Get a hobby you can put on hold

I love my BMX, there is no better way to have no care in the world than to hit the track and just flow forget work, forget the bills, forget women, whatever your beef, just get rid of it. But there are times when riding isn't an accessible option, and times when I really can't be bothered, simple, the bike sits in the hall and I dont have to feed it, or clean it, or look after it. But horses... oh my days, mums horse went lame the other day and I spent 5 hours in the rain yesterday helping her get it into a stabble, at the end of the day, I didn't wanna be there, mum didn't want her horse to be lame so was in a bad mood and it is a costly affair, vets call out fee's alone more than most of the components on my bike. So be warned, if you dont want a high mantance hobby, avoid animals, if you want your kids to stay in a good mood, avoid emotionally blackmailing them to help you with said hobby.


So its Preston this weekend and i'm psyched, I'm not that assed about how I race, yer I wanna do well, and I know I'll get there, it'll be main time and I'll be in focused to say the least but you've just gotta go out there and ride the best you can, nothing else you can do so dont worry about it, dont get tied up on a result cos at the end of the day anything can happen, judge your performances not on where you finish but how you got there, wow, thats profound.

Went to book my ticket to head over on the boat Friday morning but it was fully booked, oops, heading over to Leeds for the night on Thursday instead which should be a laugh, infact, should be more than a laugh if I happen to bump into the right people whilst out, you get me? wooop. Its been pretty quiet back here, mums off work so I'm helpin her out with stuff, Tax forms where due in on Monday and I count get mine done so thats a £50 fine, great. Still haven't heard back from work so gonna get on the blower to them today and see what the score is with my police check, if they can hurry it up or something, that or I'm going to sign on next week, its gettins stupid.

See ya'll at the weekend, and don't forget to check out ramseybmx.blogspot.com

If I Didn't Have You

Then someone else would do... Ha, love it, watched The Secret Policemans Ball last night, as normal some of the acts where pretty good, and some where pretty standard, this one stuck in my mind as clever comody, I've seen Tim Minchin on Buzzcocks before and never really found him that funny but this is really good, check it out;



It was the last race on the rock yesterday, the new track changes are ok, still need some tweeking but the extra time I've been putting in down there seem to be working for the littluns. Wish I'd have made it to Coppull on Sunday to race in 17+, could have came 4th to Jacob, the kid is fast. But back to the rock, there is a possibility we've found some funding to buy 10 new club bikes, we've sorted a 6 race winter series out, and I had a meeting in Peel on Saturday morning with a commisioner about updating a track they used to have there. It is a U in a U single line "track". The plan is to turn it into a little 2 meter wide play track. With that we could easily stick a pro gate on a start pad and hold little dual races for the kids, it should be ace, plus its 5 minutes from my new job, so come sunny summer afternoons, i'll roll out of work, and do some gates with the locals, could be ace. BMX Isle of Man is happening.

Its Preston this weekend, the last national, rumour has it Kieron was spotted on a cruiser at Manchester on Sunday, lets hope so. I'm not expecting much, gates back home have felt poor to say the least, I'm just not feeling it, lets hope once I've got the track up to scratch I'll be re-motivated, looking at a Euro trip sometime next year with Oggy and the boys, I wonder where we'll end up.

Sorry guys, I'm feeling pretty flat at the moment, check back in the week for excitment, I promise

1 blog down, 1 to go

With all my free time I started up a blog for Ramsey BMX Club, check it! So after just writing the update for that, here is mine. Thursday night after the fun mornings building I had, Skillz, Bri, Sarah and me went down the track to have a play, you could ride around the 1st berm but it wasn't what you'd call finished, and not much had changed, the only thing really going off was the 2nd straight which hadn't been touched, it was just a case of, the weathers good, lets ride. It turned into, who can jump that with the smallest run up, so all about getting you power down, the MTB boys had a bit of an advantage over me by dropping a gear or 2 down to get spinning, but it was a laugh.

