Did you miss me ?

Has it really been 7 weeks since ive blogged ? Cant you tell the weather is better and my ribs healed up haha.

So what’s been going on since the recovery, well another reason ive prob not blogged is i now have a girlfriend ! Never thought i would meet anyone who fitted my picky ways but it happened. And it turned out to be an old friend i had knew for years, we were both pretty shocked but very happy it happened, shes amazing 😍. Anyways enough sloppy talk back to some mtb life and with this lovely weather weve had there has been plenty.

The ribs healed up 1 week before steel city race, so didnt have much practice and couldnt practice the steel city track anyway as they redone the whole top section and added a big gap near the bottom.

So race day came ......

Me and luca went over Friday and camped in the van so we were there nice and early so i could get a few practice runs in..... well that was the plan but that didnt happen 🙈 

Jimmy was also racing and he was bringing his son Ian with his wife plus Chris n Ant were coming to watch which ment Luca could be with them while i was on track. Well they were running late so we signed in and headed over and Luca sat down near the top gap with a family while i went for first practice.

In the que i was pretty nervous as there was now 3 gaps and the first one was through tight trees and the 2nd was made a lot bigger then it previously was, i was really happy to just hit them first run and not chicken out, the new track was running amazing i loved it, apart from the bigger gap at the bottom as i couldnt find the balls to hit it.

Went back up to see Luca and got a call from Jimmy to say they were stuck in an accident and not gonna make sign in on time, so i went over to the sign in and sorted it with them and got a picture of Jimmy and his ID so i could sign him in, then i realised Luca had the van keys in his bag so back to the track i went, walked back to the field with Luca and the keys just as Jimmy pulled in. 

Mad rush to getJimmy over for his 1st practice and me for my 2nd, Jimmy managed to jump the que as he hadn't done any and that was the last i saw of him. I did my 2nd practice and then found them all at the bottom of the track with the kids saying Jimmy was in the ambulance 🙄🙈 he washed out on a berm and dislocated his thumb so off to the hospital he went.

After all the running about i was a little gutted i didnt get any more practice in but it was time for first race run so off i went with plenty of time to que up, plenty of time i had and the sun was burning a hole through my head. First run went pretty well, i knew i could improve and i was slipping gears out the start ramp but was happy to get a full run in and be sitting in 3rd place and Ant & Chris said i sent it big into the bomb hole 🙌 ...... but i was only the 5th down in my group out of 31 hahaha so knew it wouldn’t last. Bit of a run around again to check the kids were ok with Chris and Sam and get some dinner. 

Jimmy had no chance of getting back from the hospital as no one could reset his thumb so his day was over, my 2nd race run i was thinking about the big gap at the bottom as i knew the chicken line was at least an extra 2/3 seconds but just before my foot was off the pedal and when i got it back on i was upon the berm before the gap, still had speed and nearly went for it but chucked out and skidded into the b line and went down 2 seconds slower than 1st race run. 

Finished with a 1:34 giving me 17th place, not bad for 42 year old that has only been riding 3 years. Happy breaking into the top 20 but i reckon a top 10 was on if i hit the big gap haha. 

Video here ....... https://vimeo.com/268477628

After race run no 2 i went straight to the bar ...... very hot day ! 

So what else has been happening, well Luca turned 8 ! And we had a very hot party at rampworx with his friends, week after we went to Bets y coed to do the treetops and forest coaster we missed out on after he was sick while camping last half term, i dropped the go pro on the forest coaster haha but got it back the next day :) 

Video here ... https://vimeo.com/272822863

we rode the Marin trail on our ebikes and seen some great views. 

Me and baz have been longboarding down southport pier at least once a week in this weather weve had and me n the missus have been out with all the kids to parks and generally loving the sunshine.

Ive been out loads on the Ebike locally and down my local trails, still amazes me how much riding i can squeeze into a hour or 2 hour gap in my day and was well amazed at how well it handled my local trails and the jumps, i flew over the 18 footer first time, it jumps so well ! 

Video here ...... https://vimeo.com/272822907

I had a day out with Ant n Keith at Stiniog testing out the new downhill rig ready for Morzine in July, Stiniog seems to have gotten even rougher so was happy to have the downhill bike. Still not any faster but enjoyed the day. And we went over to greno woods to do steel city on bank holiday Monday, its running even faster than it was on race day and i washed out into the first gap only just missing the tree and jumping over the bars before i hit the rocks, had to slow my runs down and find more flow before i was having fun again. Still didnt do the big gap as i was either carrying too much speed into it and couldnt hit the line or i hit the line but didnt feel like i had enough speed :( maybe another day or maybe just not ment to be for my old old body and mind haha. Of course Ant was whipping over it just to make me feel stupid but he is only a young pup and well ..... stupid hahaha 

And that brings us up to this weekend, ive missed loads of stuff out but dont want this blog to go on forever. 

