sarahwalker96

Finally found the connecting piece for my camera to the computer. Below are a few photo's from What Now and also the pin for New Zealand Olympian 1101(me!).

(Check out the front brakes and wheel reflectors on the ABD haha)

 I also gota few photo's from Ian Bias from a while ago racing at North Harbour hitting up the pro section and Nationals. 

Last night was the Waikato Olympians function in Hamilton. It was a reunion of all the people who have ever been to the Olympics and a celebration of New Zealand reaching 1000 Olympians. 

The New Zealand Olympic Committee have been working for over TWO YEARS to sort every Olympian into order so that they have their own individual number. After all their hard work, the one thousand, one hundred and eleven Olympians were all assigned their own individual number that will be theirs forever. 

I am now officially number 1101. Has a nice ring to it I think. Almost 1096 but not quite... We each got a pin with our special number on it along with a poster of everyone at Beijing, a medallion and a couple of DVDs.

The lowest number there was 17! And he was telling us about his trip to his Olympic Games and all the different modes of transport to get there which took over a week. He was very entertaining anyway. 

What a huge morning! Up at 5.30am to head down to the studio for hair and make up quickly followed by having the mic and ear piece on. As that was happening, I was walking out to the set to do the pre-recorded intro and also do rehearsal.

There wasn't much time before we were underway and things started great. I didn't stuff up my opening line which was the thing I was most scared of doing. I did stuff up once when I couldn't find my script before the break finished and as we were counted back in, they pointed to me and I was supposed to announce the winners for Jump the Queue but luckily, Red (talking mailbox) saved me and everything was back on track. It wasn't too bad anyway.

After that, I did the remaining of the 2 hours without a hitch. Saw the awesome swing/flying fox in Taihape that goes 160km/h! So jealous of Tu who got to go on it. During the show, I read out emails, talked to callers, gave out prizes, arm wrestled a Vodafone Warrior and played some games! I also got cream pie, custard and foam every now and then but it was all part of the fun.

After the show had finished, the phones were still ringing like crazy. Apparently they are the busiest lines in New Zealand for two hours every Sunday morning and the chances of getting through are next to none. I remember back when I was younger, I used to try and get through every Sunday but with no luck. So, as the phones were still ringing with no teleops at their stations, I went over to a phone that was ringing, picked up the headphones and pressed 'Talk'. I talked to a Ricky-Lee and a Sam. Sam (approx. 5) was telling me about a time when he went to the Nelson BMX track and couldn't quite make it up one of the hills and how me and Charlie (other host) did a great job.

Thanks 'What Now' for having me on the show and thank you to the people who wrote emails to the show saying I did a good job - apparently the Crew thought I did a great job too and have said they would love me back later on in the year. 

Well I'm gearing up and practicing my lines a few more times before going to air tomorrow where I will be co-hosting "What Now" - a kiwi kids TV show that I used to watch every weekend when I was younger. Should be good coverage for BMX and get a few more kids into the sport which will be cool.

I have to have an early night tonight as make-up etc is at 6am! Show goes live at 8am-10am. Run through was yesterday and it should be heaps of fun.

Besides that, I've been training a lot and looking forward to Worlds. Did another first for me at my home track in Rotorua the other day. It was a head wind down the first straight and when it's like that, jumping the step up isn't usually an option. But neither is manualling or pumping the double after it. So after a few times of being a chicken and pulling out, I manualled the step up then jumped the double which sounds like absolutely nothing, but it was good and I am happy. My brother (Matt) made it a little more interesting by being side by side with me and Dave Mohi and jumping sideways with his wheel tucked in behind my arm. There was a little bit of in air commentating by the three of us but we all landed and had a laugh.

Anyway, I better keep practicing my lines..

Went to Cambridge today for one of the few races left before Worlds. Once again, I was in with the boys (as were ALL the girls besides one group from memory). The format for the day was three moto's and three finals and to make things more interesting, there was about 10 to 15 minutes between races.

The JDS (Junior Development Squad) were all at the track with RMC so there were quite a few people for the 16+ class. No one gave me the memo that they'd be racing in flats so I felt a bit stink in my clips - especially with the flat start hill in Cambridge.

In moto's, I had Geoff Beaumont who is the current NZ#3 in Junior Elite Men. With my advantage of clips, I came out in front and was leading to the first corner. Thought that once we got going, the advantage of clips would go and he would pass me somewhere around the track but to my suprise, I held (and gained) my lead to the last corner where we all bunched up and went down to the finish line together with me taking the lunge for first.

Similar thing happened for the second moto and in the third moto, Geoff got me down the last straight. After that, we had a half hour break to get some legs back before three finals.

In the first race, I made into the first corner 3rd, and held there to the finish line. Second race, I came out of lane one and thought for a second I was going to beat Kurt James to the first corner but it wasn't to be and slotted into second and finished there, a fraction behind Kurt who got a puncture with two straights to go.

In the final final, Kurt James had pulled out due to his flat tyre. I was out of 7 and couldn't get across and went into 6th, managed to pick up to 5th by the finish. Don't know where I finished overall because the prize was a can of drink at the finish line. I think it was 2nd or 3rd.

Back home after a super quick trip down to Christchurch to be on What Now again (kids TV show in NZ). I must have done alright the first time if they wanted me back but this time, it involved an obstacle course and teams of four from around the South Island.

After a bit of hassle getting out of Rotorua (with fog delaying and cancelling a lot of flights), I got into Lyttleton for filming just in time. I helped a little hosting the show which was really cool and fun. First of all, the two teams that made the final had to be introduced and it was underway. The obstacle course was around 5 minutes long so they were exhausted by the end of it.

After handing out the medals to the winning team, me and the host (Tu) did a run on the course.  It was so much fun and absolutely exhausting! Involved a trapeze, punching wall, a fire engine hose, blow up slides and of course, being gunged (childhood wish haha). 

Headed back to the hotel and went out for dinner before going to watch The Hangover with Tu and his wife (Serena). One of the funniest movies I have seen and would love to see it again.

Flew back this morning where I went to the school at the end of the Rotorua Airport runway to help the Pene family with lunch. Helped serve the mac and cheese and other goodies to the school kids before signing a million bits and pieces and heading home to the gym.

Rotorua BMX Club had their end of year (season) break up over the weekend at Off Road New Zealand. We had a shared lunch and trophies were handed out for the clubs top riders.

During the lunch, all we could hear was the Rotorua Karters Club over at the brand new Kart track. It's 1.2km long and is apparently the longest in the Southern Hemisphere. My brother Matt and I eventually broke away with a few people to walk over to the track and within a few minutes, the whole club was over at the kart track checking it out.

Off Road NZ have 4 karts at the moment but they were out of action at the time so it looked like we were just going to get a look BUT, Mrs Off Road NZ (who's family is part of the Rotorua BMX Club), managed to get me a go in one of the guys super fast karts!

Got myself into a suit and sorted out a helmet then headed over to check out the kart I was going to be in. It was one of the fast ones which was cool and they were going to send me out by myself but I managed to talk them into having a couple other people with me. It took a couple of pushes for the kart to get going and I planned to do an easy lap to start with but once it got going, that went out the window. I just put my foot down and tried to keep up with the guys who have been doing it for over 10 years.

As each lap went by, I tried to push it further into corners before braking etc. I wasn't getting absolutely wasted which was great and when one of the club members went past me, I would tuck in behind them and try to stay the same speed as them through the corners. Number 6 went past me towards the end and I was determined to keep up with him and was doing ok but I think I accelerated too hard out of a switch back and spun out into the dirt. Haha.

