So Denmark Huh? :)

Haha class race went down today at Worlds and it went decent for me but as always with Worlds it only takes one lap to end your day and thats my story along with alot of other peoples Im sure. Day started out kinda shady the ground was moist and pretty much soaked from the night before, meaning the hill was soaked and people were sliding out left and right and UCI didnt think to postpone the start time till the haze burned off and got things dried up. Run it was the call and we did. I had a tough moto but knew I had an even tougher semi awaiting. First round a Check (sp?) Republic dude beat me to the turn and was every bit of 6'6" LOL I tucked in for the 2 and passed him down the second straight away and felt really good. It's like a worlds thing I guess that you stress and stress the whole time until you ramp a lap and it feels alot better when your running up front and for me luckily took down a moto win firs round. We had racks of 6 dudes so taking 4 to the semi another low score in the second round would have me chillin in the 3rd round. 2nd round I had an outside gate and got beat this time to the turn again but by a French guy and was pretty surprised because now 2 guys have beaten me to the turn and that lets me know my Semi is going to be even more than I previously thought... But whatever I tucked behind him again and passed him in the 3rd straight rhythm with this jump line I had dialed in. 2 motos and 2 wins I was lookin good across the board for the most part. 3rd round I had only 2 points going in so I knew I was making the semi regardless of the moto outcome. I planned on going first straight and then shutting down to save some legs for the semi. I went first straight holeshot it finally and just kept going before shutting down 3rd straightaway, I guess I was moving out fairly well because nobody passed me and I ended up acing the motos 1,1,1 and it was semi time. I watched the 1/8's and 1/4's for 17-24 and the USA riders were dropping out quick. A few of my boys Niko and Ian went out in the 1/8 and Carillo in the 1/4 but they rode well. I got all warmed up again and checked the semi and we had 6 legit guys lined up and were all in the middle of the gates from 2-6 with the W1 in lane 8 I think... I snapped out and as I got to my third crank just before the big drop, I was swallowed up like Jonah and the Whale :( Elbows over my bars I was like off the pace for sure... I wasnt in panic mode at all just started the strategy and watching the lap play out and choosing my spot right... Get to the first turn and watch everyone come high so I couldn't high-low but had a good spot to pedal high the whole turn. I started to do that and entered the turn in about 5th id guess. I get half way through the turn and HoJo comes crashing on through, he had lane 2 and knowing that guy he always tries to bump his way into position LOL He was all over the place and laid it down just in front of me, I swerved right and got around him but he basically made the wall between the front 4 and the rest of the pack, I recovered and started chasing down the guy in 4th who had about 4bikes on me and still thought I had a shot, keeping in mind I passed people all day down the straights. Not to be though the guy behind me in 5th didnt play it so smart and as we entered the 2nd turn he went ahead and parked me for 5th place LOL. 5th doesnt get us in the main you dummy, I ended up passing him back I think but it slowed us up so much that it was useless as the front 4 had all but checked out. Weak Sauce. Chislett ended up getting a 2nd in the main so his 2 in a row ended on his home soil which was bummer for him, Levi Collins from Australia took home the W1 plate and I got ummmmm a pat on the back? Cruiser bike is in 48hours so all my hopes and dreams are on the bike that Im way sketchy on haha. Should be fun though and Im excited to ramp some more.

The coke is flowing (not the powdery type) and Im eating everything in sight. Healthy eating and drinking didnt pay off for crap so Im back to the good stuff that my body runs nice and rich on LOL Rap music really loud and watching the Elite stuff tomorrow. Maris is my pick for the win and Marco AKA The Stay Strong TM took down the Masters win today which means he went back to back in a sense because he won 30&Over last year and Masters this year. I need to move to the UK cuz everyone rocks stay strong gear so hard its sick. :) Thats all for now leave a comment and tell me how cool I am and that the worlds is for jocks haha. Denmark here we come I guess :)

I got my magazines today with my little interview in them :) Robbyn hooked it up for me and I was pretty psyked cuz now Im truly "Locally Respected-Internationally Known"

Thats all for now...

Calm before the storm!

