Wowee we finally got here, to Newport Beach, CA.Dan, myself and Andy mechanic (Gee is filming in NZ with anthill till next week) left our beloved dwelling at 4am one morning, heading to heathrow. We left our house in the care of some friends who are sitting for us to stop it falling down! and to look after the cats, ride the yard and just generally live the welsh live till our return!
So, It took us an hour to make a half hour journey, the whole time in 4X4 mode, it was INSANE how much snow wales had, the roads were about 3 foot deep and we followed the snow plough all the way to civilisation.
On the motorway a lorry had crashed so the whole thing was diverted down shitty little roads, it was so busy and we were late as usual so we decided to re route and go our own way, it was MINT! we were driving down single lanes and through little villages, with 6 bike bags piled into the back of the truck, it felt like we were in a movie with the beauty of it all. At one point we got to a T junction and Affy booted it, we were completely sideways and this guy was leaning up against his car which was stuck as fuck watching us, it was so funny!
At one point we were driving through these woods, the road completely lost so it felt like we were totally in the middle of these woods, on the way to the airport! Really surreal.
Anyway we made it in the nick of time, i was pretty sad to be leaving the valleys, especially at such a special time of year. They look beautiful and everyone is skidding around, attaching wellies to skiis and all sorts, i really wanted to stay but its just impossible to ride and train properly, for me anyway, so its here we stay, to train and get this damn shoulder strong again. Don’t get me wrong its pretty cool out here, sunny and the dirt jumps are riding welllllll, all 12 bikes are nearly built, but its just i miss home alot. My friends Mum passed away yesterday too, so my thoughts are with Him and the family.
Take care one and all, weather you’re in the UK in such cold conditons or anywhere, life is a tricksy little devil sometimes. xxx

My brother Daniel has acquired a house pet. His name is Warren and he is a wasp. We think because it has been so mild of late and the heating on, he has come out of hibernation. I think he could well be a queen wasp, nestless and lost, because he is rather large for a regular wasp.
Affy comes into the kitchen and if Warren is awake and buzzing around, he holds his hand out and he lands on Affys finger, then affy gets some honey and feeds him up. Everyone has gotten rather fond of old Warren, even the cat chases his around. We often have to shout at him because he gets on the sofa or poo’s everywhere, but really he is quite well behaved for a wasp, he just goes off into his hole above the light and sleeps. Good old Warren!

Gee and I were sat on the sofa just now, wondering ”weather to have a burger or chips, or, what the shrapnel in my back pocket could afford, when i noticed, out the corner of my eye…”
… oh no, wait, wrong words..so we were sat there eating grapes and gee said ‘i wonder what the record for having a grape in your mouth is without chewing it?

So we had a race, 3,2,1 in they went and we sat there for about 3 minutes, it was really hard work! and took some photos but mine kept flying out when i laughed because it was tucked under my lip, but it still counted towards the race ‘cos i put it right back in…

I cooked tea and everything with my grape in, and i bet gee £500 that he wouldnt be able to eat his tea with the grape still in his mouth, unchewed! He thought it would be easy!

My culinary skills had delighted my eyes and sense of smell for too long and after 27 minutes i chomped it up! it was so delicious and juicy, gee went to about 30 minutes, so i guess he won, but i still hold the record for most binsacks full of rubbish in the wheelbarrow up to the top of the drive, 9 full ones!! WAYHEYYYY!

I have found a very worthwhile use for the PRO star series handle bar that we have brought out.
Seeing as i can’t really ride on them yet, i’m using them in my physio.

They are the perfect tool to help push, stretch and lift my shoulder back to how it should be, not to heavy, not too light…and my hands appreciate being back on the bars, even if they are not attached to a bike!!

Much more glamorous than using an old brush handle or golf club…thanks Shimano and PRO!!

