UCI World Cup Fort William 7th June 2015

UCI World Cup Fort William 7th June 2015

This was my first experience of a world cup, and I hope it is not my last. Such a fabulous day, completely awe inspiring to watch the worlds best riders flying down the hill at Fort William. 

Rachael Athertonn - qualifying run

Emmeline Ragot - qualifying run

After soaking up the atmosphere at the bottom and watching the impressive Danny Macaskill's Drop and Roll tour, we caught the gondola to the top station to where the riders start their journey down the hill. We, along with the other three and a half thousand other spectators embarked on the wonderful walk back down by the side of the track.

 From very top all the way down the track the atmosphere was buzzing, with most of the track sides covered all the way down the hill. Everyone was cheering, blowing horns and banging the inside of rims providing a wave of support for every rider, regardless of their nationality, age, sex or bike.

Manon Carpenter - race run

The women came down for their race run first. I was totally in awe of these inspirational ladies, I always have been, but to see them in action was amazing.  

Rachael Atherton - race run

Tracy Hannah - race run

The woods were thick with mud and the going got a little tricky in places, but we always had the tetrus gang to keep us entertained! Everyone was smiling, whatever the age and it just goes to show how popular the sport is. 

As we walked down you could occasionally hear the roar of the crowd below as the riders entered the finish arena. As we arrived at the motorway section just before the finish you could feel the energy and excitement. Cow bells, chain saws, vuvuzellas, trumpets, shouting, the atmosphere was alive! 

This was the first view of the riders as they came into the finish arena. Every rider that flew into view got a huge roar of support. 

Coming into the final jumps and finish arena the crowd filled the whole area and all seemed to act as one, watching the big screen then to turning to watch the riders enter the finish, all moving their heads and cheering together.

I will never forget the roar of the crowd when Greg Minar crossed the finish line in first place with a 4.47. His fifth win at Fort Willam and his 17th world cup win, to take the joint lead with Steve Peat for the most world cup wins. The whole crowd exploded, it was amazing. 

Rachel Atherton took the win for the ladies with a 5.31, followed by Tahnee Seagrave, Emmeline Ragot, Manon Carpenter (despite the epic crash) and Katy Curd. Four British women in the top five. 

Can't wait for next year! 

PMBA Enduro - Grizedale 29 April 2015

This race was always going to be a tricky one for me. Last year I entered and I could not complete the third stage because I found it too technical and steep. This year I entered hoping that the same stage wouldn't be in. We had no idea what the stages would be until the day. The day came. It was in. Stage 1.

PMBA hold fantastic grass roots events, this series is enduro. This means three or four stages each race, you are timed on each stage and have as much time as you need to get to the start of each one. It is usually a round trip of 10 miles, which you have to do twice in the day, in the morning for practice, and race in the afternoon. We set off round the course in groups of approximately 10 riders, so happily we could ride together as RootsMTB race team.

We practiced stage two first, a rocky rocky footpath with more rocks and a few boulders thrown in. It was a great stage, but I didn't really enjoy it as my confidence was taking a battering thinking about stage 1. We headed to the top of Caron Crag which was the start to stage 1. Pushing up the path to the was torturous! I knew I was going to make myself ride down it even though I felt really scared. I had a full face helmet on and lots of body armour so that helped with the confidence. I lined up. The marshal blew his whistle. My bike started down the hill.

The stage took a different line than the previous year so I was riding it blind. The first chute into the trees was steep, rooty and muddy, I had never ridden it before and how I stayed on the bike I have no idea! But I made it down, through the woods then out into the open to the start of the chute of death. I knew if I stopped I would never do it because it was this feature that stopped me the previous year. So I didn't stop, I just rolled over the edge and hoped for the best! I wasn't far enough back on my bike and I couldn't slow down, my bike was off the track and into the tree stumps and if I am totally honest my eyes were closed and I was screaming into my helmet! But I stayed on, somehow. I had to stop to get myself together before carrying on. The rest of the practice didn't go well, my confidence was knocked, despite making it round. 

I spent the next couple of hours talking myself out of not driving home. I knew I wanted to race but I knew I couldn't race it, only try to get round. This does not bode well with my competitive nature! However, with some very helpful chats with friends who encouraged me, I realised I was being really negative and decided just get on with it.

