World Cup, Round 1 Maribor, SLOW-ENIA!

Yea!! The season HAS STARTED!! What a kick off let me tell you, I've just landed back from 5 fast and furious days in the beautiful MARIBOR, Slovenia. A lot can happen in a week.....where do I start..FROM THE TOP of course!

We stayed in a cool wee apartment at base camp, BULLFINK. We literally woke up in the morning and rolled down to the start line. I landed in on Wednesday and we were welcomed in by Fee-Gee and Jill and a MASSIVE vodka jelly. Mr Rennie came by and we had a wee party which was heaps of fun. In the morning, Top fuel and I nipped out to the shops and stocked up on breakfast for the millions, it was YUM tastic. We were a little short on outdoor furniture, so Nathan and I borrowed some from the neighbours for the week. Buhl carried over some of my fav coffee creamer and some LUSH coffee from the US. LUSH!

The course was the same as last year, so I felt comfortable with all the obsticals, but had to shake a monkey off my back and throw myself off the first jump. The UCI reduced qualifaction from 30 to 20 for the womens final (GRRRRRR different story altogether!!)...so I had to step it up and find an edge. I had to do everything on course head on and do it as best I could. My first attempt at the jump was squiddish, I took off, pulled and pulled up short like a total jessy......but that was it, the monkey was long gone, and all I had to do was improve on it. It was like everything else in life that scares you, you think about it so much, the easiest thing to do is shy away....but once you actually step upto the plate, you realise the easiest thing to actually do is face your fear head on!

Although I haven't spent much time on Caecelia to date, I had faith in her and in my riding. I spent a while with Damion, he was so ace, he's so busy, but he made time for me and taught me about suspension and helped me with the bike set up. Jose from Trek also sent me some really wicked personlised instructions to help me set the sag, reboud and compression for my rear shock. I'm fit at the moment, not as strong as I would like and my sprint is rubbish, but I know what I have to do for the rest of the season. Work hard on my anaerobic threshold, lactate tolerance, strength and speed and not squid around! A winter of marathon training doesn't condition you for a 4 minute fast, hard MTB race!! I was cornering well and riding aggressivly, but again, I need to work on pulling everything together when the clock starts ticking.

Buckle from Trek came out to watch and I so wanted to ride well for him, he's been so cool...he even stood at the bottom of the course like a true factory manager scribbling down split times. I finished 25th overall, 8 seconds away from the top 20 cut off. I was gutted, and cross that I could pin point exactly where I lost time and why, I made some silly mistakes, but like everything else in life, I guess the most important thing is to learn and build. Top 20 is NOT out of sight at all. I'm just a little out of practice, but if that's all that's wrong, then I'm happy with that, becasue it's easily mended!

So.......quick round up.....I AM AN AUNTY!! Both my step sisters had babies this week, Emma and Paul are now proud Mummy and Daddy to Isaac, and Rachel and Paul have a shiny new baby girl, Evie. They are both SO adorable and I can't wait to meet them both!!

K, so, we had some whopper dinner parties, Damion and I got upto no good, army rolling under the stars and spying on people. Jill bought me some apple catchers to beat my ENTIRE collection. Buhl and Fee finished 4th and 3rd in the 4x. I surfed on a big ole bin lid. Mio taught me some Japanese. Buhl flashes for coffee. Ryan and Brad are RAD, throw way too many mushrooms and squirt squirty cream up peoples noses. Rod Warmer is back, Britians oldest EMO, it was so lovely to see him again.

Fee, Jill and I are famous in Greece, we got an article in the Gravity mag. My future sister in law, Thin LizZy won a silver award for her radio programme at the Sony awards last night. If you run a medal, you should never be afriad of wearing it EVER DAY!! Cunny is officially consistantly rude rude dowg on the scene. One of my friends pees her pants after too much coffee...no names!! Bawbag is the new UCI technical delegate, congrats. We missed NEVEN!!

Trek Shrine.

K, so, it's about time I payed homage to my new stead, Caecelia. We got introduced at the Sea Otter and she is currently winging her way back to the Motherland after a brief stay in customs!! You guessed it, I'm rambling on about my new bike. The Trek Session 10.