Gettin to bed early tonight I checked the lineup for tomorrow and semi main should be stacked but qualifying should be nothing too crazy. Hopefully score up 2 low scores in the first rounds and rest the 3rd and get it on in the semi. 8 man semis taking 4 where Ill have myself the current W1 and some legit guys will get through as well. That lap is more stress than the main so just fast gates and ramp out status and all should go well. Update tomorrow will be really good or really bad HAHAHA

NOR*CAL REPRESENT!

Practice Pic

http://vimeo.com/13617550 check that video for my interview linked from fatbmx.com If I dont have the most hits out of the 5interviews Im going to cry. big fat tears too. LOL

Practice Day 1...

Day 1 was ehhhhh....50/50? Haha I dont know if I've ever been a great practice champion but today I dont think I was on the podium for the practice comp LOL. I felt super slow first 3 pedals and was having a rough time over the first jump. Its a short/low jump that the distance isnt far at all but I was still scrubbing too hard and managing to case it. I always have that habit that when I hit a jump going full speed I typically case it because I fight the transition so hard. I think it's because when you ride park and trails the lips are always steep and if your going fast you can easily scrub away speed and still overshoot things. Took me a good 5 attempts to get over it clean enough to fire out the second jump which was a big floater much taller and about 6feet longer. I had no problems with that one at all and the jump into the turn is a huge step double thing which some dudes were firing out in practice the whole set but its a bit slower and a long gap for sure. I played it safe jumping into it and rolling the top section into the turn. The turns are huge and really dialed, but they have a weird thing right now because since the Elite track shares our first straight the challenge side basically has 20 feet of flat room under the turn that if someone wanted to they could easily dive bomb a few guys if not the whole moto... I think they might put up some barriers/cones or lines to make people actually use the turn but who knows... Anyway the second straight is pretty easy 5 foot table thats about 15feet long just tap manual it and ur good, then a quick double thats about 16feet Id guess? I jumped about 30feet a few times on it. I guess you dont realize how fast your going until you overshoot the landing by 15feet and laugh at yourself LOL. Next double is about 25feet just a floater then a roller and a short step up into the turn... Good ol Tom Ritz built yet another rhythm section that is more than likely SICK on a 125 dirt bike, but on a BMX bike it felt pretty shitty. I saw a few guys take this jump line through that looks like it worked and helps you avoid the rollers that start at 2 feet and eventually build to 4 or 5 feet tall mid rhythm. This step up step down section will more than likely be the death of many, and it's exactly what had me watching the main last year after Tim Sonner couldnt navigate through it clean. Hopefully my short ass can manage to find the hot line through there or even just hold on enough to get to the last turn. The last straight is trash, just some crazy steep step with a very close steep roller directly behind it or something. Watching people go over it is comical and Im sure itll ruin some dreams in the next 72hours. Gettin back to the first straight, as of late my gates have been super dialed just timed perfectly and first few cranks on point. Not the case today by any means :( I felt late out of the gate and the supercross hill if your late youll know it right away because everyone has a first straight thanks to gravity. Im not trying to sound like a whiny lil beezy but it does suck that some guys with zilch in the power department are bangin bars with you when you know your a bit stronger than them. Its odd but whatever its worlds and thats what makes it special. Team USA had some notables with Padilla, Khoeler, and Bynloss all lookin way fast in practice. In my class Frank "The Tank" Hoskins was on the gas and looking damn good even up for the win if I had to pick a rider after seeing everyone today. I watched the SA practice because all my boys were ramping and David was on point as well as Dustin. The pride of SA Mr Chislett was going quick and will definitely not be giving up a W1 plate without a fight. Go od to see all the USA boys and had fun talkin shit with everyone :) Pics soon...

FATBMX.COM Interview

http://vimeo.com/13617550

Check that Link for a quick interview that I did with Lloyd. Its a 6 part series I think with a few different people and their stories in SA and lil info. If I dont have the most views out of the 6 it was all an epic failure LOL

Haha only in SA, thats a cow wandered onto the freeway onramp and a effin Giraffe at the game reserve I went to this mornin. Sick!

They had the turtles from Mario Bros. at this croc farm yesterday so I had to show ya one :) It would be hilarious to paint them all red or green and then they would be just like the ninendo game LOL You couldnt do it in California some anima rights activist would go nuts. Anyway check it you could pick them up and evrything :) Crocodiles are the laziest effin animals on the planet...