Surprisingly, I was not as nervous dropping into stage 1, but the initial chute of rooty ridiculousness filled me full of fear again. I rattled and slipped down the mud and roots and to my total amazement, I cleaned it and not only that, I kind of enjoyed it! Though looking back, I may have misinterpreted that emotion with that of relief. Through the woods was slow but I made it to arrive back at the chute of death. Again, I just didn't think about it and rode into it. I managed to move around on the bike a bit more and I wouldn't go as far as saying I enjoyed it, but I didn't scream this time and even kept my eyes open! The rest of the stage went well though I was slow and tired, but I made it to the end. It was a big step forward for me, I managed to ride the stage that had stopped me the year before. Did I enjoy it? Still not sure to be honest!!

The rest of the stages went ok, but I made lots of mistakes. I just tried to enjoy the rest of the day learn as much as I could from the experience.

Overall I came 11th out of 21 which considering the awesome class of the other women racing, was actually pretty good! But the main thing was that I did it, a big step forward from the previous year.

I love riding my bike immensely and I love racing. I have recently set myself a goal of competing in the UKGE next year and ultimately I would like to attempt an Enduro World Series round (in many years to come!). But to achieve this I have a mountain of a lot of work to do on my confidence, skills on steep rooty trails and fitness. I need to be riding trails like this and loving them instead of letting them full me with fear and drain my confidence.

Perhaps this comes with time and experience, I have only been riding a bike for 2 1/2 years and I haven't really rode many or any steep rooty trails. I usually ride rocks. Or maybe it is part of our nature, do we start riding a bike and from day one love steep muddy rooty trails because we are born that way and love the thrill of it? Or are they something that we all have to learn to love through trial and error and tree hugging? Perhaps it is because I am a single mum of two and the fear of a broken something is fairly prevalent in my mind! Maybe a mix of all of these. But whichever it is, I intend to find out by working as hard as I can within my busy merry go round of being a working mum to see if I can achieve those goals. I will nail the rooty muddy steep or cry whilst trying!

Since writing this I read a post by Tracy Moseley who took first place first in this particular race. She described it as 'fun laid back riding in the sunshine'. I laughed at the total contrast of our experience of the same race. Obviously she is arguably the worlds best female enduro racer and worlds apart from my level, but it gave me hope that, with more experience, I will feel the same when faced with similar stages in my next enduro race.

NDH Hamsterley TT 19th April 2015 - It was all about the ladies

I am starting to write this blog before race day to try and capture my true feelings before the big day. The race is Northern Downhill's Hamsterley TT. This is a huge deal if you are a woman (it may be for the men too, but this blog is all about the women!). There are an unprecedented (for NDH at least) number of girls racing....over 30 of us!! Usually there may be 1 to 10 entering the female category. We range from women who have never raced before to an elite ex World Cup rider, and in age from our teens to somewhere in our 40's.

How do I feel? It is very hard to say exactly as the range of emotions are wild! I'm excited, very nervous, fearful, vaguely confident and most of all just really looking forward to taking part in such a great day with so many wonderful women. I say this, not because I have met them all, but because of a facebook group called MTBChix&Trails and I feel like I know many of them already! The group only started in January this year, but has over 250 members and is the most supportive and encouraging group I have ever been a part of. Regardless of who we are, our level of riding, age or why we ride, we are all there for each other providing support and encouragement. One of the huge positives of social media in the world we are lucky enough to live.

Until a few months ago I had not met my other mums who mountain bike or race and I was desperate to......I knew they must be out there! I had only ever ridden with boys and raced with younger women without kids. I felt old, and I think our experience of riding as women is quite different to the boys. Yes we are competitive and fit, but we don't have the egos and we inject a whole heap of care and support throughout it all. We don't brag about the awesome line we took in our last run or how much "we sent it to flat", we commend each other on how awesome their line choice was and discuss how we can improve together. If one of us is nervous, there is someone there to give us confidence and lift us up. We understand, we care and we love riding together. And as a bonus for me, meeting other mums who ride and race and with whom I can share experiences has been fantastic.

