R2 UEM Zwidyn, Poland 20/21 May 2006

With the second round of the UEM Enduro Championship in the middle of my university exams, I had not be able to do much riding beforehand and was forced to flyout so as to be away for as little time as possible.

I arrived on the Thursday and tested and set-up the bike on Friday on a very rough and wet test area. After some suspension and jetting changes I was happy and confident with the bike.

Saturday started off slowly with it taken me a while to get into a good rythm having not ridden for nearly 2 weeks. I began to push harder and by the end of the day I was feeling good and posting times in the top 4. I crashed once all day in the enduro test and ended the day as 5th Junior E1. I was delighted as it was my best UEM result to date and had posted a 3rd in the extreme test only 4s on winning.

Although I was pleased with 5th on day 1, I was eager to improve on day 2 and hoped to push the riders in front and maybe get a top 3. After hours of torrential rain on Saturday night the course was wet and technical in places. I started off where I had left off with bags of confidence and posted 4th in the first two tests of the day. I was feeling really good and enjoying myself until the gearbox started to play up and ceased at the start of lap 2.

To say I was dissappointed is an understatement. Having not had much success in Europe in the past I really thought I was going to get a good result and prove to everyone what I'm capable of. The gearbox ceasure is no ones fault however and just bad luck. There was nothing anyone could have done to prevent it....Shit happens! Up until that point, my Husqvarna 125 had been running awesome!

The 3rd round of the series heads to Hungary in only 2 weeks, and as I have exams running up to it, it looks doubtful if I'll get bike time in before it. However, after Hungary I will be riding and training full-time through till September and plan to be on a mission!

Rnd1 European Enduro Champs, Sardinia, ITALY

I had quite a disappointing weekend in Sardinia. The terrain was unbelievable and something I had never experienced before. The special tests were on hardpack ground which I have still not mastered yet.
The event ran smoothly and apart from a suspension setup problem and 9 crashes out of 12 special tests I enjoyed it. I recorded a 19th (U23 125/250F) and a 16th on Sunday respectively. I wasnt too disheartened as I scored championship points on both days and posted a 7th place enduro test in which I crashed. More practice on hardpack and less crashing is definietly on the agenda!

I flew back to UK on Monday so i could get a couple of days riding in before the British Championship Enduro at Lossiemouth. Unfortunately, whilst out riding on Wednesday I crashed and split my hand open on a tree stump. I was off to A&E to get 5 stitches on my palm. I was doubtful if I would be able to ride on the weekend as I was in a lot of discomfort and the swelling on my hand was bad. I stayed off the bike until Saturday and strapped it up good for the event.

Rnd 2 BEC Lossiemouth

I managed to get through the weekend and was 10th overall at the end. I am really pleased with this as, this is my best BEC result to date and I didnt think I would be able to ride at all nevermind be in the top10! I had a small fall on a check on sunday and jarred my hand so I was in quite a bit of pain towards the end of the day. I perservered and was determined to get a solid result in front on my home fans! The bike and the support I have been getting lately has been awesome so I'd like to thank everyone for their continued help.

My next major event is Rnd2 UEM in Poland on 20/21 May.