DNS - Did Not Start

SDA Round 1 - Innerleithen

Sometimes you have to accept your limits, this is what I unfortunately had to do at the first round of the SDA at Innerleithen.

Me and Sam arrived at the trails Friday afternoon to get his Xtreme MTB pit set up as he was sponsoring this race, but we decided track walk first, I was so excited! IT was sunny and the trail was looking perfect, damp but not wet and muddy. Sam was surprised at what had been taped for the bottom section but was impressed, although it was very steep, loose and rooty he was confident I was capable of it if I just let off the brakes. I knew it was more technical than what I've ridden before but I was feeling confident and knew how to tackle the trail. We stayed with some of Sams friends in Innerleithen, got a major feed on and got some sleep.

Overnight there had been torrential rain, but I wasn't worried. I've ridden in mud plenty of times before. I got signed on, caught up with some of the other girls and got ready to go. I started the long pedal along to the uplift and headed up to the top. I sat in the start hut and watched the others head off down the rocky muddy start, I could immediately see this was no longer the same track I had walked less than 24 hours before. I kept a positive head on and started pedalling. I just made it down to the first fire road, feeling embarrassed at my speed and not really knowing where I was going. I carried on to the next section, stopping in at the side to let some riders past and had a chat with Hope Jensen who checked I was alright. After a few riders passed I got going again, I was surprised how grippy some of the roots were although the mud had me going all directions. Practising with nearly 300 riders makes things more difficult for a slow rider, you can't go 30 seconds without someone shouting rider, and on this track I was struggling to get over to the side to let them pass.

Photo by Ian Porter

After several attempts to get down a steep rooty section without being chased by someone I started to feel totally defeated. I realised this was the section that looked easy to me in my track walk and if I was struggling here, how was I going to cope with the sections I thought looked difficult? I got to the second fire road and after battling with myself I decided to roll down another trail to get to the bottom to calm down.

I got back to the pit and couldn't say a word. I felt ashamed, embarrassed, and heartbroken. Sam asked me what I was going to do and I didn't want to answer. I knew that I was out of my depth but I didn't want to admit it to myself. Eventually I told Sam I couldn't do it. He was understanding and told me I should give it another go, eventually I forced myself to go up one more time but it was just as bad as the first run, the roots were now polished and even worse than before. This is the sort of track I would normally enjoy but I felt so under pressure to get out of the way of the faster riders that I just really was not enjoying myself.

I admitted defeat. I told Sam I was done and that I was struggling too much. He assured me we would do the same track on our uplift the following weekend so I can see I am capable of it and that I just need to be more selfish on practice runs.

Although I did feel upset, I know now that I made the right decision. Sometimes you have to be realistic and accept what you are capable of, even if that means admitting to yourself that you are not good enough, it might mean the difference between being a little upset or badly injuring yourself.

Everyone will have a moment where they are so far out of their comfort zone that they have to say "Enough." Even Sam who has raced world cups among the best riders in the world has backed out of a race he felt was too difficult for him at the time. I walked the track, I tried riding the trail, I made the decision I felt was best for me.

Although this race didn't happen for me I would like to say a huge congrats to my friend Carrie Woods who took on this race as her first ever! She done amazing and even with a huge OTB got straight back on and finished with a big smile on her face, she's what racing should be about, just having fun on your bike.

I would like to add a special thanks to my sponsors: Flare Clothing Co, Uberbike Components, BeneFit and Xtreme MTB for giving me their support, even though I am not the fastest racer, or in this case not a racer at all, they are helping me achieve my goal. So happy to have my new Flare jerseys arrive in time for this race and couldn't believe how comfy they were, just a shame the weather didn't allow me to show the jerseys off.

My Own Worst Enemy

Something I am sure that most beginner racers are guilty of is putting pressure on themselves. I am not going to lie, I am having a hell of a time with it.

 

It's one of those frustrating things that no matter how many people tell you to enjoy yourself and not put so much pressure on yourself, you just can't seem to help it. I am forever comparing myself to other girls who are riding and racing, trying to judge myself against them "How long have they been riding for? How often do they get riding? Do they have natural talent or do they work their ass off?". 

 

I don't drive (I'm working on it) which causes me a great amount of frustration due to the fact that I can only ride when I can get a lift to trails which is not very often. I have been out about four times since the start of the year, which leaves me feeling pretty unprepared for my first race season. But if I relaxed and didn't put pressure on myself surely this wouldn't be such an issue? Sure I've not been out much but it's the taking part that counts, as long as I get to the bottom of the track in one piece?

 

This is where fear plays it's part. Not fear of the track, not fear of my own ability, but fear that others will expect me to be a good racer and that I will simply embarrass myself.

 

I know this is a negative post but it's an honest one. And that's the whole point of this blog, to be honest and give future racers advice from a first timer.

