enough to see far ahead like I would normally in that situation.

I like wearing it because I don't much like the thought of a serious neck injury but I do find it awkward at times and think it will still take a bit of getting used too. My husband has been wearing his for a while now and said the same at first but now doesn't even notice it so I will wear it again and again.

I bought a small based on the leatt size chart.

my latest achievement

The latest jump I've been working up to is over cafe side at Haldon. 

its a respectable 4ft2. 

Been watching the boys doing it for a while and practicing away at getting faster and landing further on other smaller jumps.

On sunday I had the opportunity to ride there and knew the time had come and I was finally ready to do it.

I followed my husband in for speed and everything was so perfect, the take off, the land, all of it. 

So I did it again but our friend paul filmed, I was so over excited by the first one that I messed up a little on my second not concentrating and did come off the land at the edge so yes i do scream "fcuk" in the video!

So totally stoked tho to have made it :D

Another great Gawton day

Last sunday we had another great day at Gawton as usual. We enjoyed the usual mud, slipping and sliding and falling over just pushing up. In practice next season we all rode something new or jumped something higher than we've ever jumped before. For me and my friend Emma we both rode Super tavi. My first ever double black rated track. It was a struggle down in places but nothing that soon we wont be conquering.
Like all of the other tracks we used to not be able to ride. Its always hard to go down the track that has been built up in your mind. It was so exciting to see whats beyond the first jump, it was nothing like how easy the pro's make it look in videos but it was new and exciting. We also rode more of the jumps on old tracks where we would have never dreamed of doing them before. Its amazing to think in the past two years I have developed so much more skill without realising doing something that I love. In downhill I really have found my place to progress and anything I cant do yet I realise now that one day I will succeed in riding it and will have enjoyed the journey so much it won't have felt like a journey at all.
another great memory that I have shared with my best friends at my favourite place

Below is the video of the ladies setting their times on the track for dirt 1:04

Tracy Moseley and the 1:04 Cut Loose a Mountain Biking video by millki

first downhill race - southwest champs

For my first downhill race I ended up doing southwest champs because I rode for the bike shed team and it was their first race. The track used was proper job, Gawtons newest trail. This was to make the race accessible to every rider. We got there on the saturday and set up the stand and waited for the track to open and uplift to begin. 

I had a surprise when the uplift started and was a tractor pulling those big bucket trailers that hay bales are transported in. All that stopped the last person falling out was a strap. It was my first uplift non gondola style. It was pretty scary but fun. It was a steep bumpy ride with people and bikes bumping all over and it was a good idea to keep your helmet on to avoid the low branches from taking you out! My bike survived the whole weekend with my pedals in a lot of spokes and my gear cable being pulled out, glad I've got my battle bike. 

On saturday we had practice runs, it was good weather but where it had rained so much at the start of the week it was pretty messy on parts but most of the track held up well. with over 125 riders it was busy but a great supportive atmosphere.

 On Race day I was nervous but after a couple of practice runs was loosened up. Waiting by the start I was really nervous, there were 10 girls in the category and most had more race experience than I did and had been ridding a lot longer. Because of differences in speed we were all given plenty of time to get down before the next person started which was great for those of us that it was their first race. When I waited on the start ramp I felt pretty calm but as soon as I started pedalling my arms went limp like jelly and I was all over the place. I was so nervous and distracted by the people cheering I nearly fell off on every berm and jump. It wasn't till after the rock garden where there were less people that I started to relax. I wasn't that relaxed tho! I was finding it really hard to pedal because I managed to go through all of my gears and was pedalling with the breaks on, which I'm sure I have never done before! Soon as I went past the timing tent I was so relieved to have finished that I stopped concentrating and feel off over the bank into the fire road. 

Once at the top it was a lot more tense between the riders because a lot had fallen off on their first run so the pressure was on for them to improve their times.  I tried too stay calm and and just hear the positives. On my second run I knew I had to concentrate on the trail and not the crowd. I started a lot calmer and smoother. It felt slower but more enjoyable. I was 8 seconds up on my first run, so calmness defiantly paid off. 

I enjoyed the whole weekend so much and met some great new girls to ride with and will defiantly do more races in the future. Unlike the cross country race I entered I felt like I belonged in the downhill race and could see so many ways to improve. The pressure of the race made me confidently jump sections I would have rolled in the past and ride harder and faster than usual. 

video

Women

10 competitors found

Rank	Bib	Name	Sponsors	Run 1	Run 2	Best run	Diff
1	134	Jo PAGE	Malvern cycle sport	2:20.057 (2)	2:06.165 (1)	2:06.165	-
2	75	Heather KAY	Carrick Riders / Falmouth Cycles	2:46.754 (8)	2:11.893 (2)	2:11.893	5.728s
3	128	Natasha BRADLEY	deacoy BMX Club / KB Racing	2:19.304 (1)	2:23.246 (4)	2:19.304	13.139s
4	139	Rachel BURRIDGE		2:24.668 (4)	2:20.774 (3)	2:20.774	14.609s
5	62	Katie PARSONS	Gawton Gravity Hub	2:23.877 (3)	2:31.808 (7)	2:23.877	17.712s
6	95	Emma BRAITHWAITE		2:30.845 (5)	2:24.416 (5)	2:24.416	18.251s
7	87	Laura GRIFFITHS	The Bike Shed	2:35.697 (6)	2:28.004 (6)	2:28.004	21.839s
8	145	Siobhan BURKE		2:35.926 (7)	2:37.788 (8)	2:35.926	29.761s
9	79	Maya ATKINSON		2:51.831 (9)	2:47.839 (9)	2:47.839	41.674s
10	36	Ella NICOLLE	Gawton Gravity Hub	4:11.363 (10)	3:08.691 (10)	3:08.691	1:02.526