Thanks 2011

I say this every year, but it's true, each year is better than the last. I am thankful for everything 2011 had to offer, the good times, the not so good times and all the opportunities. I made a lot of new friends, saw a ton of new places and I just feel like I've grown up a lot. I had a rough time racing this year. It was my first year racing the world cup and I was frustrated with my results. Through it all I learned a lot. I know where i struggled, where I felt good, what made me excel and where I can improve. Going into next year I am ready to put all that experience to work and have fun racing my bike. 2012 has no limits. My new years resolutions include stretching daily and not swearing. I have been traveling and riding my bike a lot this off season, I feel like I've found that balance. i'm chomping at the bit to go racing. I just can't wait for that first race! in 2012 Im going to strive to be the best I can be in every aspect of my life. 

NM

Racing at the BMX track

Yesterday I raced in the annual Iron Man Classic BMX race at Central Jersey BMX in Howell, New Jersey. This is a really fun event because you get to race against other mountain bikes on the BMX track, where usually mountain bikes are at a disadvantage to BMX bikes. I won the event last year and was looking forward to getting out and racing again this year. There were some fast BMX guys on their mountain bikes, but I still managed to win all of my motos and the main event convincingly. The weather was awesome for this time of year, and I really enjoyed spending the day at the track with my friends and family.


NM

Chiiling Out At Home

         I have been really busy relaxing this past month. I didn't have any training, but I kept busy with some fun activities. My pump track has been an awesome project. I have been riding it for two weeks now and I think I finally have it fine tuned. After racing Slalom at Nationals, I felt that I could really improve by riding pump tracks more, so I'm gonna ride it a lot this winter. I had a lot of fun building it and I'm stoked it's finally dome. A few weeks ago my brother and I drove out to Ray's MTB in Cleveland for the opening weekend. We had a ton of fun and shredded the dirt room. We also got to go to Cedar Point, one of the biggest amusement parks in the country, and ride roller coasters for the day while we were there. I start training this week. Im excited to put some of the Ideas my coach and I have to prepare for the season into effect. Im picking up my new 2011 KX 250 F this weekend, part of the training plan ;) I m stoked to get on that! In a few weeks im going out to California to do a race at Fontanna with Aaron. That will be fun and good practice for South Africa next year. Gonna be a good time.

NM

Enjoying Autmn

The past two weeks after nationals have been awesome. I haven't done any structured training, but Im just as worn out every night. I rode motorcycles after nationals with my buddies down in North Carolina for three days. It was great to have nothing to do but ride moto for several days in a row. Once I got back home I raced the Gravity East finals at Blue Mountain. It was my home race and I built the track so it was a really fun time for me. Then, this past weekend I was able to get down to Snowshoe mountain bike park in West Virginia for the closing weekend. The trails there were awesome, the perfect place to ride with friends and have a good time. There were some festivities there as well like a foot down derby, bunny hop contest and mini downhill race. Such a good time! This next week I will be busy digging in my yard building a pump track. I had the excavator in yesterday and did some serious damage, enough to keep me busy for a while. October will be full of good times before I get back to training hard and i'm really looking forward to it.

-NM

National Championships

After a refreshing two weeks home from Europe, I spent the past weekend in North Carolina for the U.S. National Championships. It was a really fun time, the riding was good and Aaron and I had a lot of fun hanging out. I raced duel slalom for the first time all season and finished 2nd to Mitch Ropelato in a close race. The crowds were huge, it was awesome to have that support. It was really cool to race slalom again and it made for a fun evening of riding. The downhill track was really muddy for the final, which was good for us east coast boys. I was forced to race junior by USA Cycling rule, but I still set the fastest time of the day by any rider. It was a good weekend, I managed to win a national title, grab a silver medal in slalom and be the fastest man in the country on the downhill track. Now that it's really the off season, I'm gonna ride motorcycles for a few days down here in NC with my friends and have some fun. 

NM

Champery World Champs

    I'm finally home now after a long week and long time in Europe. I didn't have the worlds I had been hoping for. I broke some bones in my hand Friday and struggled to hold on after that. The track in Champery, Switzerland is the steepest track in the world, so with heavy rains on race day It was the hardest race I have ever done. I was as ready as I could be at the start line and it was not a lack of preparation that held me back. I simply slid of the track and was caught in the catch netting. I struggled to get my bike untangled for what seemed like hours during my run. At that point the race was over for me. I had high hopes this year after grabbing the silver medal last year. I am glad to have my junior years behind me now and stoked to be racing elite full time from now on. I learned a lot racing overseas this year and i'm looking forward to getting into my training for next season and working on my weaknesses. Just have to heal up this hand first haha. I have National Champs later this month with Aaron which will be a lot of fun. Stoked to be home now and looking back on a positive season.

NM

Down Time In France

    We had a break after the World Cup finals last week, so the team and I spent the off weekend in Chatel, Fraance getting ready for World Champs. Chatel is part of the Ports du Soliel bike parks located in the alpes of France and Switzerland. Riding here is one of the coolest things I have ever done, you can cover so much ground and ride so many different lift accessed trails all on the downhill bike. Chatel was by far my favorite place last summer, so It was awesome to get a chance to go back again this year to ride and see all my friends. The breaking bumps are always epic at the bike parks, but Its such a good time to ride there with a group of friends. Good training on the hands too after holding on through all those rough tracks. I just got into Champery, Switzerland yesterday for Worlds. The track looks the same as last year, which is good, I really like this one. The junior field is going to be very competitive this year, but World Champs is a one day, one run, race totally separate from the World Cup. Anything can happen. What I can control here is how I ride my race and how I prepare for it. If I do that the best I can then I can't be disappointed. It was a cool experience representing the United States of America last year at worlds, so Im really looking forward to that again this week. Aaron and I have some cool USA gear to wear so watch out for that. My family is coming out to watch me race this weekend which I'm very excited about. I haven't seen them in a while. It's going to be a great weekend.