I am currently sat outside my tent / camper van looking at Ben Nevis while i write this as me and Luca came up for a 4 night weekend for the downhill World Cup. 

Video of camping set up here ... https://vimeo.com/272822491

If you are up here this weekend and see us please say hi 👋 have a great weekend and enjoy this weather while we have it and just ride your fucking bike 🤙🏻

Being broken sucks ***warning semi nude photos haha***

Well being broken sucks ! I officially hate cracking / breaking rubs its the worst 😩 

Its been 2 weeks since i had the off at Farmer Johns and things are not great but trying my best to stay positive and think i will be healed again soon. 

About 3 days after the crash I started to bruise ...

Which after 2 more days turned into this ....

Do you like my butterfly 🦋 scab hahaha 

Yep, its sore ! Haha

Want to see the crash again haha ....

I was a little worried with all the bruising so went to the hospital to get checked out, they checked my breathing and kidneys and said obviously have a couple cracked ribs and the bruise is just from the impact. It seems the padding i had on (my alpine shorts with padding on the thighs) spread the impact over a larger area which is what there designed to do, its s hame the small thin padding on the front of the top dont stop ribs cracking haha.

So 2 weeks later the bruising has gone down now but left me with an egg on my hip, i am guessing its fluid and will down but it currently looks i am about to give birth to an alien from my hip 🤣 

So not riding sucks, i went for a pedal the other day and couldn't even go off a kerb ! I did go to a off road path and soon as it got bumpy i had to head for tarmac as the ribs were being shook to much and it felt like someone was munching on the flesh and muscle between my ribs with razor sharp metal teeth. Not a good feeling. 

Luckily i have a new downhill frame to build up to kill some of the boredom. 

Its spring time its not been raining too much and i was hoping to enter Moalfre race in a couple weeks but that wont be happening, i am already entered into the Steel City race at Sheffield and this is one i really wanna do so i fingers crossed i can at least get a run or 2 in the week before the race and my ribs are better by then. Really wanna do this one and my son Luca wanted to enter but he is only 8 years old this year so he has another 2 years yet before he is allowed to enter. It would be good for him to see his dad in a race and i can make sure i already know the format of the day to make it smooth for him in 2 years if its still on then. 

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Sunday evening i did manage to get out on the longboard for a hour which was cool, it didnt hurt the ribs as much as i thought it would so was happy to just get out and cruise around a empty car park on the boards with the lads. 

I am back at the hospital today for an eye test for my diabetis as i may need to have laser eye surgery, diabetis problems 🙄🙄🙄

So while i am off work today and here already i am going to pop round to the walk centre as well to get them look at the alien head on my hip but also my hand, yes another part that hurts ! 

I thought my right wrist was just twisted or sprained and as all my pain and bruising was on the left hand side i didnt get the hand / wrist checked out but it seems there is very centralised pain on a bone at the boot of my hand near the thumb.

I will finish this blog off tonight after i can see again from the drops in my eyes that make it all blurred for a few hours and update on what they said about the alien and the hand.

Wish me luck 🤞 

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Well my eyes are good and no laser eye surgery needed, the new diet and less insulin and only having treats at weekend seems to be working well as the early signs of eye disease that were there a couple months ago have now gone. Im pretty glad i dont have to have someone burn my eye with a laser while i am awake haha.

The alien is just fluid so will go down, and no breaks in the right hand so all good. Just a waiting game for them to heal up with the ribs now. 

See you all on the trails very soon i hope 🤞 

The adventures are rolling in

From not much happing to 3 adventures in 3 weeks, after the whole “race that didnt happen” thing it was half term and i had booked mine and Luca’s first adventure of the spring ..... well i say spring litely haha.

Bets y Coed was the destination and a camping site just out of town, plan was to arrive Sat and set up camp then ride on Sunday and Monday we were booked onto the forest coaster and treetop nets then were coming home Tuesday. 

We packed up the van and got to the camp site Sat morning, nice little place right next to the river, i set up while Luca played games on my ipad 🙄 but it was muddy so i thought it best he stayed in the van anyway while i set up and unpacked his walking boots.

All set up we chilled most of Saturday and played football and frisbee on the campsite and threw sticks in the river and had races with them, felt good to be outdoors and the weather wasnt too bad, its wasnt warm but it was ok and it was at least dry. 

