After being told that I was riding for Wideopenmag in the 2014 season, we made plans to go out to RoostDH to catch some sun in sunny Malaga, missing all the wet weather in the UK.
First job was meeting the new teammates and building up my new Nukeproof Pulse. Having not ridden it yet, or even seen it without the foam protection on I was super excited to get riding the next day.
Riding it for the first time I had a huge smile on my face, it was amazing I loved it. Not being used to the Spanish soil I had some stupid little crashes. I got used to it and had loads of fun while doing it. The tracks out in Malaga were amazing super loose and fast. Some were long and they would knacker your arms from the rock gardens but I loved every moment of it. There was even a short track that was like the ones back in South Wales just loads of turns and roost was just flying every where it was amazing.
Unfortunately the dream came to an end, no more sunny trails and back to the dark old UK. The loam steep tracks and the motocross make up for it but I still can’t wait to get back out to RoostDH. Now being back home in Wales I’m loving it here more than ever. There are new uplift tracks, Bike Park Wales, the Huwnit which is the local indoor pump track here in Merthyr and motocross. This is what I do every week it’s amazing I love it.
I’ve just started my training after having a break off everything. I’ve been doing laps of Bike Park Wales on the the 2014 Mega it and it feels like I’ve been riding it for years. From never riding any thing else except a 26 inch wheel on a mountain bike I was excited to try the 650b. Riding these wheels weere awesome it rolled really fast and I could hit the gnarly rock gardens with more confidence and speed than I have with a 26 wheel.
I’ve been riding these tracks that are in Aberdare that no one has ridden for years they are so much fun and scary at the same time. I have never ridden something so steep in my life it’s nuts and the loam there is unreal. I’ve also have been building my own track with the hand of my mates, it’s fast loamy and it’s got some tight bits it’s on and it was better than I what I thought.
I’m super keen for this season to start now to get a few races under my belt. Also I’m looking forward to be traveling a bit more next year to tracks in Europe. The races I’m most looking forward to is the IXS in Schladming and also the Llangollen BDS. The race schedule for next year is looking awesome for me and I’m really excited for it.
Big thanks to Jacob at Aspect Media for a couple of these images!