I worked nightlife on Friday night, it was dead, just over 60 people in. Got home at 4am and was at the track at 8.30. Max and I worked pretty much solidly all day untill 7 to get things finished. For more info and what have you check ramseybmx.blogspot.com, basically cos I've just written about it once, can't be bothered doing it again. Or can I? From a different perspective really, you know when you'r doing alterations at your track and all the rider muck in? Well it was like that only the kids helping weren't club members, just you're average, out for a ride in the sun kids. It was awesome, a really atmosphere and community spirit thing going down. A mum was down with her 3 and 4 year old sons and was helping chuck some surface on the double into the bomb hole, she was mega impressed with the whole set up and really keen to lend a hand, her motivation, "well everytime I come down with the lads now, they'll remember mummy building that jump." Tbh its true, when the whole community mucks in and helps out it gives them a good feeling as well as the track getting better, so watch this space for more child labour and big things from Ramsey BMX.

Got home about 7:30pm, washed, ate, got ready for work and was at Nightlife again for 10, busier night with only 3 on the bar and 250 drunks, your average Saturday really, pretty ladies to keep me entertained, and drunken yobs for me to wind up. Home at half 4 and up for 9, theres always time to sleep when I'm dead. I headed down to Arrasey plantation with Charlottes little brother to watch the Downhill race they had on, practice, 10-1, first run at 1 should have meant we could have watched the 1st run in time to get Henry to football for 2. It all got held up and we didn't get to see any flyers but it was still nice to walk to course and see a couple of people going hard at different sections. I don't even know who won, but be sure to check the forum later on if your keen to get involved with downhilling on the rock. And yes, that is the sea in the background of this pic of Bri, you don't get a view like that at many downhill tracks in the UK do you? I can think of three like that on the rock.

Managed to drop Henry off in time out at Ayre for me to make it to the track to DJ and commentate on racing, I love watching the kids ride and we've just bought a wireless mic which means I was running around the whole joint getting loud and lairy, its great to have the freedom to rome and see things from a different angle. Commenating is a nightmare though, not many of the kids ride with number plates and we dont do a copy of moto-sheets for the guy with the mic so I'm just expected to know their names, its fine with the kids that come to gates, as they're the guys who's names I know, and they're out there in front so I know to big them up, but I feel bad for the guys at the back of the younger ages, cos I have no clue what they're called. But it was fun, I rode abit in the break and launched the new jump into the bomb hole, taking it like a tripple rather than the double on top, it needs abit more tlc but should be good by next weekend.

Hit up the cinema last night to watch Tropic Thunder, took Philli just to make Scott jealous, mate, she kissed me on the cheek. After the initial, hilarity of JDjr as a black man had worn off things got a little stale and I was gettin bored, it all kicked off around half way through and did get alot better, so if you do go, fight the urge to walk out and you may enjoy it. Tom Cruise plays the money behind the film, but is so well made up I didn't realise, it was only when the credits rolled, n I was like, wtf? A couple of good one liners, and one moment where its silent and then the whole room laughs, 6/10. Wen't to the Royal afterwards to see what they've done in the re-furb, is nice, I liiiiike.

Now I'm just waiting for this stupid police check, c'mon, I'm innocent.

Oh yer, and Bloomy at Peter-bro...

Oh my days

Facelift

So all the tracks are getting this and that done, and being back home and having to ride a track straight from the 80's I thought I'd jump on the train and get Ramsey BMX track looking more like a BMX track than a cycle speedway circuit. For the purposes of a development plan (and sounding like I know what I'm doing) I've split the re-vamp into 5 stages.
So Stage 1 we did the week before the Brits, by sticking a roller in at the bottom of the start hill and changing the 1st double into a longer lower tripple, its worked pretty well and teched up the track a load, this small change is just the challenge the kids on the rock are needed, its brought on their riding loads in just a few weeks.
Stage 2, in the past couple of days I've had 180 tonnes of sub soil and hardcore dumped at the track. I headed over the track this morning with £100 cash in my pocket, the promise of a 5 tonne digger and driver and BIG plans. I talked the digger driver over my plans and he sorta went... "3 hours? Don't think so." Plans got adapted and sacrifices got made but we managed to get the main job done, a proper berm in the 1st corner. Now when you look at something in your head and think how it will look, is it normally smaller than it turns out? Well this is, seriously, chaos corner has nothing on the "wall of death", I can't wait to get it fine tuned, whack some surface on it and get it riding, its awesome. Max from Lezayre Landscapes who did phase one with me is coming on saturday with his mini digger and we're gonna get everything fine tuned as well as stick in a jump on the exit of the corner into the bomb hole.
Big shout out to Liam, who is gonna be getting his crowser game on next season as well as repping in 19+. Holla to Rich with his new haircut, friends soon to be in the Isle of Wan, and mega fast clock, like a week fast. Brrrrrap snap to Sutty, 2 chains in 2 weeks, and you say I've got too much power. OJ's also got a blog, check it. Keep an eye out for Ramsey BMX's new blogspot which will be coming soon, and check out manxcycling.com for all your IoM related news though its pretty bare. Infact, so many more blogs to check, whats Oggy.net been up2? Hoppy won a NBL race! What fly kit will I be buying for next season? And what THE lid will I be shelling out for after my near fatal accident last weekend? I'm sure I noticed something else I should be linking the other day, ah well if its you, im sorry, message me, I'm fickle, you can have a link if you ask nicely.