Sunday morning Luca said he didnt feel too well and he didnt want any breakfast or go riding today, then he was complaining of stomach cramps so we chilled out for a bit to see how he felt later in the day. Then he threw up 🤮 well ok he’s defo not well, great ! In the afternoon he perked up a bit so we went into betws y coed for a walk round town, just as we parked the van up and started walking he threw up again, a lovely lady put a bottle of water on the floor next to us as she walked past. He did try a sausage from the chippy a bit later but that came back up so was best to leave him have no food and just water. We went for a walk through the woods next to the river and had a walk round the shops. 

Doesn’t look bad for a poorly kid does he ! Haha but he had threw up twice already. He’s a good kid when he isn’t well he just gets on with it not much drama at all. I let him buy what he wanted from the shop to chear him up and he got a mood ring, he was made up to watch it change colour. 

Back at campsite he threw up again so it was shower and bed down in the van for the night with a film, we watched kick ass then i realised it had a lot of swearing and rude gestures in for a 7 year old boy haha, he laughed at most of it and promised me he wouldn’t tell mummy hahahaha. I’m sure he prob has ! 

The next morning I thought he was ok, he woke really happy and didn’t feel sick. 

But it wasn’t long before he was sick again so I made the choice to ring treetops change the booking and pack up and head home, not exactly the camping trip I had planned but couldn’t be helped. 

Of course on the way home he got hungry and wanted a McDonald’s ..... that stayed down so then he wanted crisps ... and sweets .... he was back to normal, typical haha. 

We got home and he was back to himself again helping me wash the van and playing on the trampoline while I mowed the garden.

So that was camping over and he was back at his mums, we shall be back in a few weeks to do the treetops and forest coaster and might get to ride betws y coed then. 

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Back to work for a few days then we are here at Easter weekend, was hoping for lots of riding and then seeing Luca again on Monday, me Sam Cris and Jimmy went to Farmer Johns mtb park today. Last time I was there Sam went off the cannon gap so it was in my mind to get over it today if it wasn’t to sloppy into the ramp. Couple runs down I was ready for it, off the drop at the top and into the mud and front wheel washes out and i nearly ended up over the fence into the field haha. Back up again to hit the cannon gap Cris gave me a tow in for speed, it went pretty well exept i didnt make the corner but i was over the biggest drop / gap i had ever done so was happy. 

2nd attempt did not go quite so well, as i didnt make the corner i was determined to drop my shoulder or turn in the air so i would make it this time. I think i was concentrating on that a little too much and not on the drop and didnt hit it with the same speed as last time, well i cased it big time and got bucked off and hit the deck pretty hard 😩 

After a rest and check the bike was ok and get my breath back after being winded i examined the injuries and although i wanted to go again i was getting stiff and sore so went back up just to roll down see how i felt. I missed the drop and took the chicken line but went to jump the first table .... well that hurt my sides so i rolled my way down and called it a day. Bumped into Harry Main and he was filming his m8 on the gap so had a chat with him, proper laid back nice guy. 

Packed up and got a cuppa at the cafe Cris, Sam and Jimmy were calling it a day as well so we headed home. 

Back at home i was so stiff i couldnt even get out the van or wash the bike properly, my ribs are killing and cant breath in and the hip is feeling just as bad. A bit pissed of with myself as i have been doing really well and not had a big off for a while, it could of been worse i reckon if i didnt have my pads and body armour on. 

Home i came to get a bath, i could barely get my bike out of the van and left the clothes and tools and helmet as i was in too much pain to be picking them up. Got myself in the bath and accessed the damage, big lump on my hip, bruises on my ribs and my neck is really sore. But ...... when i got out the bath I did feel a little better, rib / ribs are defo cracked or badly bruised at least, hoping the hip is just bruised and neck is starting to ease but maybe thats the co codamol starting to kick in.

So as i sit here writing this ive prob gone really stiff and wont be able to get off the couch again haha, really hoping its not as bad as i think and will be all good in a week or 2 as was hoping to get back to racing at Moalfre end of April, and ive got Steel city booked for 5th May ! 

Please send me lots of healing vibes, but at the same time i am thankful it was not worse espachally with what happened with Callum at Gisburn it makes you think and be grateful. In the meantime the crash was at least caught on the go pro ........ enjoy ! Hahaha 

 

The race that never happened

So its been a while since i wrote on here sorry, i suppose not much happened in Feb with all the cold weather. I did get out for the odd ride mainly in icy cold snowy conditions haha. We did do lots of digging at Bickertrax our local trails though which was great, Baz had not been down with his leaf blower this winter due to his broken arm so the trails were covered in slop and took a lot of hours to clear it up. We have also had good feedback from the council at last and they have realised without us the trails would be no more. Fingers crossed they find us some funding soon.

