Motivation

Its funny, I was talking to Ryan on the way to the desert yesterday before our practice session saying that its easy to stay motivated when you can feel your self getting better each time but its those times when you feel stagnant in your progression where you really have to hang in there and see it through. Something I'm learning in life is that perseverence and persistence is vital in being successful at anything. It sounds really obvious but how many of us deep down actually believe it and practice it?

Yesterday's session wasn't bad, I had loads of fun, but I didn't really feel like I learned anything new. I realise though that the further I get into the journey that progression will naturally slow down.

I still have a niggling injury, my two clutch pulling fingers are sprained, they start to feel better until I go riding again. My mate Matt has organised a ticket for me to go see The Arctic Monkeys this saturday at Old Trafford in Manchester. I think I'm going to take a break this weekend and give the fingers a rest.

Sag!

Well Ryan from Shocktech set my sag up properly yesterday just before we went to the desert. Adjusting the sag is basically adjusting the tension of the spring on the rear shock to suit your weight.

Well it made a world of difference. The bike cornered a lot better. I felt a lot more in control and a lot smoother. Ryan is going to continue to help me get my suspension right and there are talks of possibly doing a revalve.

I did two 15 minute motos which felt good. I wore my heart rate monitor and my average heart rate was 180bpm. This is fairly high and just proves how strenuous it is to ride a motocross bike.

I think my next step is to change the front tyre. I have done a bit of research and apparently the standard tyre that comes on the KX250F isn't very good and contributes to the bad handling with in corners.

Preston Docks

Awesome track!
Awesome race!
Awesome weather!
Awesome crash!

Preston docks is one of the best tracks I've raced at so far. Its deep sand and its purpose built. When you walk the track it feels like an AMA track not just a track in a farmer's field.

This was one of my best and worse races to date. My speed again had improved and my starts were mega. In the second moto I was tied for second place going into the second corner.
However I went down a total of 6 times during the course of the day. Five of those were in corners and the other was a horrific crash in the whoops. I can only thank Jesus and his angels for protecting me and letting me come away unscathed. My throttle hand came off in the middle of the whoops and I lunged forward which made the front wheel dig in and cause me and the bike to cart wheel forwards. The guy who was behind me came and found me after the race. He couldn't believe that I had got up and carried on riding.

The good thing was that none of the crashes shook me up in the slightest. I never used to be like this. They say that as you get older you become more cautious but it seems like its the other way round for me.

Today Ryan from ShockTech and I are going to the desert to do some testing. We're gonna try and setup my suspension so the bike will corner a bit better. I'm also going to practice cornering as much as possible.

Attack at Peakdale

I went to Peakdale last night. I was looking forward to it as I hadn't been in a while and I was curious to see what it would be like with the new bike. My only goal for the session was to do 15 minute motos.

My first session was dreadful. I felt like a real novice, stalling the bike a couple of times and toppling over in a corner. I think a part of it was getting use to the new bike on a hard packed track. A 4 stroke has a lot of engine braking and so you can't just freewheel like you would on the 2 stroke, you have to be accelerating right the way through the corner. You should be doing this on the 2 stroke but the 4 stroke doesn't let you get away with not doing it. I also think that I was preoccupied with trying to last the 15 minutes and was trying to be too chilled out. I went back in and knew I needed to change something for the next session.

The next session I decided not to look at the stop watch at all but just to ride hard and attack the corners and then just come in when I felt tired. This I found out was a much better approach and I rode much much better this time. After a number of decent laps I looked down at the stop watch and I had done just under 15 minutes so I was happy.

For the last session I decided to take the same approach again but try and turn up the aggression and attack the corners even more. Well what followed was by far my fastest moto at Peakdale to date. I was leaning the bike over more than I ever had and it was actually easier than ever. It felt awesome putting the power on that much earlier and the bike going in the direction you wanted it to go in. I looked down at the stop watch and I had done just over 13 minutes so I put another lap in and called it a day.

I came away from the session feeling really good. I felt like a learned something new and I got to know my bike better. On Sunday I'm racing at Preston docks which I hear is quite a deep sand track. Its supposed to be good so I'm looking forward to it.