NM

Val di Sole World Cup

  Yesterday I raced the World Cup finals in Val di Sole, Italy. The weather was fantastic all weekend and the venue was really cool. I had a great start to the weekend riding with Aaron for most of Thursday practice and having a ton of fun. After the first day, the holes, roots and rocks came out and the track became very difficult to race. I felt like I could ride each section pinned, but when I tried to link them all together I started to make mistakes. This seemed to be the case for everyone as the track continued to get rougher through the weekend. I had a crash in the quali which I was disappointed with, but I was 16th at the split which showed I was on pace and could put in a good result in the final. Saturday we had a day between quali and race to practice. I found some new lines and felt like it was all coming together. Sunday was a rough day for me. First run down the hill I had a big over the bars and hit my head pretty hard. My vision was blurred and I can hardly remember making my way down the rest of the track and getting back to the team pits. I was planning to do another run before the final, but with the state I was in, I was forced to rest. I got myself as ready as I could be, but was still feeling under the weather before the start. It was already hard to see through the shadows on that track and after hitting my head it became a lot worse.  I stared off the run pretty well with solid first and second splits, then had another crash towards the bottom. I was happy with the way I was able to get myself from injury to the start line in a few hours time, and if I could have held on to the finnish i'm sure it would have been a good result. It was a hard day for me, but thats how racing goes and I keep on learning. That brought my final World Cup ranking to 33 for the year. I was aiming for a lower number, but It was a solid result for my first season. I will be in Chatel, France for the next week preparing for the World Championships.

Race results:

1 Aaron Gwin USA 3.10.356
2 Danny Hart GBR 3.11.588
3 Gee Atherton GBR 3.14.470
4 Troy Brosnan AUS 3.15.773
5 Cameron Cole NZL 3.16.529
56 Neko Mulally USA 3.35.640

NM

Chilling Out In Innsbruck

     I spent the past week In Innsbruck, Austria during the off weekend between the World Cups. Innsbruck Is a really cool town. Theres tons to do there and the bike riding along with the nice weather made it a pretty cool place to hang out. We had a couple good rides through the hills around the city and saw some pretty cool views. There was an olympic diving pool in the city with 1,3,6,9, and 12 meeter platforms. That made for some good fun in the afternoons. We were there for a race saturday which was more or less an event to show the sport to the city than an important race. It was a team format where we would each score points for a cumulative result. Unfortunately Justin, Aaron and I all crashed and we didn't do very well. That wasn't the important part, we put on a good show and had a great week of training. Most importantly we were all healthy and ready for the World Cup Finals this weekend In Italy. Yesterday was a free day and the team was not traveling until this afternoon, so I took the train to Switzerland to visit my friend Cyrill. We had a fun day hanging out at his house with his family. We swam in the lake and then went to a party with his friends in the evening. I spent the day today traveling back to Austria then driving to Italy. Its good to finally have internet that works haha. Im really looking forward to the racing this weekend, the track looks pretty sweet.

NM

La Bresse World Cup

It is a cold, rainy Tuesday afternoon in Innsbruck, Austria, where I will be spending the next week with my teammates Justin and Aaron. There is an off weekend leading into the final round of the World Cup in Italy. I had a good time last weekend in La Bresse, France racing in round 6 of the World Cup. It was a very short track, nearly 2 min in the dry. It was a really cool layout for a race. We usually race in remote areas at ski resorts away from towns and people, but the track in La Bresse was right in the center of it all. The track finished in the town center with the pits set up on the main street. Some of the track went through people's gardens and it crossed paved roads several times. I really enjoyed the whole atmosphere of the event and had a lot of fun all weekend. I qualified well, 24th place, and I felt like I had more speed for Sunday. It rained a lot between Saturdays quali and the race Sunday afternoon. I was comfortable in the mud, but didn't get it together the way I wanted to in my race run. I rode the top section well, then was caught out by a big mistake half way down. After that I struggled to get back on pace, something I need to work on, and finished a disappointing 50th place. With the times so tight, you couldn't afford any mistakes at all. I feel good about the weekend overall and enjoyed France a lot. My team and I arrived here in Innsbruck late last night after a long drive through Germany. We're staying at the Austrian Olympic training center, which is really cool. This saturday we are racing in an invitational event here as a team which should be pretty exciting. I'm looking forward to the rest of the week in Innsbruck.

1 Greg Minnaar    2:09.611
2 Gee Atherton    2:10.070
3 Aaron Gwin      2:12.040
4 Fabien Barel    2:13.084
5 Cameron Cole  2:13.590
50 Neko Mulally   2:20.030 

NM

Out of Here

I am packed and ready to head off to the airport for Europe for the rest of the season. I had an awesome time at home, but i'm really excited for this trip. This past weekend my friends and I did a team relay triathlon. We had a very strong team with my friend Nate swimming and Brad running. We won and set the coarse record. It was fun to change up my normal routine and do something like that with my friends. I will race this weekend in La Bresse, France in the sixth round of the World Cup. Im really looking forward to that race.