Sam & Chris wanted to enter a few downhill races this year, even though we are all on enduro bikes at the moment along with Ant who has a downhill bike and has raced before. I wasnt so keen, only been riding a couple years properly and at my age (42) your first downhill race is very daunting. I said i would go along and be the support, you know be race manager and cook there meals and help with repairs sort of thing haha. 

Cris said why dont you just sign up and treat it like an uplift weekend, you dont even have to race if you didnt feel up to it. So i did, I signed up for round 1 at Hamsterley a track i have never rode before 😳 for my first ever downhill race 🙈😆 

Coming up to race weekend they got over there for some practice but between work and Luca i didnt get the chance, and then the week of the race they started to forecast beast from the east part 2 on the weather ...... great ! 

Race weekend comes and ive packed the van up to head up with the boys, on the word of one of the organisers that was already on site all week that “we wont get any snow here” well snow we got ! And it came down while on route across the A66, which closed due to snow about an hour after we came across it. 

But im here now i may as well give it a go, we managed to park up at the top in the pits area..... we did have 4 racers in a van full of stickers and a tent awning so as far as i was concerned we were a race team haha. We set up in the dark, in the snow, as quick as we could ! Thank god for blow up tents and the van being insulated and carpet lined. 

One of Ants friends Tom showed up and said he had a tent to set up, we agreed it was best he didnt bother setting up and stayed with us. We set in for the night anxious as to what would happen on practice day.

I took ages to get to sleep in a van with 4 lads in, up for a pee, 30 min later someone else, snoring and Ants dreams shouting woah woah woah all night ment it wasnt a great nights sleep.

We woke to a bit of snow and cooked breakfast, we shouted at Tom to see if he was alive as he slept in the tent while 4 of us slept in the van. I reckon he got a better sleep than i did ! 

Practice day:

Bit of faffing about getting the bikes out and set up then we went to sign on and get our plates, Cris had 118 and Sam got 911 so it was all jokes about Sam crashing and Cris (118) would call 911 for Sam 😂 Sam did get another plate as his didnt have his name so realised he had the wrong one. We went into the hut to warm up and chatted with Danny hart for a bit before getting ourselves ready. 

Some of the lads set off before i was ready and they took there bikes, i rode around to the start to see people putting grit on the first section as it was just ice, i presumed the lads rode down as couldnt see them. Tom came over and i said im locking the bike up and walking it m8 as ive never been here before.

We only got half way down the track walk then they opened it to riders so we had to get off, I had met up with a friend from Sheffield Aidan and he said its ok the bottom section gets steeper but youve rode Wharncliffe haven’t you .... nope ive only rode greno woods haha. So back to get the bikes and head down a track i had no idea what to expect. 

1st run was just a role down at crawling pace, it was still icy and i didnt hit any of the drops, i stopped at every section to have a look at it. Near the bottom i kept stopping as didnt know what to expect beyond the drops and couldnt get myself back on the bike as it was too steep 🙈 this was looking like a nightmare ! 

At the bottom we waited for ages for the uplift as some buses got stuck in the snow and the ones that came were not set up at all, bikes falling straight through as no pins in place and no straps, after 1hr we decided to walk up and still beat the bus that was trying to set up the pins and straps when we left.

Run no2 was a little better, i did stop a few times to let people past as i was going slow but i did hit all the drops this time so that was some progression. I was still thinking though that i was too slow to do a race run as surely someone will catch me up and i will have to pull over.

At this time it was dinner time and i had only done 2 runs, not great but thought ive hit all the sections ok i just need to put them together into 1 full run now. We went the cafe for burgers and cake and tried to warm up before we hit the afternoon runs.

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In the afternoon i was with Aidan again as kept loosing my mates i went with as they were faster than me haha, but Aidan was brill and gave loads of encouragment and waited for me at the bottom. Funny taking encouragment off a teenager it should be the other way round 🙄 

So run 3 i got down with only stopping once, little bit more progression. Aidan said why dont you go first and i will sit at the start ramp for 30 seconds and hold people up before i set off, that way you will know if you can get down without stopping. So on the start ramp i was ready and a little bit more relaxed that no one was going to be breathing down my neck, i set off and felt a lot more comfy straight away (im sure a downhill bike may of helped me feel even more comfortable though haha) 

I got down to the bottom section before i started to hear double whistles (the marshal will blow when you pass then the next person, so if you hear 2 whistles you know someone is behind you) but as it was Aidan i carried on, it was only right at the very bottom on the last Marshall that the 2 whistles got closer and there was only 1 more turn and the finish drop. I hit it and stayed off the brakes for the first time and squashed the finish jump to turn around expecting to see Aidan but he wasnt there. I apologised to the guy i had held up and he said “no worries, it was only on the last turn anyway” 

I waited for Aidan and asked him why he wasnt behind me, he said he was chatting and someone went in front of him behind me on the start ramp, the guys name is Tom and he is pretty quick but he only left about 15 seconds after you.

