Episode II The Phantom Driver...

It is great to be back in Edinburgh after 1 month in Australia. The weather might be a little chillier but my Aussie shorts remained on faithfully for another week!!

I had a bit of bother on my return as I was carless. I had so many people to go and visit but Giant being Giant, my new Rav 4 was delayed! I had to make the long trip to collect it before the first of the Welsh series. I almost fell asleep at the wheel several times as my jet lag was still pretty bad.

I love the car now and couldn’t be without it. It looks so sporty, much better than a normal car. It’s now got GIANT plastered all over it but you certainly wont miss me!

I was on my own for the first of the Welsh series and arriving in Cwmcarn made me a little depressed as it was so different from Australia. It was dark and cold and it took me a long time to find a B & B. The next day was beautiful weather and it made me very happy.

It was so nice to see so many riders after the long winter season. We practiced together on the excellent but muddy course. My first timed run was a little dodgy. I was very close to crashing at the road crossing. I still managed to come first but second was very close behind me after the second run.

I unfortunately didn’t finish the second run as I had quite a big crash and hurt my shoulder! Oops! It was great fun in the evening with Rich Warner, my team mate, and another couple of guys.

On Sunday the weather was beautiful again. We were racing on the same course. My first run I crashed at the corner where it was muddy. I managed to get up and ride to the finish though. I don’t know how but I still came first! At the second run, I knew the course would be faster as it was drier. I had to ride carefully and try not to crash. My run was very smooth and I knew it would be a good time. I was first by 5 seconds and very happy!

After the race, I had to drive the 6 hours home! I tried to stay awake but I didn’t have to worry as I had my match sticks in my eyes! Ha! As soon as I could, I drove up north to near Inverness to see my sister and my new niece. She is beautiful and called Martha. It made me feel so relaxed to have this lovely hot water bottle on my knee after such a busy time that I nearly fell asleep!

The next weekend I was lucky to have my girlfriend, Katy, come with me to Nantmwar Quarry. She kept me awake when I drove and also took over when I almost fell asleep. Nantmwar Quarry was my worst nightmare! I can’t believe that I came 6th and 7th! It was not my kind of course at all!

The course looked like a bmx course, lots of berms and jumps with lots of pedaling. My bike was far too heavy and I wanted to drill holes in my frame to make it lighter but I didn’t think Paul Clarke from Giant would be too happy! I was glad when it was over.

We then drove down to south of Wales for filming with SSM with Lewis and Mark from Giant. We arrived at the hotel where they had booked us in. We expected to stay at the hotel but we were directed to another part of town to a housing scheme! We were actually to stay in a huge house with 6 bedrooms. It felt very strange when we arrived as we were the only ones there. The SSM team didn’t arrive until 1am and Lewis and Mark arrived at around 3am! I suspect he waited until closing time before heading across! Ha!

We had a couple of good days filming in the surrounding forests. We rode on much better courses! We then headed to Nottingham for a meeting with my manager the next day. The meeting was a good laugh and I got to see all my new parts. I was a little wary of them but said I would try them out. I think everyone knows what I’m like! Ha! Very fussy.

After my rest weekend in Aviemore with my Mum and Katy, I thought I’d better try out my new parts. I put on my new handlebars (special for Giant team) but then my brakes wouldn’t fit. I wasn’t sure if my handlebars were OK as they looked higher and a different position but it wasn’t true, they were almost identical.

I used the handlebars at the Innerleithen Classic race (different part of forest from NPS) and came 1st so I am very happy with them. 2nd was far behind so I think my handlebars made me go faster, thanks X-lite! You have to see the lovely handlebars and stem. I have grown quite attached to them!

Rich and Kris, my team mates, came to stay with me to practice at Innerleithen before the first round of the British Series. I really had to work hard to keep them in line! I think they missed their mothers! Sorry guys! ( I was surprised that Rich didn’t know how to wash a dish! Come again Rich and I’ll give you some more lessons! Ha! Ha!).

The 1st round of the British Series in Innerleithen was great but I was a little disappointed with the organisation as I think everyone was. The course was really good. The Giant team stayed in Peebles which was great as we could all relax together (and I didn’t have to worry about tidying up after Rich and Kris!). We inspected the course on Friday and many of the pro-elite riders thought I had been practicing there a lot. I was laughing as I had only ridden on the course since Wednesday as I had been away so much. The last time I had ridden the course was in November with Steve Peat and Nigel Page for photographs.

I had so many crashes during my practice runs. I don’t think I got 1 clear run. I was a little worried about the race and nervous for the race on Sunday. I had to tell myself to calm down a little as I think I was practicing too hard and maybe going a little too fast.

At the race, my run felt quite good. I know I could have done better on a couple of sections but I was very happy with my position of 3rd. It was great to see many spectators. They all did well to hang around in that terrible weather. It isn’t always that bad I promise.

I’m sorry that the times took so long to be sorted out and that many of the people couldn’t wait. On the Monday after, there were photos taken for our team. I’ll never forget Rich’s face! He had many layers of clothes on and kept saying f***ing Scottish weather!! I don’t think he realised that at his home the weather was worse! -2C.

I’m off to Wales tomorrow so till next time..... Crawfy