USA Invasion. Well kinda...

Coach Bradford showed up today at the Queensburg track today and we chatted a bit while Bubba Gonzalez showed me that this is the year where things align and he gets the W1 he has been searching for :) Couple of USA guys showed up, Ian and Gavin Lubbe who is SA/USA split LOL came out and ramped with us at the local track and were all gonna hit Giba tomorrow. Ive been chillin a bit my legs felt really flat after doing way too many gates and first straights with the HP guys here and Giba by myself so I was chillin today and light ridin tomorrow. I pretty much gave away my white VANS LOL. This kid Bob, Jordi's younger brother is like crazy in love with em and I told him if he wins the worlds or I podium class Ill give em to him. Then I told this other kid Dustin who is in 17-24 that if he even makes the main they are his. Haha I might be shoeless when this trip is all over :) LOL Fuck it. Rhino tomorrow morning at 7am pretty psyked.

you cant tell but that jump is 33steps long. legit.

triple step up on a rad local track called Giba

internet 2 days in a row? what?

Days 7

Headed over to Giba track again this morning for a quick session to basically take back this little "kiwi's" sandles that he left yesterday at the track. Te kid rips he is the W1 in 7 Boys and just hilarious how they just ramp around careless about anything haha. They were just trampling through this huge puddle yesterday with clothes on basically just playin in the mud like it was no big deal. Like 6 of the kids total and the 4 year old lookin kid had legit dreads Im sooo not kidding. HAHA Spoke with the dad a bit and super nice guy and cool to meet other people as always. Thats whats rad about the worlds is just all the different people you meet and within 15minutes your like family with cuz thats just how BMX works. Granted sometimes it seems jock douchebags have overwhelmed the sport but for the most part I think all the guys are genuine and pretty rad. Hung with Chris, Bob, and Marco at Giba and rode the first straight a little bit it was good times and had a good session. I stepped off that jump into the first turn and it was 33steps from lip to landing. Headed over to grab food with the guys after we were done ridin and they insisted that the KFC here is better than what I have in the states. I called their bluff and was definitely the clear winner. They didnt even have the biscuits that our KFC has. LOL how would your KFC be better without even a chance to beat out the biscuit? Pffffft silly kids have no idea :) We're going to Queensburg to ride tonight which is the track with the super slow gate but good track and definitely they get a bigger draw then Giba, should be fun and have a chance at gettin some straights with Chisslett who basically is the icon there LOL. All the guys I chill with here they basically dont like the politics that come with the "high performance" crew that Chisslett coahes and trains and their is some separation for sure, and quite a few have expressed that I am the chosen one to dethrone him in a sense. I told them Id like nothing more to be the guy to take the W1, but I do respect his talent and he will be a factor and has to be a favorite of sorts. Im sure tonight will be testosterone filled and nobody holding back but Ill leave a little bit in the tank and play it cool. Ive already seen some people go down trying to win the Worlds 2 weeks before the actual race lol. All in all good times though and Im excited to meet with the guys for the evening session there. Did I mention they sell beer in the snack bar there? Yeah no joke and Chris' mom does the finances for the track and she expressed that the sales form that stuff definitely keep the track afloat. I dont ever expect the tracks in the states to go that route but pretty cool that they make it work to their advantage here and dont seem to have a problem. Thats all for now!

Evening session at Queensburg just wrapped up:) I was asked to fill gates with the SA HP team which I gladly accepted beause I knew it would give me the chance to get between Kane Herbert and Jordi O'Keefe all night which I did. I have the best gate out of the group because they are all doing different things every time it seems, so it was quite fun actually. Jordi catches up by second pedal and starts pulling away but myself and Kane get rad all the way down the first straight until he eventually pulls me as well. It was a good time, coach Chislett haha had us do 10 first straights 100% intensity and all of them with about a minute rest inbetween. It was a good pace and I might try and keep something a little more structured like that in the future. The bad part was that I noticed badly that my top speed spin could definitely use some work. I dont know that a week before Worlds is going to fix it but I will definitely start doing some rolling sprints and work on my spin at high speed because thats where Jordi walks away from me and Kane as well. Good times though and nice learning what I need to work on.

overload.

