Plan B!

Everything was in place for my first trip to Wales, this was some 'proper' clipped in XC riding, something I was well over due for.  Everything that is, except the British weather!
So me and my XC expert guide Rebecca hatched a consolation, plan B, Thetters.
OK, I realise that this is a small consolation prize, a bit like when contestants on game shows think they've won the car, but go home with a fondue set!  None the less we were going to be riding and that always brings a smile to my face.

Now there's no denying that the east of England is flat, so this meant for a lot of pedaling with no huge rewards of flying down some twisty fast descents, but the red route offered some very well built trails, weaving in and out the tree's, with tight lines through the forest, small fun little berms and rollers, on the whole just damn good fun, all 11 miles of it.

My first time using SPD's and only one calamity, the classic moment when your bike rolls to a halt and you think you can just put your foot down, but no, you fall over sideways to the amusement of onlookers!

Think I also had a little wake up call as to how unfit I am.  Rebecca was leaving me for dust through most of the sections, I think I am to used to riding though the Forest with my son at a more leisurely pace.  I needed to attack those trails to get the most out of them, so now I'm upping the game, maybe I wasn't quite ready for Wales in that respect.

Next time Wales....next time!

On any Sunday; Dagenham in the sun

The sun was out and we were racing!
Thoroughly enjoyed this track, very similar to Braintree's new build but with loose and dusty berms for extra entertainment.
Huge turnout of riders for this inter-regional between the south and east, 244 or there abouts, thank god for pre-registration!
My racing this year is just for fun, I'm no where near as fit as I was last year and with my downsizing to a 20" from the 24" I'm not expecting any big wins.  Riders only got a short amount of pre-race practise which was a little disappointing but I guess it was the same for everyone, well that's what the officials kept saying.
I felt I had a surprising good pull on the first straight then it felt like I was going backwards as riders jostled for that all important  line into the first turn and I just couldn't quite hang in there.
I ended up getting 3rd in the B final so not to bad all things considered.
Evan loved the track but struggled in his class, he was the first back on the track after all the racing had finished and with determination he got air born over the speed jump on the first straight.  It was great to see this piece of pure bicycle enjoyment after such a long day and hard racing for a 10yr old.
You can read about the rest of the team and there antics here it was a real doozy!

 Going through the tripples into the first turn during my B final, I'm on the far right, the leader is just out of shot ( he had quite a lead on us!)

Photo by Rebecca

Photography

Back when cameras used a thing called film, I had in my possession a Practika BMS 35mm SLR.  This was a very well built German piece of kit, but with no auto setting, no preview button in fact nothing much to indicate how the photo would turn out, you could easily use a whole roll of film and only end up with one decent shot.  You had to do the sums and set everything manually, well for some strange reason I miss that part of photography!

I recently purchased a Canon Powershot G11, a high end digital zoom compact which boasts all the manual setting and features of a DSLR including the option to shoot in RAW image, but in a more compact size.  The fact it's compact means it's going everywhere with me, a must if you actually want to just take photo's.

I do have a feeling that the auto setting may get used a little though, well it would be rude not to!

Whilst still finding my way round the camera I took it to a local BMX race and here are some of the first shots taken.

Projects in the pipeline

On any Sunday

So this post pretty much covers my racing, riding antics which usually take place at the weekend but there is always room for the odd mid week cheeky ride.

I missed out on last weeks regional race due to my on going knee problems and now long suffering sciatica which flairs up every so often. So I made up for it over this weekend with a Friday evening session at Mildenhall play track.  This was just the ticket after a long week at work, a perfect start to the weekend and I am loving that place right now, totally getting into the peaky harsh lips on the second straight doubles and riding the whole place super fast.  Just hope the track stands up to the weather, there's signs of it crumbling already!

Managed another ride on Saturday, so headed out to Royston for a solo session.  This track is still a bit stuck in the 80's with it's bumpy dirt burms and unpredictable surface, but a good time was had and the feeling of dirt under your tyres when carving around a corner instead of tarmac which can feel very stale is a real treat.

I had every intention to ride on Sunday which would have made for a pretty BMX-full weekend but my legs were feeling the last couple of days, so I chose to rest and catch up on some chores in the house safe in the knowledge that I made the most of the good weather.

Just need to stay fit for next Fridays sessions and then racing at Dagenham on Sunday.

The re-education of a thirty something

I asked my mum once why she never really pushed me when it came to my school work "well" she said "you were so happy playing out and riding your bike".

For a while I found this answer frustrating, I thought, surely she would want what's best for me? But that's the bit I didn't get, she was giving me what she thought was best for me, a happy care free childhood.

'You don't know what it's like until you've had kids' people say it all the time and boy is it true. I figured she should have tried harder but it just goes against all your natural feeling of well being towards your children, you just don't want to spoil the fun, it's hard to stop your kids from smiling and enjoying themselves.

Well of course there is a better balance which I've found with my son, simply put 'get your studies done and you can go play as much as you like'.

So putting all that behind me, I've found a new hunger to learn, to catch up and educate myself, well they say it's never to late, although I do feel I'm pushing that a little!

It needs to be a subject that I find interesting, I thought, something that I enjoy reading about or following on the internet or TV.  As I was thinking this I had just sat down to watch 'The Blue Planet' having just read some environmental issues featured in the
New Scientist magazine whilst at work.

Bingo! Environmental Science! That's the one!

So I enrolled in a Open Uni course called Introducing the environment, the first small steps to a more 'informed' me and hopefully my studies will continue all the way to a degree....hopefully.

Just over halfway through now and all is going well.  My tutor is more than happy with my work to date, she even likes my writing style!  I have a style!  I though I was just stringing my notes into sentences!  I actually look forward to study time and find it quite relaxing, listening to a little dinner jazz on Jazz FM helps too.