Well after a long 2018 season, which was a big learning curve I finally came away way with a 3rd in Welsh Champs and 3rd overall in the Gravity Events DH Series.
Moving up to the youth catorgrie next season so hope for a good chilled season.
Tag: DH Racing
Henblas Uplift
Great Sunday at Henblas with more set up work on the bike which seems to be heading in the right direction, so hopefully everything will be spot on for the Pearce Bucknell race, lets hope everything goes according to plan.
Bucknell Bash
Fantastic day at Pearce Cycles Bucknell uplift, weather was spot on and the track was dry and dusty, the uplift started at 10.30am and the first run down was just a test run to see what the track was like and see how the bike behaved, dad had altered the brake pads from the sintered ones to Uberbike Race Matrix and that made a massive difference.
After a couple of runs I started to push harder and I found on a couple of the jumps the back shock bottomed out, so I told dad and he increased the compression by 2 clicks harder and then the whole package seemed to come together and every ride down seemed to get quicker.
By the end of the day I think I had done 12 runs and the bike felt mint, so hopefully in two weeks when the Pearce race is at Bucknell every thing will go well.
Not the best video in the world but Dan and Alfie going down Bucknell
Gravity Events Llangollen 2018
Great weekend at Llangollen racing Gravity Events DH race at One Giant Leap fantastic weather, dry and dusty tracks that were a little slick but very fast, Saturday practise went well with a good few runs and no problems, we played around with tyre pressures to see if we could get more grip but with all the dust and rocks it made little to no difference.
Race day dawned and it was still looking really good on the weather front, up lifts were supposed to start at 9am but what a complete and utter nightmare, the coaches that were supposed to take us to the top of the hill hadn’t turned up, one turned u at 10am and the other two came just as the practice had finished, I only got two practise runs and I fell off on the first one, again chaos race runs were supposed to start at 12.15, so I went to the uplift and up the hill around 11.55am, then there was a delay and we spent around 1 1/2 hours baking in the sun waiting to go, first race run went well to start with as I was in third place then people were moaning about their runs so some people had re runs and then I was fifth still not to bad.
Now for the second run, I thought I had to give it everything and go for it, it was going really well and I came into a berm with good speed then the berm jut blew out and I went down big time, no damage to me or the bike but I had blown that run which was a shame but the results said I was still fifth on the day, but when the result came out on Monday I was 6th ??
It doesn’t always go to plan
Gravity Events Moelfre DH 2018
We set off for Moelfre DH race on the Friday and it was pouring down just what we didn’t want, when we arrived the track up to the parking field was really slippery the van was wheel spinning all the way up, we managed to find a good parking space and set up camp, as we watched other people trying to get onto the field they would spin to a stop and that’s where they stopped all weekend.
On Saturday as we got ready for Practise Mr Mason turned up I didn’t know he was coming so it was a nice surprise, so we headed up the hill for our first practise run down the track, it was a little greasy but running fast they had changed the track from last weeks up lift so we had plenty to learn.
I think by the end of the day I had done 10 runs and for a pleasant surprise the rain had kept away, so it was back to the van for dinner and get the bike checked over, it was a bit of a shame as the front wheel bearing had quite a lot of play in them, so dad put my spare wheel in ready for race day.
Race day dawned and it looked like it had rained quite a lot over night and it was really cold, I had 4 practise runs then a break before my first race run which was supposed to be at 12.15 but as usual there was a delay, I was first man down so it was time to go, the run went well without any major problems by the time the other 12 juveniles had come down I was in 4th position which I was well pleased with, now we had to wait for around 2 hours for my second run, I had something to eat and watched some of the others coming down, poor old Richard had a burp his tyre and had to ride it flat.
I was around 3-4 seconds behind 3rd place and I was hoping I could make up the time, it was time to go again but instead of being first man down now I was fourth to last, I had a real good run and managed to knock 5 seconds off my first time, I was still fourth but missed out by half a second, half a second I couldn’t believe it, a great result but I was gutted.
Last Round Of The season
Well what a weekend Saturday started a little wet with a very slick track, I started on Conti Kaisers but had to swap to a Conti Mud King on the front as I had very little grip but the forecast was to get better and drier as the weekend went on, practise went well with only one off so all was good, the night was nice and dry and Sunday dawned dry with a good breeze so the track had dried really well so it was back on with the Kaiser on the front for the morning practise, grip level was spot on so I did four practise runs and chilled while I waited for the race runs, my first run was at 12.30.30 and I was second man down, but as we got ready to go the first rider hadn’t turned up at the top.
The first run down went well with only one near miss when I clipped a root just before the big drop, the whole run went well even the slippy off camber grass into the finish line field and after the rest of the juveniles came down I was sitting in 11th, so time to chill and watch the master coach come down James was hoping for a good result.
As James came into view he was flying pedalling like a fool as he crossed the line he was huffing and puffing and all the effort had paid off he had done fantastic he was laying in third place, we had a talk and then it was time for me to go back up the hill for my last run.