Jeeeee Wilikers!
It has been such a long time since i wrote anything on here, the confounded technology that is twitter and facebook…aka ‘takes about a second to update’ stole my words for a few weeks. but no more!
The main reason i’ve failed to update is because i can’t seem to write just a quick update on the latest, i always write so much and this time is no different!
So much has happened since last time, namely that i got back on the old Down hill bike.
We went to schladming about a week before the last world cup was there, me, the brothers, Dan stanny Stanbridge, Ben baltic Reid and his mechanic Alastair Beckett.
After squashing 4 of us, bike bags and kit bags into the smallest hire car ever, (4 in the drivers seat it felt like)
we arrived and my heart was practically leaping from my chest. It had been almost a year to the day since i had last ridden downhill, and boy was i ready to go!
We got to the top of the race track, the boys were extremely hesitant to let me ride down it, but i insisted that i had been riding some pretty gnarly XC all year and so wasn’t a complete off road virgin!
They all set off, i took a deep breathe and followed.
It was incredible! (apart from all of them stopping every 2 seconds to see if i was alright! )
I was pretty nervous, thinking that my bike would be too heavy, that i would have forgotten how to control myself on such a track etc etc, but it was almost instantaneous. As soon as i was a few corners in, the hesitancy and nerves were replaced by, well, by nothing.
Absolutely nothing in particular was in my head, it was like i had never been away. Everything was waiting for me where i had left it, in my Downhill riding drawer.
I was surprised how easy it felt, how easy it was to slip back into riding downhill, how natural my body felt on my bike. I was delighted when, at the end of the day, i realized that perhaps, if anything, i was better and more precise than before, but definitely slower!
One day we drove to this bike park along with a couple of NZ lads we met, it was raining SO HARD when we arrived and in seconds we were soaked to the skin and covered in mud. We all moaned a lot but secretly we were all loving it, and we rode all day long, run after run. Ive never had such a good day riding, it was so rad.
I would take a little short cut at the top of the track so that i would pop out in front of the guys, then ride in front of them shouting ”that’s it boys, follow me, you’re doing really well, keep up” and things, it was so funny cos we were going pretty slow, me leading and all, we were all laughing so hard and i kept nearly falling off because it was quite a hard track. Gee was in hysterics because at one point i tried to show off and go faster but forgot the track already and got a massive swap on and flopped into a tree and he crashed into me! Im smiling even now!
It sounds so simple but it had been such along time since we had all ridden like that together and baltic and stanny are our oldest and closest friends, it was just like the good old days, with the welcomed and brilliant addition of Alastair! Gee and Affy almost made me cry because they said they had missed me this year at the races, riding with me and all that, and it was so lovely!
We had to break into an under-ground carpark to get changed because it was so wet, we took over the whole place with our muddy shite, it was pretty funny as everyone was looking really strange at us and i just wanted to shout ”YEAAA WE ARE CRAZY LOOPY BIKERS AND WE LOVE IT AND IM NEVER GOING TO STOP”, but i didnt!
After 4 days of solid riding, (and the lads sinking ALOT of kebabs) i was so tired. Every muscle ached, but luckily we had to stop because the world cup was starting. 2 days went by and i couldn’t handle not riding so for the last few days i rode the top of the mountain at schladming, the view was insanely beautiful, my shoulder felt pretty strong, and i was falling in love with riding all over again, i couldn’t have been happier!
I wont bother talking about the race because there’s so much to say, and i prefer talking about myself
When we got home from the race i had to take my sorry ass to the hospital and have a 2nd shoulder operation. I felt pretty sorry for myself, after feeling the downhill tracks again, to be back in a sling for 3 weeks.
I hid myself at home whilst the boys were away in Brazil and South Africa doing Redbull races, but then i got so many kind and lovely emails and things from people, some i knew and some i had never met, it cheered me up no end.
I’m so grateful to everyone for taking the time to say nice things, even when they themselves are having a hard time. So i want to say to everyone, ( thanks you!!) and weather you are having a hard time or whatever. hang in there. Time is an incredible healer, like they say. remember who you are, where you are going and how much fun it is going to be getting there!
Spread the love!! x

Today the rain fell, OH did it fall!

I’ve been riding alot of xc, the other day the marin trail in Betws was my choice, it was brilliant and very wet!!
That single ride made me realise once more why the rain is my favourite thing to ride in, its amazing! Everything feels way more dangerous because you can hardly see, the feeling that you get when you smash through the first few puddles and one of your feet gets soaked and cold is rad…i won’t go on and on about how lovely it feels to ride in the pouring rain because really, you need to do it yourself!

So today drove to Penmachno, near Betws Y Coed, with my mate Tom, we sat in the carpark looking down the valley at the thick mist that was doing a very poor job indeed at keeping the rain out!

