The rains have finally come to Adelaide, for once I thought downhill in Adelaide would be muddy. Well after two days of rain the tracks still weren’t wet, the dirt is so hard that the rain just washed off.

Now I am off to Canberra to the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport) for a week with the other junior riders for some testing and preparation for the Worlds, then the last National round at Stromlo.

Specialized Tyre Testing this week with Frank and Carol, They both came all the way from USA to do some Specialized Tyre testing with Sam Hill and I at Sam’s house. Frank and Carol decided to change locations and have it done at my house in Adelaide.

I found that the Testing helped me understand more about tyres and I had fun as well. Knowing that Carol was making my lunch every day got me even more excited.

Over all the test went well and I feel it gives me more confidence before I go overseas, to race the world cups.

TB

Best lunch ever, Packed with Rye bread, Avocado, cheese, salami, cucumber, tomato, lettuce and a dash of mayonnaise. Well after my crash at Thredbo all I could do was make my lunch.

With my finger all smashed up I just had to hit the indoor trainer for the week, no dirt riding. Tried to go for an XC ride but couldn’t hold on. Just icing and watching the Olympics, good mix.

National Round #3 at Thredbo, I love this track and have done pretty well on it over the years. Thursday practice was so good the dirt was exceptional as it had rained the night before. The track was very long with high speed sections, after practice I decided to make myself go into the cold mountain river for 10 minutes for recovery; I’ve never been so cold in my life.

Friday, the start to never ending rain... Practice was fun, ruts were forming and braking bumps were getting bigger and bigger. After practice though, cleaning my gear was a nightmare.

Saturday was seeding and it was still raining, just before I went up on the chair lift the rain stopped. I had a killer seeding run coming in with a 1st place, 13 seconds ahead of 2nd.

Sunday, the rain was back and stayed. In practice I felt good keeping out of the holes and just holding speed. I was about 30 seconds into my race run when before I knew it I was lying face first in the mud. Somehow my front wheel slipped on a rock, in the lip of a jump then I was flying through the air and landed into another jump. Winded and a smashed up finger I pushed on to try and make up time, Then I tried to jump ever a massive hole and cause my gloves were so muddy from my first crash, my hands slipped off of my handle bars then I crashed hard again. After my second crash I knew that my time wasn’t going to contest with the others. My thoughts were just to go as fast as I could I had nothing to lose, placing 20th.

It was fun racing in the mud and I’m not disappointed one bit.

TB

Beautiful Kangaroo Island is just a short ferry ride from lower South Australia. I decided to take a brake and have a little holiday with some of my mates. Will Rischbieth has a shack over on Kangaroo Island which can hold over 12 people, its right next to the Rischbieth’s family beach and a sick little fishing boat.

It was my first time to K.I. and I don’t think I will forget it. Had so much fun fishing, going to beaches and hanging out with the boys watching the sun set...

TB

No rest, After the Nationals at Eagle Park I had two days to recover before my mum and I had an 8 hour road trip ahead of us. The second round of the National Series located at Shepparton, near Melbourne.

We arrived Wednesday night to the small town, the next day there were runs at the track. I checked the track out with my friend Josh Button and found some good lines. The track had no berms just all flat corners, I had the Specialized Butcher on front and back. Those tyres surprised me with how much grip they had. Friday was a scorching 40 degrees plus day which made riding so hard. For most of the day I was found lying in the pool.

Saturday morning practice I was feeling good with the track, but my first run down the hill I got caught off guard with the wind and ended up rag dolling over heaps of sharp rocks. After the crash I decided to call it quits and just wait till the afternoon practice. Well, I was so shaken from the crash it was like I was scared, which did not help me in the slightest for my seeding run. My run flowed well finishing with a time of 2:07 putting me in 4th.

Race Day, the wind had dropped the track felt fast and I wasn’t too scared any more. I had some help from Josh Button in my practice to get me up to speed. Then I knew I would have to pull something out for the final. With practice finished and there was 4 hours till race run I decided to bail to the pool to cool down.