I was made up, a proper racer only caught me at the bottom after a 15 second head start ment i was defo ok to race on Sunday seeing that i had a 30 second gap between riders. I was happy to get top to bottom without stopping and we continued to do a few more runs.

I did come off on the drop that went straight into a sloppy berm and Tom nearly landed on my back and stopped his bike by shoving it up my arse 😆 but the next few runs the Marshall at that point gave me loads of encouragment each time i went down he shouted “that was a bit better keep going” then again “thats better boy well done” then on the last run Aidan said when you go off the drop put your back brake on and leave the front alone, thats why the berm is so cut up and slippy as everyone is slamming there back brake on, i know i need to stay off the front more so made a conscious decision to try it. This time the Marshall shouted “yes boy nailed it that time” i was made up.

The snow had started to come down pretty thick at this time so me and Aidan called it a day, said i would see him tomorrow at race day and i headed back to the tent. Sam Cris & Tom followed not long after then Ant came back as well. The snow was coming in thick now and there were lots of people saying they wont get back tomorrow as the roads are very bad and there its lots more snow forecast for tonight but we decided to stay. 

I made us all a curry and we settled in for the night in the van and watched the untold British story of mountain biking on the ipad, we had to rotate gas canisters in our sleeping bags as they were freezing and would work in the heater, even warmed up they would only last 5 minutes before freezing again it was that cold. Tom said he was sleeping in the tent again as he gets more room and me Sam and Cris were on the bed with Ant on the floor of the van. We all chatted about the course and was hoping the race would still be on before going to sleep. 

I had a dream the tent / van was collapsing under the snow and was rubbing Sams face in my sleep as in my dream i was saving his life..... sam wasnt impressed with my dream heroics 🤣🤣🤣 

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Race day:

It was bloody cold, we knew that. I bravely opened the door to the van to be treated by lots of snow.....

Pretty sure racing is called off ! We got dressed and went down to race HQ where they confirmed it was all off. Gutted ! But no way could Marshalls stand in these conditions all day, i was surprised they did it on Saturday. 

We started to pack down and got ready to leave and get everyone out and onto the main road, bit of a struggle but we all got out and convoyed through the country lanes and villages until we hit the main roads then motorway. Quick services stop to get some food and i had a melt down when i went to wash my hands and realised I hadn’t felt the touch of warm water on my skin for 3 days so stuck my head in the sink at the services to warm up and wash haha. Some people must of thought i was homeless 😄

Back home again Sam and Ant washed the bikes while me and Cris set the tent up in my work to dry out and took everything out the van.

We were all gutted that we never got to race our first downhill event but the conditions were awful, i do think the whole thing should of been called off on Friday as the weather we got was forecast to hit us anyway but the organisers said no race is still on. I guess its all down to them loosing money setting up to be cancelled the day before the event but that is the risk you take as an event organiser and some thought should of gone to people traveling from all the country to get there when snow was forecast. But hey ho lesson learnt, we wont pre book one again i think we shall just see what weather is like on the Friday then set off if all good and pay on the day.

I would like to thank the Marshalls for standing there in those conditions making sure we had a safe track to go down in very bad icy sloppy conditions, thats mountain biking for you though. Everyone pulling together and helping each other out regardless off conditions, just get on with it attitude ! 

I did get a couple cool photos posted on roots and rain from practice day, and all though the weekend was a disappointment i think we shall be back for another shot. I am slightly scared as ive never rode the other tracks they are racing at neither but im pretty sure they put a chicken line in most of them so if anything i can pounder down the track at my own pace and be happy i got from top to bottom with no mistakes or crashes and completed my first ever downhill race at the age of 42 ! 

I have started a downhill bike build so hopefully that will be ready before the next one. 

To be continued at another race soon ............

Half term adventure

Half term - yes i did it, i took Luca to his 1st ever uplift day. And it was well worth it ! 

I was kind of looking forward to doing this but also apprehensive about it being a waste of time, i wont be able to ride properly as i have my son with me and also would Luca be in one of his moods where he is scared of everything and wont ride the trails. 

Well he proved me wrong, what an ace couple of days we had.

I picked him up Wednesday night from his mums, armed with just his Nintendo switch for the journey and a smile on his face we headed to my house to start packing. With everything ready i said he needed an early night as we would need to have breakfast then hit the road for the 4hr journey. Long way for me to go to not ride my bike properly but this was a good opertunity to do something selfless, i do feel sometimes i drag Luca out to do something i want to do but this was all his idea and all about him. 