The person who was behind me, pulled over to help me back onto the track and I pulled up once I was back to the finish straight. We were talking after and he said he spent the whole time trying to catch me and he only did because I crashed.

I had heaps of fun and don't think I stopped smiling the whole time I was out there. Got some photo's on my camera which I'll put up this afternoon and also some photo's from a Kart Club member who had a fancy camera who got some great quality photo's.

After Karting, a lot of us went to the BMX track for a ride where I jumped the pro section in flats for the first time.

This week, a Rotorua Club member (Kayla) has taken the week off school to come over to train and live with me.

Got a new number plate in the mail today from Rush Industries. Hopefully now I will stop forgetting to bring one, as most of the time my Supercross plates are my only option (but I like to keep those for my collection). If you are interested in getting one, go to their website (link above).

It has been full on the last few days. On Friday, I headed over to home in Kawerau for the night so that I didn't have to worry about Lexi on race day at Rotorua.

Saturday was racing in Rotorua where I raced the 16+ boys. Missed practice because my brother had to go via two houses to pick up multiple bits and pieces in order to ride. It wasn't too bad though as it was raining for all of practice and had stopped by the time racing had started so we didn't get wet.

Racing went pretty good. It was a little soggy from the rain but the Rotorua track holds up awesome in the wet. Didn't jump much in the first race/lap but after that, it was sweet. By the fourth lap, most of the class was doing the pro section and I thought it was about time I did it for the first time. 

I was going to follow someone in and when we came out of the gate, I tucked in behind one of the guys and was committed to going for it but he pulled out which left me in front! I thought about pulling out but I'd already sprinted 3/4s of the way around our massive first berm that I went for it anyway. After hearing the boys talking about how it's easier than the first straight, I jumped as if it was but they were lying just a touch and I jumped a LITTLE bit low haha. Almost went over the bars but held on.

To make up for the close call on the first attempt, during the break (between the 4th moto and final) I headed over to the end of the first straight with a bunch of other riders. I was going to follow my brother in but figured I'd already done it and knew what I needed to change for the next attempt so went for it. 

Got it! Forgot about the second pro jump but was reminded fairly quickly and managed to get through that ok. After that, I went through a few more times before the break was over and finals were up. 

In the final, I got out of the gate good and got a good run up for the pro section but someone went round the corner a little lower so we went into the pro section side by side (well he was about half a bike in front). Jumped the pro section next to him with next to no room on the outside of the track and got a good run into the corner and passed him straight out of it for the win.

After racing, I headed up to Auckland for Gordan Bearman's 30th birthday with the Steven-McNabb family - mum and dad (Kylee and Steve) Lachie (5), Wyatt (2) and Steerling (almost 1). Hope I got all the spelling right! Went out to the pub where a live band was playing. Was a good night had by all. 

The next day, we all drove to Whangarei for some gates and a their club night/day. Five full laps. Lachie, Rico (Bearman - 6) and me were doing awesome jumps on the table tops (2nd and last straights) before and after racing. They only had 4 gates total so the break between races were next to zero. Nothing like a good training session on your day off!

Stayed another night in Auckland and planned on going to the gym but it was closed for the holiday so went to the North Harbour BMX track and did some more jumping with Lachie and Rico. It was a little damp from the rain overnight but there was a good tail wind for the first straight. My jumping confidence has boosted a bit lately (starting with the triple at Copenhagen) so I hit the step up I hadn't done on my 20" (once on Cruiser) and I did it heaps of times before the end of the day.

After North Harbour, we had some food then drove back to Rotorua where I picked up my car, drove back to Papamoa for the night before packing up and heading back to Auckland first thing in the morning.

Had to add the pictures to break up a bit of the writing - sorry about the long post!

Racing in Rotorua tomorrow - not sure if the good weather is supposed to hold up but least the track does if it gets wet. Considering the New Zealand season is over and the only people still riding are going to Worlds, 130 entries is pretty impressive. Will update after the weekend, enjoy yours.

So the couple with the millions of dollars that isn't theirs are still on the run with $3.8 million of the $10 million they originally found in their account.  The lady that made the mistake of putting the money into the account is now having counseling to help her deal with the consequences of what she did.

Yesterday, I went to Rotorua Aquatic Center to be a part of the Heart Children "Heart Stopper Challenge". This involved going into an ice bath for 5 minutes which wasn't so bad but the person making sure the ice wasn't melting too fast put the bucket into the water and poured a steady stream of freezing water over my head and down my back.

I donated a t-shirt to raise money for the charity with every single New Zealand Olympic Medalist signature on it and as far as I know, I was the only person to do that. It's going on Trade Me for Auction this week so hopefully they get something out of it.

Today, I went to Cambridge to help out with the Junior Development Squad training. They have a really good group and are lucky to have so many people all around the same skill level and speed to push each other. The girls are really impressive and have good style when jumping and manualling. I better keep on my toes!

Crazy thing happened in New Zealand today. A couple from Rotorua (where my home track is) got TEN MILLION DOLLARS accidentally put into their account! How cool would that be seeing that when you get a bank balance? They apparently bolted from the country to China with as much money as they could.

"a police liaison officer was sent to China to search for the couple after $10 million was deposited into their bank account. It is understood that the sum of money involved is $6m, with $4m having already been recovered."

"some of the money mistakenly advanced had been withdrawn from the bank account but was not prepared to say how much money was involved."

Bet it was heaps.... What would you do?

Been in to see a couple of the sponsors over the last two days which was cool. Picked up my new sounds for the Beef + Lamb Ute with a headunit and speakers to add to the sub and amps.

Also went into a Nike store today and was suprised to see posters of me in store! Managed to get hold of one so will scan it and put it up later on tomorrow.

Happy birthday to my dad yesterday. Thanks for being such a big supporter over the years, hope you had a good day.

Went to the Rotorua BMX track tonight for training. Threatend to rain a couple of times but held off. Felt a little funny back on flats again but jumped everything besides the pro section (which I'm yet to hit). It's weird turning up for the beginning of training when it's already dark. Lucky the track has really good lights.

Back at home and so far, no hail storms. The flights home were hard work but I upgraded for the last flight (13hrs) so that made things a little better. 

Got some more music for my collection and the movie Step Brothers. Getting used to New Zealand time again, fell asleep on the couch yesterday watching a movie but it wasn't until about 8pm so it wasn't too out of time.

Have started a collection of shot glasses from each country I go to. Didn't manage to find one at Denmark or Switzerland but planning to go back next year so it's not so bad. I have Italy, Czech Republic and Germany so far. Trying to catch up from other countries I have been to as well. Being in transit at the airports do not count.

 
I have to catch up on quite a few countries... Going through my passport, I have to get America, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Switzerland.

All packed and ready for the long haul home. Three flights that are 2, 11 and 13 hours long. 

Also, a strange storm hit the sunny Bay of Plenty today. Check out the news report.

From the front balcony.

Round-a-bout down the road.

Cars buried.

At the beach.

Water spout out at sea.

Videos from the Supercross can be viewed on BMX Videos. I am in Semi's 1 plus the final. 

Well it was a good day besides the final. Great actually. Was feeling good on the track during practice, getting everything smooth, and having fun. Because the girls only had semi's and final, we had to wait a few rounds for the guys to have their eighths.

I had 2nd pick after Shanaze Reade (current World #1). She went three and I went two. Got an awesome gate and snapped Shanaze and kept that lead from the first pedal. Moved towards her to make sure she wasn't getting past me and it stuffed her up. From there, I went for it, got everything smooth and finished the race a few bikes in front of one of the French girl riders then Shanaze. 