Perturbed we were not, excited we were, which might have had something to do with the new Red Bull energy shots that arrived in the post this morning. A pocket sized shot of concentrated Red Bull, 27 calories and it doesnt make you need half and hour rest because youre to full to move, like a whole can does!Good shit!

Before we knew it we were climbing the first climb, I instantly boiled over so took my coat off. I love the feeling of riding in the rain with just a t-shirt and shorts, seem to have done quite alot recently!

The ride was FANTASTIC! Probably one of the best rides i’ve done for a while, we were soaked to the bones and it seemed to make everything better. Half way around, the track winds around the side of a bowled hill and towards the end it gets mega, rocky as fook and pretty fast, i was bloody having the time of my life!

The rain was falling hard and the track was a river, my eyelashes seemed to be soaking up the water and holding it over my eyeballs so i couldn’t see a thing, I was trying to jump and double up everything i could, hitting the turns as fast as i could, it was just so good.
It felt like we were going so fast on the downhills, just launching off everything as far as i could, it was incredible, it really was. The climbs gave a brief respite from the blindness and a chance to appreciate the rain, just letting it hit you, feeling the drops falling on you, on your bare arms compared to your covered back, reveling in the water that runs down your face, it feel like it washes things away and there really is no thought in your head apart from what you are doing that moment. You are so wet, and your face so covered that you could be sweating like mad, you could be crying and snivelling and no one would know. The rain is a mask behind which any emotion can rage and battle itself out, how many things let you do that?

It amazes me almost every time i ride my bike how terribly excited it makes me, it is like there’s too much excitement inside to control and i go loopy! We shot out onto the fire road after that particular section and i just whooped and laughed and shrieked like a crazy lady, it was so exhilarating, i swear to God that everyone needs to experience that feeling.

I think that riding in the rain makes things way better, it is properly British, (Welsh!) the quietness that it brings to the mountains, it sort of smothers things in a layer of secrecy and yet there you are, enjoying something that everyone seems so frightened of! But why, because as long as you don’t stop riding your bike, then the rain never feels better!!

Let it RAIN RAIN rain raIN RAIn

Hello!
i have just started reading ‘How Triathlon Ruined My Life’, by our coach Darren Roberts, and im also reading ‘Feet in the clouds’ by Richard Askwith, a fell runner. These both got me to thinking, seeing how great and motivational they are, reading and learning about different sports seems to be a good idea, so i wondered if anyone has any recommendations of books they have read??
Ever gratefull….Rach.

After much deliberation, and possibly some tears on my part, the decision has been reached that i will not race this year. Believe me when i say the decision was not come by lightly, nor happily, but i feel that to push things too far, too soon could well ruin next year for me.
After talking things through with my Surgeon, Physio, Coach and Family, I decided that my shoulder was too unstable to risk racing, and that concentrating on building the muscle back up so that it is 100% for 2010 was to be the best course of action.
I’m pretty gutted that i won’t be racing, it seems almost as if i am handing the Striped Jersey over without a fight, but i guess sometimes a fight is just not the right way to go, rather silent acceptance and destruction at the next given opportunity! So that is what i am set on, all switches flicked, every memory of racing, good and bad is there to assist me, every feeling of smashing a rutted corner, even boosting the trails and lining my moto up for the win, they are all there ready in line to be got out again, when they are needed.
I feel as though i have never been more well equipped going into a race season, (albeit i may be going into next season sooner than anyone else)
Fresh in my mind is the feeling of raw, unprocessed pain, both physically and mentally, and every fiber in my body is tuned to avoiding that at all costs, and so my motivation level, my desire to win, to feel fast, to have the most fun ever doing it all, is at an all time peak.
Some nights i just wake up and cannot sleep for the thoughts going through my head, the remembering of the feelings that i get when i race, is incredible and i try and hold onto them for as long as i can. They bounce around inside me and everything else just falls back and gives them the space to bounce, when I’m training the bad memories come flooding back and the only way i can describe it is like someone has shot concentrated, pure desire into me and I don’t think i can stop until i have got what i want, what i need.
It may sound melodramatic, it may sound over the top, and it may sound self centered and selfish, which to a certain extent it is. I believe that to be a Champion you must have a certain streak of selfishness because otherwise how would you want it all and not feel bad for those you take it from (the other racers i mean)
Well I’m not ashamed to admit i want it all, the taste was tasted in 2008, and i liked it. 2009 was a bit sour, but 2010, (and let us not forget beyond!) has all the ingredients and more secret weapons than you can shake a stick at!
Game on.

