Nappy Yew Hear

Or something like that.
Happy New Year you nice people who take the time to read this, here's my last post before the world ends!


I'd like to take this wonderful opportunity to thank everybody who has helped me in any shape or form this year. You know who you are, and I'd list ya's, but that'd only lead to me forgetting somebody and falling out.
The problem is.. I'm here, and you're there. So I guess saying thanks is kind of impossible? There are a couple of ways we can do this. If you'd like to close your eyes, place your left palm towards your right, and your right palm towards your left, slowly bring them together, and when they connect, give a firm handshake, and repeat these words, 'Thank you so much!' in a tremendously sincere and thoughtful manner (and then take a step back, smile and blush). The alternative is for you to go eat that chocolate bar in your cupboard that you have just began to crave now that you think about it. Think of it as a gift from me to you. ;)

It's been a pretty good year. Well, in some respects it's been good, in others not so much... Aw screw that I'll save you from reading my 2011 biography! Injuries have been the major downsides, but obviously we be mclovin' the positive thinking so it was nice to keep the injuries in the background for the most part of the season and pull off some decent results.
The UK School Games was a pretty amazing experience. Good to ride some new tracks and meet some new people, definitely a lot of super talented lads on the mainland that I'll hopefully get to race again a few times next year. Obviously a bit of a disaster that my knees were both in bits and I was living to throw up on painkillers all weekend. Then I went and got knocked off the bike the first day, so my results were pretty far off where they should have been, but I guess that was out of my control!
Otherwise, National Champs XC track was amazing, thanks to everyone involved in making that, aswell as XMTB's Lady Dixon and Castlewellan courses, both so good to race on and definitely some of the hightlights of the year winning on them. Many good days at the start of the year were also had with the MTBRider crew. Once I can afford to get the Supreme fixed up I'll be back out for some big bike fun! Epic Blast/Red Bull Foxhunt, as always, was a fantastic race. Again, by that stage my knees had given up, but the craic was still had and it was pretty special to be racing down a mountain beside an Olympian, a World Champion, and a World Cup winner, but mainly because I was up against my real heroes, Gareth McKee and Greg Callaghan. Oh and not to mention shredding it down the hill with Dan Sheridan and getting to see Tarbo in a wifebeater. Racing at the Scottish XC round over in Perth was pretty cool too, crazy track with some super steep descents and then mad climbs. T'was just unfortunate after dropping my chain with about 5mins to go that I couldn't get back on the pace and win it, 2nd was nice all things considered.


If you're really bored you can try and spot my bake in that video still there up above ^

Overall I've had an Irish Cyclocross Champion title, Irish XC Champion title, Ulster XC NPS Overall title(winning all 7 races), Ulster Criterium Champion, Rode on Ulster Track Squad to win Interpros, Hillclimb win at UKSG, only lost 1 Irish NPS race on the Canyon but unfortunately hadn't entered enough to win the series, 4th place in a DH race, and a couple of 3rds in club time trials and road races. So after being out with my dodgy knee for 3 months at the start of the year, and being my first year racing, I'd say that's a pretty successful year.


Next year's goals haven't really been planned yet. Obviously I'd like to do the same as last year but with a few more wins and enter a few more races, with the British XC Champs and European XC Champs in mind, but until I can get rid of the injuries I'm carrying at the minute I can't really set anything in stone as I don't know how long getting back to fitness is going to take. Will miss the Irish Cyclocross Championships this year, pretty gutted about that, but I'm doing all I can to ensure that'll be the only big title race I'll miss. Hopefully there shall be some New Year's Revolutions made!

Thanks again to everyone who's helped me in any way this year, even if that's just by reading this!
Here's to an awesome 2012! UTNew Year!