Filed under: Uncategorized
So after 2010 which was a real mixed bag for me, with 2nd out of 97 at Innerleithen in Scotland which was awesome, and then some real disappointing results at home I decided its best that I pull out of downhill racing for at least a year, My main reason is money, i couldn’t get a job to finance it and when i did get a job it was part time and one of the days was Saturdays.
I could work with this to an extent doing select races but it would be another year like last and generally just a struggle…. its all or nothing for me personally.
So i have decided to focus on my design work and finishing my last year of Higher National Diploma Graphic Design at college.
In the near future I shall be building a dedicated side for davygrahamdesign….
That said I still do a fair amount of cross country mountain biking in the evenings after work, but it is time to focus on a full time career…. until then thanks for following the action and all my boring race reports.
and most importantly THANKS to all my sponsors over the last few years and to everyone who’s helped me out in one way or another, you know who you are….
“I’LL BE BACK” 
6.30am – Somewhere in Belfast ///
I pull myself up off the cheap student accommodation sofa ive been tasked to improvise as a bed for the night. The boat leaves in 30mins so myself and fellow elite weapon Gareth Mckee hit the road. I expect to walk outside to half my clio at one end of the street with the other half of the blown up smouldering wreckage at the other with pieces of a trek session and 2stage scattered down the street..but no somhow the bikes survive a nite in the back of my clio in central Belfast…times have changed and for the better. Boat boarded we kick back in the cinema to (brace yourself)…. “mamma mia” ….truth be told I love a good musical to get me in the zone so its all good…
Pictures for this race are pretty much non existent… i took some of random stuff on the way across scotland but there are none of any kind of bicycle action…accept for this one of me at inners last year
we arrive track side at Innerleithen, Scotland at about 2pm walk the track a few times and discuss various line choices on what seems to be classic “cresta run” ….Saturday morning, its nice and sunny yet the track is greasy as you like, top section stays greasy all day and its proper slippery over the roots whilst the bottom section is loose and dusty which mixes it up nicely. I blasted out as many runs as I could Saturday and all was well.
Sunday morning and I get in just one run before racing. I would have liked to get two in but my laidback attitude towards getting out of bed got the better of me. But perhaps it would mean I was better rested ? who knows but what is for sure is that this is indeed a picture of my knee from the journey across Scotland…
1st run is on the level as I always like my first runs to be I missed a few crucial lines and caught a few riders but I don’t think I lost too much time, I’m sitting in 4th in the seniors which aint bad out of 98 riders. Second run and I open er up abit more I got pretty wild in a few sections plenty of sideways action and plenty of smooth fast stuff going on too. I make a good improvement and finish up 2nd out of 97 riders and just 1.6 off the win.
Know check out this Scottish sheep…
look at em go
Anyway Im really happy with this result and had I known the track as well as some of the locals id could have shaved a lot more time off. So all in all another good result !
Next up is the Scottish champs up in Dunkeld. Bring it yeow!
Filed under: Design and Art
Flow Racing needed a race jersey that stood out from the crowd, So they came to me to get the job done.
After several concepts and revisions and spicing up the original flow racing logo, we had created this bad boy….
..which has just came back from print by the people at thecyclejersey.com
His some shots of the lads sporting their new threads…
Filed under: Racing and Riding
I missed NPS four because it was in Cahir…which as we all know is just abit flat for my liking.
Anyway nps five takes us some three-four hours down the road to cullohill….Wot a track it has a little bit of everything. Flat and kind of hard to carry speed at the top which I hate but its standard procedure in Ireland…then things get fun
…some sweet north shore hucks that you hit flat out and some nice jumps 
then we have some techy sections, switchbacks and off camber etc etc
….anyway I was loving it all day Saturday I even nailed a run with downhill sensation, (truth be told the child is a weapon) DAN SHERIDAN and his trusty Dan-Cam… as seen here:
Davy graham urban cyclist. from dan on Vimeo.
First run goes nice and smooth and sees me in 4th or so…I gun it run two aiming for the podium but disaster strikes on the pedally top section I clip my pedal on a stump and get all wild…next thing I can’t get clipped in again for ages…I then had a few stalls in the steep section just stupid mistakes trying to make up time but horse it on as best I can but get kicked down to 7th….
real disappointing result yet a really good weekend other than that. Shame I didn’t get a clean run in as I was more than capable of a good result here. Ah well.
Filed under: Racing and Riding
Saturday morning and its wet, in fact it’s raining. We arrive trackside to see some of the crc world cup team set up for a taste of Irish racing. The o21 boys have gone for the steep techy track. I blast out one run on clips immediately remove them this track is pretty wild in places and it suits me perfectly…just not on clips…I’m not that deadly on them yet !
Flats on, I’m lit, The tracks such a belter, it’s got some serious steep shoots into mad rooty sections its seriously technical and a real challenge. Everyone’s crashing everywhere even the crc lads. It’s hard to put in a full run without crashing out or getting held up by others.
It rains most of the day but for once it’s awesome this tracks really has the gradient to make the wet weather fun and I’m set for a really good result. The rain worryingly stops that evening and i chill out the rest of the evening.
Sunday morning – The tracks dried out like dry thing and it’s not looking good. We’re talking sticky mud that sucks up all of your speed – I hate this sort of riding soo much. Apparently hates a strong word….not strong enough for this situation…Everyone’s bikes are clogging up and it’s a real disappointment all round no one is having fun.
First race run and I gun it… things get pretty wild where they need to be but most of the sections just sap up all my speed….Without a doubt the most unenjoyably race run of my life…It feels like a xc race on the climbs where u have enough time to establish a long lasting friendship with spectators u only just met….i made many friends on my way down. 
