here are some random photos i took on my computer camera in maribor, i have loads of rad piccies on the camera, but lost the lead we did, so they are stuck on the camera!
stevie bell and i trying to fill the boredom whilst gee is away practising, gee after his first run that very wet day in maribor, and stevie bell again after his 2 day drive back from the race, KO’d on the sofa!
also are Lesley and Frith, chief sign makers in fort william, i don’t think they were big enough for dan to see tho, since he wears contacts and all! then we have Gee in the lift sporting a lovely straw number, very protective it is, and last but not least Clay Porter thinks he has swine flu!

Today has been a mega top day. This morning i awoke early and could not hold my urge to cycle back one more minute. I walked, my heart in my mouth, into the garage and lifted my Commencal Skin from its hook. My smile spilled over my lips and there it stayed as i pedalled my way to the top of the hill. Leisurely (and what a leisurely pace it was) i climbed upwards, looking out over my home valley, it was so so green, the rocks and scree were so so grey they almost shone, the stone walls wound there way determinedly around the mountain, and the river fell fast and excited down the fall at the end of the valley, where i was headed. I could see my final destination the whole way up, a thin brown ribbon of a track threading its way down through the fields and ferns, outcrops of trees and sheep littered its sides and i knew that this was it, my first recovery ride. The ride that nothing else beats. As i pedalled on up, the sun beating down on me and my shoulder brace so hard, gazing over the edge of the road far down to that ribbon, i felt alive. When i got to the top, breathing hard and sweating, i yelled so loud ‘IVE GOT 2 ARMS’ and then ‘AND A CARBON BIKE!’ i laughed like crazy and set off along the track through the field. I say set off, it was more of a bow legged, bow armed extra brake attempt, but all the same it felt hella good to splash through the stream, and get roosted with sheep shit. After i had taken the longest time known to mankind to descend this lovely smooth dirt track, it would have been quicker to walk, and stopping more times than i thought possible, i rejoined the lane that took me home. I crossed the river and rode through the field that has been freshly cut for hay, slightly sad that my long grassed and meadow flowered haven of the past weeks was gone, into the yard i went, then stood in the kitchen, beads of sweat running down my face. It was not the fast paced and scary ride that i had done so many times before on my first ride back from injury. But it’s a start and where there’s a start, there’s a finish!
The day continued to improve as Clay Porter and I headed into town, stopping at a charity shop to stock up on CD’s, i introduced him to the songs ’sex on the beach’, ‘mysterious girl’, ‘ooo ah just a little bit’ and other classics. Clay is the biggest fan in the world EVER of Iglu and Hartley and we sung, duet style, all the way home to their song ‘In this city’. Out of breath doesn’t come close! Gee is currently getting ready for a naked photo shoot tomorrow for Cosmo’ magazine, so don’t buy that issue unless you want to puke.

Today was one of the hardest days ever. Watching the girls race was not fun at all, knowing that if I was fit and racing I could win, not fun. Then watching Gee crash, my heart dropped out of my tummy, I couldn’t stop the tears from coming, and they felt like they were burning my face as they fell, all i could do was say no, and not believe it, Browny had his hand on my back and the hurt inside took me by surprise. I went to Gee and hugged him so hard, Wanted to take the pain away from him, I think at times like this it is a curse being so close to my brothers. Gee was devastated and I couldn’t bear it, and I couldn’t bear him seeing how much it hurt me. We practically ran back to the pits and I had to go round the back whilst I let it wash over me, just sat there and cried my eyes out. I’m not ashamed to admit stuff like this at all, and while I sat there heard gee saying how he had crashed at the top before the split, I couldn’t believe my ears at all and new tears fell. He had pushed a turn too hard, dug his bars in and over the bars he went, spinning 180 degrees, jumping back on his bike he said he pushed so hard to make the time up and then at the last minute before the finish, he crashed, which we all saw. It was honestly the worst i have felt,( people might think it is lame to get like this just over a race, but when you are not racing you want it more for them and get into it more) but gee seemed to be ok. I think he knows he was on it so it is easier to accept than if you are just off the pace. However saying this, he is not a happy boy. It is a real shame that there is to be a 3 week gap before the next world cup, it shouldn’t happen like this i don’t think, it stops the racing speed from getting faster and faster all year i think.
Anyway, that was today. It made quite a lasting impression on me and ingrained in my mind what i already knew, that next year i will not settle for anything less than the win. So here’s to everyone that has ever felt sad by a defeat, and also here’s to today’s racers because a lot of guys went hella fast and were really impressive, so good on them.