Race Run- From top to bottom I had a rhythm going and on the steep shoot I let it all hang out! Pretty much scared myself... I finished my run 10 seconds faster than my seeding time with a 1:57. I knew my time would be up there for the win with only 3 more riders to go. The last rider came down finishing 2nd with a 2:00.

I’m really happy with the weekend and how much fun I had.

Cya TB

2010 National Champs, Eagle Mountain Bike Park. After the disappointment in Tassie with getting a flat tyre I was hungrier for the win. Practice started on Wednesday and I was feeling confident already as this is my home track. After winning the Elite Men State Champs a few months ago I knew had had it in me to place first.

Thursday practice was good stepping it up another level. Friday came and Sam Hill arrived to practice. It was good riding with him for the first time on the new Specialized!! Following a faster rider like Sam helps so much; I tend to step it up even more.

Saturday was seeding and I thought I would try and throw down a smooth run, I ended up seeding first by 2 seconds which gave me confidence for the final.

Race day, Practice was good fun as it had rained in the morning making the track tacky. New holes started appearing in berms and I managed to ride into one of them, making my front wheel nearly come to a stop, then both of my feet blew out of my clip pedals, then my chest smashed into my head stem.

My chest was hurting, I could only just breathe, my legs felt like jelly and I was in the start gate for my final run.(Good Times)

Out of the gate I couldn’t help myself but to go wild and I went off of the track but held on, I got my stuff back together in the mid section then smashed the bottom section going off of the track again! Finally holding it together again I came across the line in first place by 1 second, crowned the National Junior Champion!!

Can’t believe it...

TB

The start of 2010! The weeks leading up to the new year I have been training full time getting ready for the National Champs.

My Christmas was pretty chilled just hanging out with the family and lovely God parents!

'New Years'... What can I say? Plan for New Years was a Dual Slalom race up on a friends property, The race was meant to start around 4ish but people were having too much fun and were already getting drunk! This would have given me an advantage but we decided to just have an expression session. The day went really well and now we had to party for the last time in 2009.

Wow, that night was out of control. Watching people get drunk, smoke machines and the dance floor going off, and I couldn't help myself but to rally around in a smashed up van! Good times!!

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

TB

First race with Monster Energy/ Specialized! The First National Round for 2009/2010 was in Hobart/Australia. I had my new bike, new gear and I was now racing in u19s. We arrived in on wednesday and had practice on thursday. Practice on thursday went pretty well considering that I had to push up sections. Friday was official practice and my runs were getting faster and faster. Saturday, I had my seeding run in the afternoon, the run went really well just keeping it smooth until the end of the track when i caught the rider in front of me. After 2 seconds he managed to pull off of the track and let me pass. I came across the line with a 3:19 in 1st place, 2nd did a 3:20.

Sunday I pinned my practice runs and was feeling really good for race run. The start of my race run was going so good, no mistakes or dabs just fully pinned! About half way through my run I went off of a drop nearly sideways and landed straight on top of a rock. My back tyre slowly started going down and then my run was pretty much over. I still tried to pin it as much as I could to get some points for the overall but came down with a time of 3:37. 1st place got a time of 3:20, so if I could of held it together i might of finished 1st.

My result for this weekend was not exspected and I was a little bit angry with my self. But now this just makes me more hungryer for the win at the National Champs!!

TB

Single Speed and Dirt jump bike in the same week! Early on in the week arrived a Single Speed for my training (warm up/warm down). On monday the local crew came out to Will Rishbieths back yard where lies a pump track. All of the guys had a great time smashing turns, and finding new lines. End of the week came around and there is a nother bike box, its like christmas. This time the bike was a hard tail dirt jumper, i have been hanging out for a DJ bike! Cant wait to ride it. Sunday there was a practice day at eagle on the hill, which is the National Champs track. Mitch Delfs and Will Rishbieth came along to join in. The day went well with the Demo loving the new sections on the track.

TB 

This week there wasn't much going on just the usual training. On Monday I went dirt jumping with the crew about 15-20 of us hitting the city jumps till dark, its always so much more fun with lots of people and every one steps it up and does larger jumps. Then on Tuesday we had the massive crew again but for a XC ride. Every Tuesday there is a XC ride through the hills for about 3 hours and evry time I put myself in the Hurt Box.

