That is name of one finnish reggae song. It have never before make me feel going to Finland. Now I have 2 months left from 9. It's so freaking cold over here and my coach from Finland told me that lately the hottest temperatures in Europe has been in Northern Finland. I'm freezing to death, thru the night and DAYS! Can't even sit on toilet...

Houses looks pretty neat over here. If it's windy outside, it's also wind inside. So dad when you are coming here, could you please bring some 3 layer windows and maybe piece of insulation wool. I recon if someone wants to come build proper houses over here you can make good money with those.. selling them to rich of course ;)

Ok, it's also little bit my fault that I'm freezing. The only way to heat the house is make a fire and I'm too lazy for that. And the fire place is down in basement and from there goes up small pathetic pipe which is supposed to heat the house. Pipe don't hold the heat so it's pretty much going up to sky.. This is 3 story house so even if that pipe would hold the heat it would not do much..

And wood over here don't burn. Getting the fire started is huge job. Wood is somehow so thick that fire just goes round it. I tryed to split the wood with an ax and it don't do nothing to them. It's like hitting an iron.

Now I will go to track. There is always warm :) Local people don't even recognize the coldness. I were riding my bike to track (car is broken) and I had long pants, jacket, woolly hat and gloves. I passed a local boy with bike wearing shorts and t-shirt!! But when it's starts to rain here, people just run away from track. Anyway, I will concentrate to get my jumping better. I'm not getting the pop. I get it on dirt jumps but nothing at the track.

AnNyt menen radalle. Siellä on aina lämmin :) Paikalliset ei muuten ole kylmyydestä moksiskaan. Pyöräilin tossa yksi päivä radalle (auto rikki) syysvaatteet päällä. Pitkät housut, takki, pipo ja hanskat, niin paikallinen poika kruisas pyörällä vastaan päällä sortsit ja t-paita!! Mutta kun alkaa sataa niin rata tyhjenee. Noh, nyt meinaan kuitenkin keskittyä hyppyihin. En vaan saa sitä poppia tulemaan. Saan sen dirttihyppyreillä, mutta radalla ei mitään.

Vinkkejä otetaan vastaan! :)

Shame that I haven't took any videos or photos of these. But I have lately being working on two different practices to learn manual.

1.Practice: For the whole pump track try to hold your weight as far back as you ever can. With cruiser bike your butt can hit the rear wheel once and a while. So you are like hanging from the handlebars. But you need to be back and low. It feels stupid and looks even more stupid. It helps you to get the feeling what is it like when your front wheel gets of the ground. Even more it helped me to feel what is it like when you don't have any weight on your front wheel. Most of the times when I have practiced manualing, I have had my weight over the front, even if the wheel is off the ground. After some rounds you will get little rythm there and start to lean back even more when you are on the top of the jumps. When you are hanging all the way back, bike doesn't go sideways at all.

2. Practice: While doing single manuals you can think that someone would punch you in belly. Uhh, and your whole upper body moves back and it stays back. I have used to come back in front far too early.. doing this I realized that I'm supposed to stay back.

You should have check-lists for each skills. Gates, jumps, manuals.. for examble my check list for manuals is:

- pump up
- feel the ground
- look up
- let the wheel come up (is the same as lean back)
- push with the legs

Everyone has their own, but I recommend to have 3-5 things that you will go thru your mind before trying. Quality not the quantity.

Treenaaminen on rankkaa! Sanoin juuri tänään koutsille (joka on aivan mahtava, suorastaan uskomaton!!), että mulla ei ole energiaa tehdä mitään muuta kun ajaa pyörällä. Haluaisin välittää miltä näytän. Aamulla kun herään niin ristinsormeni jotta jaksan pestä hampaat, vedän samat koltut päälle, mitkä olin aikasempana iltana riisunut radalta tullessa. Hameet, farkut ja kauluspaidat on koskemattomina omissa pinoissaan. Liikkuessani ulkona, eli ruokakaupassa enhän mä käy muualla, ihmettelen ettei vieläkään kukaan ole antanut säälistä rahaa. Näytän kodittomalta tai mistä mä tiedän kun en ole peiliin katsonut yli viikkoon.

Mitä meininkiin radalla tulee: rakastan sitä! Voisin vaikka mennä naimisiin BMX kanssa. Hyppään pieniä hyppyreitä, teen epävarmoja manuaaleja, mutta vauhti ja meininki mikä viime viikkoina on ollut on uskomaton. Keskittyminen tuleviin kisoihin on omaa luokkaansa. En tiedä milloin viimeksi joku nainen olisi voittanut miut.

