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Agata Tamulewicz-Downey: June 2013

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A few words on mountainbiking. Friday, 14 June 2013. National Point Series, Rnd. 3 - Hopton Woods, 2nd June. My first British NPS race. The first big race while over here. What to expect? I’m not feeling too well on the day, after having cold for some time, after not riding a bike for a week, after spending 7 hrs in the car a day before. Physically and mentally. But the mood sometimes changes during the race so let's hope it'll do that today. 8221; – the air escapes from the tyre. Luckily it's ...I&#8217...

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Agata Tamulewicz-Downey: April 2014

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A few words on mountainbiking. Friday, 25 April 2014. Easter riding in Ireland. Spring has arrived and the weather encourages to be outdoors, making training easier both physically and mentally. And what a weekend it was! Now, what's funny is that I was talking to the guy organising the Euro Champs afterwards and he said they've used practically all of the singletrack available and they're afraid there will be not enough fireroad sections! It was steeper than it looks like, really! Easter riding in Irela...

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Agata Tamulewicz-Downey: May 2014

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A few words on mountainbiking. Wednesday, 7 May 2014. Nationals, Rnd.2 - Wheal Maid Valley, Redruth, Cornwall. Photo by: Andy Whitehouse. First impression: The best XC course I've ridden in the UK. Second impression: I'm moving to Cornwall. I missed the last year's race in Cornwall for some reason that I no longer remember and listening to other people's comments I knew I'd need to ride it this year. Sean going down the second drop. A run up the hill it was so. Or rather, a trot. By that time I was obvio...

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Agata Tamulewicz-Downey: World Cup singletrack - Meribel, France

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A few words on mountainbiking. Wednesday, 27 August 2014. World Cup singletrack - Meribel, France. The most interesting parts of the courses are rarely accessed by photographers or the camera men so we thought we'd take a few shots of dirt "to remember it by" ;). As always, the camera flattens the course disappointingly, steep drops look tiny, sketchy rock gardens look flat and the roots grippy, so please use your imagination and add a few percent of gradient to what you see here ;). Sean as Lion King.

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Agata Tamulewicz-Downey: November 2013

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A few words on mountainbiking. Sunday, 24 November 2013. Merida Brass Monkey Rnd.1. It happened - with Anna Cipullo we've entered the Andalucia Bike Race. 6 days, 400km, 10,000m elevation. And exactly 3 months left. As a preparation to long hours in the saddle at (hopefully) relatively high intensity, I've decided to enter a series of four 4-hour races - Merida Brass Monkeys, and follow them with cycling back home afterwards, for 35-45km. And here goes the first of the Monkeys, 24th Nov 2013. Or mountain...

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Agata Tamulewicz-Downey: October 2013

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A few words on mountainbiking. Thursday, 24 October 2013. The Night of Knobbly Tread. Last Saturday’s night my club, West Drayton Mountainbiking Club, was throwing some party in Black Park. Easy to guess, there were bikes involved, but what was less common was darkness, spooky sculls hanging of the trees and free burgers served at 11pm. So here we go, 8:15pm start! And then I see my handlebar light comfortably lying in the mud and not going anywhere! I really hope we’ll manage to keep the event in ...

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Agata Tamulewicz-Downey: July 2014

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A few words on mountainbiking. Saturday, 12 July 2014. It is what is says: a velodrome on a street, a pop-up wooden cycling track, travelling around the country, stopping at parks an squares and opening its doors to everybody. You don't need to be a cyclist, you don't need to have a bike, you just show up and they'll give you everything: a bike, a helmet, arm protectors, explanations and a lot of encouragement and fun. I expected it to be fun but was very surprised how much fun it was! I'm sure a part of...

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Agata Tamulewicz-Downey: My first World Cup: Meribel, France

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A few words on mountainbiking. Sunday, 24 August 2014. My first World Cup: Meribel, France. Oh my God, I rode a World Cup. I can't believe it really happened. Landing on your face=Halloween costume sorted. On Sunday, the day of the race, nothing much has changed. I had slept like a log, forced in some breakfast and went out to warm up on the nearby climb with Sean. I wasn't stressed or overly excited, which I had expected to be, but I was probably too drugged up to feel anything. Of course, I would have ...

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Agata Tamulewicz-Downey: September 2013

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A few words on mountainbiking. Tuesday, 24 September 2013. The summer holidays are over, mornings are becoming grey and misty, leaves slowly change their colours. The air smells of Autumn, of long rides, of pre-sunrise spins in a sleepy park. Long evenings make it easy to dream. About bikes, about travelling. About doing more marathon riding, seeing that it felt so good this year. About racing for long time. For hours. For days. About travelling to race for days. And it's a UCI class 1 event!

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Sean Downey: CX Nationals - a race too far

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Wednesday, April 18, 2012. CX Nationals - a race too far. This one has stewing in the editor for a while, much like the experience stews in my head. The final (and finale! Of the CX season is the National Champs in St Anne's Park, taking place a month after the last race in Ireland. It's a chance to see who trained hard over Christmas and who over-indulged on the turkey and Roses. It's also a chance to see who has remained healthy over the cold, wet period, and that was where I fell down. The experience ...