so we got snowed in at Aviemore and ended up coming back a day late from our annual holiday…. spending two days on the sled with really fresh snow at Feshie Bridge. Helen came 28th and myself 13th out of 46 in the two-dog class. my runs were slow at times, with Elvis barely trotting along in a world of his own. on the first day we overtook a few malamute and Samoyed teams – one lead Samy took a chunk of hair out of Elvis as we overtook – and I thought Samys were sweet? the second day was more interesting after meeting Sue Blake and Jim Taylor in the first mile of the course. we went around as a group, overtaking and chatting to keep up momentum. for me, that’s one of the great things about Aviemore, we have one minute start intervals so you do get to meet others and enjoy the spirit of one of the largest sled dog races in Europe. car needed jump-starting in the rally car park thanks to the technicians at our local Jeep dealership loosening the battery connectors at its last service….. the trek was absolutely magical. Snow everywhere and was the first time with the monkey for over 10 miles in rough terrain. the monkey rig made it so much more fun. Really stable in the tricky rocky descents, brakes worked a treat and the high footplates didn’t hit a thing. you may have heard me laughing all along the goat trail. it reminded me of the first time I rode a full suspension mountain bike off-road – just so much better than any other rig I’ve used.

Aviemore highlights?

• meeting Sue on the trail on Sunday
• playing in the snow with the dogs and running the sled
• awesome snow covered scenery on the trek
• 8 days spent with a really cool bunch of friends

– stopping Mick Bray’s loose team running towards me whilst marshalling, after he fell off his rig when his handle bars snapped on the second day.

Aviemore low points?

• my sniffling cold
• a stack of mobile speeding cameras on the A66 on the journey up
• being too tired every night to party (old age?)
• missing Leslie Monk and Andy Pullen comparing trophies in the bar on Sunday night.

before Aviemore we had a very enjoyable rally at Clipstone. Mick and Ann with helpers put on a really good night and day rally. Saturday evening was a classic with the bar running out of glasses and mixed grills. it’s all down hill from here. the dogs are looking fitter and making more noise in the dog run but the rally season heads