Prudence is small in size and perfect for me. Between now and next Wednesday when I fly to Maribor, Slovenia for the first World Cup of the season, I will be spending a little time tweaking it and making small adjustments. I need to swap out the saddle, change tyres, cut the bars down, put on my lucky grips and having a think about the suspension set up.

Most of the guys on the circuit probably doubt the technical ability of the girls when it comes to maintaining their own bikes. Some say would say we don't help ourselves as most of us do utilise the dumb blonde and batter eyelids to get tyres changed etc...Never judge a book tho hu, that isn't a real reflection of incompitence at all!! I suppose a lot of guys wouldn't know I have 2 degrees and a truck drivers licence? I have worked at various bike shops over the years and am more than capable, with the right tools of maintaining bikes myself. One thing I can't do is suspension. So, this season, I am gonna take full advantage of the brainboxes on the circuit and see if I can put my feelings and preferences when it comes to suspension into practice myself. I need to understand the main princlples and how to make adjustments for different course myself. Check out the bike, the photos come straight from the Trek site. Also, you can check the stock spec and keep up to date with the new kit. There is a lot going on at Trek at the moment which will really benefit the gravity world. Keep up to speed folks. X

K, so, back to the bike. How is this beast a true gem in comparison to the other bikes on the circuit? Firstly, it has way more travel than most bikes, with 10 inches, it is ideal for the bigger courses. It has a LCM which stands for Low Centre Mass, the purpose of this design focuses the weight of the bike on the lower middle of the frame. This is critical for slow stunt terrain that requires balance and timing. Upon first inspection, the chain line seems a little crazy, this is the CTE (Chain torque eliminator) and the purpose of this design is to prevent kick back, it eliminates chain growth, and provides excellent pedaling efficiency on hard accelerations up to big gap jumps. Okay, so, I haven't really had a chance to test these features, but from the Sea Otter, I can safely say that it pedals really well and presume that this can be attributed to the LCM and the CTE!!

Also, it is QUIET, which for me is awesome. I don't know if you remember CCA? (Crawford Carrick Anderson). When he was racing, he was one of the top 20 in the world. Crawford was deaf which caused him obvious problems when it come to balancing. When he first started riding, he was terrible, as soon as he took off, he'd get all squiffy in the air and crash. Once he got to grips with this, he was unstoppable. To this day, I strongly believe Crawfords disability played in his favour, he couldn't hear the bike, he couldn't hear the rattlings which provide many a momentary distraction to most riders. For me, sometimes I hear the bike and immediately think something is loose. Having a quiet bike for any rider is beneficial, as it provides one less sensory distraction.

Now I bet some of you are thinking 10", wow, she's a luck girl. Well, yes I am.....and it gets better. Let me introduce to you Betsy.....Betsy will be with me at the end of June. She is Treks new invention, their 8 inch model. Ideal for small Barbadian riders, oh, wait a minute, that's me!! This wee bike is gonna be a big deal, so keep your eyes peeled!! It's gonna get a finger licking whoppin launch!!

Speaking of whopping launches.....all of my friends seem to be cooking at the moment! I'd really like to welcome Hazel May (9ls 3oz) and Ted Brown (9lbs 11oz) to the world. My good friends Zel and Arron and Vicky and Alex are all proud as punch!! My boss was due yesterday and both of my step sisters in the next two weeks!! It's quite an exciting time all round for my family and friends, and the horrific birth stories are the best contraception for me!! I just wish I wasn't so busy s I could pop down and see them all!! I'm sure I'll make some time. Congratulations.

Jme. XX

So Cal..the OC, Leguna Seca and too many SMOOTH MOVES to write home about!

The day after the marathon, I dragged my bags and limped pathetically to Heathrow, destination L.A. Catching each falling star on the way and putting it in my pocket!! Tara and Polly met me off the flight after a funny evening at the Ellen Degeneres show and we settled in in the O.C for a few days. I woke up on Tuesday and set out on Driving lesson #1! T can't drive right now, so I was at the helm in her nippy wee Lexus! We went to rehab where I spent most of the time rubbing my eyes!! Not because of jet lag, but in amazment of Tara's progress! In 4 months, she has come on in leaps and bounds. She has consistant, localised sensation and movement which can only be a good thing. She has mastered walking aided by her Forest Gump style leg supports and crutches and can kick both her legs out. Progress is slow but very very steady.