8am and breakfast eaten we put the bikes in the van and headed off, traffic wasnt too bad and after a stop at the services and mc Donald’s for lunch (diet out the window on this trip already haha) 

We soon arrived at Bike Park Wales just after dinner time, went in to get some uplift tickets and our passes for the afternoon and got changed, down the uplift trail we went and Luca was soon asking me to push his bike up to the uplift .... 🙈 here we go with the moaning i thought, but he is only 7 years old and his kona stinky 24” probably weighs the same as my Santa Cruz. Straight onto a bus with no waiting the driver moved the pin on the end bike slot and Luca’s bike fitted nicely, put my bike on and off we went. 

Luca was amazed with the view and the journey up, helmets on as we reached the top we grabbed our bikes and headed for the trail. First up i thought sixtapod was the best one to start on, Luca was a bit confused as the start is flat and he had to pedal. He didnt come to pedal haha but soon started to enjoy himself when it went downhill. 

Straight off i was pleased with his speed and attacking the trail and could see he was in a good mindset and enjoying himself, 1 stop half way we reached the fire road and headed down willie waver and back to the uplift. 

Back up for run no 2 we went onto melted wellie, started off well but then there is a small uphill. We jumped onto the fire road and walked up to were boniville is. The sky went dark and a snow storm came over us, we headed into bonniville to get some tree cover. Luca did not like this trail, far too much peddaling and he said sixtapod was much more fun. 

Bikes washed off we packed them into the van and went to the b&b twin trails, gave the bikes a proper clean and lube we had a shower and got changed to get the train into Merthyr for some food.

We went to my fave place for food in Merthyr “wood fired” i of course ordered the Merthyr monster burger and Luca had Chicken and chips. He didnt like the look of the chips as they looked burnt but after trying one he loved them, i think they call it double cooked chips. With a garlic bread and cheese we were both stuffed and i enjoyed a nice cold beer. Diet well and truly out the window now haha, oh well its a treat day. 

As we headed back to the train station the train was in so we ran up the steps and round the bridge to get onto the train and then sat in the station for 10 minutes, typical 😄. Back at the B&B we watched Ace Ventura on the iPad in bed and got an early night, big day tomorrow ! 

Friday we had our cooked breakfast and a chat with the lady at Twin Trails before packing the van up again for our full day at BPW. 

Day 2 back on the uplift we hit Sixtapod again into willie waver to warm up, Luca said “can we not do the pedal one again please dad” so on run 2 we went over to popty ping. At the start of popty ping it looked like terry’s belly was re opened (was closed Thursday the day before) so we went down popty ping to start. He came off his pedals after the first of the 3 small drops (prob quite big to a 7 year old though) and it looked as though we were about to have our first crash but he composed himself as i was shouting get back on your pedals he did and even popped off the last drop and landed on 2 wheels. Good lad very proud dad following him down the jump line he even took off on a couple and landed on the top of the table tops.

As we got the end of popty ping there was no sign of terrys belly being closed so we headed down. After a break half way Luca was amazed at how long this trail was. He wasnt so amazed at the end when he had to pedal and then walk back up, yes time for daddy to push his bike back up to the van ! 

At the van we had snacks and a drink break and grabbed the go pro.

On the way back up we agreed to do a run of sixtapod then stop at the fire road so dad could walk up and do the bottom half of A470 line. Go pro on we hit sixtapod again and Luca was flying, into the woods he even got some great air off one of the step down jumps. At the fire road i showed him the black run drop ins to show him how much bigger they are, there was a guy eyeing up coal not coal double drop and we got chatting, he just done die hard but was unsure about this double drop so i did it to show him you dont need much speed. He then hit it perfectly and carried on down that trail. We walked up the fire road and i said to Luca you can wait here while i walk up and do these jumps you can see me and i can see you. 

He said “can i do it dad ?” I said yes sure if you want they are all rollable.

Good effort considering the jumps are twice as tall as he is ! Daddy’s go but i slightly cased the first one so lost my speed and didnt clear them all 😩 i didnt make Luca wait while i went back up i thought we can go do popty ping again and i will have a run on my own. 

Video of sixtapod into willie waver .......

We decided that run no 4 was the last run of the day as Luca was getting tired and hungry and we also had a 4hr journey home. 

Over at the entrance to popty ping Luca sat down and had some snacks while i did a run of popty ping on my own and stopped at the cut off and came back up the fire road to him. He saved me 2 mini eggs 😄 

So terrys belly open we headed down........

Luca was absolutely spent at the bottom but he did ride up to the car park and i only had to push his bike a couple hundred yards to the van haha, i had told him he could have anything he wanted from the cafe for being such a good lad and doing so well. 