 

Do not let yourself get put under pressure, especially pressure from yourself.

 

I love riding, I love racing, I can't wait to get started, but I am ruining it for myself by comparing my riding to others. Sometimes you need to take a step back and remind yourself of everything else that you are: A mother? A daughter? A student? An employee? A wife? For some people biking has to take a backseat, even if it's only temporarily.

 

I am a full-time student, I have a boyfriend, I work a part-time job in an office, I am training to be a wakeboarding instructor for my summer job, I am learning to drive and I am trying to maintain my physical and mental health by getting to the gym a few times a week, and I am a downhill racer.

 

Sometimes all it takes is to remind yourself that you can only do so much, and maybe right now isn't your time, and that's ok. I know that once I can drive I will be riding more, feeling more prepared for races and perform better. I know that once I graduate from university that I will have more structure in my life and a bit more freedom to get out riding. 

 

I am bad for getting jealous of how other girls are improving faster than me, but at the same time I am so excited for them knowing they will have a great season. Maybe I'll catch up to them one day, maybe I won't but till then I'm just going to do what I can, and try live as balanced a life as I can. 

 

Jumping Session with Xtreme MTB

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take"

 

Knowing how frustrated I get when I struggle to pick up a skill had me worrying about my upcoming coaching session with Xtreme MTB, knowing if I get frustrated when I'm alone that it would be even worse with someone watching me and seeing my mistakes. I was wrong. After speaking with Sam Flockart, Xtreme MTB coach, I expressed my concerns and he reassured me that it would be a great session, with his sister Eilidh joining us, that we would spend as long as it takes working to achieve my goals for the day, taking breaks if I started getting worked up. Sam's sister Eilidh is, like Sam, very talented in several sports. At only 16 she plays for Celtic FC Girls and the Celtic FC First Team Reserves. I agreed with Sam that I should use Eilidh's natural talent to my advantage and learn from watching and speaking to Eilidh as well as working with Sam. Speaking to Sam made me realise that getting angry with myself over mistakes was only going to hinder my progress and if I wanted to get better at racing and riding I had to start looking more positively at my performance.

 

 

We set off from the bottom car park at Glentress up the red route to the Freeride section.

 

Once we got to the top of the freeride section Sam asked us to ride over the jumps without trying to jump them, so he could observe our body positions and to let us get used to riding in the snow (this was my first experience of riding on snow and ice). He chose two jumps after a corner for us to work on. Starting just before the corner to let us get a good pedal in and good flow around the corner to get enough speed for jumping.

 

The first thing Sam worked on with me was the corner, although I normally feel confident on cornering, the snow had caused me to cut the corner a bit short. He got me using the full corner which although I got a couple of slides on, it gave me a much better flow into the jump.

 

After I had worked on the corner a few times we moved on to the jump, he first watched me attempt to jump, then gave me a demonstration of what I was doing on the bike and explained why I'm having trouble, he followed this with a demonstration by Eilidh of what I should be doing, pointing out her strong body position and how her weight was more centred over the bike, where I was too far off the back and soaking up the jump with my arms and legs. After identifying what my issue was we continued to work on just getting me over the jump with stiffer arms and legs. What a difference! I could immediately feel the change in my riding just simply from straightening my legs a bit more and keeping my arms strong.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trying not to overwhelm me we worked on one thing at a time, so once I my arms and legs were better we moved onto my body position on the bike, again giving a demonstration of where I want to be when I'm coming up the lip. It felt strange at first as I was breaking some bad habbits that I have had since starting MTB but again I could feel the difference in my jump, nearly landing on the downslope of the jump. I was so impressed with the improvement in just a few hours with Sam. I needed a break so had a few blasts down Berm Baby Berm for a bit of fun. Before we finished up for the day I done a few more runs around the Freeride Park putting everything I learned from the session together.

 

After a fun blast down the blue run (only run open down to the car park) I left the session absolutely buzzing. The session with Sam made me realise how wrong I had been to be worrying about being embarrassed about my mistakes in my riding, and how learning from my mistakes will only help me improve and push me towards my goal of being a great racer. Sam handled my frustrations amazingly well and completely turned my negative outlook around. I cannot wait for our next coaching session and see how much more I am capable of. I feel that without Sam's guidance that I would have struggled with the upcoming race season. His years of experience mean I can make informed decisions about my racing and what I need to be working on.

 

 

 

 

 

Find out more about Xtreme MTB and Sam either on his website or Facebook:

http://www.xtrememtb.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/XtremeMTB

 

 

Bene-Fit Health and Fitness & Uberbike Components

 

I am very pleased to announce two more sponsors who will be supporting me in the 2015 season alongside Xtreme MTB and Flare Clothing Co. I am completely overwhelmed with the level of support being offered to me as this will be my first full season racing and currently hold no titles to my name so to have these big names behind me makes me feel like they have confidence in me and my potential. I cannot thank them enough and will do everything in my power to do them proud. I am proud to announce that Bene-Fit Health and Fitness and Uberbike Components will be sponsoring me this year.

