Fort Bill, The Angel and Mrs Thomas.

Guest Book insert;

'Mrs Thomas, you may not remember me, but my name is Motty Mott Mott. I live in Flagstaff AZ, ride MX, fix bikes and sing about freedom. I stayed in your log cabin for 5 nights, you washed my friends clothes, hung em out to dry and brought em back all neatly folded. I hung my washing out and left it for 5 nights too, but Mrs Thomas, you never folded my clothes or washed them. On the 5th night, I shed a tear, brought them in, folded them myself and now I ready to go back to the USA. Mrs Thomas, I have one question for you.....What would you do if you had to fold my clothes for Freedom?. Thanks again for having us, your place was swell. Motty Mott Mott.'

K, so in our rush, we forgot the guest book entry, but I am sure if Motty had the chance, that's what he'd have written!! We totally landed on our feet with accom at the Bill this year, a last minute booking, 4* digs with leather sofa's...I know, I know, I can feel you rubbing your thighs in delight!!

So, this week, it was Barbados and the USA, Buhl, Motty, Steve and Dave. The most amazing bunch of DH boys I have ever roomed with, they showered us with culinary delights and mechanical comfort all week long (a.k.a Dave fixed my puncture!). It was a quiet week for us, but boy did the riding benifit!

I have to say tho, I didn't ride on form just because of the good grub and early nights.....it was more to do with the arrival of the Angel! Mr B from TREK carried yet another steed across the pond for me, but this time it was a little different ;). The Session 88, A.K.A. 'Angel' went down a storm on course, she pedalled a dream, cornered like a waltzer in full spin and jumped like a frog from the pond. I was in my element all week. I haven't felt at one with a bike like that for yonks, that sounds like a pile of cods-wollup, but it's true! The press were lovin it too. It's was the first in the country and it's seriously going to be a BIG deal next season. I rode it as stock, no Ti spring, stock wheels and FOX forks and with all of that, after a weigh in on the TOMAC scales, it came to a mere 39lbs. In the US the guys have fitted some lighter parts and got it down to 32lbs. The lightness and the plush linkage on the rear end which does the same as a floating brake will separate the bike from it's counterparts and lead the way for light, responsive bikes off the shelf in the future. Keep your eyes peeled for more info, reports and product feedback.....and if you want more specifics, check out the TREK site. I spent Friday afternoon in a photo shoot with Geoff Waugh. I have used some of his pics here and on the side of the main page. We were out on the trails for a couple of hours and got some great shots. It was so much fun, Geoff is great pro photographer as you can see. Check out his site http://www.waughphotos.com/

The track was the usual Fort Bill gnar, but the additional changes this year made it flow beautifully, the course builders were on top of most of the diving braking bumps, although it was still horrendously rough, hard on bike and body it seemed easier to ride. They removed the crappy left hand rock corner onto the motorway and replaced it with a smooth kicker, so you could carry your speed right through. The wood section was sweet too, no changes there, but the dryness helped for sure. B.T.W The photo below was sent to me from www. phunkt.com

K, so quali was great on Sunday, I qualified 18th and was over the moon until I realised that a few of the faster burds got red flagged. After they had their second run, their times pushed me out of the final and I finished 22nd. Gutted by that, but not too dismayed as I know, finally after three bad races that I am back up to my speed, and the monkey that has been weighing me down is now firmly off my back!!

So, round up without the babble. Buhl got on 2 podiums GO GAL! Fi popped some ribs OUCH! The after party was a total FLOP. Almost the entire Syndicate squad got on the podium which was great to see, it was also ace to see Nathan back on form, about time too! Freedom turns were UNREAL. J.D has the most BIZARRE wardrobe!! Brian from the CYCLEJERSEY is a total leg-end and has made us the coolest custom fitted jerseys EVER! Dan A.K.A Blabbermouth, my team manager is officially the rad-est MC to date. Everyone should embrace the elbow dance.

For results, as usual, you can check the UCI site http://www.uci.ch/.

Beers in. X

TATA's to the Sun!

Inbetween Andorra and Fort Bill us girlies decided to take some time out and bask like seals on a nude beach in Barcelona laying TaTa's to the sun! Things kinda went to plan with some adjustments and additions.......Motley (Motty Mott Mott) Buhls mechanic, and good friend of ours joined us which was great, but we didn't quite make it to the nude beach...never the less, we found a window for nudity!!

We got into Barcelona early in the afternoon after the most scenifc drive burdened by stink hangovers. Barcelona was a heaven of moped riders winding their way in and out, one BURK smashed into our wing mirror, which was pretty stupid!! The sun was SCORCHIO!! We stayed for a few days at Gina G and Wee Cathrines place just outside of Barcelona a hop, skip and rollie pollie from the beach and the waters edge.