In the second race, we came out of the same lanes. Shanaze got a better snap than me this time and came across. I tagged the first jump a bit but tucked in behind her and railed the first corner to come down the second straight. I was catching down the second straight and came up next to her but was on the outside so had to try again down the third. She backed off a little and I went past, making sure she wasn't going to make any moves in the last corner while I was at it. Another win.

Third race before the final, Shanaze came out of the gate in front but I attacked the second jump more and went down the inside of her heading into the corner. From there, I got another smooth lap making it 3 from 3 heading into the final.

Final time.

Got a pretty good snap but it wasn't enough to get in front of Laetitia and Shanaze who headed towards each other from lanes 1 and 6. I got caught up in the middle and everyone behind us got bunched up as well. As we were going over the second jump, I felt someone hit my back wheel which threw me off a little, giving me a little scare before regaining composure and coming into the first corner in 4th behind Shanaze, Laetitia and Eva. Down the 2nd straight, I caught Eva but with how things worked out in the first corner, I was on the outside again. Tried to rail the corner to get some speed for the 3rd straight but it wasn't going to be enough.

Extremely happy on how my riding is going. This trip has given me a lot of confidence and I look forward to getting home and getting some really good training in before Worlds.

Kurt isn't back from the hospital yet but should be out today sometime. Ken just said that he snapped his scafloid in half and will be in a cast for 8 weeks.

Site editor only wants to start working as I'm going to bed but head to Marc's site for the update on himself and the others. I finished up 4th overall behind Shanaze, Eva and Laetitia, which means I have Shanaze for moto's tomorrow. Looking forward to it.

Will do a full update in the morning. Practice doesn't start till the afternoon so update will be between 7pm and 10pm.

For more on the Supercross, head to BMX Mania.

Well the weather hasn't been great but it was nice to us all and the rain held off this afternoon for scheduled practice. The Men's A Group was first with Marc, Matt and Kurt. By the looks of how they were flowing through the track, it was going to be good.

As girls practice rolled around, we were all eager to get out on the track. We all started on the third straight which was a good lead in to what was coming. I got through it fast a smooth a few times before moving to the second straight.

The second straight was where the girls track had definitely made a huge step up from previous Supercross races. I think by the end of the practice, there were only half a dozen girls that got right through without having to break and pump. 

After that, it was up to the top of the hill for some first straight action. One of the Dutch riders went for the first jump and made it over easy as. I went next and spent almost the rest of the time working on the first straight.

After I was getting more comfortable with the gate and the first jump, it was time to look at getting over the second (huge triple with a step down). Lauren Reynolds, myself and a couple of others were looking at it but it was Lauren that took the honors of hitting it first. She tagged the first jump and went for it anyway but she had lost a little too much speed, so she she didn't quite get over and went over the bars. No one really cared though, everyone was off their seats clapping her for being the first to give it a go. She hurt her shoulder and thumb in the crash and is getting it checked out but is determined to ride tomorrow.

I think we were all spooked a little watching Lauren go down but Marc and a couple others were pushing me to jump it. After a couple of non attempts and a little more encouragement, I rolled up to the gate and knew that I was going to hit it up. I came out of the gate and got the first jump good so I pedaled like crazy and boosted the triple. It seemed like I was in the air for ages but when I came down, I only just cased a little with my back wheel - I was over! It felt so good to do such a big jump and for the rest of practice, I remained the only girl to do it.

Got to check out the track today. Bit of a bummer it was raining but they had the track under tarps. From what you could make out, the track is going to be awesome! The chicks track is the hardest we've had but I'm looking forward to it. They didn't seem as big as the picture but it will still take a bit of concentration to get through it fast and smooth. 

Also went to the gym today, took a while to find (third time lucky), but this was unlike any gym I had ever been in before. To get in, we went through two doors and at the third, you had to buzz in and wait to be let in. We then walked downstairs (underground) to the reception of the gym. It was basically an exclusive gym for guys who do bodybuilding and during the time we were there, about a dozen of them came and went. It would be a gym that you would train up in another gym and become as strong as possible before joining this gym. 

Arrived into a sunny but cold, Copenhagen. Great to see as the weather forecast said there was supposed to be rain. Will get to see the track in the morning so will let you know how it all looks tomorrow. For now, goodnight. :)

Today I was back to finish what was started yesterday but unfortunately didn't quite pull it off. 

In the moto's, I pretty much had the same people from yesterday so once again, it was Valentino and myself battling for first. She got the first one when I over manualled one of the jumps down the second straight (losing a bit of speed). I won the next comfortably to prove a point then was winning the last one till I cruised the last straight as 2nd was still well enough to make the semi final.

In the semi, I chose lane 4 so that it gave me time to come out of the gate and get going. Eva (winner from Sunday last week), was in lane one and came straight out and across towards me. I pulled in behind her going into the first turn then sat behind her to find my opening. This came down the third straight when I high-lowed the second corner and got good speed off the jumps, passing her then shutting her down to make sure she wasn't going to come back. 

 
Image thanks to BMX Videos - click to see round 6

In the final, I chose lane 5 again (it had worked yesterday giving me room to get going rather than being shut off).

I can't remember how my gate was but as we got further down the first straight, I was catching more and more but felt I didn't quite have enough to pull over into first so took it wider around the first corner to get some speed up. As I came out, it was the same scenario as yesterday with Valentino in first, Laetitia in second with me in third. This time, I pulled inside Laetitia and was in second into turn two. Coming down straight three, I was catching Valentino and saw an opening to go under her in the last turn, I went for it but she saw me just in time and turned sharper, giving me nowhere to go. From there, I had to get going again and half way down the last straight, Laetitia got passed carrying more speed. So it ended up being the same Elite Women 1-2-3 as yesterday. 

I have taken what I can out of it and will use it to my advantage in the future. 

Tomorrow we head to Copenhagen, Denmark for the reason we are in Europe - The Copenhagen Supercross (World Cup). The track looks very technical (from photos) and have the biggest jumps that girls have ever had to do around the track at a Supercross race. Should be exciting and I'm definitely looking forward to it. 

Videos from yesterday are now up on BMX Videos - my races are Elite Women Semi 2 and Elite Women Final. Check out the mean jump manual down the second straight in the Semi :)

Had a fairly good day today with a 3rd in the final. Had a late start like last weekend (all European Rounds are run with the same format/times apparently). So chilled out for the morning at the hotel before riding down to the track. 

Had Jnr W1 (- Valentino) from last year in my moto's and lead from the bottom of the start hill to the finish in all three motos bar the first where she sprinted to the line while I saved my energy.

In the semi, I had Laetitia Le Corguille (Olympic Silver Medalist) in lane 2 with me in lane one. She got out in front of me on the snap but I pulled once we got to the jumps and I went into first. Lead all the way to the last corner where I drifted a bit wide on the exit and she came under me (and I forgot what I was supposed to be doing down the last straight) but it was a 2nd and it meant I was through to the final.

Qualified fourth for the final and knew that as soon as I got going, I would be fine so I chose lane 5, leaving Laetitia, Valentino, Eva (winner from Sunday in Klatovy) and Hladikova inside me.Got an ok gate and while the other girls (lanes 1-4) bunched together which gave me a free run to the first corner. Just got my nose in front of Valentino but wasn't agressive enough so she pushed me wide. I came out of the corner behind Laetitia and Valentino and once I got going again, pulled back up to Laetitia and we elbowed around the second corner. I tried to avoid turning on the lose dirt on the inside of the corner but that didn't work out because for the split second I was thinking about the lose dirt, Laetitia had turned into me and once again, was a little shy with the agression (I'm getting there). Tried to come back again but the rest of the track didn't have a lot of places to make a lot of ground so remained in third for the rest of the lap.