Bene-Fit Health and Fitness

 

 

"Bene-Fit Health & Fitness was created with the sole purpose of raising the standard of training by providing the perfect platform for our members to achieve whatever goals they set out. Everyone at Bene-Fit has a passion and desire to look, feel and perform the best we possibly can through the highest quality training and nutrition. Our expertise and knowledge provide the perfect opportunity for you to start enjoying and getting the best results from your training"

 

 

Bene-Fit have been kind enough to offer me assistance with my training and nutrition throughout the race season, with personal training from their founder and manager Tony Murphy. Tony has a BSc Degree in Exercise and Sports Science as well as other fitness qualifications including a NASM level 3 personal Trainer qualifications and most recently Physique Elite Advanced Nutrition specialist. Tony will be helping me reach optimum fitness levels for racing as well as providing me with a diet plan and protein supplements to ensure maximum results. I feel far more prepared for the race season ahead thanks to this support and cannot wait to see the results reflected in my race times.

 

Find out more here:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bene-Fit-Health-and-Fitness/

http://www.bene-fit.co.uk/

 

Uberbike Components

 

 

"Uberbike Components is one of the UK's leading cycle component brands, offering high end quality at direct prices with 20 years industry experience."



 

Very happy to announce that Uberbike Components are offering me support this season, providing me with parts, services and advice to ensure my bike is in top condition for racing. They have a wide range of top quality components in awesome colours. I was so surprised to have such a big name offer me their support especially for only starting out in my racing career, they are doing an awesome job of looking after me and the race season hasn't even started yet. Cannot wait to test out my new grips and check out their new pedals when they are released!

Also they make some pretty rad hats, hoodys and tshirts! :D

Find out more here:

https://www.facebook.com/uberbikecomponents?fref=ts

www.uberbikecomponents.com

Flare Clothing Company & Xtreme MTB

Well I am VERY pleased to say that I have two amazing sponsors for the 2015 season.

Flare Clothing Company

I was completely blown away when I received an email from the lovely Hannah Myers from Flare Clothing Company telling  me that my application for sponsorship had been successful.

A little info about Flare:

"Seeds were sown for Flare in the summer of 2012, after feeling frustrated with the lack of women's mountain bike clothing on the market. I wanted to ride my bike and look like a girl while I was! After a year of research, prototyping and testing Flare began trading in the winter of 2013 with the Lunar Jersey Collection before going full force with Spring/Summer 2014 and Roost.

Flare aims to provide clothing that is of a high performance, that fits flatteringly and comfortably and that looks cool whether you're pinning it on the trails or après-ride in the pub! Although the line isn't complete yet, new products, styles and colours will be introduced when we've got them just right, so check out the store to see what's new.

Flare is more than just clothing - we want to promote women's cycling to be something rad, whether it's racing downhill, riding familiar trails or just having a blast at the pump track, so check out the journal for news on what we're getting up to, cool videos, interesting articles and race reports from our riders."

Hannah Founder

Check out their website and social media pages below :)
http://flareclothingco.com/
https://www.facebook.com/flareclothingcompany
http://instagram.com/seeflareco
http://vimeo.com/user9888699
https://twitter.com/seeflareco


Xtreme MTB

I'm sure anyone who knows me will be very surprised to hear that I am being sponsored by Xtreme MTB for the 2015 season. ;)  For anyone who does not know, I am the lucky girlfriend of Sam Flockhart, owner and founder or Xtreme MTB. Sam is currently in the process of building his own bike shop in the Central Belt of Scotland which should hopefully open next year. Sam has also recently been featured in MBUK Magazine. Here's a little info about Xtreme MTB.

"Xtreme MTB is a mountain bike coaching company based in the central belt of Scotland covering all aspects of mountain bike riding form Cross Country to Downhill also with skills courses available.

Here at Xtreme MTB our main objective is for you to learn in a fun safe way which is 100% beneficial to the individual. We tailor our coaching and techniques to suit your skill level."

Sam's career acheivements include:

• Scottish champion
• European Champion
• Overall Maxxis European cup series champion
• 15th position Maxxis cup series overall
• Rode for Junior GB world championship team 2010
• Podium results at junior World cup races
• Podium at National events and British champs
• Cyclocross podium position
• TCL trained
• PVG Disclosure
• NC certificate in sporting performance
• HNC in Sports coaching and development
• Former SCIS member
• First Aid Trained In Sporting Injuries

Check out his website and keep up to date with him on his social media sites: http://www.xtrememtb.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/XtremeMTB?fref=photo
https://twitter.com/xtreme_mtb

"You ma boy Blue!"

