My holiday time last week back in Sussex meant that I could write and put some blog content together. I have had some amazing feedback from the previous post on Team Beamish MX and wanted to say thank you so much for everyone who read the post, shared and commented, especially the motocross community who responded so kindly, very humbling. 

While I was in Sussex, I did a fair bit of riding, and stoked I finally managed to bump into someone I'd been wanting to catch up with for ages. I thought it would be pretty cool to write about him too as, without him really knowing it, his hard work plays a big part of my life when I'm visiting my elderly Mum and not so well Dad,  and provides much needed respite away from that. 

I reckon 30 years ago, myself and Percy,  (aka Adrian Parsons), were both youth workers at our local village youth club in Sussex. Both spending many an evening misdirecting the youngsters, or bouncing them of cliffs whilst abseiling. The usual activities like rock climbing, canoeing and fun days out with the kids were par for the course, and always a laugh. Myself and Percy also played football for the same team, never really taking it too seriously, we drank in the same pub, and when we were suitably drunk, would somehow come together to re-enact scenes from Life of Brian together, probably to others annoyance. 

Percy was always the had a slight screw loose, but in such a funny way, the kids loved him at youth club, following his every word, whilst other football teams feared him as he was never one to shy away from a tackle, if you get my drift. 

Time passes by and with my college, move to Cornwall,  I had not seen Percy for twenty plus years at least. But on my visits to Sussex, I'd heard rumours that Percy and his mate Paul, had taken over the building and maintenance at the Steyning mountain bike trails. When I visit my folks, I always ride the trails. Nestled within the woodland above the chocolate box picturesque village of Steyning. you have to find them, I'm not telling where, but when you find them, enjoy them,  respect them, and whatever you take up, bring back down.  

On my last run one evening I bumped into Percy. I called over to him shouting his name about five times, until he realised that behind the crash helmet and goggles I was still wearing, it was indeed his old mate. 

Percy was up there checking the trails and doing a little maintenance, as he puts it. Like dragging a wacker plate and bags of sand, cement and tools up the steep gradient to fix a berm. He also checks the trails regularly for safety reasons, as some people have a tendency to add a little bit of their own imagination,  and then, less experienced riders might then see this creation, try it and crash.  Case in point...the creation of the worst wall ride you have ever, ever, ever seen, directly after a jump on a straight line.  We arranged to meet up later that week for a ride with my mate Dan (Team Beamish) and what a fun evening that turned out to be. 

Like many places there have been some bad accidents up there. Whether it's people riding outside of their ability, or simply pushing their progression, the air ambulance has been called in a number of times. In readiness for this eventuality,  the grid co-coordinates are posted at a variety of spots around the trails. To keep the landowners happy, some parts of the trails have changed and a few of the more extreme gaps and drops that were pretty large, have been toned down. Having Percy ride with us that night was so much fun. I thought I'd ridden a lot of the lines, but there were lines linking into others that we did not expect, lines I had avoided, are now firm favourites and the stoke was super high.  

Percy has a great relationship with the landowner, based on trust and respect, they also have a partnership with the Steyning Downland Scheme, and this is a designated mountain bike area now, meaning no walkers, who on occasion seem to be disgruntled by removing safety signs, strangely at their own risk at the end of the day. The trails do cross a bridle path at a certain point and these are clearly signed, and unless you can squeeze through the barrier with your 780mm Renthal Bars, you have to stop. Even these little touches are admirable, safety of other users is paramount in order for the trails to remain.  No one wants to see anyone hurt, rider or walker, but as Percy says, the trails are clear designated and if a walker ventures into the area and gets injured, then this is down to them, they have been warned.   

A regular visitor to the Alps and beyond, I also love the fact that Percy has had complaints from riders claiming that the Blue run is too technical, and should not be blue. Percy's obvious response could be similar to...'get used to it'.  The trails just need to be sessioned, and the trails have been carved from the terrain that is there. Granted, the blue probably is a red, the red is on the light grey shade of black, and the black, well I've not ventured onto that yet, but I have the grid coordinates ready. Myself, Percy and many others that have ridden there, agreed that they're not the groomed, aggregate packed,  smooth flowing blue runs you might find at many Bike Parks, and there is nothing wrong with that, these bike parks are super fun.  I supposed the Steyning blues are more rustic, raw like enduro trails, winding through the willow woodland;  rooted, loose chalk, off camber, tight and technical and I'm sure many would be impressed.  There are drops and gap jumps, fast rollers and tight tree laden sections that Percy and Paul, with other riders, work hard to maintain.  They rebuild the jumps, pack the berms, build the 'northshore', clear the trails from an endless falling of leaves in Autumn, or the larger, lumps of chalk that get churned up.  A little rain is great, and the trails come to life; too dry and its loose, like riding on marbles sometimes; too much rain, or too many leaves and you might want to make sure you have those coordinates handy. 

