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I did the MBUK thing & it froze when I submitted it.
Thanks for trying mate, appreciate it... It worked OK yesterday.
Also just tried and the page just hung.
As an aside I'd just like to mention that I voted for Wyn as the legend, just because he is.
Agree 100% with that.
I did the MBUK thing & it froze when I submitted it.
Let's get on their forum and give 'em hell! 😅
So here's how today's conversation with Reserve went
"Oh, that's a shame you've dented it, please destroy the rim, the new one will be with you tomorrow "
Can't really ask for much more can we. So it'll get rebuilt tomorrow afternoon and ready for next week
That’s good news! I do like my Reserve’s, would definitely recommend to anyone else looking for an alternative to DTSwiss.
It'll be interesting to see how they hold up in the real world. Fort William is such a complete and utter stand-alone instance of a track and destruction, so isn't really a fair comparison as to how wheels will manage a season etc.. but they've been 100% good to their word, which is all i ask. Rotec should be on the case and getting it built once it lands and then getting the gears made sweet.
Once all that is done and the bike is collected i can start getting it loaded up and prepped for Spain next week.
It'll be interesting to see how they hold up in the real world. Fort William is such a complete and utter stand-alone instance of a track and destruction, so isn't really a fair comparison as to how wheels will manage a season etc.
I've been running a DTSwiss 350 / AL30 wheelset for just over a year (bought after denting the Roval rim on my Kenevo SL which was replace under the Roval 2 year warranty). They've done 2 weeks in Morzine on my uplift bike and ride most weeks on my Kenevo, still running straight with only the usual cosmetic marks from stones/rocks pinging off them (caveat that in the SE it's mostly roots rather than rocks).
So I know people have said about the rankings not counting for anything, I've often disagreed with that.
However that said, I understand that several riders haven't been racing as much in the UK due to WC rides.
So this is the current BC rankings after National Champs.
Today we got an email with the below. Whilst it's not quite the WC jersey, it's a big big chance
Selection is for
Les Gets
Lenzerheide
Mont Saint Anne
Lake Placid
Dear Rider
You have been selected as a Reserve Rider for the British National Team for all of the rounds that you have applied for from Rd 7 to 10 of the DHI UCI World Series.
That's fantastic news. Well done.
All the efforts you have put in as a family team have been recognised
Proud dad moment for you and we will keep our fingers crossed.
Keep us all up to speed
👍👍👍
Great news!
You should all be very proud of what you've achieved.
Well done 👍
Wow, that seems a pretty massive deal, the recognition of all the effort and progress. Well done James and team.
But there goes your holiday allowance and bank balance 🙋😂
Wow, that seems a pretty massive deal, the recognition of all the effort and progress. Well done James and team.
But there goes your holiday allowance and bank balance 🙋😂
Both of those are a massive thing yes. It looks like my holiday in Morzine may now not happen and i'll have to fly back 10 days early after European Champs and head for work, leaving Mrs Weeksy and the boy there instead. I dunno, we're weighing up all the considerations and options. It's a tricky one as obviously it relies on circumstances outside of our control for us to get there, so i could end up not having the holiday and not getting the ride and then, well, i've missed out 😀
But this is of course the 'dream', the goal and the everything we've worked for. I chat to the boy regularly just to make sure it's HIS dream we're chasing, not mine, i'm pretty convinced that it's as much his as anything 😀
So anyway, we've got to put this to one side at the moment as there's nothing we can do about it. It will be whatever it will (or won't be) and nothing we can change.
So we're onto 'NEXT' thing which is the European Championships. This is being held next weekend in La Molina (Spain).
We're driving there next Wed morning in the Transit as always.
Today the bike was picked up from Rotec, it got a fair bit of TLC
New Chain
New Cassette
New GX 7 speed DH mech
New brake lever
New gear outer
New gear inner
Reserve rim installed.