Finals will be posted on BMX Videos.

Today in Italy (and many places around the World) is May Day and pretty much everything was closed. It was a working holiday (Labour Day for New Zealand) and was almost like Christmas day with everyone on holiday and nothing open. The only exception however had to be McDonald's. Everything seemed to open up for dinner though.

Anyway... 

Had track this afternoon and in the half hour of practice, I got the track pretty much dialed. There were a couple of kinks that I will smooth out in the 10 minute practice before racing tomorrow.

The track would be so fun to ride on going slow (dirt jump style) but going fast takes a lot of effort and concentration. Did all the jumps on my second lap but just couldn't quite nail the jump into the first turn and was trying a few different options into the last. Besides that, everything was fairly straight forward and racing tomorrow will be very interesting.

I think it'll be one of those tracks where it is faster to go slower, e.g: more time to be smooth and flow with the track rather than forcing the jumps and making mistakes.

Kurt owned his practice which was before mine. Dialed in the pro section and was looking good.

Marc and Matt rode after me in the Elite Class. Davies is still rocking his gates and Marc didn't have too much trouble with his shoulder as most of the track is jumping for them. 

Tomorrow's racing is the same time as last weekend so we have to do some waiting around in the morning but will be good to relax and get a good lunch in before heading down to the track.

Going to the track soon for our first ride on a track since racing on Sunday. Will see how it goes and put an update on tonight about how it all went. 

Videos from Day 1 of the Aussies. This is part of their Elite Series so doesn't count to Australian Title but there's some awesome racing. There are 14, 15 and 16 Boys/Girls as well as Junior and Elite Men/Women.

Dane has finished day 1 of his Australian Titles with an awesome result. Looking flash on his ABD Bike, he cruised through a hard moto to make it through to the 8ths. As it came closer to the final, each deadman race got harder and harder. After a few mixed results, he made it to the final. He had a good pop out of the gate and was sitting in third going into the second corner, and was in the process of high-lowing the two battling for first when they hit and fell off, with one of their bikes taking Dane out. So top three went down and the guys sitting in behind them came through for the podium spots. The important part was done though - making the top 32 from around 100 riders - and effort in itself. Tu Meke!

Pinch and a punch for the first of the month and no returns :)

Did a small gym session again this morning before lunch by the hotel. After that, we went to the track but it started raining so they decided the track was to be closed until official practice tomorrow.

From there, the guys wanted to go see Campagnolo, one of THE brands in cycling. Unfortunately, they weren't allowed in the factory so we just got photo's and headed back to the hotel for our BMX gear.

We had heard that there was a track near by in Verona (30mins drive) so tried to avoid the rain by heading there. The track ended up being wet but it wasn't raining but it wasn't in very good condition to ride. It was a weird as track though because there were only TWO straights with ONE corner but a full length track so it was at least 300m.... First straight goes out of view from the gate it was that long! Uphill first straight and downhill second - or I guess last straight. No viewing area either so I guess it's just for training? Did have eight lanes though. Good luck getting the first aid ladies to a fallen rider in a hurry. 

While we were in Verona, we decided to go to dinner. Saw a Japanese place for Teppanyaki but it was closed until 7pm and it was 6pm so we went for a walk while we waited. This was where Julliet (from Romeo and Julliet) lived so we walked to there to look at the Balcony. In the entrance to the Balcony, everyone signs their names. It was on paper so I got a permanent marker and wrote on the brick next to the paper (and got in trouble while doing it) but hopefully it'll be there for a long time.

I enjoyed the Teppenyaki for dinner. Had beef with a nice sauce and fried rice but I wouldn't rate the sushi. Wont be going back there anytime soon anyway.

Having some trouble getting the photos from today on so will attempt it again tomorrow. Should hopefully have an update on how the track rides as well. 

Didn't get to update last night (Italian time) as the internet was being funny so gave it a miss.

Found the new Beef + Lamb ad on the internet. It has come out on TV in New Zealand while I've been in Europe so while everyone has been telling me they've seen it, I didn't know what it was like! But it's very cool - loving the kid pictures of Sarah, Caroline and Georgina. To watch the ad and also check out the rest of the site and get some yummy recipes, click on the links.

Did sprints in the morning followed by a trip out to Venice to pick up Jen from the Airport and did a bit of sight seeing while we were there.

We got a ferry down the Grand Canal and took heaps of photos doing the tourist thing before going to the Venice Hard Rock Cafe for lunch.

After a lunch (which filled everyone to the brim), the boys got a Gondala back towards the car while me, Jen and Ken did some mask shopping along the Canal. Apparently, there is a mask festival there which runs for about three weeks a year and everyone just walks around wearing masks. I didn't find one that took my eye completely but it was fun trying them all on.

Good morning New Zealand :) As you may have seen already by Kurt's, Marc's and Ken's sites, we haven't done a lot since arriving into Italy due to the weather. Did get the washing done though so I have clothes for another week.

One thing Dane found to keep me (and the rest of us) entertained for a while was a BMX game on the Beijing Olympic Track. Doesn't quite go into the quality of graphics Sony is putting out these days but it did take up some time in the hotel room.

Arrived into Italy today. We left Klatovy this morning to head to Prague Airport. From there, we flew through Frankfurt (Germany) and then onto Venice (Italy). Once in Italy, we only had an hour drive to our Hotel in Montecchio Maggiore VI which is about 15minutes from our new "home track" of Creazzo.

Unfortunately, it's raining at the moment but it is supposed to clear up by Thursday so should be sweet for racing. 

Matt Davies found a photo of the track on the internet - looks interesting but like we all found out last week, you don't know what a track is going to be like until you ride it.

The Hotel we are staying at is a step up and we had the full proper waiters at dinner. Very fancy! One of the waiters we had actually broke the rules to tell us that New Zealand beef is some of the best in the World.

Going to the gym somewhere around here in the morning so better get some sleep to get rid of this cold. Have been watching CNN and it's been non-stop about the Swine Flu so have done some reaserch just in case. ;)

Elite Women Final (3rd)

Elite Women Semi Final (1st)

Junior Men Quarter (Kurt 1st)

Junior Men Semi Final (Kurt's crash)

Elite Men Final

Felt pretty good considering the sleep I had last night and was looking forward to another day of racing.

Headed down to the track for practice after lunch. Pulled out the hardest moto of the three with 3rd and 6th from final yesterday and Willy Kanis (powerhouse). Won all three moto's, the first and second coming from a last second dash into the inside of Kanis for the holeshot and the third passing down the third straight. In the semi final, I won from start to finish.

In the final, I got squeezed from Willy Kanis and the French chick who got 2nd yesterday out of gate. Tucked in behind them into third. Got into 2nd down second straight then was passing French chick into first down third straight - I swear I gave her no room but she must have gone off the track and just rode straight to the top of the corner and almost got 2nd (to last years Jnr W1) because of that. Will have to watch it back once it's on the net to see exactly how everything went down.

I'm happy though - with having a cold etc. The positive of losing is you always get to take away a lesson from it and the desire just grows to win next time. Being 250 Euros richer is pretty damn cool too.

Kurt unclipped and fell off in Semi over first jump - no injuries, just a bit gutted.

Davies went into the last moto with a 5th and 3rd but got taken out in last corner. 

Tomorrow, we head to Italy for the next of the European races. There will be a few more girls there with the Silver Medallist from the Olympics and a couple of other heavy hitters. Looking forward to it.