What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger

It’s been a week since getting home from Coppull and what a fun week, not. Everyone has pretty much drifted back off to uni so the rock is getting quiet. Mums been off work all week cos she’s been ill so I was chauffeuring her round on Wednesday n get a phone call from Charlotte, “I’ve got a puncture, what do I do?” Tbh it didn’t take much persuading to get me to take the half hour drive to save her, beats cleaning horses. So went and sorted that to the tune of “so do boys get special classes at school to learn this stuff?” gotta love saving the day ha. But the price I paid for ditching mum was I had to go for a horse ride with her on Thursday, it’s been about 8 years since I last rode, n I remembered why about half an hour into getting ready, it just takes so dam long, getting them in, feeding them, putting all the stuff on, it’s such a ball ache, but meant I got to spend some time with mum which was good.

Did some work at the track on Saturday to make it ready for the Manx Champs on Sunday, just tidying up corners and throwing some surface down but it made for good racing come the 1st moto. So I’d got Skillz to come down and give this whole BMX thing a go, he rides downhill mainly but also hits the track up on his hardtail, he’s mad fast and I lent him me crowser for the day. I won the 1st two moto’s, but just before the 3rd the gate failed so we did dead man starts off the top of the hill, Skillz and Stephen got better starts than me, I passed Ste round the 1st corner but couldn’t get 1st, 1.1.2. in moto’s, to Skilly’s 2.3.1. It was grand prix so I had the advantage going into moto 4, I won, but Skilly’s gonna get a cruiser, do some gates over the winter with me and I don’t think I’m gonna catch him next year. Hopefully he'll be hitting up some nationals with me next year, repping Team IoM. Pic's right and below from last weekend at Coppull courtesy of rhodopsin.co.uk

Do things come in 3's? 3rd year in a row I’m club champ, I love it. I got a THE plate and £15 for winning, and a pair of Fly gloves courtesy of Ramsey Outdoors for getting the holeshot in the main. Winners in the other classes where Matt Black in the 6 and under, Tom Murray in the 8 and under and Brandon Cain in the 10 and under age group. A big thanks to Mark at Groove Racing who donated some prizes for the holeshot winners, so you know where to go for all your BMX racing needs. Anne Crain a local MHK came down and watched the whole days racing, she presented to prizes and really seemed to get into the spirit of things.

And 3rd time in 3 days riding that I've come off. After racing I was riding the 1st straight, and managed to snap my chain, it was right at the bottom of the start hill and going over the roller so there was no staying on, I remember seeing the ground and inch away from my face as my helmet slid along the floor, I’ve got a black eye, a cut above my other eye, grazes all down one arm and wrist, the other wrist is mega sore and doesn’t really move, I’ve pulled the muscles around my left hip and cut my knee pretty bad, and what have I learned from it all? No more XC chains. This one has lasted about 3 months, you save a couple of grams but lose ultimate strength, and with a chain there is no warning, nothing you can do, once its decided to go, your off and going down big.

So I’m really sore and feeling sorry for myself, went to a pub quiz with the lads last night, we got 3rd, and free chips. I could hardly lift my pint though which sucks. Got more big track plans this week, things are pushing forward and I’m excited, had some dirt dumped today and got shouted at by the grounds keeper for the park, I’ll explain more next time. L8rs