NM

Summer Time at Home

       I have been home two weeks now since the last race and it's been a really great time. I have been relaxing, hanging with friends and getting some good riding done. Last week I went skydiving for the first time. It was a pretty surreal experience. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. I also got to go to the beach in New Jersey and hang out with my friends for a few days which was awesome. I usually don't have time to go to the beach. I also got to go to six flags and ride roller coasters one day. The dirt jumps at Posh have been spot on the past two weeks! despite the heat, I got a few good evenings in up there. This past weekend I went to the Gravity East race with my brother at Seven Springs resort on the other side of Pennsylvania. We rode the bike park there for three days, then Logan talked me into racing. I finished 1st and Logan finished 4th. Not bad for his first race back from injury in May. It was cool to hang out with all my friends there. Those races feel like home more that actually being home. I am looking forward to another fun week before I head off to Europe for the rest of the Season.

NM

Windham USA World Cup

     I just got home from an awesome weekend of racing at Windham Mountain in up state New York. It was awesome racing a world cup in the states. The the crowd was amazing, they really showed support for the American riders. The track was really fun to ride. It was a lot shorter than usual, making the racing super close. I rode a good race for 27th place moving my world ranking up 5 positions from 35th to 30th. My riding these past two weeks has been positive and consistant, but I really want to strive for some bigger results. I have a three week break now until I head to Europe for the last three big races of the year, so I plan to get some more time on the bike and enjoy the summer. Im stoked to be home now and look back on an awesome weekend.

1 Aaron Gwin 2.24.037
2 Steve Peat 2.26.376
3 Andrew Neethling 2.27.244
4 Steve Smith 2.27.513
5 Brook Mackdonald 2.27.582
27 Neko Mulally 2.32.087

NM

Mont Sainte Anne World Cup

After two awesome weeks hanging out at home, I just raced the fourth round of the World Cup in Quebec. Mont Sainte Anne is a venue that I am familiar with having raced there the past two seasons. I had a crash in my quali run again but managed to put down a solid run in the final for 22nd place, my best world cup result to date. I feel good about my riding right now and aim to continue to improve each weekend. I have the ambition to get some top results and I'm moving in the right direction. This weekend I will be racing my home World Cup round in New York, USA. Im really looking forward to racing in front of the home crowd and having another great weekend with my friends and teammates. Big congrats to Aaron and Tracy for getting another double win for Trek this past weekend.

1 Aaron Gwin USA 4.31.771
2 Josh Bryceland GBR 4.32.236
3 Brook Macdonald NZL 4.34.450
4 Danny Hart GBR 4.35.497
5 Cameron Cole NZL 4.37.897
22 Neko Mulally USA 4.44.477

NM

Leogang World Cup

Im home now after racing round three of the World Cup in Leogang, Austria this past weekend. The week in Austria was good. I had a few fun days with my teammates before the race and was enjoying the warmer weather. The track was really difficult in Leogang. There were a lot of new sections which the dirt was still soft, so the ruts and holes got really bad. I crashed in my quali, but still made it into the final. Sunday I wanted to do a clean run and not have another crash during my race, so I rode a bit more cautiously and made in down safely. I finished up in 32nd place which was good, but not great. Aaron took another win and we were top team again which was awesome. Im excited for the next two World Cup rounds in North America in a few weeks.

1 Aaron Gwin USA 3.44.181
2 Gee Atherton GBR 3.46.294
3 Greg Minnaar RSA 3.49.902
4 Steve Smith CAN 3.52.123
5 Sam Hill AUS 3.53.406
32 Neko Mulally USA 401.789

NM

Fort William World Cup

The second world cup in Scotland just wrapped up and the weekend was pretty exciting. Although I was having fun on the track and enjoying it, I had trouble getting up to speed for the quali on saturday. The track here is very fast and made of gravel, so its unlike almost all the riding I have done in the past. Most of the other competitors have raced this track before which really helps you get into it a lot quicker. I had a solid quali saturday, but knew I needed to pick up the pace to do a ride I was happy with. For my race run I had a good warm up and went out fast. I rode the top really well and went through the woods fast, then had a crash just before the second split. I was disappointed to crash and upset to move backwards in the points. Its an empty feeling to come this far from home and put so much into a race that ends up like this. I gave it my best shot and really road the top the way I wanted to, so I am proud of that. My team was the top team overall this weekend and we got an award, which was pretty cool. The next few races should be more comfortable for me because I have been to the venues before. Next weekend I race in Leogang, Austria for the third round of the world cup. I think I will like the track there and I'm looking forward to that one.

1 Greg Minnar RSA 4.43.854
2 Danny Hart GBR 4.45.153
3 Brook Macdonald NZL 4.45.788
4 Gee Atherton GBR 4.46.857
5 Aaron Gwin USA 4.47.047
71 Neko Mulally USA 5.11.339

NM

Flat tire at the US Open

I spent this past weekend at Mountain Creek resort in northern New Jersey for the US Open of Mountain Biking. I always look forward to the US Open because It's very close to home and one of the biggest American races. I won there as a junior but have been having bad luck since then. In 2009 I crashed, 2010 I was injured and then this year I flatted in the qualifier and didn't make the cut to race Sunday's final. I got some riding in at the bike park there Sunday and was able to watch my teammates ride to podium finishes which was really cool. Today I fly to Scotland for the second round of the World Cup at Fort William. I'm really looking forward to it and hoping to improve on my 29th place from the first World Cup in South Africa. See ya in Scotland!!