Dane found the video links to the finals yesterday:

Elite Women

Junior Elite Men

Elite Men

Was a good day at the track for us kiwi's.

Went down to the track to watch the quarters, semis and finals before our 15 minute practice session for racing.

First moto, I came out of lane 3 and was feeling good down the first straight. Pick up jumped the step-up double out of the first corner which made all the difference. Didn't let off too much until the finish line for the first one to see how everything was with my riding and where I was at. It was a relief to turn around and see about four bike lengths between me and Aneta Hladlikova.

For the next two moto's I took it easier to save as much energy as possible for the semi and final coming 2nd and 4th. 

Between the last moto and the semi, I got to have a sit down and watch the Elite Men eighths and both Junior and Elite Men quarters. Managed to put my hand on some stinging plant that they have here which felt like bee stings without the swelling. Apparently, rubbing the flower that grows right next to it stops the stinging a bit so I gave that a go. Most of it was gone before the next race.

In the semi (and also during eighths and quarters), we had to wait between races due to TV coverage so it felt like forever to get on the track again. I got a good gate and won from start to finish with one of the French girls finishing behind me. 

Final time:
As I won the semi, I got first lane choice for the final so I went lane 3. Willy Kanis (multiple ex W1 - who had been winning each of her races up to the final) chose lane 4. When we got the all clear for TV, I was ready to ride (thanks Marc for the cheer). I tapped the gate on the way out and saw Willy Kanis had done the same but didn't manage to ride out of it quite as well as I did. I put the cranks in and pulled into first by the first jump and wasn't really phased from then on. Last straight had some donks on my double manuals which was funny but besides that, I was happy with the win and the 500 Euros. 

Unlucky for me though because I had to spend 100 Euros on some race pants because the European rules state you can't wear shorts. Marc had a laugh at me but I still have 400 more Euros then he won. 

In other news, Kurt Pickard was on fire today, winning pretty much everything from moto 1 to the final against some pretty nuts competition so congratulations to him - also pocketing 500 Euros for his troubles.

Davies had some mean gates and pull down the first straight showing the European guys whats up in motos. Unfortuately, he crashed in the second race and there wasn't much he could do from there.

Tomorrow is another day so going to try and get a really good sleep and do the same again.  More photo's to come.

Hanging out for racing this afternoon, the Czech Republic have put on a beautiful morning for us here so looking forward to getting some racing done.

Had practice today but it wasn’t until 6pm so had a lot of waiting around to do. We chilled out for most of the morning before heading down the road to a nice pizza and pasta place. During lunch, I found Dane’s BMX licence which he needs to race the Aussie Champs next weekend in Perth so spent the afternoon trying to get that sent off asap. Ken ended up driving me half hour each way to get it sent so thanks for that.

Practice was split up into three groups, junior men, women (combined) and elite men.

Kurt was looking good out there and he’s definitely going to get some good competition this weekend with a few of the World’s top juniors to race against. Just relax and know you are a good rider eh.

I felt good on the track and got most things sorted. Looking forward to racing tomorrow to see how everything is going and what I need to improve on before Worlds.

Matt Davies was the surprise of the day, snapping some of the fastest guys in Europe right now. Awesome stuff - go have some fun this weekend :)

Racing isn't until the afternoon tomorrow so will get another sleep in tomorrow morning. Will update after racing tomorrow night (NZ morning).

 
Town centre of Klatovy. In the church on the right is the dead bodies (see Kurt's site)

Doing updates using New Zealand time so don't worry about this morning being the 23rd and tonight being the 24th (there's an 10 hour difference).

Rode at the track this afternoon and it was totally different to what it first seemed. It looked like it was going to be a straight forward, easy track that would take no time to get used to, but out on the track, it was a different story. The jumps are shaped like triangles so everything is very kicky and tall (explains the dirt jumps next to the track as well). 

Went over to a bigger town (Plzen) today for dinner as Klatovy doesn't exactly have a lot in it. Went out to a really nice (and cheap) Chinese place. On the way there, we picked up a chick who was stuck in the rain trying to get a lift to somewhere. She didn't speak any English and we don't know any Czech so you could say it was an awkward half hour for her. Managed to find out she was getting from one side of the Czech Republic to the other but that was about it.

Have official practice tomorrow so get to see who's here and who's not and hopefully get the track a little more dialed in before racing.

Yesterday we travelled a couple of hours by cars and planes to arrive at Klatovy, a small town somewhere in the Czech Republic.

When we arrived, we checked into the rooms after a few translation issues. Checked out the 5 star pool and rooms before heading to the restaurant/bar upstairs for dinner. Best part about this place is the home cooked type meals. Especially the Chicken Schnitzel.

Heading down to the BMX track today (600m down the road) for a look and probably a little ride. Practice is tomorrow with racing on Saturday and Sunday.

Going to try find a laundromat today and check out what there is here.

The race jerseys we got yesterday (see below) are supposed to be what we will apparently be running for the World Champs. Rode with the black and white shorts today and they look just as good as the white and black combo.

As we were heading out to lunch today, the elevator decides that it wants to stop working with all 6 of us in it (Ken, Ryan, Marc, Kurt, Matt and myself)! It passed the floor we were supposed to get out on by a foot so someone pushed the button again to get us back up and as it went back up, something broke and we fell half a floor.

The elevator hadn’t fallen all the way down to the ground but we were hanging about half of the way down to the basement, staring at a brick wall, so we had to jump down into the basement to get out. We were so lucky that none of us got hurt but man it was scary!

We all had the nervous laughs all through lunch and once the adrenaline wore off, almost all of us fell asleep between lunch and track. It was up and running again just after a couple of hours and everything is working fine again, but all of us are going to take the stairs from now on.

For the record, no one jumped before it hit the bottom.

This afternoon, we had a track session with the UCI guys and the French Team. The competition was on from the moment we got there as the French were picking the team for Copenhagen Supercross so they were all trying to outdo each other round the track.

Gate with the French girls - timing wasn't perfect but was happy with session.

When it came to gates time, it was every man/lady for themselves. I had a few gates against the French girls, one of which we lost a couple of girls over the first jump. There were no injuries except for a few grazes which was lucky. I did better than expected so came away from the session quite happy knowing that I have still got room to improve.

Tomorrow we travel to Czech Republic for our first European race. It’s supposed to be raining the whole weekend which is unfortunate but look forward to it anyway.

Hit the gym this morning for a gym session which went pretty well. KP got a bunch of stuff from his sponsors at the end of the session so got to check out all the new bling. 

After lunch, we hit the track with the UCI guys. Got down the third straight guys section a couple times with a few cases and got the rest of the track a little more dialed. Hit the first straight a little more than yesterday as the first jump lip had been mellowed down a bit.

The guys were hitting the second jump pretty comfortably (or so they made it look) and Marc, Matt and Kurt hit up the second straight nicely after Davies and KP both had a go at soaking up a lip of a 12metre-ish pro jump, coming up a little short. A whole lot of respect for Swiss rider Jenny who represented for the chicks jumping the same pro jump a couple times.

When we got back from the track, our New Zealand race jerseys had turned up. These have got to be the best ones yet - material, cut and design. Cheers BikeNZ. They look pretty bling with the new '09 Fox shorts as well. 

The French Team are going to be at the track for the next couple of days so will be good for both the guys and myself to get some riding amongst them before we head off to our first European race.

All settled after the long journey over and getting used to the time difference. Went to check out the track yesterday morning and Tom Ritz (track builder), Johan and Matt (UCI guys) were down at the track making some modifications to the track.