Well it has been a pretty hectic few days, the downhill race track looked so rad, really fast and gnarly, i couldnt believe it.Made me feel rather uncomfortable watching it, when you have time away from it all you just realize how insane these guys are and how fast they are actually going. It is nuts. Been super flat out, walking the track, getting to see the other side of the tapes, the photographers, the filmers, the fans all the way from equador for their first world cup spectate, its just rad. Been doing hella writing and photo shoots for Americas ‘Bke Mag’ so stay tuned for that, been eating ice cream, making birthday cake for Dirt Mags Billy, winding Clay and Sven up on the walkie talkies and then today the MOTHER of all rain storms hit and everyone nearly drowned. I was so jealous of everyone slip sliding down the track, looked so much fun, brought it all back for sure and i missed it more today than ever. The DH qualy’s were cancelled which was a mega shame because it would have been so rad to do it in these conditions, everyone felt the same i think, but they had to shut the chair lifts due to the thunder and lightening, so it is fair enough. Makes for a super early morning tomorrow, practice starts at 7am i think…and after a night of 4x, feeling pretty tired! Well, i say a night, but obviously i wasnt racing, but watching tonight was the most exciting ive seen racing for a while, it was just so radical. I was commentating of freecaster which is always good fun, but i was just so speechless when Dan was racing, i wanted him to get podium so bad, but i guess it was just not happening. He had some issues with tires but said his gates felt better which i snot hard considering how bad they normally are! I think after taking a few weeks out from his shoulder injury, braking your scapula is never fun, he was a bit tentative. The racing was madness tho, and Graves did some insane riding to get from back to front, as did Slavik who impressed me hugely, in the end tho Wichman won, he rode really well, even tho in one of the first rounds he cut over the white line out the gate massively which i thought was not cool as everyone else managed to stay in them….Rindernecht or however its spelt and prokop took some massive crashes, as did most people really, and i coudn’t belieVe they were ok! The womens race was even exciting and after Jill and Beerten took each other out, again, Caroline Buchanon took her 2nd ever win! So thats about it, it was a really really exciting nights racing, just how it should be, and now all thats left is the DH tomorrow, wet, technical track, not much pedalling, hmmmm……

I’ve been getting some inspiration from some of the best….Chris Sharma is insane, i love climbing and can appreciate how gnarly this dude is, bu the also has something else, its nuts. King Lines is the movie to watch, watch it.
Ghetto training rounds the package off nicely and just makes you realise the potential within, or maybe not within me, but still….!!

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=E273421E758A4D38&search_query=king+lines

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlcQ3mxlNfs&feature=fvst

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXCwz2sDc24

So we had a meeting the other day with Jamie Edwards from Trained Brain, our ‘psychologist’…!
We have worked with Jamie for a couple of years now and I hands down say that without him as part of our team, the Rainbow Jersey (s) !!!! would not be in Llangynog. Jamie and his family are awesome, they welcome us into their home and feel like solid friends, but above all that, Jamie understands me on a level I thought impossible, and he is my secret weapon. Now Kobe is Jamies son and he is fearless! He sends his little battery quad around so fast, down mega steep banks and always with a grin, he loves it and it makes us smile, especially Gee.

He recently got a bike and when his training wheels come off, he’ll be unstoppable…Kobe will be signed to Atherton Racing and have to swear an oath, then he’ll be the youngest person to ever race and win a world cup, he’ll be like, 7. perfect!
If you want a little piece of my secret weapon, check his book out, Mental Ketchup.

To keep myself sane I’ve been doing a bit of fishing with some friends, the weather has been great of late and the fish are biting! Few trout for an evening meal goes down really well….