I [heart] Motocross

I raced at Sherwood this weekend on the new bike. I was looking forward to the race as it was the track that I did my first race at. I was also feeling confident after the ride I had on Thursday with Mason. Sherwood is a sand track that tends to get very bumpy, like a mini Southwick.

There were about 36 riders in my class which is one of the biggest turnouts this year and certainly the most I have raced against so far. I felt good in practice and again I was blown away by the new bike.

In the first race I got a good jump out the gate and then someone plowed into the side of me going down the start straight. I only just managed to not go down but it left me in second to last place. I rode as hard as I could and managed to pass quite a few people. By the end of the moto I was so tired and could barely hold on but I managed to get back up to 11th.

In the second moto I got a good start and was lying in the top 5 or 6. Unfortunately I blew the 3rd berm and lost a few places. I managed to get them back over the next couple of laps and I'm sure I was inside the top 5. I then began to catch the guy in front of me and after a lap I was right on his tail. We came into a tight hair pin turn and I went straight into the back of him and fell off. I got up quickly but the bike had stalled (this is not good on a 4 stroke). What felt like a life time later, I managed to get the bike going. I caught one guy and then cruised the last lap to finish 19th.

The last moto came round and I was feeling quite tired. I had also done something to my ankle in the last moto so that was throbbing. I got a pretty decent start and rode a good race. I battled with a few people and just tried to relax and keep it smooth. I finished 9th in the end.

The track was extremely bumpy and most people agreed it was worse than it normally was so it was very exhausting. On top of this I had chosen to run the standard grips that came with the new bike and they had ripped my hands to shreds.

My overall position was 12th. I was pretty happy with this considering all that went on.
My bike is amazing and I feel like I can definitely go fast on it. Its just up to me now to get fitter and stronger so I can hold onto it for longer.

Team Green

Well the KX250F arrived and it was emotional, haha! Before I picked it up I went to meet Ben (Trumen) and he hooked me up with a full set of Molson Kawasaki plastics, thanks Ben!



Once I got home with the Bike I took a few photos and began prepping it straight away so that I could ride it the next day. When a bike comes from the factory they very rarely put enough grease on all the bearings, pivots and linkage so its crucial that you get this done straight away. I worked into the early hours of the morning but I managed to get it done and ready for the next day. All I had to do was put in some engine oil.






I arrived at Ryan Mason's the next day and gave him a hand with cutting down his seat and putting a step into it. He's riding the Maxxis British Championship on Sunday and he had to run his brand new YZ250F in. After finishing the seat Ryan hooked me up with some oil and then we loaded the bikes up and headed off to Worksop.



I could probably write 10 pages of what went down at Worksop but I'll keep it short and sweet. THE BIKE IS AWESOME! I was completely blown away. The engine felt and behaved exactly like I thought it would. It has loads of torque and suits my riding style so much better. I tend to short shift (change gear before the engine hits full revs) and I hardly touch my clutch and this is exactly how a 250F should be ridden. Besides the engine the bike just feels so much more comfortable. I think the geometry and suspension must just suit me better because the bike felt like an extension of my body. I could hit the whoop section so much faster and not get tired. It all just felt so effortless. Ryan thought my riding had improved for sure.




Needless to say, I'm psyched for the race on Sunday, its going to be an interesting one.

Relaxing

I just had a very relaxing weekend. I didn't ride any motocross or BMX. I went out for a short road ride on Saturday afternoon and that was it.

It feels good to be back out on the road bike again. Over the last few months my training program has slipped and I paid for it at the last race. I was thinking through my goals and what I want to accomplish by the end of the season and it really got me motivated to train again. I have now worked out a good training program for the rest of the season which I am going to stick to for sure.

The deal is done and paid for, I'm getting a Kawasaki KX250F. I should get it anytime between tomorrow and Friday. I will be racing it at Sherwood on Sunday so I really do hope it comes as soon as possible so that I have time to prepare and run it in.

The van is still out of action which is very frustrating. Its been in the garage for over a week now.

What would make tomorrow perfect would be getting the van back and my new bike arriving. I can only hope and pray.