It's running like a dream of course with all the new shiny bits on there, i do envy the Pro teams who get all of this week in week out, that would be LOVELY lol but there's only so much i can manage.
Obviously we've never been to La Molina, but neither will have 90% of the field, they did hold the Spanish Nationals there last weekend but not sure if it'll be the same layout or not. But watching some videos it looks like a track that won't be completely radical to what he likes, so with a bit of luck he'll be OK. The place has a swimming pool complex, nearby shops and stuff, so we won't starve over the 4 days there.
As you'd expect there's likely to be some big players in the juniors and hopefully senior rankings, so he'll have to find something of his A game. We'll do what we can, but i think we're pretty prepared.
Somewhat amusing one today when we were out.
"Bikes making a horrible clunky noise"
So he goes over a root garden and yeah can hear it. Sounds like the end of the bloody world lol.
I take off his bottle, cage and tool bag.
Still the same.
I feel headset and think "is that slightly loose"
So go to get his multi tool out of the bag and the bag is empty.
"Oh I only used it earlier to lift my seat"
"Is it the multi tool in the frame then???"
"Oh yeah, so it is "
Crisis over 😁😁😁
So once again it's the weekend of the European Championships.
Spain this time and La Molina as the location, but i don't know whether this will be the layout for it. But it was the layout a couple of weeks ago for the National Champs, so maybe a basis on a theme.
Hot take on La Molina:
Apart from the Catalan+Spanish champs the other weekend, nobody has ever ridden that track. It's brand new. Steep off camber up top (probably) and a flat motorway where it cuts across the green ski piste before the finish line (definitely).
The "supermarkets" in the resort aren't all that, so stop off at the Carrefour in Puigcerda for fresh meat, veg, etc.
See you on Thursday!
Awesome stuff, we were planning on doing a Carrefour on the way in, we're over in Chateauroux on Weds evening, then making the final drive on Thurs morning. I've got a massive pit of 10x5m as our mate has spannered himself at Les Orres this weekend and is heading home after surgery on his wrist which is now pinned and plated.
I think we're pretty much all good in terms of organisation, but i'll be we forget something. 😀
If my weather app is right at the moment, it could make the off camber roots/woods somewhat ridiculous 😀
Gazebo should make us easy to find in the paddock i hope 🙂
Deffo drop over this year for a chat and a beer matey.
Will do!
Oh yeah, I nearly forgot something major. You'll save 20cts per litre in Spain compared to the cheapest French supermarket petrol station. In Andorra it costs even less.
Will do!
Oh yeah, I nearly forgot something major. You'll save 20cts per litre in Spain compared to the cheapest French supermarket petrol station. In Andorra it costs even less.
Oh nice to know, thanks mate, not sure we'll get all the way to Spain on what we have in the tank, but we have to get breakfast on Thurs morning, so will throw in enough to get to Spain from there and then see what we can do. We're heading to Andorra on Monday if he's still healthy to spend the day on the WC track, so could fill up there for the trip to Morzine.
The day started simply, nice drive to Folkestone, then train. It was when we got to Paris that this went decidedly ropey. Why Paris you ask, well we're staying in Chateauxroux tonight and the Sat Nav took us through outskirts of Paris. It wasn't too bad until we appeared at a set of toll gates and height restrictions. It was apparently 6'0 and the Transit JUST fitted.
"It'll be fine" 👍
This ended up being a pitch dark 10k. Tunnel with signs that kept hitting the aerial! It was eye wateringly tight ! I was thinking, "any second now the van is going to be opened like a tin of sardines"
By the end of the 10km I was sweating and it was just hell.
We're now sitting outside a random Irish bar before going for food.
Bloody hell having a vegetarian in France and Spain isn't easy lol.
Wow, that's some trip. Good luck with the racing!
I thought your gazebo had shrunk, then realised the image was stretched in the previous pic.
First run, grumble, grumble, don't like the track blah blah.
