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Good question. Yes he's in A levels year 1. We sat down earlier in the year with the school and told them all the dates and when he'd be in/out of school and what that means in terms of missing lessons. Tomorrow for example he doesn't miss any as it's Easter. But usually his Fridays are pretty open after 11.30am so we can finish then and in theory make up any study time. His grades are pretty good at school and the teachers happy with how he's doing.
The school does focus on students who are competing in sports/activities at higher levels and do everything they can to make it happen.
There's only a few complexities this year, with an IXS in Italy potentially conflicting with his Mock A-levels, which would of course mean he doesn't get to play that weekend at IXS and misses it. But we do try and make things happen as much as we can.
It means at times some hardships for me as a driver, with for example 2 weekends time meaning i'm driving to Fort William for IXS and we're getting there about 2am, i'll be the only driver. Then coming back we're leaving FW at the end of the race and driving most of the way down on the Sunday, then getting up at 5am on the Monday so he can make his first lesson at 10.30am. It's a sacrifice all round and can get a bit tough at times on both/all of us as a family. But somehow we mostly make it work, i think.
So the Cwmcarn weekend is done and dusted. It was as always interesting, challenging, character building, fun and entertaining.
We arrived early on Fri and set up camp, it was glorious weather, location,
The elephant in the room was the uplift as we were 3/4 of the way up the hill.. However over the course of the weekend that proved to be absolutely perfect all weekend and the uplift was silky smooth, picking up and dropping off at the various carparks went way better than i ever thought. With the only downside being the push/tow section from the finish back to the security gate for uplift.
Track walks done, food cooked and plenty of beers and banter all round, everyone was in good spirits.
https://flic.kr/p/2qXymWn
Saturday came with practice and seeding, the boy was happy enough and it'd been an interesting 16 hours on site with some very interesting chats with some people and some discussion that went well. The boy wasn't quite 'there' in his riding (yeah i know, it's a pattern at the moment) and he finished the seeding run in P14. I was absolutely pleased with it, he though was slightly disappointed. I'm still not sure how he was disappointed to be honest, but he was. The nature of the beast of being a competitive racer i guess. But there's so many full pro and World Cup racers in juniors now, it's hard to see a way to the pointy end, Billy Pugh, Felix Griffiths, Nathan Diwell Wilson and Stan Nisbet being just the first few who were racing and all will be racing WCs this season.
Up for Sunday and the day continued this was where the downside came into play with there being no real option for Mrs Weeksy to get to the bottom/top/bottom/top. It's about an hour and 10 walk, but her wonky hip can't really manage that up and down in that way. So for the morning she was basically alone as i Ebiked down on Crusts bike to the bottom to take him drinks and food etc. We had Katy the coach and Stef the mechanic over as well, but i didn't see them much due to the size of the site.
I had very little in the way of spanner work to do apart from 1 lad who rocked up and said "can you help with a puncture", he'd slashed his tyre and it was dead. The downside being he was running a 27.5 rear, but i had a spare DHF on our wheel. However his wheel was buggered so he was screwed. Well, apart from the fact he was on a Session, so he borrowed a rear wheel for the afternoon. Mrs Weeksy was looking at me like "will you ever see that wheel again"... However yeah, he found me later and returned the wheel after his race run.
Racing was delayed with crashes, then delayed again, again. So his race went off about 5.15pm. He came down with a head shake and again a look of disappointment and anger... He'd gone 2.5s quicker than seeding but it put him in P16, which again i thought was a bloody fine result, but he wasn't happy. If you'd have offered him P16 before the season he'd have taken it though. After some chats in the van, some reality checks, i think he's OK, mostly... but knows he has things he needs to work on to close the gaps. Whilst some of the gaps to Billy for example are too much to worry about at the moment, the lads up to P8 are not a million miles away and we can work on that.. i think 🙂
All in all, an excellent, long, tiring weekend. Bit cold overnight and a massive lack of sleep of course... but i've got a week and a bit of recover now until we head to Fort William .... Yup, it's not long and we're straight back to Scotland.
duplicate weirdness
Was doing some spannering on the boys bike yesterday and had to head onto the road outside to test his Mavens. WOW, i mean really just damn WOW, they are honestly by FAR the most incredible things i've ever grabbed for a brake, it's just WHAM of power... Jeepers. I always felt the Code RSC were superb, but the Mavens... well they're just next level of amazing !