Results
1 Aaron Gwin USA 2.19.35
2 Stevie Smith CAN 2.20.17
3 Justin Leov NZL 2.22.19
4 Gee Atherton GBR 2.22.26
5 Andrew Neethling RSA 2.23.83


NM

Plattekill Pro GRT

     This past weekend I raced the Pro GRT at Plattekill Mountain in New York. Plattekill is a venue I grew up racing, so it was really cool to be back there with the team. During the week leading up to the race, Aaron, Justin and Jeff stayed at my house. It was awesome taking them out on my local trails and showing them a little bit of what I do here in Pennsylvania. I think they really enjoyed being in a more homey environment and they had good time. I did some quality riding with the boys at Plattekill and finally was feeling comfortable on the bike. I ended up having a crash during my race run, which was a bummer because I knew I was on pace. It was a small crash and I wasn't injured. This next weekend I will be racing the U.S Open where there will be a more competitive field. It will be a good time, these past few weeks with the boys, Monk and Jeff have been awesome so Im really looking forward to another great weekend.

1 Aaron Gwin USA 2.39.41
2 Justin Leov NZL 2.41.78
3 Cody Warren USA 2.43.17
4 Curtis Keene USA 2.43.54
5 Logan Binggeli USA 2.44.63
14 Neko Mulally USA 2.48.67

NM

Took home a win at the Pro Gravity Tour

      I had an awesome weekend at Highland Mountain in New Hampshire and took my first win for Trek World Racing. It was a great weekend all around, fun with friends, good times with the team and a quality result. I had some fun riding the dirt jumps at Highland and did some sweet runs with Justin and Aaron. Sunday brought heavy rain all day which was not the most pleasant but I knew I would be able to race well in it. I put down a good race run that I thought would be good enough to get trek a sweep, but I didn't expect to hold off Justin and Aaron to take the win myself. I wouldn't have doubted that my run would have put me close to Aaron, I knew I rode pretty well, but to beat him is huge for me because I look up to him so much. I am racing again these next two weekends here in America and am looking for keeping the good times rolling and riding with my teammates. Justin and Aaron are over at my house the rest of this week. I'm stoked to get out and show them some of my local trails. Hoping to keep building the momentum.


Results:

1  Neko Mulally USA - 2:20.95

2  Aaron Gwin USA - 2:23.45

3  Justin Leov NZL - 2:24.70

4  Curtis Keene USA - 2:27.04

5  Cody Warren USA - 2:27.69

NM

Ready for some American racing

     After an awesome two weeks at home, I'm stoked for a weekend of racing in New Hampshire with the team. Justin, Aaron and I will be racing the U.S. National at Highland bike park.  I can't wait, it's gonna be a fun weekend. The time at home has been great. I've ridden my downhill bike more than I have all season and got back into a good routine. Its kinda nice to be back to the norm going to school everyday and getting stuff done. It's a good change after being away. Logan had a crash while we were riding sunday and broke his collar bone. It's a real bummer for him right now, I know what thats like. Hopefully what I learned last year can help him get back to it quicker. Im looking forward to getting on the road tomorrow and the weekend to come.

NM

Good to be home

      Finally, after ten weeks away, I am back home. I had a wonderful trip, I saw tons of cool places and met many great people. My friends were at my house waiting for me when I got home from the airport. It was fantastic to see them again and catch up on everything. I did a few bike rides over the weekend and feel really good now that i'm back. There was a lot of work put into the local downhill tracks and they are fun to ride right now. Im gonna be spending some time on them over the next few weeks. I went to my senior prom Saturday night and had an awesome time with my friends. It felt good to be back in the mix again. My teachers have been very cool with getting me caught up on everything I missed. They understand what i'm doing. I have another two weeks to relax at home before I have anywhere to be and i'm really looking forward to it.

NM

Solid Start to the World Cup

       Today I road my first world cup of the season and it went really well. I had a clean run and finished 29th. Now that I have done a world cup, started off the season, and got some points on the board, I look forward to picking up the pace and improving in the next round. I road very within myself today and felt that I hadn't given it everything I had in the technical sections. I learned that you just can't ride that carefully at a race like this. It was a tight race, 1 second would have moved me 10 positions either way over a 4 min track. Im not far off where I want to be and with the points I scored today, a good race in the next round will put me there. I'm ready to take on the next one in Fort William, Scotland next month. I was so stoked for Aaron today getting his first career win. He will be running the number 1 and wearing the leaders jersey  in Fort William. It was a great weekend for the team with Tracy and Aaron both winning. I'm excited to go home after 10 weeks away, that has taken a lot out of me and I really felt it this last week. I will be home for 2 weeks, then do some races in the U.S. with Justin and Aaron. They will be close to home and a good time to relax and have fun riding together. I can't wait to get home.

NM

South Africa qualifying round

     Just got back after the quali and it was a good day at the track. I road smooth and had a solid run for 32nd place. Im glad to have that run in the books, It went exactly to plan and now I can start getting in the mindset for Sunday. I am confident that I can put down a good run in the final. Im going to take it out fast and put in an effort I'm proud of. Tomorrow there is more practice, so I plan to ride with my teammates and we can find some time on the track together. Weather has been great the past two days. Really good for riding bikes. Next two days look good as well. Im stoked for Sunday!