Kortin kääntöpuoli on synkkä. Eilen taas tippui yksi kuski pois MM-kisoista. Nilkka ympäri, polvi ympäri, sääriluu poikki ja pohjeluu poikki 3 kohtaan. Juurikin hänen kanssaan tapasin treenata lähtöjä, koska ajettiin pitkälti samaa vauhtia.

En tiedä olenko koskaan kertonut teille, mutta kun olin 6v. pelasin kiekkoa. Vihdoin iskä tuli katsomaan peliä. Pelin jälkeen onnesta soikeana kysyin iskältä, että olinko hyvä. Siis olin huonoin, olin aivan kamala. Olin ainut tyttö, enkä osannut edes luistella. Mailan lavat kului aina pystysuunnassa 3cm korkuisiksi kun nojasin mailaan koko ajan. Niin iskä kertoi, kuta kuinkin totuuden. En ollut hyvä. Kun olin 15v. ja pelasin ensimmäisiä SM-sarja pelejä. Oli se kerta vuodesta kun iskä tuli katsomaan peliä. Pelasin uskomattoman hyvin. Yli 90 torjuntaa ja päästin 3 maalia. Pelin jälkeen kysyin iskältä, että olinko hyvä. Hän sanoi, että olisin voinut olla parempikin. Pieniä sanoja, suuri vaikutus. Yhä muistan sen tunteen ja tilanteen yli 20 vuoden takaa.

Miusta tuntuu, että miun iskä on ollut ekaa kertaa innoissaan miun tekemisestä BMX jutuissa. Voin kertoa, että se lisää melko paljon halua pärjätä! Ei se haittaa, vaikka Suomi BMX pitäisi mun toimintaa vitsinä, mun iskä on ylpee. Olen 27v. ja sillä on väliä jos mun iskä on ylpee miun tekemisistä. En edes tiedä onko se ylpeä oikeasti, mutta kyllä mä vähän luulen että se on.

Mielen treenaaminen on ollut minulle suuri urakka. Kisoihin mennessä ei voi hetkeäkään epäröidä itseään tai omaa toimintaansa. Samalla minua suorastaan kuvottaa ihmiset jotka luulee itsestään liikoja. Muutama esimerkki olisi osuvasti kielenpäällä. Henkiköitä jotka elävät kuin olisivat maailman napa.. kuninkaita tai jotain. Toisaalta jokaisen meistä kuuluisi olla kuningas omassa elämässään.

People are already having conversations about what the track will be like for Worlds. Here is video about the track

Challenge track:

Elite men:

Today I decided that after World Champions I will head to Norway to Scandinavian Champs. I'm trying to get flight to somewhere Central-Europe where I can continue eather Finland (if I'm hurt) or Norway (if able to race). Also my parents got house sold do they are able to come to see the Worlds!! How cool is that :)

Scandinavian Champs are gonna be in Norway this year. Track, or the town I guess, is called Sviland. I google the Sviland BMX and found beatiful track building project. I hope this inspires all Finnish riders to head to Norway on 1st weekend of August:

I got myself to stay with one BMX family for 2 days, and those 2 days I were continuously vomiting. The oldest boy and the father of that family is going to Kalifornia to practice for a month before the Worlds. I tried to tell them what BMX is like in USA. That it's bit different. It will be nice to hear their opinion after the trip. Son is jumping 9 meter jumps without a problem, so tracks in USA might be eather fun or boring.

When I tried to find some photos of USA bmx tracks I happened to see these photos from some weeks ago.. I wish I would have evergy and time to everything. There is so many things I haven't even tried and then all these things what I don't have enough time..

My time of flatting has ended. The last days were a bit of struggle with my flat mate. I didn't say anything to her, but she started to act like some control freak! If she had 20 things in our living room and I had 1 bag, she had to take my bag bag back to my room. And just moce the places of my all staff.. even she had already moved out. But it's over now.

So I'm gonna be few days homeless before I go to house sitting for one house. Friends of my BMX friends are going for 1 month travelling and I'm supposed to keep the house up and animals alive. Sounds fun.. After that I don't know where I'm going for the rest of the time.