Weekend is Caersws for Saturday for him, but i think the tracks there are going to be no fun at all at my level, so i'm going to just spanner that one. We may do Sun or Mon as well somewhere, but that's completely unknown at the moment, i need to look into that i think.
Quote came in pretty respectable for the foam cutting, so i've ordered up a slightly bigger case and a (hopefully) more sturdy version which should arrive today and i can then see about getting the tools organised and shipped to Red Box Tools and turned into a fitted set.
@weeksy just spotted your tool box quest, I may be too late but I have a mate with a business who makes these things for the entertainment industry, I can get him to give you a quote for a bespoke case and foam insert and ensure there is no ripping off, would probably do it for cost. Drop me a message on insta or here (i usually miss them on here) if it isn't too late. Cheers, John (The bloke who you never recognise but your lovely wife kept me company at Dyfi following a crash) 😆
Lol you were too far away with my old eyes 🤣🤣🤣
Not sure if it's too late yet. I've got a sheet of shadowfoam here so may give Mrs Weeksy something to do this weekend first as a tester/fitting.
I'll keep you posted, thanks mate
Got a hard plastic case today that's much better for the job. It's slightly bigger so a bit more space in there too.
Only downside is that the lid doesn't 'stop' around vertical, so i may need to employ the brackets i had from the old one for the job, either that i when it's open it's fully open. Not sure yet. It does have 'stops' in the moulding which means it doesn't go completely past flat, so i could modify that to stop just past vertical.... Not sure yet what will be the perfect plan.
First layup of the tools to go in...
Next debate is whether i used Red Box Tools and have all the items precision scanned/cut into their foam or whether i use some shadowfoam i have for the job... Setup and cutting out is about £125 including the foam.
Is £125 for the foam only or the case as well?
For the layout, cut out yourself. You will change stuff about over time. I'm on my second iteration since the photo below and about to embark on going up to a Peli 1510, to fit more stuff (spares mainly).
agree 100% and this years layout is quite different to last years as there's tools you thought you'd use a lot and rarely come out and ones you never thought you'd need much that you really need a lot more.
Is £125 for the foam only or the case as well?
£125 is for 2 layers of foam, plus scanning/cutting. 30mm foam depth.
I have tool box envy now. Done the draws for the tools at home but not for the mobile version
I have tool box envy now. Done the draws for the tools at home but not for the mobile version
ᴛᴏᴏʟʙᴏx ᴡᴀʀꜱ™ (@toolboxwars) • Instagram photos and videos
Today was Caersws for him. Conditions were a bit meh for first 2 runs but absolutely perfect from them on. He got 14 full runs and 22 total. He didn't stop for more than 2 mins to grab food.
Sometimes I'd question that a bit but today he was quite clearly having a laugh with riding mates, so I went with it. With all the racing he's doing I worry we don't see the fun side enough, so I've been trying to encourage that for him and today was the perfect example of it.
He still used timing from GoPro a fair bit to see how his times were compared to earlier but that's ok as he was still enjoying it.
He slept most of the 3 hours home after an early start this morning.
Mrs Weeksy was at home doing tool box lol.
Getting there. May need a few tiny little trims to make sure things are secure. But it's pretty damn close.
So we're into what's going to be remembered as a bit of a crazy month.
Fort William
Rhyd-Y-Felin
Fort William
That's the schedule for the next 3 weekends running. It's going to be hard on him, hard on me and hard on the bike and van lol. Logistically we're pretty much sorted, we've got hotels booked for breaking up the journeys, we've got a tonne of spares, bits and tyres etc. But i think the driving and even the 'sitting' there for him followed by the intensity of racing is going to be pretty hard-core over the next few weeks.