This is just a short post to welcome by new bike for the 2015 season, Bloo. Bloo is a 2012 Lapierre Zesty, and is my first all mountain bike.

 Alas I cannot afford to keep Damien and Bloo so Damien is currently up for sale :( After an emotional talk with Sam who advised me an all mountain bike would be better for my training and riding, I decided an all mountain bike was the way to go for now. I am devastated to give up my first downhill bike, he has served me well and has taught me a lot. It has taken me a few rides to get used to Bloo but we're getting there and hopefully he will do me well in the 2015 SDA series. Special thanks to Sam Pookstar who previously owned Bloo and kept him in good shape! Also mega thanks to Sam Flockhart of Xtreme MTB who drove for hours with me to go pick up the bike.

 

 

If anyone is interested in Damien he is still for sale. Find out more info on the link below.



 

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1632911/

Glencoe SDA Scottish Champs

So earlier in the summer I decided to throw myself in the deep end with my racing, and enter the Scottish Champs which took place in Glencoe using the red run. This weekend would teach me a lot about racing downhill and about the level that I have to work towards to be successful in my racing.

A couple of weeks before the race I headed up to Glencoe with coach Sam Flockhart of Xtreme MTB (although this was on an unofficial capacity) to see what I was up against on this trail, after watching several gopro videos of the red run I thought it seemed quite smooth and flat. I was wrong. On my first run down I was rolling at a snails pace, braking hard and leaning in the super super safety position practically sitting on my back wheel. This added to my problems as I struggled to keep control over my front wheel as I had all my weight over the back of the bike.

Lesson No 1: Keep your weight over the front of the bike to keep control.

I arrived at the bottom of the trail feeling ridiculous. How on earth was I going to race if I couldn't even negotiate with the terrain?! I reminded myself that first runs are always awful and the next run would be better, although despite encouragement from Sam I continued to beat myself up about my poor riding. Before we headed up on our next run we bumped into SDA legend and my besto Craig Howie, who joined us on a few runs as well as following me down on a run to let Sam have a blast down on his own.

After a few runs I started letting the brakes go a bit more and tried my best to listen to Sam and push myself over the front of the bike more. I left Glencoe feeling slightly apprehensive about racing in two weeks time.

In that two weeks I became ill, preventing me from training or riding which later impacted on my fitness during the Scottish Champs.

Practice day at Glencoe soon arrived and I have never been so nervous. I seen the queue building up at the chairlift and I realised just how many people I'd be practising with. I was terrified, but determined. Sam who was meant to be racing and practising alongside me was ill so could only support me from our pit in the carpark, this did add slightly to my nerves as I wouldn't have him to encourage me on the run but in a way it made me stronger as I had to cope without him. I got to the top of the chairlift, put on my helmet and got onto the start ramp, the first time I've ever done it and another element that made me nervous, thoughts like "What if I pedal off this and just fall off it?!" started jumping to my mind but after the marshall started chatting to me I relaxed. "Whenever you're ready", I was not near ready but I went for it. The run was a lot drier than when I'd previously ridden it and god it was loose! Knowing other racers would soon be behind me kept me pushing forward.



Photo by Chain Reaction Cycles

Each practice run became easier and less terrifying and speaking to the other female riders made me feel a lot more at ease. Everyone at the SDA was so lovely, I was terrified that the boys would be shouting at me that I was in their way but they were more supportive than I could have imagined. After a few exhausting runs I called it a day and left until the race.

Race day arrived, it was a cold and windy up the top but I felt confident. I gave myself one practice run, enough to see how the track was holding up without exhausting my low energy supplies. I headed up to the top on the chair lift, thinking over every feature I struggled with, the sharp corners, the loose steep sections, trying to remind myself how to overcome these problems.

We arranged ourselves into an order we thought best, I went ahead of two other girls as it was also their first serious downhill race. Before I knew it, I was on the start ramp and the timer was ticking down. I rolled off the ramp and made my way down, my only goal was to get to the bottom in one piece, preferably without crashing. I rode too cautiously and in no time Sophie Nuttal was shouting "rider" from behind me. I let her past then pedalled as hard as I could, I was exhausted and struggling to keep my position strong. After the sharp left corner my chain came off and I knew I had to let off the brakes if I wanted a decent time. I tried to keep the bike flowing down the rest of the track but I just didn't do enough and came into the finish feeling drained and absolutely gutted. I shook the girls hands on the podium and left the ring feeling frustrated and upset with myself for not letting go of the brakes more. Sam and my parents assured me I looked great but I know I could have done better. I had no energy left for the second run and called it a day.


Photo by Ian Porter

Seeing the times the girls were coming through made me realise the standard of female downhill racing and what I have to aim for. I learn a lot from this race and do not regret it for one minute. I met some awesome girls and am now more determined than ever to race the SDA series next season.