After a bit of car-barny and some major shuffling, we were packed and ready to hit the road north to Monterey. Kim, T and I chewed the fat and gased the entitre way along the 6 hour drive!! We landed in our hotel, dumped the bags and headed out for T with my sistas Fee and Jiggs. First day at the Sea Otter gave the indication of a biggy biggy event, it was like a festival, everyone and everything 'bike orientated' was there. The venue for the race was the infamous Laguna Seca track. The place was a hive of activity, roadies, xc, slalom, BMX, and DH, there was pretty much every kinda pie for kinda tastebud!! The pits were nestled in the bowl surrounding the track, the roadies raced the track and we raced on it's backside....OOOER!

Riding was cool. Buckle from Trek was a total legend and flew my bike over for the event. When I got there it was all built and ready to go! It was a little big for the course, but pedalled like a dream. I can't wait to get it onto the bigger Alpine courses and see how she handles, she still needs a name tho...hmmmm! CAECELIA????

Okay...so a low down. I finished 22nd in the DH, Fee came 3rd in the Slalom and 2nd in the DH, Buhl kicked ASS in the DH and took the win. Damion is rubbish at returning keys and has a bit to learn about wine but can cook up a juicy steak.Wagner's shit trilogy is just as funny 2nd time round. Kim is the most practical person I have ever met, a human swiss army knife. In and out burgers are finger lickin good. The Syndicate guys took over the podium. You drive on the right there, you drive on the right there!! I am no longer a California or root beer virgin. Fruit bats lurk in the trees in Monterey. Neven is officially the most lethial social handgrenade I know, full of great banter and laughter. You can get handcuff shaped bike locks which are great for locking people up?!

Tara has the funniest franglais accent, best used ordering in take outs!! Monterey has the BEST breakfast place ever and breakfast while I was away was the funniest meal of the day...SMOOTH MOVE!!. Facial hair is SO last season. 110mph on the freeway is apparantly a good move?! I scored 9 points on the KHS team funny board!!California produces some lucious vino and the biggest strawberries I have ever seen. Asking strangers for lifts is naughty unless they drive jeeps and you are with Neven! Reading glasses come in all shapes and sizes, som are good in a vertical position in bed?

Keep your eyes peeled for the May edition of the Dirt Magazine, there is a wee treat in there for y'all!! Which moose let the juice loose about this hooose? SET THE JUICE LOOSE! xx

26.2 miles, blood sweat and blisters!!

There I was on a dark December night, deluded after a long drive cross country racking my brains as to how I can go about raising money for a dear friend of mine Tara Llanes. Cast your eyes south and read her story below....

Cut a mammoth tail short, I ended up talking to some of my fellow Lucozade workers and low and behold, in mid January, I got news that I had made Team Lucozade Sport and I had a secure place to run the marathon. I was so excited, I know people who have tried for over 6 years to get a place to run in the race!! The excitement soon faded when the reality of actually putting your mind and body though the hours of training and then the actual race set in! Training was nuggets, I had to train up and down the country (As I am usualy away with work) and I trained in the dark in all weather conditions including snow, rain, sun, hail....in The Isle of Arran, the Lakes, most of the major cities, Edinburgh, London, Glasgow, Manchester BLA BLA BLA, you get the picture.

The tredmill helped me loads and I spent quite a lot if time running at a set pace over set distances on the 'milly the treadmill! I got my 10km time down to 53 mins, which ain't bad for a novice!! I found out a lot about running too, did you know that if you wear the wrong panies, your fufu can chaffage and it can fall off? Interesting!! I bet you didn't know that it is not uncommon for people to loose all control of their bowel and soil their panties whilst running? Note...I WAS NOT ONE OF THESE LOOSE BOTTOMED FOLKS!! I did however whitness some shameless shitting en route round the marathon course!! Also, it is not uncommon to need a wee en route, pretty obvious really, considering the average time is 4 1/2 hours and the average fluid consumption is arounf 2L. I am proud to admit to a spot or urban peeing, it was quite releaving actually!!

The build up to the big day was exhausting. As Lucozade are the title energy drinks sponsor, it was all hands on deck for the Expo! Me and my budding team of Sports Scientists were on hand giving runners last minute advice and tips for 4 days prior to the event! It is the busiest few days of our working calendar, actullay it is a working marathon!! My boss was a peach, he actually forced me to take the day before the event off and a day off it was, long lie in in my hotel and the ole feet were up!! My bro and sista in law took me out for T which was so well needed!!