Days 3,4,5 maybe? Ha. Just woke up and figured I gotta keep the text updates going since the flip cam stuff works but the upload speeds here are no match for the million gig videos :( Anyway yesterday was way rad mysefl Lloyd and a guy named Ross met up at about 11am to hit the local track and then a beach ride which sounded fun so I was psyked. We got down to the Queensburg local track and it was a pretty cool little spot. After playing 20 questions with every single rider in the place since I was the newb, I got to do some riding which was long overdue since I ride just about daily when Im home and this is by far except for an injury the longest Ive gone without a session. Track was fairly dialed with some paved turns and a good sized starting hill. First jump was long and low and impossible to manual so it was fun to get the place dialed like piece by piece. Second straight had a short small 2 jump pro section that was pretty cool but nobody was messin with it so I left it alone as well. Laid down some first straights and worked on my gate as usual and then decided to cheer on Lloyd and flipcam his laps. Little did I know when Lloyd mentioned that my arch enemy Johnnathan Chisslett would be there that he literally had brought me to "The House Of Chisslett" LOL Johnatthan shows u and recognizes me pretty quickly and makes it over to me as Im having a cool down Sprite of course and we play 20 questions and get caught up and talk about worlds and stuff. Long story short, JC is like the High Performance coach there and has a stable of 16-20yr old rippers that he trains, and O'keefe and Kane Herbert are there to keep it Elite level. They run like an elite open type race at every local race and they draw 2 racks of 8 dudes which none are slouches in any regard. It was nuts you would think the world titles were on the line that day because these guys were going at it in the turns and it was just in the scheme of good training. They got a dialed program there and the podium went- O'keefe, Herbert, and Chisslett respectably. Lloyd was gettin busy and hi gate start reminds me of my old one haha. He has no hip thrust but can pedal his ass off, so were going to work on his gates at the next track we hit. It was a fun session and Chisslett wont be showing up for the 3peat without a fight. Did notice that his gate is lacking big time, o dont line his ass up next to me haha first pedal cutoff you got it! LOL

Then we tripped out to the Durban Beachfront for a beachride and to check out the festivities for Nelson Mandela's B-day. Some of the craziest sand art I'd ever seen and a million people just out and about enjoying a nice day. Kinda like a Santa Cruz setup but much bigger and a concrete sk8park like dead center of everything. Park was kinda weird but prolly fun once you figure out all the lines. I scored yet another burger and it's hilarious because when I order here I simply ask for the american sized portions of everything. They gave me some cute like 8oz. drink and I joked about "what about the next swallow" Lloyd saw me knock off a 2liter yesterday and thinks my stomach is going to explode hehe Robbyn, Lloyds mom said were going into detox water mode starting next week so that should be fun as well. Ross had a good time although he was kinda quiet but it was chill. Then we headed out to another beachtown to grab some dinner at a friends restaurant that was pretty dialed. Small place that gets really busy when the tourist times are here but last night it was chill, food was dialed and fast and I filled up. Lloyd made the mistake of asking about how a few people were doing from blog posts and stuff, things went well until he brought up Judas Lilly. I gave him the whole story and he was I think more pissed than me because he aint down for a shady fucker anymore than I am lol. We toasted to real people and good friendships and shook out that spot. Oh SNAP! I forgot when we got home Lloyd told me he had a lil picture for me. I was psyked he told me he did this art gallery thing awhile back and used a picture of me. He said it didnt sell... WTF haha. I was pretty bummed nobody would buy and 8x10 of me ripping in my prime, but I was psyked cuz he gave it to me. Its a black and white print of this flair from Woodward West, dialed! So bringing that thing home for sure. Im going to upload some .jpg stuff off the flip so at least still pics will work for now. Got the worlds info and 20 guys in class and 16 in cruiser... Small but definitely not any slackers...