Kurt Pickard and Matt Davies got their first real look at the Supercross hill and I'm pretty sure they were very impressed. As there were changes being made, we couldn't ride but today the track had dried out enough to play on the first and second straights a little.

After getting some time on the bike on one of the local tracks this morning in conjunction with their warm up for racing (20mins), it was out to the SX track (after gates) this afternoon to get some time on the bigger jumps before Copenhagen (second straight there for girls is now hosting pro-section type jumps with middles you wouldn't want to ride through).

First up down the ramp was KP. He did it easily with two pedals looking like it was nothing new for him. I was feeling confident with the other jumps on the track so headed up the hill. I hit it next with a bit of nerves as it has been a while since I have been 8m high looking down at the first jump, but I got over sweet.

Last but definitely not least was Davies. Well... What can I say. Check out Kurt Pickards' site for the video of his effort. He did well to stay on his bike and took a while to let the heart rate settle before giving it a crack again. By the end of the session, he was looking a lot more comfortable.

Marc wasn't riding due to his shoulder injury which is a bummer as Kurt took bragging rights to be the first person to jump the triple into the first corner. 

Besides the excitement of the track, we haven't done a lot except for sit inside the hotel rooms on the internet or watching Swiss TV.

Arrived safe and sound after a long journey to Switzerland via LAX and London. Slept most of the way with the help from sleeping tablets but when Matt Davies and Kurt Pickard had one, it did the opposite for them. Will go check out the track tomorrow and put the bike together but for now, it's time for bed...

So Nationals are all wrapped up for another year with some awesome racing and a fun track – fast first straight, jumping second straight, rhythm third straight and a last straight where you have to stay focused until the finish line.

We left on Thursday morning to make the trip up to Whangarei for the 5pm practice but with traffic bumper to bumper from the new tunnel until Warkworth (12kms), it added over an hour to our trip. This would have made us miss practice but it had been rained out anyway.

Put up the new gazebo (supplied by Expand-a-Sign) with the Rotorua crew and waited for mum to turn up with the camper we were supposed to stay in. However, she had been delayed in leaving so wasn’t going to turn up until after midnight. Lucky for us, the lovely Vinson family took us in to their home which was very much appreciated.

Friday was official practice day with Mighty 11’s in between sessions. As the day went on, my gates improved which I was happy with and loved jumping the second straight.

Might 11’s had some awesome racing with the five riders selected by the end of the day. Liam Perry, Dylan Ngatai, Brent Roguski, Connor Loomans and Joshua Smith made the final team. Congratulations to them and to everyone else involved in the test, also, to the chicks for mixing it up with the boys – proud of you all.

Saturday rolled around with the start of National Champs and it didn’t disappoint. The Domestic (NZ only) UCI Round was run in block format over the “am” session of racing and before 11am, we already had three National Champs. Marc Willers in Elite Men, Kurt Pickard in Junior Elite Men and myself in Elite/Junior Women (which was combined due to numbers).

In the “pm” session, cruiser started with four rounds before the end of the day. I won all four races with Elyse Imber, Vanessa Quin and Tania Carson rounding out the top four.

Sunday hosted the finals with some of the best racing I have seen in ages.  Kurt Pickard took out the Men’s superclass and I won the female superclass and also the Elite Womens Cruiser. Matt (bro) and Josh Woodcock had some intense racing all weekend with the points over decision all coming down to the final. As they both came out of the gate and down to the first jump side by side, it was going to be right down to the wire. Unfortunately, Josh’s chain dropped off over the first jump and the title was decided. Look forward to watching you guys battle next year as well.

As Marc's site has mentioned, one of the highlights would have to be seeing RMC trying to beat the random start in the final. To see the video, check out YouTube.

Managed to miss all the traffic heading home on Monday where I am getting ready for Europe on Thursday with Marc, Kurt, Matt Davies and Ryan where we will meet up with Ken ready for a couple of European Rounds and the Copenhagen Supercross.

Will put pictures up tomorrow. :) Sarah

Beijing Olympics

I, along with Marc, flew out of Auckland Airport on the 6th of August, pretty relaxed about what was ahead but quietly excited at the same time.

The flight to Beijing was pretty long (13 hours non-stop). Marc and I watched Kung Fu Panda before going to sleep. I managed to get almost 10 hours sleep thanks to the aid of a sleeping tablet, eye mask and ear plugs. It also helped that the flight left at 9pm and arrived at 6am so it was usual sleeping times anyway. Also on the flight was a few Taekwondo athletes and also Mark the weightlifter (from the Millennium Institute were I have been training for the last six months).

Arrival/Induction:
When we arrived in Beijing (on the 7th), we fast tracked through the Olympic Lanes and were eventually met by Robyn Wong and Dallas Seymour (two of many behind the scenes during the Games).  We then all caught an Olympic bus to the Village.

When we arrived at the village, helpers got our luggage so we were free to walk to the apartment block we were in as a team. I had my Handycam strapped to my hand the whole time and as we came around the corner to our block, you could see a group dressed in black and white waiting to welcome us in. Once we were close enough, they performed the haka for us which was pretty special.

After checking out the New Zealand headquarters (next to Sweden and Switzerland) and finding our rooms, we headed over to the food hall. This place was huge! There was enough seating for everyone competing in the Olympics plus management etc to eat at the same time. The food wasn’t too bad but I thought it was going to be every food of the World in there. There was Mediterranean, International (English), cereals/salads/fruits and of course, McDonalds. Since it was breakfast, I got some bread and scrambled eggs with some watermelon which pretty much remained my breakfast of choice for the remainder of the time.

We spent most of the first day getting settled in, finding out where everything was and meeting other people on the New Zealand team. That evening, the whole New Zealand Team (that was in Beijing), went out to a theatre for an official welcome and good luck but also, the naming of the Flag Bearer for 2008. During the evening, we watched a Chinese Show with dragons, sword fighters and gymnasts. After the Chinese part of the evening, we got a live show from Dave Dobbyn performing “Loyal” and “Welcome Home”. Mahe Drysdale was announced as our flag bearer and after some speeches from him and New Zealanders who weren’t in Beijing at the time; we all went back to the village for dinner and bed.

(For the next two and a bit weeks, we planned to wake up around 5.30am and be in bed around 8-9pm. This was because practice started at 7.50am on Time Trial and Race days so we would have to be on the 7 o’clock bus out to the track. It wasn’t too bad as we beat the breakfast and dinner rush.)

08.08.08:
It had been a long wait for this day and for it to finally be here was exciting. As we were off to Taiyuan for training the next morning, Marc, Ken, Sarah Ulmer, Hamish Carter and I, headed down to the Olympic BMX Track for a peek at how it was going. The track was covered with tarps but underneath it was soft, damp and full of holes. It wasn’t perfect but we knew there was plenty of time for it to be fixed before practice. We got to explain to Sarah and Hamish what would be happening at each point on the track. They were pretty blown away by the track and understood that anything could happen in the corners and that BMX can be pretty unpredictable.

That afternoon, we went for a light ride around the village before getting ready for the Opening Ceremony. Once everyone had assembled outside the apartment, we went out towards the food hall where there were hundreds of buses waiting to take the 204 countries to the Gymnasium to prepare for our march in. When we arrived at the gym, we had to sit in our country areas for about 2 hours. We had a food pack and drink for the time we were there but it was pretty boring. Since the athletes didn’t walk in till last, we missed the opening and instead of showing us what was going on, we got to watch which country got to leave for the stadium next. Since New Zealand was 190th, we had a long wait. I did manage to get a photo with Roger Federer before he left the building (because he was being swamped by people like me). Switzerland was sitting next to New Zealand so I figured it could be my only chance to get a photo with him and I didn’t want to miss my chance. When they got to 186, and then went to 189 and 203, we wondered what was going on but they sorted it out and we finally got to leave the Gymnasium.

