LL Round 3/ NPS 1- Slade Valley

With exams quickly approaching, I was in two minds whether to enter this race. I couldn’t really afford the time off but then again, I couldn’t bare not to race! As I was working on Saturday, I didn’t get to race the relay on Saturday but all the reports said it was an incredible track with very little fireroad- deadly!

Sunday was an absolute scorcher with temperatures reaching 20 degrees! The expert cat was much bigger than last week so I knew a good start was going to be important. Off we went at 1.30 as hard as possible up the fireroad. The singletrack started early so I knew it would be crucial to get ahead of as many riders as possible early on to get a bit of a gap. I was in a train of four experts as we over took a load of vets early on. James Pittam took the lead with me in second and Tadgh Griffin/ Colm Mullen dicing for third. James pulled away to get a pretty good gap while I couldn’t seem to up the pace anymore. I rode the first two laps really steady and then while sitting in third place at the beginning of the third, I made an attack on James and Colm to get into poll position.




I was leading for most of the third lap before Max from Epic came out of nowhere and powered by me. I couldn’t bridge up to him at all but on the second half of the last lap, I got a second wind and started really gaining on him. In the end he was only 30 seconds ahead of me which was a pity but he really deserved it.

I can’t do a write up on the race without talking about the spectacular course. The amount of work IMBRC put into it really showed with all the tight kickers hardcored and bridges over any holes. It flowed so well in a relentless, ‘no place for recovery ‘kinda way.

With that second place finish, I’m coming first overall in the Leinster League title with 73 points. Unfortunately, I think that’ll be my last race of the year with exams in two weeks and Cape Cod for three months on 25May. I’m almost regretting going away because I’m enjoying the racing so much and feeling stronger than ever but I guess I have another 9 years of experts and wont have so many opportunities to do the go away all summer thing. MASSIVE thanks to the MAD feed zone. They're always unreal. Especially Aine as I ran out of juice on the third lap so she filled one of my bottles with water so I'd have something for the last lap- complete life saver!

Leinster League Round 2 – Carlingford

With a disappointing performance last week in Bunclody, I decided early in the week that I was going to enter in Carlingford. I have gotten on well on Cuchulainn's tracks in the past as they tend to be fairly off camber and techie which I’m better at than climbing. Their new track in Bellurgan Park was no exception and made all the more difficult with all the rain we’ve had this week. I luckily got a lift up with Mark on Sunday morning and went for a practice lap. Straight away I was feeling much better on the bike- both technically and speed wise. I think some of this is down to me fitting a riser bar and getting rid of the old tiny flat one.


First impressions of the course were grim to say the least! After a spin around a field it went up an extremely muddy fireroad, into a really nice techie climb and then into a ridiculously muddy fireroad that was mostly un-rideable. As I was trudging through the ankle deep shlomp I was seriously considering asking Mark if he’d be up for going home. The rest of the course winded its way through off camber deciduous forest with tones of bridges, kickers and dodgy drops thrown in. I got back in 45minutes and the race was set to be three laps. I’d prepared for a grim one…

The race started pretty steady as there were only four experts. I was jostling for position with an epic and worc guy until they took a slightly wrong turn and the epic guy dropped off a bit. The first lap and a half was constant trading places between me and the worcie until I finally got away from him on one of the slippy climbs. The key to the course was keeping momentum as once I dabbed, it was impossible to get traction again with the mud. One of the drops towards the end of the lap was particularly mental. It was an off camber, lethal run in to a 3foot rock drop off between a boulder and a three stump. On the practice lap I ended up walking it but when racing I rode it every time. (almost coming to a stop as the landing was so harsh!) There was just too many marshals and spectators around it not to... :-)

Over the next lap and a half I had some good battles with some vets and masters and really enjoyed myself. I found myself clearing new sections each lap and felt brilliant. After 1.45 of racing I rolled in to take my first ever experts win. I reckon I would have come third in masters too which I’m delighted about. My lap times were nice and consistent which was the way I was feeling- 33,34,35mins. When that course dries out I can see it rivaling Djouce and Castlewllan put together!