Our day was done, burgers for lunch we got changed and packed up to head home, i was so proud of how he did. I never expected him to hit a red trail or hit it so well. Get air, do back wheel hops and generally get sketchy and pull it off. So so proud of him.

Here is a video of what i though were his best bits ...... and some words of encouragment from dad 😂

Wow simply wow ! I am so Lucky to have a son who loves to ride his bike, not so lucky that this is now his fave place to ride 😏 this could get expensive 😩😆

I made the mistake of showing these videos to him mum 🙄 she nearly had kittens and said that is so dangourous 😳😆 but she is proud of how good he is. 

Saturday we went to our local trails to do some digging and remove the mud left by winter. We then washed our bikes properly in the afternoon before he it was time for him to go home. Luca back at his mums i was knackered and made a start on the washing. 

Sunday i rode Greno with Jimmy and Drew, great day and just shows how good mountain biking is when your group of 3 people are 17, 42, & 53 years of age and you have such a good day. Very very tired now as i write this and its back to work tomorrow to have a rest 🤣🤣🤣 

Is winter over yet ?

Well its still winter ! Cold wet and dark. 

Welcome back to my ramblings, complaining, blabbering, waffling and generally talking rubbish blog 😆

Been trying my best to do as much as i can and not let the winter months go to ruin and get more fatter than i already am 😩 after sticking to below my calories all through Jan i have lost a grand total of 2lb since new year ☹️ so been doing quite a bit of searching on the internet about type 1 diabtes. Yes i have been diabetic for over 20 years but a lot has changed since then and you dont exactly get the proper support you should be getting from the NHS. 

But in this day and age of smart phones there are apps to help. I have been using the freestyle libre system which has had a massive impact on me, it is expensive at £50 a sensor (that only last 14 days) but its been a big help for someone who was never been into finger pricking so always guessed what my sugar level was. Years of having high levels i finally had something to help me and give me a kick up the bum, and now they have just released an iPhone app so all i have to do is scan my phone over the sensor and i get my reading ...... that would be great if i had a sensor ! They are out of stock and 3 weeks behind on demand 🙄 not only do i have to fund this miracle myself as its not available to me on the NHS but now i am waiting 3 weeks for something i have paid £100 for (order 2 at a time) 

Also i have found out that 1 click on my insulin pen does not count as 1 unit of insulin, its 3 clicks and there is also a formula to work out how may units i should be having ! Every 10g of carb = 1 unit of insulin. Where has this information been for the last 20 years ? So now i know exactly the amount of insulin to take i can lower my carbs each day and stop taking so much insulin, which has been the main cause of my big belly .... plus too many treats 😏 my belly was hard not soft fat so i knew it wasnt just down to bad diet as i eat and exercise pretty well. It turns out injecting lots of insulin 3/4 times a day makes you pile the weight on. 

With my new info and apps i now realise i was having far too many carbs, this week i have done really well, halved my carb count and exercised everyday. Let’s see how long it lasts ! Fingers crossed i can keep it up and improve my health and hopefully drop at least a stone. According to experts i am obese at 14 stone and 5,7 tall, but i could prob out pedal these experts on the trails .... makes no sense ! Ive overtook skinny guys loads of times. 

Anyway enough of me complaining about my health, there are much better things to talk about ... or write about. 

So what’s been going lately ? I took Luca top rampworx last Sunday, he was on his scooter 🛴.... cant get him on his jump bike now he has a pro scooter 🙈 not that he rides like a pro or anything he just wanted a pro scooter. I did tell him if i catch him waving it about spinning it around over his head or all over the show and saying look i can do a tail whip then i will be taking it off him 😆 

Rampworx was choka with scooters, sunday morning what else did i expect ! And the street plaza was closed so they were all in the pumptrack and bowl and main section, not much bike riding for me then. Did get into the bowl a couple times to have a scooter rat drop in without looking just as i was pumping round the wall AAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH look where your going !!! 

Few near misses and i gave up and sat off and told Luca he had 30 min before we had to go, was chatting to a couple other lads on bmx’s and one of them said something that squashes my argument of there should be a scooter area and bike area. he said “without all these scooter rats these skateparks would no doubt be closed now” fair point to be honest, i guess my victor meldrew inner self needs to lighten up and be thankful we have places like this at all. 

I also went to degla AGAIN today haha, work was quiet and they posted saying they had a fresh layer of snow so off i went with the ebike. Its so nice riding in fresh snow and not ice or slush, so much grip and really fun when you can blast up the climbs. 

My legs are sore tonight though, been doing a walk / jog every morning in the gym so feeling it tonight.