Second run is the same, I go a good bit faster but the track seems worse….i end up 10th
It’s an ok result considering how much I hated my race runs…Buts it’s seriously disappointing that on the one race day where rain would have been nice we get sun and it just messes everything up….That said everyone’s racing on the same track so this is the way it goes…but this was no dh race it was an endure…Finishing on a good note Saturday was awesome…more steep technical tracks please!
In other news I’m signed up for Innerleithen and Dunkeld SDA’s…Looking forward to those!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: David, DavidGraham, Davy, Davy Graham Racing, DavyGraham
Somewhere shy of 8000…that’s quite possibly what the revometer on the van would have been sitting at for roughly most of the journey down to Killarney at the very bottom of Ireland…This Davy Graham Racing transit doesnt come with a revometer and with good reason….Conversation is limited, communication was mostly via sign language…partially due to the noise of the van with lead foot mode and partically because my dad was tailgating everything, perhaps this was some sort of slipstreaming diesel saving measure or perhaps it’s because as soon as you cross the border the fast lane and slow lane are the stuff of legend, down here the fast lane is the only lane of choice no matter how fast or slow you’re going.…NO USE …we had a race to go to so tailgating was applied…it had mixed results, the offender would eventually get into what was known as the slow lane up north and then give us the fingers, I replied with one…and then a thumbs up to dad….it was the only sign language I knew…and it was all I needed. We hit the hostel in cork at like 11 chilled out downstairs in the trendy little bar and then lights out, Good morning and its 30mins down the road to Killarney…
The suns shining and every ones in a good mood. The tracks going sweet its real fun in the dust and it has lots of features, I’m feeling pretty good and getting on nicely on the session.
My forks seem a little out of control so I fire them into MBW to check out for Sunday morning and let the lads do what they gotta do. We chill out for the rest of the evening and then hit the hay.
200yoyos…Yes that’s how much a new set of lowers, seals, and bushings sets me back. My forx were wrote off from day one, the guy before me had put the bushings in himself and they weren’t being replaced without a fight, eventually the MBW boys got them out but the damage was done and there was nothing anyone could do but replace the lowers.
New lowers and the bikes running sweet, it’s the first time in my life I’ve had suspension that actually works effectively. And my race runs show it.
Davy Graham
After first run I’m sitting in 5th! What’s that you say ? Only one position up from the winter league ?.. True but the big guns such as dan, colin and greg wernt at those rounds.
Second run I gun it and get everything tidy, not too wild all the same just on the level. Im a second faster, it’s not enough though and I’m bumped down to 6th …
Davy Graham
….so its good to know im on the pace and that’s how competitive the elites are now…It’s been a while in the making but with a good bike and some effort ive started the season on a quality result….
Most importantly thanks to Kenda and Squirt for seeing the light through all the rubbish results along the way….things are only going to get better…Cheers.
Filed under: Uncategorized
I’m privateering it this season, I was offered lots of great deals and i thank every one of you for your interest. But unfortunately after loosing another job due to the recession, I was forced to go second hand and found this trek session 88 on ebay…
Its a large and its more than capable of the task at hand! all in all I was just happy to have a larger bike…second hand ?
…risky some might say ?….and yes you weren’t to far from the truth….
Immediately out of the box we had issues….First up was the tyres, Kendas fitted I then degreased the chain and fired on some squirt, (as you can see im blatantly plugging sponsors but this is how it happend) then a gamut chain guide, im not associated in anyway with gamut but its just such a simple system compared to others so I had to change it….
all was sweet or so i thought… round 2 of the Irish NPS reveals the most major problem that my bike has been hiding
Filed under: Uncategorized
Just received a box of goodies from Carl at in2dust, He’s sorting me out with Squirt Lube for 2010 helping me keep my drive train shifting sweet and helping me save time not having to degreese.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Kenda will be keeping me rubber side down and on their rubber for 2010, Just received a batch this week and Im looking forward to some sweet results on these bad boys!
Filed under: Uncategorized
Saturday evening – Feb 13th – Im lit in my mums little Clio on the way to Moneyscalp, no van this time because its literally 20mins down the road…and its evening because scalps always seriously pedally and generally straighforward. so energy conservation is the plan. less is more etc etc…The tracks the usual few new bits but generally flat at the top, you get nice speed off the fireroad into the forest but its quickly sapped away with all the holes and roots doubled up with the flat terrain…it stays like this for what seems lik several hours ..flaat then we have some rocks to ping over to keep me out of the mud….then you get to open er up and we have some gradient and its pretty dam fun from here to the finish few pedally bits but not to bad
….Saturdays practise went good and i called it a day…Sunday morning and im trackside at about half 9, getting every thing quite nice by ten, i stick at it till half eleven when practise closes…Race run goes ok, i struggle to carry speed in the top section over the flat and i have a few stalls down at the bottom, I’m sitting in 6th so i gun it run two and mess the top section up again, just struggling to carry my speed, i get the bottom pretty good but Im only slightly slower than my first run time and my 6th position stands. Happy enough but at the same time i know there’s more in the tank…
Fun weekend and nice to race near home. Moneyscalps never suited me, its just too flat at the top. Id rather be better racing steeper stuff, but It was also cool to see my buddy Gareth Mckee take the elite win. I’m sure he well be stoked to see is name on my blog and thus on the internets too.
Cheers to Rob from Uberdog Mag for the sweet piks…
(EDIT: It appears there has been a breach of copyright, yes the very last picture was actually taken by a Miss Helen Andrews. I can only apologise for this discrepancy, and hope to ease the pain of copyright infringement by crediting the highly talented Miss Andrews) Note: The previous statement contains a varying degree of sarcasm ha-ha
Check out uberdog magazine here
End