NM

South Africa World Cup practice day

        The first day of riding here at the Pietermaritzberg World Cup just wrapped up. I did a few runs and was feeling really good on my bike. It rained a little bit last night which made the dirt perfect all day today. It's so much better than last week, the track is running really fast and the whole thing flows together pretty well. The pedal actually isn't so bad.  There isn't much line choice, the hard packed line is pretty much the best choice for most of the track. I have my semi final tomorrow and I will go late in the day because I have no UCI points from being injured last year. Im confident I can put down a solid ride and start looking ahead to sunday.

NM

South African National

       This weekend I did the South African national round in Pietermaritzberg to get some time on the track before the world cup here next weekend. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate and it rained the whole time. The dirt here is hard packed red clay, so it was very slippery. The track was pretty good Friday, and I got some good practice on it, but the past two days it was very unpredictable. The steeper bits at the top were pretty hard in the rain and the pedal at the bottom was reduced to near walking speed. There was a problem with the medical vehicles not being able to get up to the top of the track in the rain, so we started the race half way down the track today. I did a practice run and my seeding run this morning and the conditions were pretty bad. The track got cut up with some deep ruts. As I was at the top getting ready for my race run, the officials at the top decided to cancel the race because it was too dangerous and the uplift vehicles were having trouble getting to the top. I have never heard of a downhill race being cancelled. It was a pretty frustrating day, but I think it was a positive weekend altogether. Im feeling comfortable here and the weather is looking better for next week. Can't wait to get the world cup underway.

NM

Sunshine in Cape Town

       I've been staying just outside of Cape Town in Stellenbosch the past week and having a great time. I have been out on the bike with my teammates training for the world cup in two weeks. It's awesome riding with Justin because we push each other the whole time. Earlier in the week I won the six pack contest I had with paul which earned me a trip to his house in the south of France for a week this fall. I'm hoping to cary that momentum into the bike races next week haha. I have been going to an awesome gym at the University of Stellenbosch that has lots of really nice equipment. Everyone on the team loves it. I got some cool photos with Gary Perkin on a local track here to use for some media stuff. I'm stoked with the shots we got. Over the weekend we went to Somerset West and met up with Jonty Neethling to do some downhill riding. The track he had was really cool, lots of good corners and fun jumps. Best track in the area by far. It was incredibly dusty though, so we had to wait about a minute after each rider went. Tomorrow the whole team is doing a wine tasting tour by bike around the local vineyards. We will visit four of five farms and be riding the distance inbetween. It will make for a nice relaxing day before I travel Wednesday. I'm excited for the big races these next two weekends!

NM

Made it to Cape Town

      I have been here in Cape Town two days now. South Africa is an awesome place, there is so much diversity here. Some parts are very modern and other parts are more traditional african style. It's late summer now and the weather couldn't be better. I have been out for two rides with my teammates which have been great, the riding is sweet. I watched Luk and Math finish the cape epic yesterday. The won the stage. It was cool seeing them win, the crowd was huge! I have been preparing for my six-pack challenge with paul the past few days. We have a bet going from last year to see who has the best six-pack and wednesday is the day. The team will vote to determine a winner. Paul has been trying pretty hard, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve. This next week Im going to try to find some quality trails and get some good bike time in. Looking forward to doing some cool photos as well.

NM

Going to Africa

     Today is my last day in Spain for this trip. Tomorrow I head to Cape Town, South Africa for our team media camp. I'll spend two weeks in Cape Town before going off to Pietermaritzburg for the opening round of the world cup. During my time at camp I will be getting photos, videos, testing equipment and hanging out with the team. I'm hoping to get a nice shot for my postcard this year, maybe a whip if I can manage it haha. I'm told it's very hot in South Africa right now, which to me is much better that cold. The past week has been great in Granada. I have been out on the bike every day in the sunshine. Yesterday I had to pick up the 23 Degrees van from getting serviced at VW and drive it back through town. That thing is so long, definitely the biggest sprinter they make. Not ideal for european driving, but my skills with the manual are getting pretty good. I am really going to miss the iberian ham custom to Andalucia. I have been eating nearly a kilo per day! I've had some great times here, but i'm glad to have this month in Spain done with. Now onto some fun times in Africa with my team and my first world cup of the year.

NM

Race day at vigo

       Today's result was not what I was hoping for, however I was happy with the weekend as a whole. The track here in Vigo was running good early in the weekend. They made a lot of changes because the old track was getting pretty tired. I was feeling comfortable straight away, but I knew it would be a different story once the rain came in as forecasted. Half way through saturday's training it started to rain. I was hoping for good weather sunday, but I did a few laps in the rain anyway to get a feel for it. This morning we had early training and the organizers forgot that today spain puts the clocks forward an hour, so It was dark when we got to the track and they had to push everything back. It rained over night and off and on all morning, so it was still really muddy out there. I had a few crashes this morning, but I found my limit by race time. When I went up for my semi final, they were calling the riders in spanish and I had no idea what they were saying. The guy called me up as the start beeps were going and pointed down the track signaling for me to go, so I threw on my goggles and went. Not an ideal start. I had a smoother run than I expected and ended up second in the semi. I was really feeling good for the final. The track was running faster and I knew I was on pace to put down a good run. I had a nice warm up with sand man at the top this time. I left the start house and had a full on crash about 10 sec into the race. I was pretty bummed, but glad to be uninjured. I got up and carried on down the track as quickly as I could, but after a crash like that in the race run, you just can get into it. Brendan Fairclough took the win, always glad to see him do well. Although on paper my weekend doesn't look great, I got what I came here for. I learned a lot and was riding at the pace I want to be. I got a muddy race in and am familiar with that routine again. Good to get all the bugs worked out here and ramp up to the important races. In four weeks time I will be racing the world cup in South Africa, and I am feeling really confident in my ability to reach my goals.