Huge thanks to Phil and Aine for being perfect as always in the feedzone. It couldn’t have been easy with the really fast run into the bottle grab! Exams start in exactly three weeks so I’m gonna be stuck in the library all this week. I’m finishing work in 53 Degrees North on Saturday so I don’t really have the time to race the first NPS on Sunday but I’d only be lying if I said I wasn’t gonna be there!

Freeride Spain Trip and LL RD1

Freeride Spain
After three years of wanting to ride Spain’s best trails, I finally got there last week for five days. I had heard a lot back from the guys in the club who had been over there a couple of times previously so there was only one thing I could do- build up a new bike! We arrived to a very wet Malaga airport and our guide Simon, to transport us to our villa for the week. We quickly went about building up the bikes and got out on our first ride. Lee, the other guide, brought us on a 9K climb with a fast, relatively easy descent to ease us in.




On the next day we were greeted to glorious sunshine and a massive ride up the infamous ‘Google Mountain’. It started off with a 15K fireroad climb, then a fast, fun descent before climbing a further 9K up a viciously steep fireroad. My memory is a bit vague here as I have attempted to block out the pain but the descent was UNREAL. So long, steep, loose and full of drops off. Really all or nothing stuff!

Another of the days was a short 3 hour one where we climbed to the top of a really fast, tough descent during the day and then did the descent as a night spin! This was one of the highlights of the trip for me. Night riding in good weather is so different to what we do back here!

On the final day we did the big, windmill to beach spin. This was absolutely unreal. Lots of steep, tough, technical climbing and fast, flowy, technical descents. What I loved about the descents in Spain was how they were constantly changing. They might start off fast and flowy, then get really steep, then into tech rock garden sections and so on. So enjoyable and no room for error with 50 foot drops only inches off the singletrack. I was farely shattered at the end of the trip and happy we didn’t go for the full week in the end. I reckon I would have needed a rest day or two as I was definitely becoming worse as the trip went on. Freeride Spain- highly reccommeneded! Just don’t expect much from the food, organic as it may be! Cheers Cormac, Graham and Fergal for a memorable holiday.





Leinster League Round One
Just thought I’d write a quick report of Leinster League Round 1 in Bunclody, Wexford. I’m not going to include much detail as I’m only an almost average writer and others have talked in depth about it all over the place.

I dusted off the Rocky Mountain race bike the night before to find the rear mech wasn’t working and that the bars were insanely narrow and flat. I had to mutulate the trusty Ragley for parts to get ‘er up and running for my first race in a long time. I can’t believe I rode ‘er for so long like that. Feels freaky twitchy now! Bit like myself after a couple of triple espressos and a vokda redbull.

The track was really good fun. A long uneven fireroad followed by a descent, a tough double track climb and another descent. The descents were deceivingly difficult with a slippery top layer of mud and some really steep sections to catch you out.







At half one my expert race got underway and I found myself leading for a bit. I was feeling alright and led all the way up until a bit before the first singletrack where a couple of the lads upped the pace and beat me into it. I rode the singletrack pretty poorly all day. Smoothly enough but damn slow. So much so that I ordered a riser bar to make ‘er more like the Ragley as soon as I got home! But anyway, the next few laps went by without incident really. I was pushing hard but I didn’t seem to have that little extra bit of power to jump out of the saddle and sprint the top bits of the climbs. I finished feeling pretty O.K in fourth place. Lesson learnt- I’m ride myself into the ground this Sunday in Carlingford! Think I was holding back somewhat last weekend, for no reason. But I’m going to have my determined face on Sunday. Congrats to 795 Racing- superbly run event and the thai food at the end really set the bar for the rest of the series.

This week has been nothing but arseing about and catching up on college work. Serious study will have to start on Tuesday as exams start 27 April!