Knuckling down!
By TMX Archives on 9th Dec 05
Words by Stephen Sword Photo by SuttyHi everyone and thanks for reading my column again. Words by Stephen Sword Photo by SuttyHi everyone and thanks for reading my column again. As Crock Star said in his column last month, 'the off-season is open' - bike shows, supercross events and all that kind of stuff.I chose to give the SXs a miss this time around so I could let all my small injuries have a good rest and start preparing for next year. I was kindly asked by the Portsmouth SSC to come down and present the trophies to their club members - they were a great bunch and I'd like to thank them for their warm welcome.The next day I was going on holiday for two weeks in the UAE so I was busy packing and taking the rabbit and the dogs round to the babysitters before rushing off to Gatwick. I had a fantastic time and it was very relaxing. It was also special in that me and my girlfriend got engaged so it was a great holiday to remember.It's a bit depressing being back in the cold weather with the dark mornings but it's time to knuckle down to a hard winter's training. I've got one more test on the new bike before Christmas - the team is heading down to the South of France for some suspension and engine testing for three days. This way when we start up in the New Year we should have a good base. I'm already quite happy with the bike and confident we will have an awesome machine - apart from being a bit heavier to move around it's just like riding a 250F with twice the power.For '06 I'm staying with the same sponsors - Pro Grip, Alpinestars and my personal sponsors like Road Wheel, 12 Inch, Fro Systems, Ford and a new sponsor, Cannondale, who are giving me cycles. I picked up the two bikes recently - one's a mountain bike and the other's a road bike. I was like a kid with a new toy when I got them and went out for a pedal straight away.While I'm on the subject of sponsors I better take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped me throughout the season - so cheers!With Christmas just around the corner I took advantage of the duty free while on holiday. I'll probably be going back up the road to Scotland for Christmas but I'm not sure where I'll be spending New Year yet.I went back up to Marshfield to visit some friends the other week. We ended up in a comedy club in Bristol and had a great laugh. One of the stand up comedians was Scottish and was very funny. I'm a big fan of Billy Connolly and usually get his DVD every year for Christmas.Not a lot else has been happening really - I've just been relaxing at home and doing a bit of DIY around the house. I'm starting to paint some of the house next week so that should be fun - NOT!On December 10 MotoXtreme are holding their annual shop open day at Marshfield - if you can make it you should as it's a great day and they always have lots of competitions. Last year there was a prize for whoever could take the back wheel out of a bike, place it on the floor and then replace it in the fastest time. There were about 10 of us there trying for hours to beat the best time that was something silly like 25 seconds.Hopefully I'll see some of you there...