Trailblazers 1-2-1 Race Series - Hamsterley Forest, 3rd and 4th September 2011

Oh gosh, I dunno where to start! This is the first time I have done a race like this!

The 121 Race Series is only in its second year running and consists of a cross-country race on the Saturday followed by a downhill race on the Sunday at Hamsterley Forest in County Durham. It attracts a mixed type of rider from the full on XC racer to the born and bred DH rider - there is one little catch though and that's riding both races using the same bike, oh yes! I decided to do the weekend on my Trek ‘Remedy’.

Saturday came and there were 11 girls altogether with six in my category. All the guys went off first followed by the girls in a mass start, I had absolutely no idea where I would be having never raced cross-country ever before.

I didn't want to go too hard at first as it was three laps of a 4.8 mile loop, kept things nice and steady as to not burn myself out which I think worked. I ended in 4th place behind close friends Helen Gaskell and Sarah Newman who took a joint win.

Sunday came and it was time for me to get stuck into the downhill, I did two practice runs and then the racing was underway from midday. The track was pretty much a pedal-fest, the overnight rain made for some nicely greasy roots, which I add in a rather sadistic way were great fun! :)

With my first race run I got a 2.55, knowing I could pedal harder especially with the track drying out. Second run came around and I knocked 7 seconds off getting a 2.48 coming 3rd in the DH again behind Helen and Sarah respectively. This put me overall 3rd, as the girl who took 3rd in the cross-country took 4th in the downhill and so they go with whoever was fastest in the DH, and erm, that would be me! :)

Angie's back on the steps. Photo courtesy of Gary McIntyre

It was a really good weekend, bloody hard going yet really fun, it’s a clever format for a weekend’s racing and indeed great training for Fort Billy next weekend. I've realised how fun it is riding a short travel bike on DH tracks too, maybe a hardtail next time?!

Big “Thank You” to both Vitamin Water and Red Bull which got nailed this weekend! Such thirsty work!

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Northern Downhill Series - Ramsgill, 20th - 21st August 2011

Whey hey! The Northern Downhill Posse rolled into North Yorkshire with their Ramsgill round. This was a new track to race on, it’s always great when there's a brand new course as you don’t have a clue what it has in store for you. It was on the opposite side of the hill to the course of years gone by.

Angie got there with Steve (Foster) on the Friday night, Nick was soon to follow and and they walked the track...

I’ll let Angie take over here: …..It started about five fields up from the valley bottom, scattered rocks here and there and a bit of a boggy left hander which got more blown out and a bit deeper as the weekend went on. Around some corners over a rock berm and down over the stream gap (embrace the case, respect the bounce!) it had a funny landing if you weren't giving it big big licks. Onwards on the gas to the next corner, an immediate left off the infamous "cock jump" (a wooden kicker-jump with a lovely ‘cock’ shape drawn on it to help distract you, Nick was laughing about it all weekend!), a few more corners, past the cow barn and then back on the gas again for the rest of the way, past a little step down and some hellish flat turns into the finish. Verrrrryyyyyyyy old school!

When Angie races, everyone takes note! Photo courtesy of Richard Easton

Nick was super-excited to be back at Ramsgill, so many good memories from the NAMBS races of old (Lee: I’ll try and find an old photo of Nick at Ramsgill from years back….)

Here's Nick many thousands of years ago on the old Ramsgill course!

And here's Nick doing a practise run:

Angie: For me it was just a brilliant experience, the opportunity to race an old school course. Something I have missed out on having got into the sport all too late. These days most turns are bermed or banked up, but uh-uh, not these ones, great fun seeing how fast you can go, how much the bike can slide at the back and still being able to control it.

The course is deceptive, it’s a pretty easy track to ride yet at the same time you need to be on the ball as there’s no room for mistakes, the times are just so close. Nick was saying how unbelievably slippy the corners were becoming.

It was dry on Saturday and I got 7 runs in, everyone seemed to be loving it... however the evening came and brought heavy rain with it. It lashed down all night and we awoke to soggy fields which left the tractors a bit useless in getting up the hill to the top, not to worry, ce la vie! A 10-minute push wasn't going to kill anyone, was it?

Nick was pretty much on it with his first run however he also knew where to make up. Sadly with his second run he mis-judged a boggy corner losing time, he has however kept his fourth place overall standing. Consistency is the key!

Nick's kicking up the dust! Photo courtesy of Richard Easton

Angie's back: I got two practice runs in rocking some brand-new Maxxis Super-Tacky ‘Wet Screams’, baby yeah! So much more grip! My first race run went fine, hit all my lines and pedaled like a banshee where I could. I got a 1.41. That put me 7 seconds in the lead, totally on it!

Second race run came around and the track was drying out real quick, knew it was going to be a faster run. Hit everything harder, getting more pedaling in until I hit the second kicker-jump and got distracted, went straight over the bars and got all tangled in the tape. Not wasting anytime I jumped back on, feeling that the other girls were going to have a faster run with it drying up, luckily this wasn’t the case and I took the win! Elated!