As for the race, the prep hasn't gone according to plan or desires.....broken sleep most nights this week with incidents in the night that most young kids have, illness and too much work have meant I'm not as rested and full of beans as I would hope to be....but lets see how the day goes...nervous!!  I was hoping for another great result given the last two TT races, but having seen a list of the strong women racing today I am not going to hold my breath! I'm just going to try to enjoy the experience and do the best I can. Did I mention I am nervous?!

After a sunny week we arrived at Hamserley at 9am with a bit of rain and cloud but nothing would dampen the day. The sign on que was huge and the fields at the bottom of Nitrous were jammed but the atmosphere was electric with approximately 250 riders!

This was the first day racing as our new team for Roots Mountain Biking, so we threw on the shirts and took our first team shot before heading up for a practice.

Practice run went smoothly, just slowly riding down to see where the track was taped. My only fear from this was the bottom berm which was taped in to jump over. I nearly flew over the bars after nose diving, ahh! I won't go into the details of the track and race format as you probably know it, but for those who don't.....it is a timed run down a red graded trail, we set off with 20 second gaps, best of two runs.

It was lovely to meet up with so many of the girls from the MTBChix&Trails which helped with the pre race nerves! We all rode up to the start together which gave chance to chat and meet other ladies on the way. The que for the start line stretched back up the trail from the famous rock back towards the mast, with everyone chatting and having fun. Lining up however the nerves were getting the best of me and I got that dry mouth thing. The women started setting off and we all cheered each other off the start line.

I made a few mistakes in my first run, I think being too nervous and over thinking the line choices. I didn't think I had done well at all but was surprised to find I clocked 4 minutes 11 seconds, which was enough to put me into 4th place! With three really strong riders were in front of me, Helen Gaskell who is a Downhill National Champ, Lucy who was 2 seconds in front of me and Melissa who was only 1 second in front, but she usually smashes her second run and improves her time massively so I knew I had to step it up if I wanted to get on the podium!

After cheering the rest of the team down we peddled back up for the last race run. This time I felt much more relaxed and remembered to put my goggles on! I had a brilliant run, with spectators cheering me on all the way down the track. I could hardly breathe at the bottom and had no idea what my time would be. To my surprise I had improved by 5 seconds to give me a time of 4.06, Lucy had improved her time by 6 seconds so it left me in third place! Best result I have ever had, 3rd out of 17 women in my category!

Hamsterley sadly saw the last of the TT races for 2015, but there are more Northern Downhill events coming up this this year. The next is Kidland Forest on May 24th, Kielder Enduro on October 4th followed by the Chopwell Enduro. If you are interested you can find out more details and enter here. A few of us ladies are definitely racing Chopwell enduro and the more the merrier.

The TT races by NDH have been such a great experience and I would highly recommend them to any girl, woman, mum or grandma who would like to have a go at racing. Whatever your skills, years of riding on a bike, your style of bike or age, you will fit in and will be made welcome! Find out more details for other events and total female awesomeness on MTBChix&Trails.

Finally thanks to Dan at Roots Mountain Biking for his coaching and generous support and encouragement. This time last year I could not ride down Transmission at Hamsterley without freaking out, now after lessons and support from the team I am racing it. Looking forward to developing my riding further with the team and all the ladies from the chix!

Also a big thanks to the team sponsors, especially Henry at Henry Armer Fitness for helping my legs peddle that bit faster!!

Kielder TT March 29th 2015

The second Northern Downhill TT race was held in Kielder on 29th March. I'd never been to Kielder, but fortunately we were in the area two weeks before the race so called in. I am so glad we did because at first I felt quite intimidated by the track. We had planned to spend a bit of time practicing but we spent most of the day trying to find it, so by the time we got there light was on it's way out! Ooops. Don't think we were the only ones to make that mistake either! 

I walked the track first and just got the fear at a section with a tricky root. On it's own the root would not have been so bad, but it fed into a steepish muddy chute with a sharp turn and a drop on the exit. The drop would have been fine too, but mixed together I found it really intimidating. I had quite a few attempts trying to nail it, finding I kept going straight into the bank on the other side and shouting about how scared I was!

Eventually after having a word with myself I successfully cleared the root and the sharp turn, 

then I tried again and managed to link it all up, 

I have to admit to doing a little dance of joy!

