01/02/18
Went to Patchway track in Bristol this morning and met up with a friend tto ride.
We started off practicing the last straights and I got jumping everything except the last jump which I kept landing on instead of clearing.
We then moved onto the second to last straight as it is my weakest straight and he helped me get much faster on it although I couldn’t get the manual on the first jump which I will work on later. I then tried manualling the second set of doubles on the back straight which I did first try to my surprise. I then did it another 3 times and then had to go home but I went home happy.
02/02/18
Got woken up really early so I went to the track but came home after 30 minutes as I was really dizzy from being tired. I also locked my keys in the house so I had to walk to my wife’s work to get her keys.
On my way back I got a call from a friend to say that he was on his way to the Bath track so I went back.
The track was running much better as it has dried up loads. We practiced on the new 3rd straight and by the end of the session I was manualling all 3 jumps pretty cleanly so another successful day. There are also gates tomorrow so hopefully i can build on the gains today.
03/02/18
Had to ride/walk to the track today as my neighbour had thoughtfully blocked my car in and disappeared without a trace.
Then did gates for an hour or so and then rode home. Really tired so I am going to rest until tomorrow.
Tomorrow I will play it by ear as I am expecting to be really tired.
This afternoon I have got my freestyle bike out of the shed and tried to put the chain and pegs on but there have been issues (back wheel nuts don’t fit in pegs and chain broke my chain tool when I tried to cut it to size!!!) so I am going to drop the bike into Crucial tomorrow so that they can fix it and also give it a once over before I start riding it all the time.
04/02/18
Had a lie in this morning as I was really tired. Did a weigh in and I have stayed the same weight this week as last week at 98.6kgs so still under 99kgs but I want to be getting down into the 97kgs’s by next week.
I have to cut out the coke again as I have drank it all week. This week I am going to hit the gym every morning and do an hour on the exercise bike. I also want to get to at least one spin class so that I can see how it works and then start spinning in the mornings instead of using the exercise bike.
I went to the track at at about 12 today as it took about 30 minutes to get my sone ready and in the car!! When we started to ride to the track from the car 2 of my son’s spokes broke on his front wheel which wasn’t the best start. He wasn’t really in to riding today so we did 5 last straights followed by 5 3rd and 4th straights and then I played on the first and second straights jumping the tabletop. It was really cold so we went home after about an hour.
When we got home showered and had some food and then I took my Son’s bike and the Subrosa Park bike to Crucial to get them both fixed.
I am going to sell my Son’s race bike as he isn’t into racing and he is going to ride the Subrosa when we go to the track instead as he only plays now anyway.
05/02/18
Got up at 4:30am and went to the gym. I did 20 minutes on the exercise bike followed by 3 sets of 10 leg sleds with 140kgs. I then did 3 x 10 leg extensions, leg curls and calf raises on the leg press machine. I then did another 10 minutes on the recumbent bike to cool down.
06/02/18
Had the day off today as I didn’t get much sleep last night.
07/02/18
Had a lie in again today as I had pilates and a basketball match in the evening.
I rode my race bike to Pilates as well.
08/02/18
I went to Gates at Burnham tonight to get some gate practice in. I got my new HT X2 peddles today so I tested them out.
09/02/18
Had another day off ready for the weekend.
10/02/18
Walked to gates this morning and then did a couple of hours of gates and walked home.
11/02/18
All the walking yesterday must have worked as I have dropped half a kg this week and I am tantalisingly close to getting into the 97kgs at 98.15kgs this morning. With a bit of luck in the next 3 weeks I can get into the 96kgs’s as I have 3 weeks of working lates so i can be at the track every day and I want to start hitting the gym in my break at night time too to try and be as light as possible by the first race of the season in 3 weeks time today.
Unfortunately I had to work today so I haven’t been able to go to the Deep south Round 5 in Bournemouth which I was supposed to race today. Bit gutted but these things happen.
12/02/18
Got to Bristol Track at just after 10 and then realized that I had put my son’s helmet in the car not mine so I was limited as to what I could do. As I had met up with my friend who is much faster than me we did start hill sprints to the first jump and then I let off to make sure that I didn’t fall off. We did 10 of these and then I called it a day.
I went home and built up the DK Elite Cruizer as I have someone who wants to buy it off of me which will pay for half of my new wheelset. I have also sold my forks and hopefully my Yess 20″ frame. so I will have most of my new wheelset paid for from selling old bikes which is always good. This week I have to organize my spare parts as I have loads of bits that I can sell to put towards my wheels too.
13/02/18
I took the day off today as it was raining and really cold so I cleaned my bike and dropped the gearing down to 36×16 that I will be riding on the Curtis when it is built up. I have booked the hotels for the first 2 regional rounds as well so I am going to stay near the tracks so that I do not have a 2+ hour drive to get to the tracks before racing all day. I have training tomorrow with Matt the club coach and I am helping him out as well so will be at the track all day tomorrow.
14/02/18
Had training at Bath track with club coach Matt Eaton. It was freezing and really wet and windy so not ideal conditions. Had a really good session although it highlighted that my manuals are really bad at the moment and I also broke my rear hub!! It is slipping and not engaging properly and there is rusty water pissing out of it!!!