Day 6? Pretty chill day for the most part we met up with Brett again? The same dude that owns that restaurant we went to and hit the mall. We were gonna have a really gay movie date with 3 dudes, but opted to hit some like karts and golf type place at the mall instead. The place was super shady and took more of our tokens than anything. Hella old shady arcade setup that was fuckin hilarious. The go karts were sketchy but the guys didnt give a shit so we crashed em up pretty good haha. Grabbed some food court specialty lunch and just chilled out for a bit. Ive been searchin for a South Africa fitted cap but yet to have any luck, but Im sure Ill find one before I get back to the states. Full day of riding tomorrow should be fun I guess some guy has a pro gate setup so should be good to help Lloyd get the snap he needs to be in the thick of things. He got some new contacts today and I was psyked for him because he was seriously way happy about being able to see shit more clearly. I told him that sometimes the simplest shit can be the best and was glad he got that shit all squared away. Fucker has 20/20 vision now haha. Met a girl named "happiness" today no shit. Robbyn has her come and clean up their house like 2x a week and she was pretty nice. She didnt know I was from the states til after we left for the day but Robbyn warned me that she would have a ton of questions for me the next time I see her. hehe. Watched some movie called "the box" tonight and it was pretty weird but good I guess. almost as funny as when Lloyd yells across the movie place " Nick have you seen the box" and I yell right back " Lloyd in 26 years of life Ive seen plenty of box" HAHAHA he starts dieing on the spot and I just keep the punchlines going. " Ive never filmed the box lloyd but if they have it on dvd I think its a fairly good choice cuz I never came across box I wasnt a fan of" Haha about 15 people in the store and myself Lloyd and the clerk on duty were just in tears about the shit I was firing off. They legitly had some red sofa and I finished the next 15punchlines while sitting down holding my stomach. I even got some Black Licorice for Al Cimino. I personally think that shit tastes like crap but he is into it and wanted some SA styled kind so I lucked out and they had it at the dvd spot. After seemin like a weird tourist and askin where it came from I deemed it legit and made the purchase. It was 5 Rand so basically 85cents or so. Its weird cuz 7.45 rand is 1 US Dollar so I always have to do math before I buy anything. I got 500rand the first day I got here and I still have like 300 and that 500 rand was only $76USD. So I guess Im being typical Nick frugal, but it feels funny paying 150rand for dinner Im like wtf this shits alot then I do the math and its like 10bucks ha. Anyway finally got my sleep cycle fixed and can sleep and wake up about the right time. Word to the wise for you guys coming late, I doubt any of you even read my blog- but if you do apparently drinking tons of water somehow makes your body adjust to time changes better? Try it what u got to lose? OK Jay Z playin on the itunes and my ass is off to sleep. Yeeeeeeeeee

Another local track... Rode tonight at this crazy MTB Park that has a BMX track as well and had a great time. They have dialed pro gate setup and all the hot shot guys were out gettin gates like Sunday. I was getting down the first straight quick and felt good and took a few laps with o'keefe and was pretty happy to be at his back wheel into the turn. Met another ripper local kid that was jumping into the first turn there which is this like triple step up thats about 35feet long... I was very tempted to hit it because I was beating him to the first turn every lap and he was airing it out behind me. But risk vs. reward so I left it alone hehe. This other douchebag guy that Lloyd doesn't like was gettin gates with me tonight and I was noticing how annoyed he was that I was gettin the best of our matchups and in a hot lap with o'keefe he tried to divebomb the both of us in the paved 1st turn and laid it down and annihilated himself in the process. Silly goon worlds is like 10 days away calm ur ass down. Did an interview with Lloyd today for fatbmx.com and did another interview with Robbyn last night for her local magazine, so I should be famous soon. LOL good times- dinnertime finally!