We walked through the door and were slapped in the face by the aroma of Dim sum, thai red curry and home made choco brownies. Bearing in mind that since the marathon, I have been eating enough to feed a modest african family pretty much every meal, one would think that stuffing my face with posh nosh, once again would be a little extravagant, when in Rome!!

When it comes to food, it's always best to air on the side of caution and stuff up, as you never know where your gonna get your next meal from right? I'm never on the slow boat to china as far as food is concerned. That night we dined like Kings and Queens.

After dinner, we took the kite down to the beach and tried to fly it. I blatenly wasn't thinking as there was NO wind!! So, that wore thin after about a dozen attempts chucking the kite in the air and waiting as if it was magically gonna take flight!! Nev and Buhl sat there patiently, egging us on. The next morning, I attempted to fly the kite again solo at the crack of dawn, in the absense of the essential ingredient WIND. You'd think I would learn?! After being amused by some crazy EuRo beach antics and etire, a wee swim and a beautiful lunch and then packed up and hit the airoport. I bumped into an old friend of mine from Aberdeen in the airport which was a lovely suprise!

Love, peace and chicken grease.

Jme XX

IS YOUR BIKE HUNGRY? THEN LET ER EAT!

K, so of late, I've been kicking back and watching some Peter Kay and talking to my friend about the politial incorrectness and hilarity of comedians such as our one and only Billy Connolly. Then I got to thinking about my blog, I read a few of the last posts and realised that something is up with me. I'm getting boring and being serious!! Well, I guess some people like that, the 'this one time at band camp, I did this and this and this....Seriously tho, it's numb. It aint what this blog is about......so, here goes, a naked view of the races! Andorra, home to the luxury of tax free status. We rocked in on Wednesday after a manic drive over hill and dale with Top Fuel (Melissa Buhl) and her hilarious aunt and Top Gun instructor Gina G. Gina is a kick ass bitch let me tell ya, she is not only airoplane captain, but she also instructs pilots. The only thing bad about her is she did bring Tom Cruise along for the ride, there were no great balls of fire for me!! Probs a good thing as my Tom Cruise was waiting in the wings!! X I was in my element on track after a few 'bedding in' runs. It was like Innerleithen, tight, rooty and wet. Just how I like it...loads of threading the needle required and some rutted riding top to toe. We let er eat big style and rode the snake like we've never ridden it before. Caecelia was bitching up there, there was some really flowey corners and unsuspecting fly offs which we rode off joyously, like a nun in a cucumber field. It sure wasn't our first rhodeo!! So, yet again, if pracci was my race, I'd have flown through the quali. I've never had as much great feedback in a LONG while!! So many of the riders came upto me a complimented my riding which was a MAAAAAHHHOOOSIVE boost......but I got all nervous and about 5 corners from the bottom and thought to myself...'GO JIM, GO.....(and then the terminal thought hit) DON'T CRASH MOFO'. You can guess what happened next, thats right, the sea earchin rose up from behind the bush, blew a kiss and knocked me into the bears arms. I shouted for peace, guzzled a Sunday roast (leaving the yorkshire for last...obviously) and then went into battle. By the time I turned by back on the then wounded bear, mounted my chariot and crossed the finishline, the battle with the clock was lost. I finished 31st and hung my head in dismay, once again, shed a breif tear and admitted defeat. The monkey returned to it's roosting place, on my back. SUGAR PLUMS.

Aside from all of the above, my head was not on the game and I messed up. So, what else happened over the course of the weekend? Erm, I found out that CG owned half of Andorra. Cedric organised a great party for us in his bar which ws next to his bike shop and down the road from his club!! He was the perfect gent and made sure we were all looked after!! Chris Ball, UCI tech deligate is the new ambassador for the UCI polo shirt, both long and short sleeved! Nice!! My friend Diana Margraff rode her best weekends riding in so long and made me so proud. She has come a long way in the past year and jumped some enormous hurdles to be where she is now and it was a beautiful day for her. She has the coolest hair doo at the mo too, a mullet, buisiness on top, party round the back!!

Neven was my roomie for the week, poor soul, we chatted about everything and nothing until the small hours, she woke up with me fully clothed in the bed next to her on a number of occasions, phone charger cable round my neck and probably dribbling...mmm, nice!! I think I might have a larger than normal phone bill next month. It's all GRAVY?! :)

Onwards and upwards.......Barcelona, here we come. X

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