Top step! Photo courtesy of Richard Easton

Big thanks to Carl and the Northern Downhill Series team for getting Ramsgill off the ground, we all had a belting weekend!!

Lee here now: there was a bit of debate on the internet over whether there is a place on a modern race series for such an old school styled course. And I back Carl 100% for what he achieved at Ramsgill which was in effect a short open course, the style of which we had in the middle of the 90’s. Today we see a huge influx of steep technically demanding courses and there are people who thrive for these. However in order to have an fair balance throughout a race series there is, I feel, a need for variety and this is where such a course fits in perfectly. It shows you the riders who can handle ALL types of terrain, not just the purely vertical gravity set. My hat is off to Carl for pulling off such a brilliant weekend.

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Fort William Downhill Mountain Bike Enduro 24 July 2011

.....and this is the second part of the same 'National Champs' weekend racing strategy...... simply put, Angela kicked arse! I'll let her take over.....

If there is one race that is highlighted in my calendar, it has to be the Downhill Endurance at Fort William. There is something very special about this event, it's just so incredibly hard yet it makes you keep going back for more. This is one of my extreme addictions, I love it!

It was my third time participating in this event and I was hoping for a 'third time lucky' but wanted to make it with my own luck so I changed a few things from the last two years where I'd had a 2nd and 3rd place respectively.

Firstly, I warmed up for the 'Le Mans' style sprint to your bike, (which in hindsight is something I should do a lot more of), secondly I fitted a quick release seat post as there's a 2 mile uphill slog along a fire-road at the start to the 'Big Wall Ride'. And finally I wound the compression right down on my forks to stiffen up the suspension, this helped a lot and I wasn't bobbing around as much when pedalling. Oh yes, and another thing, I've been consciously trying to ride uphill on my downhill bike whenever I can to get a bit more power into these thighs of mine, spinning classes have worked a treat too.

I managed to pedal 90% of the climb which is a massive improvement to previous times and I was the 2nd lady to the Gondola, most chuffed!

All I can describe of the climb is "painful"..... it's so hard pedalling a 43lb bike up a hill with only 9 gears, a full face helmet on, plus the body armour and a bag full of fuel and spares. Oh my god, it really did feel like someone had rubbed away on the back of my throat with sandpaper!

As soon as I got to the 'Wall Ride' I jumped on my bike and got down the gondola as quick as I could as I was dying for a rest on the way up.

(Hitting the berms with aplomb Photo courtesy of David Lund)

On my first run down I could feel something wasn't right, I had a quick check and my chain was sagging all the way down, my rear mech was f*cked but it wasn't posing any problems so I did another two runs with it like that and thought it would be ok.

On my 4th run, as I was coming past the deer gate up on the moor, I heard the awful sound of spokes being snapped. I had to stop and found my rear mech was hanging off and that my chain was wrapped around the chain device. I grabbed the chain tool quickly but had massive arm pump and was in a state of blind panic, the bloody midges weren't helping matters much either! I managed to get it sorted however was well aware that people were passing me including two girls which took me out of the lead. Damnit!

I threw the mech to the side and the chain went the distance too, my rear mech hanger was bent all out of shape too. My lovely new Sun-Ringle rear wheel wasn't looking too pretty with 9 spokes ripped out and 7 loose as fook! *Sad face* As soon as I got to the bottom I popped another wheel on and from here on out it was a lovely quiet bike again. I knew I had to catch Jen Hopkins up to take the lead back. It didn't make a great difference with no chain apart from the motorway section where I found myself pumping more and braking less, excellent!

(Photo courtesy of David Lund)

Anyway, about an hour was left and there was a red flag on track, rider down. I'd been getting closer and closer to Jen and she was only 2 people infront. We got set off in 30 second intervals and we were told that this was our last run, I knew I had to get past her on this run to make it count, it was all or nothing, and near the 'Big Wall Ride' I saw her, took my chance and passed to take the win ...YEEEEEESSSSSSSS! *Mega happy face*

(Even Mother Nature was impressed with Angela it seems! Photo courtesy of Paul Cram)

At last, 6 hours later and I could finally chill out. I'd won and I was so, so, soooooooo happy, I had wanted to win this event for the last 2 years! The trophy is huge, it weighs 1 stone and I could hardly lift it above my head on the podium.

(One very happy bunny!)

Absolutely FANTASTIC weekend!

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2011 British National Championships, Llangollen, Wales 23/24 July 2011

This weekend was all about strategy!

The National Champs took in a combination of the venue's two tracks and it was as steep as you like, bang on perfect for the FB10! Friday's track walk was good, great banter with my mates scoping out the lines and it was pretty damned wet with an inch of slop on top of the shiny roots thrown in for good measure. Tyre choices were gonna be interesting.