The past week or so has been awesome. Climbing out of my tent after an evening around the fire, to be greeted by a huge lake, the sun and a cup of tea, it doesn’t get much better! Most days have gone by in the same manner, morning tea, followed by a swim in the lake, breakfast then everyone would untangle their bikes and go their separate ways for a few hours, well, me for XC and the others for DH. Later afternoon would see us all shampooing and washing in the lake, then a fire would be built and dinner would be cooked. Obviously other stuff happened but thats about the routine that was set. The XC has been incredible, so much fun just going off and riding up and down, but i admit i got stuck at the bottom of this one huge mountain and didn’t want to ride back up so i caught the lift most of the way! very shameful! But the single track at the top was amazing! There was a quick trip to the hospital one day when someone crashed big time and hurt their back, i thought it was broken and was very freaked out, but turns out it’s just badly bruised. I managed to drag one lad out with me yesterday on an xc ride, with the promise that at the top of the monster climb the best downhill would ensue, and sure enough it did! The track was mega, and being able to ride and follow someone else after so long not doing so was incredible, i was pleasantly surprised to find out that i wasn’t as slow as i had suspected, and the track, being very rooty and fast, brought back the memory of riding DH fast and flat out as sharply as if i had just finished my world champs run. My whole body felt alive, every part of me knew what to do, i had thought that having not really ridden DH since november i would forget, but in fact i think the opposite is true. It is like my body and mind have been ticking over quietly all this time waiting for the return, planning each movement, going over and over what it feels like to smash down a rooty rutted straight, i swear it was insane how at ease i felt, everything just slipped into place and apart from my shoulder making its presence known, it was perfect. The bug has well and truly re awakened now!
To London tomorrow to pick up the brothers, can’t wait! Oh and a few ice creams have been sunk and footy played with the hello kitty ball that ‘bear and sam’ bought….very manly! cheers boys!

After i dropped the rest of the Team of at the airport so they could make their way to canada for the next 2 world cups, i was at a bit of a loose end. With my shoulder feeling alot lot better, and all the zings and tings making me smile, i decided it was time ot knuckle down and get back on it. Packing my tent and my cross country bike, equiped with all the new ‘atherton pro’ prototype stuff, i drove to france to meet some mates and get my ride on! The drive was long, and standing on the ferry all alone knowing that i was off to start riding again, after almost 6 months of no off roading, well it was all i could do not to start singing and dancing!
I got to the final destination and met said mates, whipped my seat belt off and bombed into the lake, woweeeEEEEE it was mega! The weather must have followed me from englandio and it stormed up a treat, i swam about in the water whilst it poured down and looked about at the mountains that held all these mega dh tracks, oh how i yearned to bring the old DH rig up and go as fast as possible down!
The next day was definitely a top 10 of my life, early rise, cooked eggs on the fire, a quick swim then off! With my xc bike i trucked on up to the top of the highest high i could find, with the help of a map, and when i got to the top, the view was insane! The rest of the ride was done with the biggest smile on my face ever, my shoulder brace was rather hot, and i was going rather slow, but it was an amazing feeling, hopping off little bumps and skidding around, i felt like a kid. It was very very nice being out there, alone, with my bike, discovering it again, and very very hard to control myself and ride carefully, not to crash or hurt my shoulder, but its worth it! I love it! Just getting on my xc bike makes me smile, i got a chairlift up one day and it was like a trigger, i got so excited and nearly actually wet myself!
The riding around here is really really great, and with a map there is no stopping you, just get the xc bike out, water and red bull and just go! Throwing my leg over my xc bike in the car park brings a smile out, learning to wheelie (dark secret that i cant!) and just messing about in the woods trials style, its what life is about right now, i try hard not to get so deep about all this stuff, but it really is amazing what fun you can have sweating away uphill then blasting back down!
Saying this today my legs were to tired to ride so into the canoe we went, then when we were sunbathing a dog tried to hump my friend as he lay on his back! very very funny! Im currently sat in a cafe waiting for the mt st anne freecaster to start, but i think i might not watch it as it is quite nerve racking!
So till soon….