Marathon day came in a blink of the eye!! There I was in my Team Lucozade Sport kit, all hydrated and well fueled. I past the 2 mile mark, looked over my shoulder and saw my friend Amy! Out of 36'000 folks, what are the chances of that? We ran together until the 25th mile, she was the best running buddy ever!! We also met Blind Dave and his team, he is the most amazing guy! I helped him with his nutrition stratergy and the London Marathon was the last in his 7 marathon challenge across 7 continents in 7 days, the third man in history to complete the challenge...oh, and he is blind!! I was lucky to run the last mile with 4 nativly dressed Massi warriors, they were amazing, they ran with bike tyre style foot covers held on with string. The crowds all the way down the course were 4 deep and the cheers were unreal, it was like a world cup for 26.2 miles!! My whole team waited in the rain at the last Lucozade feeding station at mile 23 to cheer me on, it was pretty emotional!! I swore at a team meeting that if I hit the wall, I would resign! My fuelling was textbook, I felt strong, hydrated and well fuelled the entire way, the only thing that held me back were a few monster blisters and a fat, feeble foot!!

I hope you never experience having to step upto the plate for a friend, but if you do, do something worthwhile, make it count and in the mean time, it is never too late to sponsor me!!

http://www.tarallanesroadtorecovery.com/ XX

After driving and working all hours, most people with any level head would use off days for R n R. Good job I haven't got a level head then hu? It all started a few weeks back after a big presentation in London and a training session with one of the UKs Olympic marathon hopes Liz Yelling, I trekked the length of the country and ended up with my friend Alex on the Isle of Arran.

We had an ace few days kicking back, checking out a tour of the local Arran distillery, taking a peek at local cheese factory, discovering old caves, running training in the pouring rains, grabbing a bed and breakfast in a Swiss owned lodge and eating Chinese in someones living room...long story!! The island was real quiet which was awesome for absorbing the views and ripping our rental car around.

The next couple of days off were spent blasting down from Scotland to Wales in search of some epic xc riding. Em, Tracy, Teeny, Dan, Jake, Dean and myself piled into the Hub vans and blasted down at warp speed (fuelled by the biggest box of travel sweets known to man) for some quality trail riding.

We were met by Mo which was ace, I have stayed in the same house as Mo and have quite a few mutual friends, but strangely, in 10 whole years, our paths never crossed!! It was great to eventually hang with her!! Day one was spent at Coed y Brenin on a 32 km loop which was awesome, the trail was interspersed with all kinds of variety to keep us on our toes! There was the most randomly thrown together patch of north shore, it was so squiggly, I nearly did a top fuel and bailed into the bog.

Day two was a little more chilled out on the trails of Betsy Coed. I swear, my ass was so frikkin sore, it felt like someone had wired a tenz machine to it and turned it on FULL BORE!!

Wales was is like a nicely decorated cake. Beautiful on the outside and a little fruity in the middle! Some areas are pikey pikey do as you likey. It is beautiful in a sense that many areas are still untouched, but it does breed some strange things........its all about the village!!

The only reason I am on this computer is because I have HIT THE WALL!! In the last few days, I have driven from Glasgow to what feels like Tim-Buck-Two and back for work....I did like 400+ miles yesterday and I am pooped!! On the way home I was looking forward to going for a spin with a smooth talking Irish stew pot, somethings just never go to plan!! I think I got the best deal tho, I ended up with the Hics in hill-billy-ville pitching a ti pee in the snow!!After stocking up on essentials, we did some 4 wheelin in the snow along the rough ground to 'BASE CAMP' Helvellyn just in time to watch the sun set and the snow clouds roll over. The guys had the deal dialled in, they'd made the coolest wood burner which I cooked a sausage casserole on for T. Man those guys know how to live, basic and FUN! We had such a laugh, I set my shoes on fire

So, be warned, when in Wales, if you walk into a pub and ask if they are still serving, the answer is usually in the fact that the lights are still on and the door is open!! Tom tom aint always right...however, you if it tells you to park up and take a bus, it generally means your lost, bail!! Teeny has the SWEETEST tooth! Ti pees are officially the coolest way to camp. Deliverance is best played full bore, plaid clad from the booms of a 4x4 in the middle of no-where, tinny in hand. Boys don't always know where the hole is, especially in regard to petrol tanks that are cleverly concealed by anti theft 'flaps'.

