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

Rocky Mountain Ambassador

Rocky mountain  750 MSL rally edition 2015

Anybody who knows or follows me would have seen my recent instagram post that my Trek Session 9.9 was stolen but as one friend put it every cloud has a silver lining!

Whilst we are still hoping to get the Trek back my beloved On One codeine just wasn't cutting it as a do all bike I could race the local downhill series on one week and the UK gravity enduro series the next.

Thankfully the amazing guys at Rocky mountain UK and Greenover distribution have come to my rescue and hooked me up with the amazing Altitude 750 MSL rally edition. Described by Rocky mountain themselves as...

What's in the box? rocky mountain uk #lovetheride

"In short, it’s a berm smashing, trail blasting rocket of a bike that’s ready for the next generation of mountain bike racing."

With 150mm travel up the rear and 160 up the front I have no doubt of the altitudes capabilities to gobble up roots, rocks and everything else in it's path. After watching videos Isabeau Courdurier slaying it down EWS stages I was convinced this is a bike up to the challenge.
Lets just say I can't wait to get the suspension dialled in ready for racing this weekend x


Read Pink bikes take on the Altitude Rally here-
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/rocky-mountain-altitude-770-msl-rally-edition-review-2014.ht

Red bull fox hunt 2015

 This event is one I've wanted to do since I heard about it so this year I secured a lift way in advance of sign up.
It was well worth the wait!
Driving up took 9 hours so we arrived on the Friday and headed in to Edinburgh to explore.
On Saturday we were all warmly welcomed by the red bull team And our host Rachel Atherton.
Uplifts were provided by Jeep, lush brand new Jeeps too!
The first run of the course was awesome. Starting off at the top riding down steep heathers we then head into flat out fast rough rocky clumpy grass, then over some climb and into the kids for A lines and B lines. The technical lines were so fun with a rock garden and sizable jumps. The dual slalom was brilliant.
In the evening was yoga and beers. With more yoga from lululemon we a were refreshed and ready for a practice run. Having qualified in 43/126 I was happy and enjoyed an empty course one last time.
Up top waiting for the race to start I was in the 5th row back. I was really nervous having never done a mass start race before.
Once the horn blew I stayed in the pack to suss out how it all worked, soon as I had chance I started seeing overtaking opportunity's opening up. I over took more than I expected, especially as I am normally am pants at overtakes. The whole race was a rush and felt amazing! Rachel over took me towards the end of the course and I finished in 38th place! 5 places up from qualifying. The weekend was amazing but the race was the most fun race I've ever done. I met so many nice girls too and was great to catch up with friends too. I would highly recommend the weekend to anyone no matter their ability or experience.

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"