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.

Farmer's John's Race Weekend 2013

So on the 5th and 6th of October I had my first experience of Farmer John's mtb park... what an experience it was. This was the weekend that I would knock myself out, do a drunken night race, as well as join the hecklers on the rock, and as we all know... it's shirts off on the rocks!


My mate Tristan was kind enough to drop me, Hannah Escott and Emma Whitaker off at FJ's with the camping gear while he went to pick up our bikes. Unfortunately this meant our bikes didn't arrive until after the practice runs for the Sunday race. Me and Hannah walked the track while Emma got a couple of runs in. The track looked pretty gnarly with a fair few guys being thrown by some lethal roots. 

Once the practice runs started for the night race we headed up in our costumes (myself dressed as a glam rocker - guitar and all) to get some runs in. My first run was pretty unstable, and was really unhappy with it. I decided the best way to approach the first small drop was to pick up more speed before it. As I started my second run I pedalled up to the drop. Next thing I know medics are asking my to lift my leg so they can take away my bike to assess my injuries. Had no idea I'd been knocked out till I realised Tristan who was in the queue behind me to start was there. Luckily no more than some bruises but took a huge knock to my confidence. Lucky for me Farmer John let me race by leaving my bike at the bottom of the drop and I had to run to it. Obviously this set my time back a fair bit but it was all for some fun.

In between our first and second runs myself, Emma and Hannah decided to join the hecklers on the rocks, possibly the most fun I've ever had and of course, our tops were off (sports bras were left on, it was freezing!). By the time our second run came me and Emma had near polished off a bottle of Jack Daniels. Still, we went for it. I crashed three times in the same berm then gave up and pulled my bike off the track in fits of laughter.

From then on is a bit blurry, pretty sure I had fun though.

The next day came and I decided racing would not be in my best interests, the track was too difficult for me and I wasn't ready to face drops yet. I cheered on my girls before a nightmarish journey back to Scotland. The fall did not put me off racing. If anything I am more determined to get better and get tackling drops.