I then did it another 5 times to make sure I was comfortable with it, but this meant we only had time to do one full run, so I wasn't as ready for race day as I'd hoped.  

I am not sure if it was the root or the fact that it was steeper and more technical than Chopwell, but I was really nervous leading up to the race. I think I also put pressure on myself to do well having taken a 3rd at Chopwell. But actually when I stopped to think about it, I realised I was just so happy to be able to ride down the track after my initial reaction and knowing that this time last year I would not have been able to do it at all.

Photo by Zach Robson

On the day I did two practice runs, both times clearing the root but realising I had been focusing on that small section so much I hadn't really thought about the rest of the track. I did not get on with the jumps at the bottom and need to improve my jumping!

 My second practice was fairly smooth, but for some reason I was holding back and couldn't really go for it. Time for the first race run came around and standing at the top was the first time all the girls had been together, and it was fantastic support and great to see everyone.

Photo by John Latham

My first race run was brilliant because I cleared the root and made it down ok, but I did not feel like I was on race form. Sometimes knowing I'm a single mum with two small boys to look after makes me wonder what I'm doing as the last thing I can do is hurt myself. How would I look after them? But whilst this is a genuine concern, even if I wasn't a mother I think I would still feel the same. Its just the general fear of racing DH, even if it is a mini DH.

The whole thought process is a really negative spiral and often gets hold of me, as I'm sure it does to others. When it does, if I can pluck up the courage to ride, I find that I ride within my comfort zone and always in control without pushing any limits. And whilst I am battling with it inside, my confidence vanishes for a while. Instead of letting the negativity in I try to remember why I'm doing it and that just being there is enough, I just have to be the best I can be and to enjoy the ride without pressure. Easier said than done with my competitive nature!

To help I bought an Evoc Protection vest to help with the confidence and reduce risks and wore it for the first time at Kielder. More about this in my next blog....

The second race run went well and it was fantastic to be cheered on by fellow lady riders who had come to support us, it makes such a difference. Although I didn't know they were there so I wondered who on earth the crowd of ladies were shouting my name!

One of them took this brilliant video clip, thanks Sarah!!

I managed the root section again and thought I had put in a much faster time, but only improved by 1 second. But amazingly it was enough to put me in second place! Amazeballs!

Mellisa who took the win was 6 seconds in front and even if I had been on a full confidence day, I doubt I would have made up that time. And I was just lucky to be able to pull a few seconds in front of the rapid lady Lauren who was hot on my heels.

And being second was perfect because I won an awesome bike pump thanks to NDH and their sponsors, which is a piece of kit I actually really needed! 

The next and final TT for this season is in Hamsterly on 19th April  and a record number of girls have entered which is amazing!! I'm really looking forward to the atmosphere and racing with over 20 ladies! The growing support and community I have entered this year is amazing and I'm loving every minute. If you are thinking of entering but have never raced I would say enter this one! You can enter here at Northern Downhill.com

For lots of girls it will be their first race and the support you will receive from everyone on the day and before via social media is huge. Even if you are on your own, contact the other girls via facebook and you won't be on your own for long!

So for me, I need to work on the confidence.........oh and all the other skills with a bit of help from Roots Mountain Biking! 

Chopwell TT Race 18th January 2015

Start of 2015 race season came early on 18th January with Northern Down Hill's Chopwell TT. I had no idea what a TT race was, I'd never raced one before. I was told that the 'Time Trial' is like a mini downhill, each rider being timed down a section of red trail called the 'Powerline'. 

It sounded fun so I booked on last year and had every intention of training and getting fit. November went really well, but from December to date I have not been well and unable to train at all really.

So leading up to the race I was not sure whether to race or take photos. I left it to see how I felt on the morning of the race, and despite the inch of snow on the ground and the white blizzard outside, I decided to go for it.

Once I had made up my mind I was anxious that the race wouldn't be cancelled due to the weather, but my biking guru Dan Stringer of Roots MTB assured me it would take more than that to stop a race! And, as usual he was right.  

Getting ready in the van was freezing! It was minus zero degrees and I was not sure my lungs were up to the challenge, which added to the pre race nerves. But we made our way to the sign on tent and it was brilliant to see there were 10 other girls racing! I met up with a friend and just enjoyed the atmosphere which was really friendly and everyone just having fun.