As I set off it all seemed to be going well I pedaled the flat section and all the way to the finish line and was gutted I was 1 second slower, I was disappointed but I had done everything I could so couldn’t do any more, time to chill and watch the rest of the boys come down fair play to James he bettered his time by 2 seconds but still left him in 3rd only half a second of second place so close.
Well I had a fantastic weekend racing big thanks to Caersws DH Racing & Gravity events for all the help and work putting on the event.
Nice Suprise
Bit of a surprise last night James gave us a call and asked if we fancied going to Hopton for an evening spin, it was really surprising how many people were there, we got sorted and headed out down the red XC red, then James suggested we had a play on the bottom of the DH black route so we tried a few of the jumps and mucked around for a while, then we decided to go up to the top of the DH tracks and have a ride down one of the tracks, I think dad had wondered what he had let himself in for, but he seemed to enjoy it without too much problem.
Dads photographic/camera phone skills weren’t at their best either but we got a couple of pics on some of the jumps, when we got back down the bottom of the hill we decided to have a spin around the rest of the XC route with a little detour and back to the van just before dark.
One Day It’s Bone Dry The Next It’s As Wet As An Otters Pocket !!
The Saturday was cloudy and dry, as always things seemed to start quite slowly nobody in a rush to get sorted and get the track live, nobody was in a rush but I was ready and raring to go, the up lift started at 10 am and I was on the first one up the hill the track was mint if a little dusty, Martin the track owner had altered some jumps for the better.
All day it looked like rain but came to nothing at all the track was fast and a little sketchy in places but great fun, I think One Giant Leap Llangollen is one of my favourite tracks and Martin had done a really good job of preparing it for the race, I think I had done around 5-6 runs by dinner time without any problems, so I had a drink and a quick bite to eat before round two.
Quite few local people were riding this weekend on Saturday Rhys, Brad, Matty, Jamie and Jack were here and James and Thomas are riding on Sunday, I rode to around 3.30pm with just one small slide off, so it was home for dinner and dad could prep the bike for Sunday, up again early on Sunday and back to Llangollen, the Met Office said on Saturday that Sunday would be the best day of the weekend, but guess what it’s raining yet again on race day.
Dad was a bit worried that the rain would make the track slippery but there was plenty of grip, it seemed better than Saturday to be honest, the rain and low cloud on top of the hill kept coming and going all morning I did around 4-5 runs and then it was time to get on the uplift for my first race run and guess what the heaven opened and cloud came rolling in, fantastic.
I was first rider down which is something I always hate, the count down beeps started and off I went, the track was like a river in places and I slid off in 2 places but got straight back on and went for it, I was gutted to slide off but was amazed that on the first run I was 8th out of 16 and not that far behind the leader the bike was covered in mud, so dad washed it ready for the next run we had two hours to wait.
The rain kept coming and it was nearly time for round two everyone coming down kept saying it was like riding on ice so we thought we would change to a spike in the front, so quick change of front wheel and here we go, the tyre gripped well with no offs but my gears kept jumping every time I pedalled for a jump I cased every double going across the top section, I gave it everything I could and bugger it was 3 seconds slower than the first run I was gutted and that put me down to 12th.
Dad washed the bike at Llangollen and it was still filthy so we washed it again and get it ready for the next outing, time to get more practise and try to get faster.
Onza Mini Downhill Forest Of Dean
Great day if a little of an early start 4am out of bed to go to the Onza Mini Downhill series in the Forest Of Dean, we did get there a little early but it made parking easy and could chill before the races.
Dad went and signed on for me at 8am and then we pushed up to the start of the course but still had to hang about for a short while as the first aid people hadn’t turned up yet so I had a bit of a walk of the track, eventually we could start to ride the track, it was a bit of a shame as we only had one and three quarters of an hour to practise which by the time you had pushed back up amounted to two full runs so not a huge amount of time to session the track.
Racing was supposed to start at 11am and my first race run at 11.42am but some more delays and some sitting around at the top but eventually I was away the top section was quite pedaly with some jumps, then down a bank onto a fire road and into a lot rougher/techie/rooty section, then into a slippy turn down to the finish, this turn had caught quite a few people out and gone straight through the tapes, the run went well if a little slow I had a 1min 16sec run I was slightly disappointed but thought I would try harder next run.
Time for a chill and something to eat back down at the car, they said my next run should be at around 1.30pm so we pushed back up to the top a little early so I could have a blow before my run but yet again some more delays and I think it was around 2.30pm before it was game on, this run seemed a little smoother and I managed to knock off another 2 seconds which put me in 23rd out of 26 riders in my class, not as good as I would have liked but it could have been worse and I did beat 25 other riders in all the other catorgries, it was quite an eye opener how fast some of the riders are in juvenile mind give me something to aim for.
Going Downhill Fast 