The first FW is his first chance to try and score a UCI point. The race is part of IXS and Warner Discovery Continetal series, which is where riders get UCI points which gives them eligibility to race World Cups. We didn't get a GB jersey this year, but 2 of his closest rivals in the paddock are on the reserve list, one of the lads Seb who we've battled for last couple of years DID get one, but currently Seb has pulled away from the other lads a little bit which gave him P3 at Cwmcarn last weekend, so completely justified that he got the coveted GB jersey. I think due to a couple of Wildcard spots just being picked up by 2 lads due to their team getting entries that potentially 1 of the close rivals may jump onto a jersey, but we're still not on that list. That said, i didn't think we'd get one this year anyway and wasn't really a realistic goal. But scoring a point is sure a possible thing for him.
I'm trying to take the 'fun' rider with me this weekend, not the one who looks at others and compares himself to other riders, but when you're watching lines, watching riders, it's hard not to kinda get slightly sucked into it and see the fast lads and think "wow, they're fast" but he can hopefully just enjoy the riding instead as he IS one of the fast lads, even if he doesn't always believe it.
Thurs afternoon we get in the van and head to Scotland (again) and track-walk and practice Fri, the practice and seeding on Sat, with a last bit of practice on Sun morning before the race. It's then working out the plan to get back to school/work on Monday lol.... can't wait.
I should be at Fort William & I'll come & say hello if I see you.
I'm borrowing a mates camper for a week, gonna watch the race & ride a few places, nothig certian. I'll see how the weather is.
As far as I know it's looking great all weekend
Barring mishaps we'll be there early Fri until Sunday.
To the uninitiated on the UCI series format, where does he need to place to get a point?
Not a criticism of you in any way, but must be tough knowing that this is a really important race in terms of comparing him to GB riders and trying to break into the next level and then saying that you want to just take it as a fun race. You allude to that anyway but not sure how you square that circle. Maybe Kati can help with that with her experience.
Its a good question and an answer I'm waiting for from IXS organisers as I'm struggling to find the info.
Regarding the serious/fun aspect, it's a state of mind rather than an effort or speed. I just do t think I phrase it well. Katy is very much of the ethos that results don't matter, but well, of course they do. I know that, you know that and he knows that. But to see his best riding he has to keep the fun factor as that relaxes him, keeps him smooth and makes him fast. But racing at this level is a very serious sport of course.
Again, I'm not sure I fully get the words out correctly above, but hopefully it makes sense.
This race is equally as important or not as most of the others, there's always something bigger in the background to play for, whether that's a win/podium at FoD, a podium push at Pearce or seeking top 10s at Nationals. But one race won't define his future, not by a long stretch.
There's as always a tonne of background things going on for him regarding his future, but as I say, this race or the next won't make or break these things. The people we're chatting too watch all his results of course, but understand that riders have good days and bad days, sometimes things work, sometimes they don't. We're trying to make it now that the boy himself makes some of these decisions and both me and Katy just advise/guide. But it's his future he's planning not mine, so my job is just to try and make things happen.
We will still and probably always make mistakes here and there, but mostly we just keep trying to learn and go fast.
Well explained, what you’ve written makes sense.
Good luck with it. Lot of travelling so stock up on coffee and bacon!
For continental series races 20th place junior upwards get UCI points, 30 for a win. It's tiucked away on the second last page of the 2025 MTB rulebook memorandum.
We came back from Portugal with our girl's first ever points, which was a huge boost. I'm not telling her how many more she needs to qualify for world cup on rankings!
For continental series races 20th place junior upwards get UCI points, 30 for a win. It's tiucked away on the second last page of the 2025 MTB rulebook memorandum.
We came back from Portugal with our girl's first ever points, which was a huge boost. I'm not telling her how many more she needs to qualify for world cup on rankings!