On the Weekend I took out the Demo for a ride down the most Technical track in SA called (Brown Sally). Its a new track that Brad McDonald built. The bike is riding so well and smooth, it loves the steepness and backs it in every where.

Also there is two new bikes on there way and I cant wait to get them. Every bike a have received from Specialized has been like a dream, so I can only imagine what these are going to be like. 

TB

Tuesday the 10th was the same as any Tuesday, untill my Mum and I got home in the afternoon and found a card saying that I had a package waiting for me...

That morning Sean had asked me if I had received a package, so I thought that maybe it was going to be big. I arrived at the airport and asked for the package expecting a little box, but a bike box came out and then I looked at my mum and grinned.

That night I built up my bike, The Specialized pretty much put its self together with Jacy's sick as packing.

On the weekend was the first ride on the new beast!! It rode like a dream, so smooth, light and has a really stiff back end with no flex.

I also received a TLD helmet with a sick Monster paint job by ap designs it looks great.

Now I cant wait to race on the Specialized and push it to the next level again.

TB

On the weekend Craig Yates, my Mum(Chris) and myself set out on a 9 hour road trip. With the tempreture at 35 dergrees the air con was cranking the whole time! We were heading to one of the National rounds practice days, Shepparton which is just outside of Melbourne. The trip seemed to take forever but why a packet of sour skittles lasted for the whole trip with all three of us eating out of the packet, I will never know. Arriving in Shepparton the night before the practice day,we all had a schnitzel at the local pub then crashed for the night.

The next morning we got up super early and headed out to the track, as the night before we had tried to find the track and got so lost, we didnt know if we would ever find the track but just in front of us was a downhiller, we followed him all the way to the track. When we were looking at the hill where the track was on it was hard to think that they could produce a National Downhill track. The track was gravity fed to our surprise, there were off camber sections and steep dusty shutes. I think when I come back in January for the National Round the track will be challenging and fast. Cant wait!

cya TB

It started out on Saturday when I caught a plane over to Western Australia (WA), I was invited by my new team mate Sam Hill. Sam had invited me one week earlier to go to his now well know 'SAMAPOLOOZA' party, the party had everything from guys drifting cars and crashing them, to a massive shed with a sick DJ playing some very loud music! (Not to mention a bouncy castle).

We drove back to Perth Hills the next day, where Sam’s actual house is. Sam and I spent the week riding dirt jumps and pinning runs at Sam’s local Downhill trails.

knowing that the Saturday coming my Monster Energy/ Specialized deal was going to be announced. I couldn’t help myself but to be a little bit excited. Saturday morning came around pretty quick and we headed for Nannup which is three hours away, The trip down was quicker than I thought, the CD player was cranking and we only had one stop along the way!

We got there at two O’clock which gave us two hours to practice; my first run was behind Mitch Delfs and Will Rishbieth. the track was crazy, really dusty with two lines down the whole track and not to mention that it was gravity fed. I seemed to like the track more and more every run that I did. Pracy ended on Saturday with me having a big crash over the bars straight on to my head and shoulder.

I woke up on Sunday to a blue sky, but with strong winds which made the first jump a bit harder. My practice runs were pretty pinned and thought I knew the track enough so I called it off and waited for my race runs. My first of two race runs was good stayed on the bike but just felt slow and I fell into a few deep ruts which slowed me down. Next race run I had it way more pinned and thought I was on a good time until my front wheel slid out on me, and down I went breaking my hanger. And lucky for me I didn’t have a spare hanger available. So Sam’s brother Osberg lent his bike to me for the top 30 fastest run which was for money.

The bike I borrowed was Sam Hills old world cup Specialized; I hopped on it and road around before my run. Then the time came, race run for money! the first jump felt like a breeze on the Specialized and so did the rest of the track, the bike was smooth light easy to pedal and handled the turns very well.

All in all I ended up 5th and got $100, really stoked.

Having raced a Specialized that was way too big for me, down a technical track and doing so well I can’t wait till I get my new ride.

Thanks TB