TREK-Extreme Medics Racing team 2008.

Yea y'all!

Well, here you have it! For 2008 I will be racing alonside some of my oldest buddies on the racing circuit, under the Trek-Extreme Medics unbrella.

I'd like to take this opportunity to present my new team:

Manager: Mr Dan Jarvis. With a gob to match mine. For those of you who don't know Dan, you'll have heard him. He commentates at most of the World Cups! He is a total ledgend and responsible for sewing the seed and pushing me to ride for Barbados back in 2003. I was so stoked when Dan invited me to join the team. It's gonna be a fun season.

Rider DH: Petra Wiltshire. Pee one of my many big sisters on the racing circuit. We have crashed out/travelled and laughed our way through many a race over the years. Pee is an awesome rider. She is a 2 x World Masters and former Euro Champion. Pee has experience and wisdom running from her head through to her tyre.

RiderXC. Gemma Collins. I have never met Gemma, but I am sure sh'll have me roped into an XC race at some stage! Well, at least I hope she will!!

Our title sponsors include TREK BICYCLES and EXTREME Medics. We will also be promoting the Tara Llanes and riding with her logo on our backs. We do our damndest to raise money and awereness through various initiatives throughout the season...watch this space!

I'll be on board a sexy wee Trek sESSION 10, fully kitted up with the latest RockShox/Avid/sram componentry, wearing a custom made cyclejersey.com shirt (all black/pink and flowery!!)

The race line up for me includes:

Sea Otter Classic. April. California.

Maribor World Cup.

Andorra World Cup.

Fort William World Cup.

World Championships.

Schladming World Cup

Jersey Downtown.

Scottish Championships.

Keep your ears open. We're gonna blow your drums this season!! See ya on the trails.

Jim. X

Hogmanay in a haunted Castle.

So...all hell broke loose, what more can I say, I have just had two weeks of constant parties and

laughs with friends from home and uni. Christmas was all a lil bitty funny to be fair, it was the first Christmas without my Bro and there I was, playing Cranium with my family and family friends with no wingman.

Boxing day was as traditional as ever. All the girls (minus a key few) got together for my best friends birthday, and our annual catchup! The whole place was brought alive by Pete Mc, his Christmas woolie, crazy V-dub belt and panchant for small bottles of red wine??!!

K, so..........the annual bash at the Bagby broke up Christmas and New Year, Nats pushed the boat out with an amazing meal for 14, loads of amazing home caught nosh and fine wine. We finished the night in the 'entertainment room'. It was hilarious, karaoke here we come!!

New Year was a last minute, there were a few options and as usual a danger of having a flat New Year, thankfully, I have never ended up in a dross pub and tend to always land on my feet and this year was no exception.

We drove for four hours north of Inverness on the North East coast of Scotland to a rather exquisite Castle. Perched on a wee juting of land the Castle looked right down the valley. The Castle was built for the Dowager Duchess of Sutherland way back when (1906-1917) and was used during the war by the King and Queen of Norway as a safe refuge when the Nazis attacked Norway in the second world war.The building was awesome, I think there was around 120 of us for New Year, we all convened on New Years eve, we ate before we got there at a lush wee nosh hooose in Aviemore and then drove up to the Castle, choons blasting and singing for Scotland!! We were welcomed by the most amazing raging log fires and a maze of wicked paintings, marble statues and kilted men!!

After a power nap and a catchup, everyone got dressed up and headed to the ball room and adjourning rooms for a pre Ceilidh catch up drinking session! It was ace to see the Aberdeen crew again, all on form and dressed to impress. We danced until the bells, raised our glasses, spread the love and partied on until the small hours.

We woke early on New Years Day, piled into our friends car and headed even further up north to Thurso for a cheeky surf. The guys surfed Thurso East which was working like a beast, double over head and raging as only Thurso East can! Nugget had a bad twist to his ankle and bust his MCL which sucked, not the best way to start the day at all!! After the guys got changed and warmed up, we headed back to the Castle for an banquet and prepared for round two of dancing and letting loose!