Hi

This place is NUTS!!!! Haha I guess i can start off with Dubai, which must be Arab for "Vegas". Seriously its like if you dropped Vegas in the middle of the desert. I got there and caught a taxi to the city which ran me 50 Dinar, approx $15 and had the time of my life. That building was random and pretty sick. You take an elevator up and your ears start popping like crazy from how fast your going up in elevation. The terrace is literally that, a straight freakin terrace where you can see through the slats underneath you. WILD. They had an aquarium inside that mall that put even Monterey Bay Aquarium to shame. A full sized ice rink was also there and just everything you can think up was at your fingertips. Landed in Durban and Tom Ritz ran up to me in the baggage claim and we talked it up. He has alot of stuff up his sleeve that should be announced soon, or at the NBL Grands... Oops guess i just started revealing his plans. Haha it all sounded good which is the story of the NBL, but I trust Tom and hopefully things go well for him he is doing alot of stuff as far as BMX track stuff and the guy is rad. His passport killed mine :( He invited me to come work on the track with him but I told him if he did that Id spend the whole time filling in dirt in the rhythm section because he is a steep and deep guy and I like my shit low and shallow :) LOL Lloyd already took me on a mini safari and we saw some wildabeast (sp?) Zebra and some Impala lookin things. No not 1964 West Coast Impalas these were like 2010 Lion King type Impalas, so relax snoop dogg... Been filming alot of little clips and trying to capture them quick enough to upload LOL. More news to come and we just saw monkey like 50 of them about 35 feet from Lloyds house. Random. Well I guess not random cuz thats how they roll LOL.


Trying to upload a video for the 3rd time and if that shit fails then at least the text came through LOL

Lets do it big!

e-Boarding Pass

Passenger Details
Name VALENCIA/NICHOLAS MR AKA World Champ
Booking Reference FFLEDJ Frequent Flyer/Ripper
Flight Details
Flight Date/Time From To Class 25-29
EK 226 14 JUL 10
1645 SAN FRANCISCO
International Terminal DUBAI
Terminal 3 ECONOMY
Ticket
1762134447664
Gate Boarding time Seat Zone Seq No.
1545 32K F 0289

At the Airport
90
Minutes
Have 2 bikes to check-in? Please deposit your bags at the Online Check-in Counter, Check-in Row 6, International Terminal, no later than 90 minutes before departure. Please leave room in bags for 2 W1 plates...
60
Minutes

Please arrive at the boarding gate no later than 35 minutes before departure.Make sure to be swagged out and ready to ramp shit in another country and enjoy yourself while away from the bay. Passengers who arrive late may not be accepted for travel and their baggage may be offloaded.
Dangerous Goods
Your baggage must not contain the following:
Flammable Liquids Oxidising Materials Gases Explosives
Corrosives Radioactive Materials Poisonous Substances Or Sauce...
Copy Right 2010 Emirates. All rights reserved.

Fast!

Gotta always stay givin props to my Factory Team. Were a small tight knit type of family like team and we hold each other down. real hood like. Featured pic today is Alan Hudson gettin it at the Nashvilles NBL event this past weekend. Chalk him up for 2 3rds and some cash! Congrats boy!
Also www.bmxmania.com where I lifted that photo from has a cool mpora embedded video with some Stephen Murray info thats pretty sick. Check it and as always Stay Strong For Life...

I aint political...

Yeah Im not the most political guy and dont express too much, but when you as a public service worker kill someone who is unarmed... 2-4 years is pretty light of a sentence. Just sayin...

Rodney Got Skillz...

About 18months ago Rodney said he was tired of seein my 99cent rattle canned white d2 and asked if he could paint my shit up real nice. I told him I wasnt too into the idea because I never take care of my helmets and didnt want it to get all messed up and feel bad. He won the argument and recently showed me a few shots of the progress. Shit is fresh to say the least and should tie in real good with the Worlds gear... Hit Rodney up if you need the paint hook, his shit is legit.

Get High!

That picture is the Burj Khalifa building which is the tallest building in the world. Its located In Dubai which Im fortunate enough to have a night long layover on my way to Worlds :) I wasnt going to even leave the hotel or anything while in Dubai but I figure I can risk gettin kidnapped for a chance to go up to the top of a engineering modern miracle... Shit is gonna be sick. $27.25 in US Dollars which is basically what you pay to park your car at a shitty SF Giants baseball game so sign me up!

13days!

Just under 2 weeks til I depart to South Africa :)

Trip is shaping up to be good check the below reply from Lloyd when I told him I have to find a game reserve so I can touch some wild animals and a rhino.


Sadly most rhino are extinct but there are some hefty ladies we can take down hahaha

Arranged for us to go see some zebra and wildebeest. Kinda like happy hour in

California. LOL

-lloyd

Did I mention how funny this trip is shaping up and Its still 2 weeks away. LOL