15/02/18
Had to take the day off today as my bike is broken and also I had my friends Son at home with us today. I made the most of my rest day and built up my 20″ from parts off of the Curtis and also the bits that I had in the shed. I am going to have to use this for a while until the Dialled rear hub is fixed at the end of next week hopefully.
I sold the DK elite today so the Curtis is further from being complete as it now had no wheels, bottom bracket, seat or brakes!!!
Bit sad about the Curtis but I want to build it right so not too sad. I need the 20″ for now to train on and the Dialled is going to be my race bike for most of the season so it needs to be running well so the Curtis will have to take a back seat for now.
16/02/18
Had to take the Dialled into Curtis to get it fixed up ready for the start of the season on the 4th of next month. The prognosis isn’t the best as it looks like it may need new bearings in both wheels which will cost as much as a new set of normal hubs. It was expected as I have been riding all winter in all conditions and the hubs have been really rough for a few months now.
I am also getting the wheel slammed with the new 36×16 gearing and also getting the bottom bracket looked at as there is a lot of movement when I am on the gate but no movement when you check it.
I will find out after the weekend what needs doing but it looks like most if not all of the money from the DK will go on fixing the dialled!!
17/02/18
Had gates today on the 20″ which was really good as there were loads of people as it is almost race time. Couldn’t get used to the bike so I was getting left behind but it was really fun. It was also the first dry day for ages which was nice.
18/02/18
Got up early and went to Patchway mainly to see if they were working on the track as there was a rumor that they were. There had been no work done so the track was usable so I played about a bit doing some pump laps and the did some first straights.
I then met up with some friends at Arnos grove pump track and played. There for a couple of hours. It was really good fun and i learnt alot. My friend got me to center my weight over the bb which immediately made everything better from manuals, to jumping and especially cornering.
I got to a point where I was actually relaxed in the air. I didnt try the big last jump but i was able to jump the 2 doubles before it easily and still manual the last jump. Next time I am there i need to sack up and try jumping the last jump.
Really enjoyed the day and I am really happy with the progress that i made. I am now keeping the 20″ just to use on pump tracks.
19/02/18
Took the day off today as i had to take my frame to Gary at Curtis bikes to get the correct measurements for the rear axle as Stealth hubs have said that they can make up some custom axles for the frame and also given me a really good price on a set of hubs as well.
20/02/18
Went to Bath track this morning and worked on 3rd and 4th straights.
Then rode to pilates and did pilates.
21/02/18
Didn’t ride much today apart from to and from pilates which is 3 miles round trip.
Took the day off from riding on the track today.
Had a really good pliates session.
22/02/18
Went to arnos pump track this morning and had a play and then went to Bath track and rode for a while. It was cold and windy so I practiced the last straight. I worked on picking up for the first jump then pumping the next 2 then manualing the last double. I got it really smooth and fast and then tried to manual the second double but couldn’t get it smooth. I then did a bit of jumping on the table top before going home.
23/02/18
Picked up the cruiser from crucial and the back wheel is much better. Headed to Bath track to test the bike out.
Unfortunately the back hub was still slipping so I did a few pump laps and called it a day as it was really cold.
Crucial are ordering a new sprag for the back hub to get it working. Not sure if the parts will be here before the regional next weekend.
24/02/18
Got up early and went to Torquay for gates to get some practice in before the regional next weekend. Tried to ride the cruiser but the back hub is still not engaging properly so had to ride the 20″ which isnt ideal. On the way back i met up with friends from the DT racing team at exeter for a bit. Didnt do too much but I did get over being scared going down the start hill as the last time i was here i broke a bunch of ribs and my collar bone and got a ride in an ambulance.
When i got home I ordered a new back wheel for the cruiser so that i can get back on the bike ASAP and i am not sure how long the parts for the onyx will take.
25/02/18
Had gates at Bath this morning which was fun. It would have been better with the cruiser but i was gateing better on the 20″ than I have for a while.
26/02/18
Took a rest day today as I was really tired after the weekend and it was really cold and windy so I really couldn’t be bothered to ride today.
27/02/18
Got up about 11 and went to the track for a bit on the 20″. It was really cold but the wind had dropped and it stopped snowing for the time I was at the track. The track and the path up to it have dried out loads so it is much more enjoyable to ride. I di 6 pump laps and then did some first straights practicing manuals and jumping the table top on the 2nd straight.
My new wheel arrived at my work at about 2pm so I went to work and then fitted it to my cruiser. I have booked the cruiser in for a service tomorrow to make sure that the bike is ready to race on Sunday.
As the new wheel came with a 18 tooth cog I have changed my gearing to 41×18 for now as it is half way between 37×16 and 36×16 and the closest match to a 44×16 on a 20″ bike.
Tonight I won a new 20″ Staystrong Dialled MX20R bike that has been built up as a show bike and never ridden!!! (SEE 2018 Bikes for more details). So tomorrow I need to clean the Yess 20″ get the original tyres and gearing back on it and get it advertised for sale on the internet to see if I can sell it by the weekend. I am also going to put my Son’s bike up for sale to see if anyone is interested in that too.
My Son is going to use the Subrosa freestyle bike when he wants to ride as he isn’t bothered about racing so the bike doesn’t matter to him. so clearing out the shed will be a good thing. I also have another Dialled frame with a smaller top tube that is said that I would buy that needs painting that I want to build up for my son to ride anyway.