Results 
1. Brendan Fairclough GBR 2.46.670
2. Bernat Guardia ESP 2.47.242
3. Robin Wallner SWE 2.47.677
4. Antonio Ferrererio ESP 2.48.671
5. Thibaut Ruffin FRA 2.49.022
25. Neko Mulally USA 2.57.458


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Vigo

      I have spent the past few days in Vigo, Spain killing time between races. It wasn't really killing time though, cause I enjoyed it so much.  My week here has been amazing. Sunny beaches and warm weather made for a perfect rest week. I went swimming in the sea every afternoon and it was so much fun! I would use my swim goggles to swim with schools of fish or explore under water. I managed to get a bit of a tan too! Im racing this weekend in the Vigo Bike Contest. It's a good track and there will be some fast guys here, so I'm looking forward to it. There was a lot of rain today, so that should make things interesting for the race. Hoping for good weather and another solid result for the weekend.

-NM

First race in the books

      Today I raced the Maxxis Cup in Gouveia, Portugal and I'm very pleased with how everything went for my first race of 2011. The weather has been beautiful all weekend, sunshine and warm temps made everything more enjoyable. The event was different than most, with two days of training, then two final runs on sunday. The track was very technical with lots of gaps and big hucks in sketchy places. Most of it was high speed as well. While it was good to be on a rough track again, it made for a dangerous run if you pushed hard. This morning in training I had all of my lines dialed and was feeling really solid on the track. On my last run of practice, I hit a gap I had done the run before that was pretty risky and had a major crash.  I blew up my rear wheel on impact and had a massive over the bars. It was the kind that before you know it, there's dirt in your mouth and your laying on the ground. To my surprise I was completely alright. A bit shaken up, but uninjured. Worst part was that I destroyed my awesome fresh new helmet. Parkins got it all on film which is one positive from suffering a crash like that. I managed to get myslef to the bottom of the track and had to get ready right away for my first final run. While I was warming up at the top, a lot was going through my mind. I was told by the team not to risk it and leave the race healthy, but It's hard to get in the start gate and not want to win. I put all that to the side and put down a stock run, which put me 2nd behind Danny Hart. I was happy with second given the circumstances and to be 2nd to danny wasn't bad either. Everyone had another shot to best there times in the second final and I really wanted to hold my position. For my second final I did a better warm up and focused a bit more on my run, but I still kept things under control so I'd stay healthy. I managed to take a few seconds of my first run and hold on for 2nd on the day. I was 1st junior and 2nd elite. I was stoked with how the day finished and happy with where I am after the first race. The prize money wasn't bad either, 530 euros for three minutes work haha. Tomorrow we go to Vigo, Spain and hang out for the week until the race next weekend. Im looking forward to some more nice weather and some beach time. Big thanks to Sander for all the work he did on the bike and at the top of the hill today. Can't wait for another one next weekend!

Results:
1. Danny Hart GBR 2:47.901
2. Neko Mulally USA 2:51.635
3. Robin Wallner SWE 2:53.247
4. Emanuel Pombo POR 2:53.335
5. Antonio Ferreiro ESP 2:54.802

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Gouveia

      Today I had an awesome time riding the race track here in Gouveia, Portugal. The weather over here has been the best its been so far this year, and that made for a really fun day. Riding bikes in the sunshine is the best. The track here seems pretty short, and has a few weird sections, but for the most part is a good race track. There are a ton of flat landings and massive g outs which make it pretty rough. It's good to be back on a rough track again after riding smoother stuff so far this year. It's a really relaxed atmosphere here which makes everything fun. It's awesome to finally be at the first race and I can't wait to get out there and hear the start beeps.

-NM

Headed to Portugal

      Today marks my last day in Granada for a few weeks. Although its been great, I can't wait to get over to Portugal and do my first race of the year. I will also be racing in Spain the following weekend. This past week has been a lot of fun with loads of downhill riding and visiting with friends. it was awesome to see my friend Dennis from Sweden over the weekend and have someone to ride with. He is down on the coast now doing some training of his own for the next few weeks. 23 also invited a young spanish kid over for the past two days to hang out and get a chance to ride with me. Although there was a heavy language barrier, we did some quality riding and I think he learned a lot from being around me. It's cool to help out other people when you can. It's been a squeeze to get all the new equipment before I take off tomorrow. This week I had packages from Vans, Kabuto, Leatt and Crank Brothers all turning up for the first race. I am really excited for these first two races, but I know that the important one is still over a month away, so I'm just looking at it as a chance to get on the bike and ease into the season. After today, I have a rest week which has been a long time coming as well, so I will cut back on the work and get ready for a few more hard efforts before I taper for the World Cup. Now that Trek have released the 2011 bikes and gear, I am allowed to post photos of myself riding in the new kit. Check out some of our new stuff below...