Massive congrats to you both 🙂 and thanks for the info 🙂
I know. So many cool toolboxes.
It's possible, and important, to remember you can take things seriously, without being too 'serious'. Going fast and racing is fun, and the moment it isn't then you're done. The training is too much , and you won't commit in races. But these things ARE a lot of fun, and realistically these races aren't very important, and there are many years ahead, so you don't need to fret re. a single disappointing result.
Remember that so far you've had a good progression in performance and results. At some point that will stall, hopefully temporarily but.... That's when it becomes really important that you remember you're doing this for the fun of it
It's possible, and important, to remember you can take things seriously, without being too 'serious'. Going fast and racing is fun, and the moment it isn't then you're done. The training is too much , and you won't commit in races. But these things ARE a lot of fun, and realistically these races aren't very important, and there are many years ahead, so you don't need to fret re. a single disappointing result.
Remember that so far you've had a good progression in performance and results. At some point that will stall, hopefully temporarily but.... That's when it becomes really important that you remember you're doing this for the fun of it
Not going to argue with any of that matey 🙂
The progression curve i wouldn't say is stalled, but it's basically now that all the riders are on the same progression curve mostly, so unless one/some of them find 'something' extra, it's really hard to change positions mostly now. So it can't be slightly disheartening that you're not getting higher in the big races, but when we look at the gap to the guys in say P3 in Nationals, it's SO much nearer than it was 12 or 18 months ago. Back then he was 30, 45s maybe off those guys, now it's not even a handful of seconds.. but the higher you get up that level, the harder to make those seconds up 🙂
He's still enjoying it... So he tells me 🙂 and has no desire to stop.
For continental series races 20th place junior upwards get UCI points, 30 for a win. It's tiucked away on the second last page of the 2025 MTB rulebook memorandum.
We came back from Portugal with our girl's first ever points, which was a huge boost. I'm not telling her how many more she needs to qualify for world cup on rankings!
Did you Côme to the race in Millau ?
That first clip is lairy!
That first clip is lairy
It was a gap he was eyeing up last time but didn't want to hit on his Fuel. In practice Katy went to watch and texted him that a few had been hitting it, but not many. By the end of the weekend I think 20% we're hitting it. Apparently it comes in about 35' roughly.
Not something I'd even look at, let alone consider 🤪
3rd video.
Far too much air being taken*. He needs to learn to bubba scrub. Also needs an aero skin suit.
*no one has ever said that to me. 🤣
3rd video.
Far too much air being taken*. He needs to learn to bubba scrub. Also needs an aero skin suit.
*no one has ever said that to me. 🤣
Practice = fun jumps.
His race jersey is pretty snug. But due to delays and cold up top he raced in hoodie
Did you Côme to the race in Millau ?
Regional cup: passage obligé !
Talking of regional cup races, I'll be marshalling this weekend in Combes near the bottom of the track. There's a possiblity of Vergier and Pierron turning up in addition to the locally based muc-off riders.
Not quite fort William though, is it
For anyone coming over, weekend schedule has changed for Friday with practice now being 'open practice' from 9.30-3pm. Then track walk 3-5pm. Practice was 12-6.
I won't change too much from our perspective but i don't know if that means we have to pay for uplift for the day or not... we'll find out in the morning when we rock up.
Did you Côme to the race in Millau ?
Regional cup: passage obligé !
Talking of regional cup races, I'll be marshalling this weekend in Combes near the bottom of the track. There's a possiblity of Vergier and Pierron turning up in addition to the locally based muc-off riders.
Not quite fort William though, is it
I was marshalling on the saturday before the bridge and driving lorries on sunday.
Top day with 5-6 laps for the boy, he came down happy after all of them. Very positive day for him.
Some funny moments as he (and many others) were asked to give signatures for a load of kids
They had no clue who he or anyone was, but he was laughing lots at it.
Track walk then stir fry