I have to say that none of the videos nor any of the photo's do the track justice..... walking up or down was nigh on impossible, thankfully the course builders had put in ropes between the trees to help spectators get around!

As soon as I got up on Saturday for practice, the Maxxis 'Wet Screams' were on without a moment's hesitation! The first run was so bloody hard going, trying to hit the lines you wanted in the gloop resulted in some almost-out-of-control sliding down the hill for everyone. Once it came to the flat section it was a big relief knowing that from there on it was flat out on to the older track.

Each run got better and better with more and more grip. After 3 runs I decided to throw on some Maxxis 'Minions' as the track was drying out fast. Although the course was great fun, due to the hang-on-for-the-ride nature of it I dont think it's the best kind of course for a full bore race track, now please don't get me wrong here as it is such a challenging track regardless.

(...I like my wheels fast and my crouch down low.... Photo courtesy of Alex Tyler)

Come race day I managed to squeeze in two practice runs which went well. Had my seeding run which went frickin' awesome at the top, absolutely pinned it, the spectators could probably hear me laughing and whooping as I went past! Further down though some of the corners had started to be blown apart by this time and I had to pull back hard to make it through. Ended up in the middle of my field which I wasn't too mad about but really motivated for my race run. 

I was feeling really good on the bike, the top seemed to flow so much quicker and I put everything in. As I approached one of the blown out corners that caused me grief in the seeding I came in with a bit of caution and unfortunately I did the same thing again, pulled back way too hard. Kept my cool this time as I knew where to make up the time. I knocked off 10 seconds which I was happy with however disappointed I made the same mistake.

(Photo courtesy of Alex Tyler)

A big SHOUT OUT going to the boys at SRAM for replacing the damaged rebound damper and seal in my RockShox Boxxers quick sharp on race day, you guys rocked, thank you so much!

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And There's More, C'mere.....

Totally loving this photo of Nick at Llangollen, big thanks to Jonathan Carre...... Tweet

There's Something In The Water......

I am very proud to announce a product support for the Development Racing Team from Vitamin Water in 2011. A huge "THANK YOU" is going out to Ema and the Vitamin Water posse, you guys totally rock! These drinks will go a long way to keeping the team's riders hydrated throughout the season, it is very greatly appreciated, cheers.

Keep your eyes open for Vitamin Water fuelled Development riders coming to the podiums near you soon!

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British Downhill Series Round 4 - Llangollen, Wales 26th June 2011

The British Downhill Series Circus rolled into Llangollen in Wales for their round 4, you can already guess the weather…. chucking it down!

This course followed on from the Dunkeld SDA race rather well in that it’s a nice and steep track, largely out in the open. Saturday was on and off with the rain, so Maxxis ‘Wet Scream’ tyres were the call of the day, perfectly suited. Queue times for the uplift were quite lengthy thankfully the lift itself didn’t take too long and I kept a beady eye on my brake hose this time around!

(Photo courtesy of Laurence Crossman-Emms)

The track started with a long traverse across the hill with a series of steep and tight corners. The middle section of which was absolutely flat out and my plan of attack was to death grip it, this is where the speed-trap was going to be. As the weekend progressed it became rougher but nothing that the FB10 couldn’t handle. Following on were more loose corners the last of which spat you out into a new off camber section followed by three drops and a sprint to the finish line. On the filmed run I landed quite sketchily sending me towards a tree, which made my arse twitch like a rabbit’s nose!!

(Photo courtesy of Tim Joyce)

As Saturday progressed the course became dryer. I kept the Wet Scream tyres on for the rest of the day as it was still patchy in places but swapped to the Minions on the Sunday due to improved course conditions. As a result Sunday was a hell of a lot faster! Managed to pull two practice runs out of the bag, which was good considering the uplift queuing and the fact it was blisteringly hot. Must have drunk about two litres of Vitamin Water to keep hydrated!

(Photo Courtesy of Tim Joyce)

Came down from my first race run disappointed to find myself 14 seconds off the pace and tried to figure out where I’d gone wrong, admittedly I semi-stalled higher up on the course, the rest of the run seemed perfectly fine though. Kept trying to visualize where I’d gone wrong.

(Photo courtesy of Tim Joyce)

My second run, well I felt loads quicker, pretty much nailed the top sections and had a good race pace going on. Flew into the off camber section and took a wider line to carry more speed however little did I know that the corner had disintegrated over the course of the day’s racing! I had a huge moment here yet somehow managed to stay on. I hit the field off the last drop flat out, got my head down and sprinted as hard as I could. Unfortunately I put the posted the same time again I was pretty damned gutted!

(Photo courtesy of Ian McConnell)

Other than the lack lustre result I loved the course and can’t wait for National Championships there in a few weeks’ time. I’m heading off out on the road bike now, gonna get some miles in around the Teesdale countryside!

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