On the way out of the stadium, Mahe Drysdale was presented with the Kiwi Coat to wear as the flag bearer and the whole New Zealand team got behind him with an impressive haka (which echoed because we were still indoors). From the stadium, we walked for about half an hour to the Bird Nest, going past all the volunteers who were waving and saying hello. To come into the Bird Nest, we walked underground and with the zoom on my Handycam, I could see the people waving their flags from the other side of the arena. It looked fake and it didn’t seem like I was about to walk into the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games with the New Zealand Team.

As we came into the light of the arena and New Zealand was called, it seemed like everyone began to cheer louder and wave their flags harder. As we did our lap of the arena, we spotted two New Zealand flags before walking into the middle to join all the other countries before us.

Because we were closer towards the end of the march pass, it wasn’t long before Australia arrived, followed closely by China. The stadium went absolutely crazy when they walked in, led by the famous Yao Ming. As he was coming around towards where New Zealand was standing, you could see him towering literally head and shoulders above all the Olympic Athletes.

After China had finished their lap, they began the speeches, with the Olympic Flag Raising, Flame relay finish and the fireworks at the end (which weren’t even above the Bird Nest). We didn’t get to see much which was kind of a letdown in a way, but still, it was the Olympic Opening Ceremony after all.

Taiyuan:
The next morning at 5am (after 4 hours sleep), we were off to the Airport to fly down to where the World Champs were this year in Taiyuan. It was only an hour flight, but with the early start, and a late night, we were absolutely shattered by the time we got there.

When we arrived, we were met by a Hotel Driver and were instantly reminded that this city was a completely different China to Beijing. Change lanes without looking or indicating, shoot for gaps that aren’t really there, and toot at other people just to tell them you’re there. Once at the Hotel, we checked in after some communication issues and settled in.

For the next week, we went to the Worlds track almost every day. The track hadn’t really been worked on since the Worlds so lucky it had only been a couple of months. We did get rain once and it affected the track pretty bad, but the first straight was still ride able (which was all we really needed). The ride to and from the track each time was a mission, with a million other bikers doing whatever they wanted. It was definitely good for reaction training but they also loved to stare at us. Besides hitting the track up each day, we also went to the Japanese Restaurant downstairs. This place had the best steak in the World and I had it every day we were there.

Dane arrived for the last two days we were in Taiyuan, and although there was nothing to do or see, it was good to have him there before heading back into the village for the final stage.

When we returned to the village on the morning of the 16th, we had two days before our first practice. That day, we didn’t do much except a light ride followed by some small sprints the next day.

Practice:
The first practice started at 9am on the 18th. I was so excited to get out on the track and finally ride my favourite track again. Practice starts with the track being open first (no first straights), so people can warm up a bit before rolling down the 8metre start hill and hit the first jumps at 50-60km an hour. 

Sarah Ulmer had come back over to support me through my first Olympic experience. We had breakfast together before heading out to the track.

At 9, I was first in line to get onto the track. On my first lap (leading the way), I jumped the second straight and most of the third. On my second lap, I had done everything except one jump and the first straight. When I felt like I couldn’t do much more on the rest of the track, I went up to the start hill. No one had been down the start hill yet either so it was good to show the girls that I was ready. I jumped the first straight (although I thought the first jump was just a little bit smaller than what it was) and went back up for another gate; and surprisingly, the Chinese girl had followed me up and done the first straight too. It wasn’t until we had done another 4 gates and first straights that other girls decided to join us.

After the hour of practice, I caught the bus home for some lunch and recovery. There was an afternoon practice as well for another hour but I decided it was best not to do too much. In the end, I was the only girl to not do the second practice that day and they were all wondering where I was.

The next morning was the same again; I led out with the first lap followed by gates. I felt really comfortable on the track but the first corner was bugging me a bit. The first corner was made for the guys track basically so the girls had to turn off the corner to get to our track. Ann-Caro (France), with all her downhill experience, looked the best on the corners but everyone else looked like they were trying to work it out too. I made sure I didn’t do too much work as Time Trials were tomorrow and I didn’t want to be worn out for them. Sarah made sure I didn’t do too much as well because sometimes, with a fun track like this one, I can’t help but go again.

During the practice, I heard my family and Dane yelling to me from the end of the first straight. They didn’t get to see much because no one was allowed inside the track area until the event started. After I had finished and Marc was starting, I went down to see how they were going and tell them how everything was going. Dane had some cool new $4 “Oakley Sunglasses” from the markets which I stole to wear for the next few days. As it was pretty hot out in the sun, I didn’t get to talk for too long as I had to get back to the village and get some more food and drink into me.

Time Trials:
Time trials started at 9am but practice was at 7.50am for the guys and 8.20am for the girls with half an hour each. I only did a couple laps of the track with a couple of gates before getting out of the heat and preparing for the first time trial. I was kind of nervous backstage for the time trial and Sarah Ulmer said it was “perfect”.

The men went off first as they had their three quarters after time trials, so I had a while before I was up. Marc had a pretty good time trial for Marc and he finished the first run sitting in the top 10.

As Marc was riding his lap, I was warming up for mine and not long after that, I was walking up the stairs to the top of our 8metre high start hill. Sarah U reminded me to just do my best and have fun and by the top of the stairs, I was completely focused on exactly that.

The favourite from Great Britain had fallen off in the first corner so she was sitting in last and when I got to the top of the hill, the two French girls were about to go. The first took the top spot and the second took it off her straight away by over a second (which is huge)! I was sitting on the gate when that happened and had to put it completely out of my mind and set up for my run. I got a good start and was mostly smooth (bar a few over jumps) right until the last straight where I didn’t push my legs down hard enough on the manual and tagged both times. When I crossed the finish line, I looked for how I’d gone and I was sitting in second. I would have liked to get a perfect lap but in BMX, that is almost impossible.

After the first time trial, Ken and Sarah were very happy with my lap. I was feeling good and the nerves of “The Olympics” weren’t getting to me.

As it was supposed to rain the following day and after that was unsure as well, there might have been a possibility that results would come from time trials alone. Usually, you would save energy in the second time trial but this time, I had to give it everything for a second lap.

The British girl held it together for her second lap and posted the second fastest time, pushing me back to third. The first French girl put in a good lap (despite almost crashing into the second corner) with the second French girl crashing down the last straight. Being the last time trial of the 2008 Olympics, I knew I was sitting in fourth overall and that I could not finish any worse. I got everything a little better but as I had already done a full lap sprint, I was a little more fatigued. The second lap was almost exactly the same time as the first. Even though I was in fourth at the end of the day, if the Olympic medals were to go off the two time trials combined, I would win Gold.

Rain Day:
Sarah U and I were up and having breakfast at the same time while Marc and Ken were off to the track. It had been raining long before we woke up this morning but we had to prepare to race anyway. We were supposed to catch the 7.30am bus but Ken had suggested we wait because they were putting back practice as it was. When 8 o’clock rolled around, they still hadn’t made a decision on whether we would be racing or not. It wasn’t until after 9am that the official call was made for racing to be held the next day.

For the rest of the day, we basically couldn’t do anything in order to save energy for racing the next day. It was good and bad that we had to wait an extra day. The good side was that we had another day to be completely recovered and ready to go for racing; and the bad side was that we had waited (and prepared) for over four years for that day, but now we had to wait another.

