Welcome back :-) I have a few updates for you, Enjoy.
20/06/21 - Southern XC Checkenden
On father’s day I travelled south to race a round of the southern XC championship at Checkenden, this was a last minute decision, to be honest with you, I just want to race and there is nothing going on in the midlands right now.
My practice wasn’t until 11 so we didn’t need to leave super early, we had a steady trip down in the rain and arrived just in time practice.
The course was extremely flat, fun, technical due to the wet ground with super slippy roots, I rolled out for practice and had a steady lap, although it was flat it was a great course and I was looking forward to my race.
I headed to gridding, I knew I would be called up last due to not racing any previous rounds but I just want to race so this never bothered me, we got under starters orders and once the whistle blew I pushed hard to move to the front, I sprinted from the back into the 3rd but I dropped a couple a couple of places before we headed into the woods. I got my head down and raced my own race, it was very slippy in the woods and being careful and consistent was key under the canopies, I made a few passes as the race went on and as I crossed the line I finished in an awesome 3rd place, I was super happy as flat courses are a bit of a weakness of mine.
Overall it was well worth the drive, I felt good and I’m improving every time I ride.
27/06/21 – Midlands Regional BMX Round 1
So this past weekend I fancied going back to my roots and racing BMX, now this sounds straight forward but I don’t have a race bike ????
Lucky for me I was able to borrow one (Thank you to the Weaver clan) so early Saturday morning my dad collected it and we headed straight to a local track to have a test ride (massive thank you to Kieran Edwards of Wrekin Riders), it’s been 4 years since I last raced so I need a bit of time on the gate and I needed to get the feel for the small wheels.
After a few hours I felt comfortable on the bike and I was excited about racing the following day.
We set off early on Sunday morning and head to Bulwel in Nottingham, I know this track well and it was the first ever race I did at the age of 4. I headed out for practice and I put a fair amount of laps in and it has been a while, after practice I went back to my setup, had a chill and a catchup with people I have not seen in a few years.
As the entry for the 13 girls was low we got mixed in with the 13 year old boys, this didn’t bother me as I used to race in with the boys when I last raced. I headed up for my first moto and I did get butterflys in my belly, the gate dropped and as expected my gate wasn’t great, I entered the first turn in 8th but I managed to make some moved down the final straight and I crossed the line the 6th.
Nerves no gone I went up for moto 2, I got a better start and rounded the first turn in 6th, I pushed hard to the finish and managed to cross the line in 4th.
3rd moto, gate dropped and I pushed hard, I didn’t have the best start but fought hard, another 5th, lucky for me going 5 – 4 – 5 in my motos gave me a space in the A final, something I was fairly pleased about given it was my first race in such a long time.
Final time and the nerves returned, I was expecting to be here and it really played on my mind, the gate dropped and I got an ok jump, I pushed hard but being in gate 8 as was hung out on the outside, I went for a high low move in the first turn and the lack of practice kicked in, I clipped the back wheel of another competitor and went flying over the bars! I hit my hip pretty hard but overall I was fine, make sure you where protection otherwise I would have been in a much worse state, that’s for sure.
8th overall for my first race back in the 13 year old boys, happy with that, maybe I wont leave it 4 years until my next race ????
This weekend I head to Monmouth for Round 2 of the HSBC British Cycling XC National, I’m really looking forward to this natural course.
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Thanks for reading.
Mazie Moo Moo
Photo credit sharperfoto