I have been on fire with my practices. Soon my head is gonna blow off and body is gonna follow the head. I have got better, that's for sure. It's just not that much time before the Worlds and I have so much to do. Power, sprints, technique.. 24h/day is just not enough :(

Happy mothers' day to all moms. I got to tell that I'm super proud of my mun. I wouldn't change her to anyone! Love you <3 (I like it a lot how people can say things like love you or my flat mate called me hun..Yesterday while babysitting the brothers said to eachothers "love you, love you too".. I think I have never said that to my sis'. That's something we need to get to Finland)


So I were baby sitting last night for 2 BMX families. And at morning we surpriced the fresh moms:

Yesterday I were practicing the starting hill at Cambridge. Sometimes it's super scary, on the other hand I know if I just concentrate I get it smooth. After Campbridge I head to Hamilton for club practice. There were 3 other girls. We all were really even. After the gate drop you couldn't say who is gonna be the first to the first jump or first corner. Training in group like that is just over the top!

After the practice the coach stayed for a while and had some one on one practice with me. I were already so tired, but I couldn't miss that. He happened to be the coach for Mighty11 group.

It would be nice to see some Mighty 11 races. Olisi todella mielenkiintoista päästä näkemään noita mighty11 kisoja. Just the idea to ride BMX as a group sounds awesome!! I wish we could have something like that between Scandinavian countries. So mighty 11 is for 11-years old. After that is group for 14-15 years old. I can't remember the name right now. I have it on paper, but the paper is at home and I'm doing some baby sitting right at the moment. That group have same kind of races as Might11. After that is Elite groups.

Anyway there is clear steps for progress. Junior riders are really working to get in those groups. Groups practice together maybe ones in every 2 moths. And they have 2 races, one in NZ and one in Australia. Kids go to Australia for a week. Stay with Australian families. Practice with them and end of the week is race. I really like that system!

I got to go to bed now. Wanna thank all my readers. It realy like to have you with me on this journey. I have started to get little nervous. I have some exercise for that too, so it should be ok!

Ou yes and I got some mail about local elections which are coming. So if I want to wote I have to fill those papers.. Pretty funny idea that I could vote in NZ elections.

Yeah. My dear flat mate shut down our internet so she can save 100$. No matter that i have payed the internet price included with my rent. hmmm. patience is needed at the moment..

Physiology gave me some training with my patience. At the moment I can not watch tv without doing something else at the same time. For beginning pretty good practice has been using internet in mc Donald's. Uploading file what normally takes 2min took 18min over there and after it was finished I had used my Internet capacity and could sent the mail.

Using internet with phone is kinda taking on my nerves too. Anyways, today started winter race meetings. It was so much fun to race after long break. I could easily see that worlds are coming. Everyone were more serious than usually. And concentrating on racing, not crying about race lines or any nonsense like that.

Yesterday were also mighty11 group practice. There is best 11 years olds, 4 girls and 4 boys. Group trains racing as a team. Other ones are blogging and other ones racing fast. Group races against Australian group. I tell you more about that when I get to use good internet..

Title is made to reflect how it feels like to learn new things. I'm still trying to build up a system which would split tehniques into small parts.

The truth is that, in some point you will get tired to do the same thing day after another. You get frustrated and bored. You wanna take a next steps but you are not ready for that.

I have been talking about manuals from the very beginning I started BMX. Thinking about it I feel I have been pretty patient with my learning. Sometimes it just goes over for good. Like today. I went to track, warm up.. got top of the last turn. I have been sitting there daily for the last weeks with my bike. I look the last straight and make a deep sigh. "I don't even want to try", said the voice in my head. "I'm fed up with this" continued the other voice.

WHAT? the other voice was meant to be the incentive one. The one which always pushes you up after failing. No way, I just have to go. I start to pedal. I lift my head up and there is one kid riding the track to opposite way. I turn myself into ditch. No visible damage happened, only the last nerve fibers from my brains where destroyed. I got back to starting place. Smaller kids are doing the thing that the older showed them. Everyone is riding how they want. Totaly chaos. First time in my life I hope there would be fenced around the track. Now is school holidays so there was easily over 20 kids.

The voice in my head starts to be annoying again. I get back to my car and leave. I could do flat manuals or the manual by standing still and learning to lean back more. Is there any more ways to learn to manual?

The problem is that when I want to manual I have to remember to: get speed, lift my eyes up, pump, let the front wheel go up by the lip, lean back with upper body, PUSH MY LEGS, still have the eyes up, arms straight.. for a one second there is pretty many things to remember. Most of the time when I do the manual I'm thinking "feel the ground", or stay relaxed or push with the legs. The first one I have made up by myself, it helps me a lot. When I think that I get it, but most likely forget 2-3 other things from the list. I mean I felt the ground, I let my wheel come up, pushed my legs, but the whole time I were staring the next jump. And BOM the wheel hits the ground right where I looked, too early again.

For me it has helped me to force myself to do 3-5 manuals on one straight. When the first is not good bu the third I already  remember almost everything.