Official 2011 Trek World Racing press release:
http://dirt.mpora.com/news/2011-trek-world-racing-team.html

Neko Mulally photos by the Parkins:
http://profiles.google.com/116227238648436503928/photos/5584762909687559265

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Downhill runs on a saturday afternoon

       Today, to my surprise my friend Dennis from sweden turned up here in Granada to ride. Good thing for me, I was getting pretty bored here with Juzzo gone. I had planned to get some bike time in this this afternoon and just smash out as many downhill runs as I could. Dennis and his buddy Felix drove down from Sweden to escape the cold weather and were stoked to get out on the Downhill bikes. For them it was the first time this year. The track here on the La Zubia hill was in good shape. The dirt here is usually so dry and sandy that the rain this past week gave the soil lots of grip. I have been spending more time on the XC bike lately, so today was my first day on the track as well. I managed to punch out about eight runs. With Sander man driving the sprinter, we were able to just keep moving pretty quickly. I was running the new Vans sticky rubber shoes and they gripped so well I couldn't even tell I was on flats. Awesome riding shoes. Just got word on my new helmet from Kabuto as well. They have recently been developing the new ixa bicycle specific full face helmet, which Greg ran at Monte Sainte Anne last year, and they've got the new ones shipped out to us now. Turns out that to get them to Greg and I in time for the first few races, they had to hand make the shells for the two of us. That makes those two helmets pretty expensive haha. I worked with Scott Hart on the art and design for my helmet and from what I've seen so far it looks amazing. Looking forward to more bike time and a fun day tomorrow followed by a couple more days here next week before I head over to Gouvea, Portugal for my First race of the season. With how good the riding is here this time of year, I really don't want to leave.

Check out my new helmet here:

http://profiles.google.com/116227238648436503928/photos/5582538611014124145

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Lost in the forest

        The past few days I have been living at 23's place in Granada, just training and hanging out. He lives right by a huge national forest with ton of great XC trails. All week I have been incorporating big rides into my training and have found a ton of cool loops. There isn't really many trees here, so the best way to find new trails is to just get to the top of a peak and try to spot a trail you haven't ridden yet. Earlier in the week I found two great loops that were new to me and a lot of fun, but I wanted to find some trails with more singletrack and technical sections. I spotted a cool trail pretty low in one of the valleys that I wanted to check out today. I figured out how to get down there and after a long decent, I found it. Trouble was, there was a river running through the valley from the snow melt which I had to cross about five times. This meant each time taking off my shoes and socks and walking through the freezing water. That got old quick. With all the stopping, I wasn't getting very far and I was a long way from home. The further I went, the more it seemed like this really wasn't a trail, at least not at this time of year. I'm sure during summer It would be great, not having any water to go through, but now even what was there was washed away from the spring thaw. Eventually I got to  a point that I couldn't go any further, and I was running out of daylight. If I went back the way I came, through the water and up around the mountain to get home, I would probably still be out there now, cause most of the way in was descending. I decided to try and climb out of the valley hoping to find another trail I knew higher up somewhere, and by climb I mean actually climb up the hillside carrying the bike on my back. Good thing the Top Fuel is so light haha. I was starting to worry because the sun had gone behind the mountain and It was only a matter of time until it was dark. I got up to a high point and was able to spot an old building and luckily it had an access road leading away from it. I got to it just as it got dark and started to push up. Eventually it crossed a trail I knew and I was able to find my way home, a few hours later than planned. Before I left I told Sander and Martin that I was going on an adventure, so they were a little worried when I was out so long after dark. It was indeed an adventure, and would I do it again? Hell yes! There are so many more trails up there I want to explore, now I know not to go down on that one again but I'm sure there are some good ones waiting to be found. Earlier in the week I would go out with Justin which was great, It's so much more fun with two people. We had a good few days training together but he had to go back to New Zealand yesterday. Looks like I'm going to be getting lost on my own for a while haha. Forecast is for bad weather over the weekend, but I'm from Pennsylvania so that wont slow me down. Looking forward to getting on the downhill bike this weekend and some more big rides to come.

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Last day in Malaga

Today was our last day riding and testing together as a team here in Malaga. It was so cool that we had the chance to get together before the season got going. I learned a lot of valuable information and have got all the bugs worked out here, months before the races. The main focus here was suspension, which is a essential part of downhill racing. Justin and Christian at Fox Racing Shox had a ton of options for us to test. We ran through tons of settings on the fork and shock, and tried everything with different scenarios in mind. With all the help from Fox, I was able to find the setting that worked best for me, and the bike feels amazing. Whatever's inside that fork, it freekin works! It is such a good feeling to have all the equipment set up and tuned at this point. It was also really cool to have the sponsors here to hang with us. Peter from Shimano was here the past two days and he had a ton of new stuff to show us. He had a really cool presentation for us last night with lots of information about the Saint group set we're running. There were a bunch of guys here from Trek as well, all great friends of mine, who are really fun to hang out with. The past two days have been pretty wet actually. The thunderstorms at night were unbelievable. I've never heard thunder so loud! Yesterday's test was pushed to the afternoon due to rain, so my teammates Justin, Aaron and I smashed out some weights at a gym near by. Crazy place, reminded me of something out of one of the Rocky movies. Today I did a ton of riding on a new track we found. It had way more corners and gave us a bit more variety to test on. We did more work on the shock and found a really good setting on there to finish out the week where as previously we spent more time on the fork. It was great to get that shock dialed. I pushed up a few times for the Parkins as well, should have some great shots for an video edit we're doing that will be out later this week. Big thanks to Trek, Fox and everyone who made this camp happen. These are the things you need to do to win races, and it's awesome when the sponsors realize that and make it happen. At this level, It's not just the rider, we need to strive for every advantage we can get equally out of our equipment as our body. Im stoked at where we are as a team this early on. Tonight I'm headed back to Granada for a party at 23's place. Gonna be going hard these next few weeks, then headed over to Portugal to do a race and have some fun. Looking forward to it…