Once we were set up with our number boards and timing chip we set off for a practice run. The trail was white and icy so my first run down was taken very slowly!

We visited the trail back in December and it was great to see that Northern Down Hill had returned money from each rider to maintain the trail and it ran really well, except the ice of course! 

Second practice went a little faster and boosted my confidence and by then it was time to load up with food ready for the first race run. 

Perhaps a mistake, we then sat for a while chatting and despite warming up on the bike, by the time I was on the start line my hands and feet were frozen! Rooky error!

I totally messed up the top section with my feet flying off the peddles at various places, I think because I couldn't feel them! The second half was just a case of peddling as fast as you can up a gradient and over two small jumps but my lungs and total lack of fitness couldn't take it. I am told that you are meant to be out of the saddle and peddling as fast as you can, but I was sat down for most of it!

The break in between the races was so much fun, meeting new people and asking ourselves what we were doing in a snowy blizzard covered in mud, but loving every minute! 

Second race came round quickly and this time the heater in the van had kept my feet from freezing. I had a great run (except the lung burn on the second section) and thought I'd put in a much better time, but I had only improved by 1 second. To my surprise however it was enough to come 3rd!!

It was a brilliant day and fantastic to meet new lovely people. I loved it so much I've entered the next two TT's. My lack of fitness had a definite impact as I lost all my time on the peddly section so challenge is to get fit and eat less cake and learn from all the mistakes. I shall also be calling on Roots Mtb to carry on working his magic!

For anyone reading this (thanks!) and wondering about entering a race, this is ideal for a first race and everyone is really friendly. Especially girls, there were 10 of us there and my experience is that girls are so supportive at races and it is a brilliant community to be involved in. 

To find out more details about the next race follow Northern Down Hill. 

Fearless

It might ring a bell with you when I say I have a 'fear'. 

Well truth be known, I have lots of fears.... hairy spiders, dark woods on a night ride, stormy seas...... my cereal getting too soggy. 

Five years ago however, I was introduced to a whole new kind of fear, a fear that meant I was petrified of someone. I have been trying to tackle this, as no one deserves to live like that. So when my Dad said he had planned a Great Day Out in the Scottish Mountains, I knew it would help. It always does.

My Dad and his friend Stu, both 70 years old, told me the planned route was really easy. I have learnt during my lifetime not to believe them when they say things like this, but after some persuasion, I agreed. 

This is what we approached.......Tower Ridge.

Tower Ridge leads up to the summit of Ben Nevis. "Just a scramble" they said, "won't take long" they said. I have walked in the hills and mountains all my life and am steadily, but slowly working my way through the munro's. I have done a bit of climbing inside on a climbing wall and have been on a couple of climbs outside, but nothing like this. This was a new level for me.

We set off from the Scottish Mountaineering Hut and within 10 minutes I was roped up and climbing up a 'v diff' climb (they told me this was the easiest grade of climbs, but I have since found out it's not!). I could feel fear climbing all over me as I tried not to tremble whilst perching on a very exposed ledge waiting for Dad to climb up. I wondered what I had got myself into....

I had been increasingly excited and nervous in the days leading up to the climb and sitting on that ledge in the valley was such an awesome, inspiring and majestic setting. I realised I did not want to have a negative experience due to my fear and the desire just to get the climb over with! I wanted to enjoy it, embrace it and experience it and grow from it. Sitting there, I realised that this was a very clear analogy of my life. 

I calculated my options .....

• the first was to give into the fear and have a terrible time; the other,
• to take control

I decided to take control. I was sick of it having control of me. I therefore imagined the huge black rocky ridge as this person whom I fear. I figured if I was going to conquer this ridge, I was going to conquer the fear in my life while I am at it....
kill two birds with one stone.

If I was going to get that freaked out it had to end with a positive! 

Every step I took I imagined that I was climbing over my fear. 

Every time fear tried to fill up my insides 
I took a deep breath, centered myself 
and kept focusing on climbing the next pitch.

During the climb we made an accidental detour which involved.....

•  a few pitches of 'v diff' (which means climbing up the length of the rope.... a long way when you are going straight up) 
• and pitches of 'severe' to get back on track, with a sheer 300 foot drop below. That means it's only the next hardest grade climbing, but it was really hard in my eyes!

