Porth Rhondda - Morzine France total miles 889!!!

European Downhill Team
CRAIG HANDSOME HOWARTH
PAUL GONZ TAMBINI
GRANT THE RAGE BISHOP
Supported by The Bicycle Doctor in PORTH www.thebicycledoctor.com

DAY 1 - Team Fatty and 9.8 team merge for what is now going to be our annual downhill road trip. We depart Cardiff @ 9pm on Friday 25th July and after many a story a queezy tired feeling a McDonalds or two 10 red bulls 10 powerades 18 mars bars and a few Cornish pasties, lots of wind breaking and 18 hours later we arrive at Morzine. Its thundering and lighting absolutely pouring with rain, we see some bryns running through the streets in their pants holding their body armour and we all think OH NO this isn't what we expected, we thought sun dust and white riding shoes eh eh !!!!!

We are all wrecked so decide to head straight to the bar for some energising beer JD and coke, combine this with the altitude and this makes for some interesting photos and some more of Gonz's stories of nearly having his balls cut off and being beaten with a rubber stick!!!

Day 1 comes to an end and I think we are all glad to hit the sack and start to prepare for what might be in store tomorrow for our first day of riding.

DAY 2 - We head downstairs for our continental breakfast, not the fry up Team Fatty was expecting. We then get the bikes and head for the La Plenny chair lift from the bottom we all thought the mountain looked small, but half way up in the lift and it sure was high oh MY what I have I left myself in for! At the top Paul asks me If I wanna do black run or red one I answered defo a black run, thinking to myself that would be the easy one and the red one would be harder!!!! We head off boy it's a great course hard but not as hard as mymdd ddu, I hit one section and my front wheel slips away I go down hard crushing two of my fingers and completely wiping out my left crank, ok so its free wheeling down to the bottom and straight into the ever obliging bike shop, sorry www.thebicycledoctor.com but I had to use another bike shop when Im away from wales. 250 euros a sore hand and bleeding knee not a great start but eager to do another run once my bike is fixed. I say to the Gonz "that's a difficult run I think the red one maybe a little over my abilities" He answers " you fool you really are dull, black are the most difficult thought you were eager at the top to start with a hard one."

Run two manage to get around the first bit that caught me out but then on the last but one technical section I had a big wipe out coming down hard on my ribs and hip and also my two already injured fingers. I winded myself and needed to be dragged of the course by THE RAGE, cheers mate I owe you one. That's it I need to get to the café and have cheese burger and chips and work out what was going on with my riding. Too much pressure in my front tyre, one more run and that was me done for the day hurting, but luckily Grant had some wicked pain killers on him so was sorted.

DAY3 - We head out early I buy a pair of padded pants to try and protect my very sore hip. We do one run of the black course in morzine making it un hurt and unscathed. We all now head off to Les Gets, wondering what these courses have in store for us. My oh my we all think we have died and gone to heaven, there a berms that make you feel weak at the knees table tops you could cry over and dusty tracks like that we all dreamed of!!! Cool Cool Cool. We spend a good few hours on these tracks our speed is defo improving and our jumping techniques is being forced to improve as there is something to jump every 15 secs or so. Amazing some really big step downs that nearly caught the rage out as he PHHHHRRRRWWWWWDDDD!!!! Over one to mine and Gonz's amazement. Closely followed my Jonny Million Go's, who doesn't seem to stop.

We stop have a healthy salad in the town, I know salad its just the heat team fatty is off the junk food only for a while though.

After lunch we decide to head up the Mont Cherry Mtn, meet Simon Parsons who races Dragon with us, he tells us where the course starts and what to expect, off we go then! Its great rooty and north shore dropoffs that nearly caught me out but just goes to show how much the bike can take. Some lovely berms on a steep section and then a ooohhh my gosh death shoot where you just gotta go. Gonz gets down there nicely I get down with a lot of swearing bearly hanging on, The Rage comes down next his brakes have gone and he is just picking up speed there is nothing else left for it but for him to bail out so he does, jumps of the bike in a spectacular sammasalt Whow we are all down. Great course but a little more challenging compared to our earlier dusty finds.

DAY4 Photography Shoot
Today is the day we put on our team jersey's and get photographed. We head over to the dust tracks of Les Gets, first photo stop is the big step down, Gonz first cranking it all the way even scared himself took massive air and travelled an amazing distance, next was the Rage who also cranked well up for an impressive photograph!! Amazing height. My turn next and I bottle it just dabbing the brakes at the last minute but even though, I think my jump on film looks pretty impressive. Next Gonz want us to photograph him doing the table top he does it with style we have him on film, I then decide hell I can have a go at that so push up and crank it and guess what clear it and Gonz captures it all on film, ace stuff my first completed table top and on film.Last photo of the day was Gonz doing a really nice Hip jump out of the woods with a little tweak thrown in for extra style points it was truly BIG STYLE!!!! Aye on the Interweb Like!!!

DAY 5 - The Double Nemisis returns.
OK it's the last day, and I still haven't hit a double so its kind of shit or bust time. We head over to Les Gets for some warm up runs as the Morzine black run is being used by the more than 9 runs in two hours challenge. Disaster strikes though the iron horse is out of the game the chain comes off and mangles the wheel up so Gonz heads off to the repair shop and The Rage and Handsome head off back up the slopes. So my cranks, the rages brakes and now the Gonz's back wheel its turning into an expensive trip.

After lunch and Gonz's bike is back on the road so its back to Morzine to hit the double oh ho. We head down the run and there it is I leave my bike at the top of the approach and go down and set the camera up ready for Grant to do the shoot. Gonz does a practise jump looks smooth and clears it easily. It looks much bigger now I have stopped by it, what am I about to get myself into, if I don't clear it its going to be a big stack, but I have to learn to do these, I can't keep just rolling over them or avoiding them. Here it is my go I follow Gonz down to try and get my speed right, I dabbed again on the brakes though which only just left me with enough speed just to get over it, was an awful feeling. I have another two attempts with the last attempt feeling spot on as I think the photographs prove. YES ITs DONE in the bag Morzine has had team fatty here and I survived my first Double Jump in Morzine of all places.

That's it now we head out of Morzine in the Land Drover and a massive thunder storms accompanies out of the Alps what dramatic departure, we love it and will be coming back next year for sure.

THANKS GUYS FOR A GREAT TRIP AND THANKS JAMIE AT www.thebicycledoctor.com for getting everything together before we went. CHEERS

HANDSOME HOWARTH