Dragon Rd3 - Rheola

Rd3 of the Dragons was back to Rheola which inevitably meant the end of all this nice hot sunny weather and the onset of heavy rain and high winds. Luckily the forcasters were a bit keen and sunday ended up being dry, although the track was thick with mud from rains the previous night. Being a cheapskate I missed qualifying and so only hit the sunday.

Getting to the venue I bumped into Ian Woodley from Hardtail Nation. It seems Hardtail DH has moved up a level since I last tried with Lee Husky setting an insanely unfeasable qualifying time of 3.43 which considering the fastest qualifying time set by our own Sion Whitecross was 3.25, is absolutely bonkers!! Ian also let me know that the infamous starwars was no longer an issue as the trenches had been filled in, first practice run lead to me confidently approaching starwars hitting a root and getting flicked over the bars towards a tree, ha no longer an issue!!

Lee was on fire again come race run following him off the start was going to be tough and I knew there would be little hope of catching him!! First run was a little too calm and in control but set a reasonable time leaving me ranked 3rd in hardtail. 2nd run was full on and absolutely mental, I managed to scare myself a lot on the top section but was hanging on. Reaching the gulleys near the half way point and my wheels got ripped out from under me sending me into a slide under the tape and down the side of the hill. The run finnished with a huge grin but unfortunately no improvement in time.

Swansea boys did really well this weekend. Will Soffe made the podium in expert showing some impressive consistency and outright speed. Sion Whitecross won Juniors and as ever is looking insanely quick and stylish on a bike.

Photos are courtesy of Ian, he also has a full report up on Hardtail Nation that is a well worth a check. I really enjoyed the hardtail scene at the Dragon. Its small and definately not as serious as racing a big bike but loads of fun with friendly competitiveness and a load of banter. This is how racing should be in my opinion so thanks to all the hardtailers making it a wicked weekend.

Check out Hardtail Nation its a new but quality resource for the hardcore hardtailers!!

www.hardtailnation.co.uk

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NPS 4X Rd3

Check out the British Cycling race report here

Last weekend saw the 3rd round of the series which was contraversially back at Chicksands after NASS had been enevitably cancelled. Maybe one year NASS will happen, racing in front of a proper crowd and on a new track would be cool. Chicksands is about the only track I ever seem to race at the moment, a few changes had been made to it this time round which introduced a couple of fresh challeges, but it will always remain a bit of a drag strip. Motos went well and were good fun, ended up with two 2nds one 1st and a 3rd, which carried me straight to the quarters.

I managed to get a tough draw for the quarters, next to me on the gate was Mick Ridgway, first race with him of the day - typical. Mick has some serious determination when it comes to racing. Off the gate was tight knocking elbows into the left line allowing Nick Geoghegan to stay clear round the right and develop a lead. I was hanging on Micks tail the whole way down but couldnt sneak past, It was a quality race but would definately have liked to make it further. Mick and Nick ended up taking 2nd and 3rd respectively overall. My final ranking was 9th.

It was a good weekend but notably a lower turnout than the last round at chicksands. Check out the British Cycling website for more pics and results, www.britishcycling.co.uk

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Freedom!!

Have finally finnished exams and have managed to dust off the BFe, attach a shiny new pair of Magura Wotans, scrape together my long lost bike skills and hit the hills. The last 3 days have been abslutely mental, Wednesday we hit brechfa, followed by a full day of solid 20mph onshore winds out on the kite, Friday we were back up to the valleys checking out a couple of the secret DH tracks hidden about, I have to say we found some absolute gems. I dont think I can handle much more of this freedom, its left me a full on exhausted wreck!!!

Riders: Jack Malone, Rob (Stink Bomb) Hinds and Me

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Howies Pics

Alison at Howies has kindly sent some of the unused shoot pictures for you guys to have a look at, big thanks to them for letting me use these awesome shots of the BFe in action.

All photos courtesy of Howies. For more photos of the shoot check out my Photostream

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Howies Catalogue

Howies summer catalogue is now out, if you fancy checking out my fine bum in all its full page glory grab a copy!! More the point the catalogue features loads of quality gear, that im almost cetain is far more interesting to look at!!

www.howies.co.uk

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DH Hardtail Style - Unofficially Hard - Megavalanche

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