Nevertheless, the detour helped in so many ways. I had to have complete focus to be able to climb that steep and in that exposure, something that I had never done before. Every time Stu got to the top of the rope I'd shout....

"have you found the path?", 

"NO" the reply kept echoing down the rock.....

God I thought, I'll have to do this pitch and at least another one! 

Eventually we found it, yet, the detour added over 2 hours onto the trip. A downside of this was that I had to go to the toilet and could no longer climb without doing so! My dad looked one way and Stu the other while I used a small opportune ledge, but this was whilst the hundred or so people on top of the Ben looked on!

The ultimate moment of the climb was crossing 'The Gap'. This is a U shaped section of the ridge, which you have to down climb, stand on a tiny rock with drops either side, then climb back out. I down climbed OK, but then had to wait for Dad to climb up the other side to secure the rope. 

I was left for 4ish minutes (which doesn't sound long but imagine where I was....) clinging onto the rock with just my fingertips and a foot sized rock to stand on with sheer drops of hundreds of feet either side and the wind rushing past me through The Gap.

I decided I could either .....

• start to panic (which could have involved the Mountain Rescue), 
• or take control of it. I decided to take control, Stu would have never forgiven me if we had to get the Mountain Rescue!

 I took a really deep breath (actually several) 

acknowledged the fear, 

absorbed the energy it created 

and turned it around to give me strength. 

However I managed, it worked and I made it to the top of the ridge 

and to the top of the mountain. 

I didn't just conquer my fear of the ridge, I conquered 'THAT' fear.

 Well actually the fear still pops back, but when it does I put myself back on that tiny ledge with the wind rushing past my face, take control of it and let it go to be blown away in the wind.

 If I keep letting go, it will finally disappear (this is what I am telling myself!).

It was an amazing day, and a day that I hope will stay with me forever.

This is the same method I have just used in mountain biking to clear some crazy drops with Roots Mountain Biking...but more of that in the next post!

Secrets of the padded shorts

There is always an air of mystery when padded shorts are mentioned and men might be nervous about this one, but I'm fairly sure some of you wear them too.

When I first saw my new bike saddle I could not believe how thin it was. There wasn't much of it. After a few rides I kinda got used to it, but it was not comfortable.

I thought that this couldn't be right and I wondered if there were some saddle secrets I wasn't privy too. I asked my coach Roots Mountain Biking, but for once, he really wasn't much help. After a bit of research I found something called 'Padded Shorts', they are meant to help with the comfort factor regarding your rear. I researched more.

I went to ebay and found these for £4.99.....

They arrived from Hong Kong very quickly and  I have to admit I was quite excited.  

This time I thought, I'm going to have a comfy ride AND I'll look like wonder woman! 

Sadly I was quite mistaken..... 

These padded shorts felt more like a lumpy thong and gave me the worst wedgie.

It was the most uncomfortable ride I've ever had and I kept having to duck behind the trees to rearrange myself, thankful only for the fact that it was a night ride.

I realised I was only on the brink of the world of saddle secrets. I needed to start again. This is what I found.....

• Importantly  ... and it didn't say this in the instructions from Hong Kong, but you DO NOT wear pants underneath (did you know that?) you just wear the padded shorts! Ahh, I thought, that will help. 

• You must go all out and buy a quality pair of padded shorts, there is simply no middle ground. The shorts have different materials and placements depending on where you need them. 

• Cream is available..but I haven't got there yet and I'm wondering if the cream is just for road bikers....a whole other world of mysterious road bike secrets. 

• Chamois (apparently not just for car windows)...still not sure about that one either and am assuming it's the road bike department too. 

Realising my mistake, I found these fabulous shorts from Endura. They have elasticated legs to stop them riding up and the pads certainly don't give you a wedgie!  

They really help the comfort factor and I recommend them to both girls and boys who sit on saddles.

As for the cheap padded shorts from Hong Kong?

 They were clearly not fit for purpose.....

So I gave them to my crazy sister, who I knew would find a use for them.... 

You can find more of her very useful fashion tips over at

http://thefashionfruitcake.blogspot.co.uk/