Second run, likes it more, it's now moved to "it's alright"
It's not all hard work. While he was having lunch I went for a swim. But by jeepers it was cold
Try a lake of glacial melt water! I have never been so cold swiming!
7 runs of practice for him, all done.
We've been trying a few things with LSC on the front, he's ended now 1 click more of that.
We tried a different front tyre but he wanted a newer one for optimal grip, so a new Kryptotal front has gone on.
The headset/front end fit creakier as the day progressed, so that was all stripped, checked, cleaned and put back together.
Checked all pads and they're ok, although the back may be dead by Sunday, so will keep an eye on them
Then a clean and bolt check and it's ready for morning
Rider up, fed, bike prepped and out on track
Seeding day today, 3.05 UK time.
We think there's live timing but not 100% sure yet
"whatever you did last night, the bike feels 1000 times better"
Ummmm not sure I did a heck of a lot in truth. But I'll take it.
"bike feels loose, something ain't right"
Headset needed a slight tweak. Ok now. But my glory of being the best mechanic has ended
3.04 UK time
Well it didn't go great, didn't end in disaster.
There was a 75min delay as some kid was air coptered off and a long long process for that due to his condition. I don't think this helped people much.
In his seeding run he made a few mistakes and some poor lines, or missed lines. He also had a slight off track excursion, but only minor.
"Just braked too much everywhere really"
We then walked the track and honestly I could put up the 20+ pics I took but they're pointless as it shows nothing of the craziness of it. It's sooooo steep, rooty, rocky, off camber, it's just utterly insane how anyone gets down it, let alone all of them
So many line choices with him showing me his line and me just laughing at the WHY anyone would choose it.
Massive rock drops, huge road gaps into a root fest landing and hips like houses!
I think he finished 53rd, which he's deeply unhappy with and feels he has so much more to give, but getting it done is sooooo tough
Good experience though Weeksy. Insane line choices and whether they are worth the risk / reward (and whether they are actually faster especially with exit speed / set up on following sections) is all part of it as you’ll both know more than me.
Plenty to take away and digest I’m sure. And at least it was a clean run so no injury!
Echo those thoughts. Well done James.
And another takeaway is that he knows he could do better. If he was disappointed but felt that was the best he could do then he'd be in a much worse place.
If he wants to compete he needs to push himself and clearly these events are a step up. So take the experience and move on. Lots to learn, all good. 👍
I think he finished 53rd, which he's deeply unhappy with and feels he has so much more to give, but getting it done is sooooo tough
I hate the phrase, but that’s where you have to ‘trust the process’
Regardless of the sport, each sport has steps up. It’s as much a psychological challenge if not more so than a physical or technical
It can make or break people.
When he’s had time to reflect hopefully he will see he had the technical and physical bit covered, and the next one he goes to he will be more mentally prepared for that step up.
Get him to look back at where he has been and how he’s overcome previous ‘step ups’ . It always takes a little bit of time to adjust
Yeah we completely get it. The Euro Champs this year is different in juniors as only certain people are allowed to race, it's based upon UCI points and if you've not got any, well, you can't race in juniors. So whereas last year you had some slightly lower riders, this year it's not.
Out of his field only 15 or so are not 'National Team's riders, 4 of the non Nationals are World Cup racers
But this is the level he aspires to, so the only way to get it is to come and get it, both in terms of riders and tracks. So that's the plan.
We're up and ready to race, new pads in the rear and bike checked over, let's do it. Practice only 1 hour this morning due to racing starting early. Maybe 2 runs this morning.
Last practice done before race. Race run roughly 2.08 European time. Boy seems happy and ready, just need to get him fed and watered and away we go.
Bike has been checked, rear caliper slightly realigned and is good to roll
Good luck to James. He needs to keep it rubber side down and not dwell on seeding. Easier said than done I imagine…
Sent him on his way, I can relax now.
Not really
Crashed into a tree, don't know the full story yet. But he's all good and about the same time as yesterday, which won't make him a happy boy. Going to be a long evening