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Onto some more positive vibes ..... Ive booked Morzine 🙌🙌🙌😁😁😁 me and the lads been talking about going and I thought this year it would happen but they all have other priorities with family holidays and stuff so i thought sod it, i am going on my own ! I love being on my own and enjoy my own time and have no problem with going for rides on my own but going abroad alone was something that scared me a bit, not scared of doing it but more what other people think about you. Some people call it anxiety but i think we all get a bit anxious in some situations its a normal thing, i get it when me and Luca go to centre parcs, its full of families and sometimes i think people are judging me being alone or looking at me thinking why is he here on his own with his son. They prob are not thinking that at all but thats what goes through my mind, so going abroad alone was a big thing. Ive recently finished a book by Derren brown called ‘Happy” it was such a hard read for me, im not a big book reader unless its a crime thriller. But it made so much sense, on the front it says “why more or less everything is absolutely fine” and it is fine, there is no reason for me to paranoid on what others think, no need to be afraid of doing things alone, and although life is full of challenges in the end it all works itself out with the right mindset.

So i did it, i booked, im stepping out of my comfort zone and doing something new this year. And i cant wait, i am really looking forward to it now its booked and im pretty sure being a mountain bike mecha i shall get chatting to someone. I might not be able to keep up with them on the mountain though haha. 

So i booked Morzine and next week is half term and as ive said before Luca asked a few times when am i taking him on his first uplift day ? Next week i am taking him to bike park wales, ive booked a B&B for us as we are about 4hrs away so best to stay over. There is no spaces on the uplift but i dont think that matters, Luca wont be pushing 8/9 uplifts so we shall buy the on the day passes and see how he does. Will be sticking to the blues for him but i reckon he will love it. Not told him yet, i will see him tomorrow so shall tell him then. 

I will be taking the go pro and filming him from behind letting him set his own pace so look out for that in a blog soon. 

The lads have just booked Moalfire uplift today for March, looking forward to that but nervous as well. Im not the most confident when it comes to hitting new trails and with it being one of these uplifts ran on a tractor only a few times a year i am envisioning crazy steep techincal downhill stuff which is not my best kind of riding. But i need to step out of my comfort zone and just get on with it and ride at my own pace and level and enjoy it, i wish i could have this fuck it and go attitude the young guys seem to do so well but being a 40 something who has already broke a shoulder in 2 places and many ribs and other bones its a little harder when you dont bounce anymore 😄 

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The camper van has been stripped out and i have built a bed frame and kitchen units that can be just popped in when i use it as a camper, makes much more sense for the business and myself, can be used in the week for the business, used at weekends for riding with the lads and used for camping trips. Multi use vehicle. 

Forgot to take a pic when i put the bed in, removed it again now. Will do one when we do our first camping trip this year.

Went down to bickertrax (our local trail) last week, first time since Autumn. Im one of the lads who help look after the place as its a classic ... council builds trail, council leaves it to rot and ruin 🙄 i dont ride there in winter due to the slop, its a horrible clay thick slick horrible mud. Which at this time of year needs clearing off the trail. 

Baz came came down and was good to chat with him while we done some digging, first time i had spent some time with him since the BPW broken arm day. He seemed in better spirits and was looking forward to the summer as well, he seemed to be a bit more uplifted about getting back on his bike as well. He was under the impression i didnt think it was very serious on the day as I calmly said to the uplift driver ‘he is ok just broke his arm” what i ment was no one needed an helicopter we just need to get him to hospital and was staying calm in the situation. I also told him he was a nightmare and wouldn’t let me put his arm in a sling in his top haha. Had a good laugh about it all and cracked on with some trail maintenance.

Meeting with the council on Saturday hopefully we can get some help and get some stones and pipes for drainage as the trails and bombholes are a mess and without us digging them out every year the trails would be ruined. 

Baz was made up with his Aldi wellies, i thought he had his wifes on 😆

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Finally got the buggy / go kart working this week, cant wait to see Luca at the weekend see if he can reach the pedals to have a go.

Damn thing has been a pain in the arse, great engine on it but all the drive and clutch was knackered, all new parts now and working. Would of been fun if we had that snow where we lived. Wish it had suspension but ive reached my mechanical knowledge on this now and it will have to do as it is. 

With trips to Cornwall to plan and Fort Bill booked and many other uplifts and trail centres to do i am going to be a busy busy boy this year, cant wait for summer to kick in and start longboarding again and planning to get into paddle boarding as well. 

Adventure is out there ! And i plan to grab it by the balls. I will sleep when i am dead 💀 

Thanks for reading and i look forward to blogging all these adventures this year, see you on the trails 👍