Monday 29 April 2013

Wheal Maid - National round 2!

Well what a weekend! From riding down steep descents to camping in the Cornish weather, I have to say it was probably my favourite event I have been to! I would firstly like to thank Maddie and Jay who made the whole event happen, it wouldn't have been anywhere near as good without that course and organisation! 

On Friday my dad and I left for Wheal Maid straight after school. Many cheesy Radio 2 songs later we arrived at the camp site. We then sneaked in to the main arena where the Mavericks we allowed to camp! After, a quick chat with Rob, Jane, Maddie and Jay we zoomed off to pre-ride the course. I came back looking forward to the race on Sunday! Later in the evening we tried out the thai noodles at 'Downright Delicious'. They were lovely, although a tad spicy!

Saturday morning we woke up to mooing cows in the field next to us. I then got out my box of cheerios and watched the sun rise. Then the rest of the Mavericks arrived and we set off to our marshalling points for the under 12's race. 
Head marshal Lucy
After the race had finished we all set out for a ride around the course. When we got back the open and fun race started. Well done to everyone who raced.
On Sunday it was an early (ish) start in the Lane's camper van. I then started preparing for my approaching race. 2 laps around half of the course for warm up, then practise my starts and then join in everyone else in the race and start riding around 3 poles! When my race began I have to admit i didn't get the best start, but I eventually managed to finish 5th which I was pretty impressed by! The afternoon races were really fun to watch. Pasty, Kris and I watched the 2nd race at the various technical points around the course and even caught a few crashes. 
The quarry
Down to brown

The leveller

The wall

The toxic pond
Well done to all of the Mavericks and thank you again to Maddie and Jay. Also, to Jane and Rob Smith for helping look after me for the weekend! I now cannot wait for Hopton!

   

Monday 22 April 2013

2xc race 1 and 2xc youth mtb race 1

2 races in 2 todays, new record! 
Sunday- The 2 xc at Haldon was real fun! I loved the course and it was really great getting down the technical decent! Well done Patsy for coming first and I'm really happy with coming second. My dad and I even had time to blast around the red route. Pasty, Chris, Harry and I even nearly missed the presentation playing on the climbing wall! Thanks to everyone who organised it can't wait for the next one.
Monday- 2xc youth mtb, great race experience and defiantly prepared me for Wheal Maid at the weekend. I'm happy with 3rd overall in the under 16, well done Matt for coming first! The short laps were really good and the extra section was really fun! Thanks again to the organisers, bring on next month!

Saturday 20 April 2013

Biking in Borneo

After snowy Sherwood, going to 30 degree Borneo was a bit of a shock! With Wheal Maid coming up my dad and I wanted to get some riding done whilst we were away. So we got in touch with Steve from 'Bike Borneo' and organised a 5 hour ride. 


The day started off when my dad and I got picked up from where we were staying at 8.30am. We then got driven to half way up the mountain. Then Steve, my dad and I started our trip down to 'Bike Borneo's container. During the day we went over numerous swinging bridges, which my dad didn't really get used to!
After cycling through the jungle, along exciting mountain roads, even an over confident dog that may have had a little nip at my dad,we then stopped for lunch in a little village for a lovely lunch of chicken noodles. When we had finished we then continued our journey back to the container and cycled through even more jungle! As we neared our finish we stopped off at the adventure centre that Steve even helped to build! We then continued and travelled over our last swinging bridge back to the container. 
Thank you to Steve and Bike Borneo for taking me and my dad on an amazing ride that I will never forget and I hope we go back to Borneo and go on more great rides. :)  http://www.bikeborneo.com/

Thursday 18 April 2013

Welcome to my blog!

So, after a year of mountain biking I have just done first national at Sherwood. I have to say it was quite an experiance and I wouldn't have done it without the fantastic training from Maddie and Jay Horton and Gary Andrews, since the inter regionals at Hadleigh last year. Last year, I did the regional races in the South West and then got chosen to go to Hadleigh with a team of 4 girls and 4 boys. After that amazing weekend, Maddie and Jay decided to coach us all and that is when the South West Youth MTB squad started, aka the Mavericks. Since then, I have improved massively and now the team even have Maverick hoodies, thanks to Siverfish and Steve Toze. Training has been so much fun and now Wheal Maid is coming up. Bring it on!
Pasty, Ruby and I at snowy Sherwood!