We were told not to post any photos until they were officially released, but a few got out anyway. Check out the new kit and bikes here: 

http://www.vitalmtb.com/news/news/2011-Trek-World-Racing-Kits-and-Bikes,255

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Testing all week

    This week has been awesome so far. The team and I have been testing our 2011 equipment in the beautiful weather here on the Mediterranean coast. The main focus here has been on suspension, and let me tell you, we've got it pretty freekin dialed! Justin and Christoph from fox brought a bunch of cool ideas for us to run down the hill and they've been working very hard to make sure we are on the best set ups possible. Big thanks to them. This location has some really fun tracks as well. We found one that had a lot of the qualities we you would look for in a test track. It really made for a good world cup track simulation, which is exactly what we were looking for. Unfortunately Jusso had a pretty bad crash yesterday and had to sit out for most of the testing. He just had a dumb crash on a feature we didn't look at, first run down one of the tracks. Bummer for him, he's pretty soar. I've been having a great time doing laps on the test track with Aaron and Tracy. Its great to be back riding with my teammates again and awesome chasing Gwin down the hill. I did a bit of filming and photos with the Parkins too for some new projects I am working on. We hit a bmx in town and tried to get some shots of me whipping out the downhill bike which is not my best attribute haha. It was a good time though and I think we got some cool shots. Getting outside for training is such a treat too, coming from cold snowy Pennsylvania. So motivating to get on the bike with weather like this. A few more days here than back up to Granada. What an awesome time!

Here I am in southern Spain

It's my second day now in southern Spain and I am freekin loving it! Travel went as smooth as possible, which was great. I was a bit worried about Spanish customs because I had 2 huge boxes of equipment from the U.S. The man stopped me at customs and asked if I had anything to claim and I said "no, it's all my personal clothing and equipment" and he said "ok, go!" I was stoked cause that could have been very difficult. I got into Granada sunday night and was very excited to go to sleep! Yesterday I woke up and got in a ride before we left for camp. Trails there were mint. I had to drive the new team van down to the coast from Granada for our team camp, and the van is manuel which I am not familiar with using. Sander and I went for a drive before the trip and he taught me how to drive it. It was a bit of a rough start, but I picked it up quick. I made the 2 hour drive no problem. I followed Martin in his new Audi the whole way. I stopped at traffic lights, went through roundabouts and made it through the tight european streets. I was so proud of myself haha it's the simple things in life I guess. The sunset from my hotel room was amazing! I am staying right on the Mediterranean, and I could see Morocco from my balcony. Such an awesome view! I couldn't believe Africa was so close. Today I got up and had a massive breakfast. Could have been the best euro breakfast ever! I just checked out the new bikes getting built up, they look incredible! Maybe a few pics to come if they let me. Justin and Christoph from Fox just got in, and we're off for a ride now. This trip couldn't have started off better, I cant wait to see all my teammates this afternoon.

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Off to Spain

     I can't believe the off season has gone by so fast. This day once seemed so distant, and it's here already. I have had an awesome winter at home. It was great to be home for a while and be productive. All my friends back home are awesome and I had some amazing times with them this year. As I packed my life into my gear bag today I was in a bit of a somber mood because of what I have to leave behind. However, I can't be more stoked for the months to come. I know my preparation has been spot on, and I cant wait to put it to the test. With a lot of time before the real races, I will be able to continue my program in a more ideal location.  In the weeks to come I will be doing some riding and training in southern spain as well as a few small races there to get back into it. I'm excited to see all my friends and teammates who I haven't seen since last season. This year has the potential to create a lot of opportunities for me, and I am very fortunate to be in the position I am right now. My attitude as of now is composed and confident. Thanks to everyone along the way who got me here and thank you for believing in me. 2011 is now underway.

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18th birthday

I just had an amazing weekend full of good times to celebrate my 18th birthday. It all started off on saturday the 19th which was my birthday. I had my league swimming championship all morning, which was my last meet of the season. I was really excited to try and do my best times of the year. I ended up going new PR's both the 200 and 100 free. I was really pleased with my time in the 100. I swam it in 53.85, nearly 2 seconds faster than I had ever swam it before. I ended up 10th in the league for that. We won the championship as a team, which was also pretty cool. It was nice to end on a high note. That night all my friends came over for my birthday. We rented a limo for the night and went to a few cool places. First we went out to eat, the we picked up some more friends and went to the arcade near Philly. We had an awesome time at both places and just being in the limo was great too. We all went back to my place afterwards and continued to celebrate my birthday for the rest of the night. Then on sunday I had dinner with my family and a few friends. It was a lot of fun. With the holiday weekend I had monday off from school, so I did something I have been waiting 18 years to do, buy a gun! I bought a sweet gun down at the hunting shop and already went through a few rounds. I have done so many sweet things this weekend, I will remember it forever. I am coming down to the wire here until I go to spain. I have one more week in america, then I'm gone until May. I'm really looking forward to everything getting started.

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