Finals Day:
Woke up to a beautiful, blue sky day and was ready to go and ride my favourite track. After breakfast, Sarah U and I headed to the bus. When we got to the bus, it was completely full but there was another bus behind it that they said was going to follow the first one. We hopped on the bus as the other was leaving. We had to wait for a couple of other people but once they arrived, the bus never left. We thought he might be waiting for someone else but after 10 or so minutes, Sarah U asked what was going on. They then told us we were on the 8 o’clock bus (which would get us to the track at 8.30am when practice started at 8.20am). After some translation issues, we managed to get the bus moving and got to the track with plenty of time.

Practice was pretty similar to time trials day. I just did a few laps and gates then cooled down for racing. Since I qualified fourth, I was with the first, fifth, eighth, ninth, twelfth, thirteenth and sixteenth (last) qualifiers which, out of the two, were the easier ones to be up against.

Before the first race, my nerves were pretty settled. I was more excited about getting out there and was just enjoying (and loving) the moment. A decent sized New Zealand crew turned up and were all buzzing about the BMX and I was looking forward to putting on a good show for them.

When I rolled onto the gate, we got given a one minute call which was plenty of time to freak out but all I thought about was going out there, riding smooth and having fun. I had second choice of lanes and since it was the first race of the day, I chose a “safe lane” away from girls with good gates (potentially). Out of lane three, I had room to get a bad gate and still come out safely (but that didn’t matter in the end). Once the 10 second call had been made, it was all down to setting up and focussing on the red light (signalling that the gate is about to drop so reacting off it means that by the time you move, the gate is dropping). I got a pretty good start and had a smooth lap, following the French girl (fastest qualifier) from start to finish (ending up in second). She had a much better first straight than me but it seemed like I gained ground around the rest of the track.

In the second race, I went out of the same lane and in the first corner; the Argentinean in my race took an extremely low line around the first corner to sweep out wide. She was just enough in front of me (because she travelled a shorter distance) that she pushed me out wide with her. Because she had taken such a low line around the corner, she lost a lot of speed (even though it was shorter) so that once she got in front of me; I had to slow down as I was going off the track. I went down the second straight pumping and manualling jumps that are only made for jumping. At the time, I thought that I was going to have to fight my way back from about sixth but incredibly, no one managed to pass me and I finished third behind the French and Argentinean girls.

After those two results, making the final was pretty much a given but the third semi was all about getting the fastest time to get a good lane choice for the final.

Marc had finished his first race in last so it was pretty much up to the second race to have any chance at making it through to the final and he got unlucky again so his day was basically over (besides one last semi that wouldn’t change the fact that he hadn’t made the final). I was watching from the warm up/down area and when it happened, I got really emotional. I just thought how much effort he had put into making it here, how much he deserved to make the final and how it was all over now. I tried to hold it in because I had two more races to go myself and after some words of support from Sarah U, I was back on track.

In the last semi, I got the best gate out of the whole week. I came out first but the French girl had enough on me going into the first corner and I came out second (making sure the Argentinean wouldn’t do the same thing again by taking a tighter line). From there, I stuck in second, trying to get everything as smooth as I could so that I could post a good time. Down the finishing straight, I caught the French girl on the line and won the last semi.

After the other semi had finished, I had posted the second fastest time (behind the British girl) for the final. From there, I thought about what lane to come out of in the final. I knew that this wasn’t the time to “play it safe” so I had to pick the most inside lane I could. If I was to get a good gate, I needed to be in the best possible position to make the most of it. If I got the best gate of my life from a more outside lane, it may have been put to waste. Then, on the other side, if I got a bad gate from the best lane, my race would pretty much be over. I was preparing for a good gate and so I chose the best lane to get a good gate from.

Between the last semi and the final, nerves really started to kick in. I told Sarah U and she said that it’s just part of being at the Olympics. I think at that point, it did start to feel like the Olympic Games but by the time I walked up the stairs for the start of the final, they had all disappeared and I was ready to do absolutely EVERYTHING I could, no matter where I was, all the way to the end.

Up on the gate for the final, I looked at Dane and he made me feel confident of my ability and proud of myself and what I was doing. I could hear the New Zealand crew cheering for me and I felt almost at home. It didn’t feel like it was the Olympic final at all and then came the 10 second call.

I set myself up and was ready to go. As the red light went, I reacted super fast and as I was coming out, I tapped the gate which scrubbed a bit of speed and that was enough for the other girls to come across in front of me. I thought for a millisecond that it was all over but from there, I knuckled down and managed to get into third going around the first corner. I couldn’t believe it. It’s not often you get squeezed out of the start and go into the first corner third, especially when it’s the Olympics! As I was coming out of the first corner to go for another place down the second straight, the Argentinean was coming around the same line as the second semi. There was absolutely nothing I could do. In the third semi, I got round her because I changed my line into the first corner but because I was coming from behind into the first corner, there was pretty much only one line for me to take. If I was in her shoes, I probably would have done the same move as well. It was just a bummer it had to be me getting the cheap end of the deal. She made sure I didn’t come back this time by not budging from her line at all and I ended up on the white lines (where no one rides) going up the lip of the step-up down the second straight. We clashed in the air and I thought it was all over (again) and we were going to crash as soon as we landed. Luckily (I guess), we both stayed on; but now, I was back to sixth. Out of the second corner and down the third straight, I did everything I could to gain ground, and I did. Into the last corner, I was in the air with the girls coming fourth and fifth. Then I saw it, one of the girls (turned out to be the British girl) had fallen off in the last corner. That meant that the three of us were going for the Bronze Medal. Unfortunately, the British girl was an obstacle that we had to get around. We all swerved different ways and the American who was on the inside got the best luck out of it all and was in third and I was now about a full bike length behind her in fourth with only 20metres to go. I gave it absolutely everything I had left to get down the last straight and beat her but I only got to within half a bike wheel and 0.1 seconds behind (which is a pretty quick gain).

I did absolutely everything I could in the situations I was in and I don’t regret anything I did. Sometimes in BMX, you just get unlucky and other days you don’t. Unfortunately, it was my turn to be unlucky.

At the finish line, I couldn’t help but let a few tears fall. After a few words of support and hugs, I pulled myself together as at the top of the finish line, we had the press wall to get through. I did about 6 interviews on the way out and once I had finished, all I wanted was to see Dane for one of those cuddles only your partner can give you.

To top everything off, I had to go to drug testing so it was another hour of waiting around. In the drug testing room, there was almost everyone who didn’t get a medal in the final. It was a bit like a depression room so I was glad to have Sarah Ulmer with me. She was still buzzing about how great it was and how awesome I had done etc. It was definitely worth having her there because she made me realise how well I had actually done and how age is on my side. It took her 8 years to get fourth at the Olympic Games and here I was at 20 with a fourth under my belt.

After drug testing, I organised to meet the family after a shower and rest back at the village. That night, Dane, Matt and I went out to an Acrobats show with Renee Junga and her mum (Sally), and then we met up with the others for dinner.

All in all, my experience at the Olympic Games will never be forgotten. I would have loved to walk away with a medal but sometimes, things don’t always go your way. I will take everything I have learnt from these Olympics and take it to the next ones in London, 2012.

Thank you to Sarah Ulmer, Coach Ken Cools, Mechanic Ryan Hollows, SPARC, BikeNZ, ABD, Nike, Sony, Fox, Mum, Dad, Brother Matt, Boyfriend Dane, Rotorua BMX Club, Kawerau Council, Rotorua Council, Trident High School, Kawerau South School and everyone else that has helped me or sent me messages of good luck along the way on my quest to the Olympics. It has been an experience I will definitely never forget, and to have so much support just made it a whole lot easier.