I absolutely relish my time in Sussex now that I live in Cornwall, I take my bikes up every time and squeeze in as many sessions as possible around family time. It's become an escape that I'd lost when moving West, and thanks to the people like Percy and friends, there is a value and contentment, to my visits beyond family. 

I've promised to grab a shovel and pick when I return, get amongst the digging and building, and then I'm sure this will provide me with a little slice of ownership of the trails, that I take so much pleasure in riding. 

Footnote. I did take a photo of us on that night but it was so dark by then, the photo was unusable, so I stole one from Percy on his recent trip to Skyline, in NZ. 

How often do we think about the process of walking back up for another run. We often walk down a trail, we always see videos of track walks going down pre- world cup, pre-practice etc, like the classic Wyntv by Wyn Masters, or Ben Cathros, Cathrovision on youtube. But what about using the same observations when going back up? As mountain bikers are well aware, having no uplift service means walking or riding back up to the top, with that lovely lactic acid burning our legs. Lets face it, the only time we have an uplift is if we pay the £30+ for the service at Bike Parks, guaranteeing more runs, and more runs equates to more fun. Then again, the birth of the e-bike has introduced a new means of a personal uplift, and I'd be interested to know if owners of e-bikes would still use the uplift at somewhere like Bike Park Wales to avoid the queues.

Bearing in mind I'm nearly 50 years old, I still want to progress, learn and feel like I'm doing something right. As a surfer you never stop learning so why should riding bikes downhill be any different and that progression will help me stay safer. The more we learn the better we get.

This past week, I've ridden most days in Steyning, West Sussex, but depending on where I'm riding, if I'm home in Cornwall, and especially if riding alone, if its steep or loose, technical or not, and there is no choice but to push up, along the side of the trail then I find it always the perfect time to reflect on the last run. Checking lines, moving fallen rocks or obstacles, looking for faster lines, did my run flow, what went well, or not, asking where and how can I improve? But also its my time to mentally build some confidence and a little self belief into my downhill riding. By looking for smoother lines on the way back up, will personally outweigh the more aggressive ones and in many ways, help me stretch my abilities as I endeavour to increase my speed but remain in control, and my word, I need to remain in control.

Personally, the push back up is where I spend a fair bit of time stopping, resting, breathing, and being mindful of my surroundings too. I do love to just stop and take it all in, we're so lucky to get to ride in the great outdoors, but maybe thats my age, maybe it's this process that clears my head when its full of everyday confusion.

I suppose that the journey to the top for another fun filled run, can be as painful or pleasant experience as we make it. But guaranteed, taking it all in on the ascent, will ensure that coming back down, with a new mindset, is so much more enjoyable, and besides, that little root, rock or off camber section you failed to miss going back up is the one that will probably get you going down, and no one wants that

Having a pint of Harveys Bitter Shandy at The Bridge Public House in Amberly was a refreshing break, a pit stop before returning to Steyning.

Its about Twenty miles there and back along the South Downs Way, I didn't have strava to tell me the exact mileage, or how slow I was compared to someone else, and besides my legs and lungs told me the elevation was steep and there was lots of it. I do get the point of Strava if your training, competing, progressing but this ride was about enjoying the vistas below, the woodland and the downland towards the sea, and stopping to take it in; far more important to me than setting a personal best, sometimes its just really nice to go half the speed and have some memories stored, thats what I was seeking. Obviously going downhill has its own different set of rules as I want to do this as fast as possible and looking ahead is mandatory 'Strava or No' as they would say in Cornwall.

My ride started out as simple session, practicing my gravity skills on the loose chalky trails above Steyning, nestled within the woodland between two bridle paths. I'd written about these before, and will again, but can't speak highly enough about the hard work and time that has been invested in this area. After one run I found myself walking/riding back up, and I simply continued riding West. Such an enjoyable ride with views for miles, a few fast little descents and with a perfect pint as a treat at a beautiful pub next to the river Arun.

I headed home knowing I had two pretty big climbs ahead. There first was the one back up from Amberly, and with a pint on board, this was going to be tough, but actually I surprised myself winding my way up through a restricted farm access trail which provided a view of a stunning piece of farmland. Once atop the downs it undulates quite nicely so I got my pace up a little, occassionally stopping to chat to walkers and other riders. The other climb was so much harder and confess I walked the steepest part of it. From the A24 at Washington, it kind of heads up, up and away, but it was so loose with chalk and flint it was tough to get traction. When I was tearing down earlier, all I could think was that later that day, I have to go back up that beast!

In my life of growing up, walking and cycling around Steyning, just beneath the South Downs, I'm ashamed to say I'd only ever ridden short sections, usually seeking out the downhill runs, and never have I ridden the entire ninety odd miles from one end of the South Downs, to the other but this foray has now firmly placed that journey in my 'things to do riding a bike' list. But I'd like to take my time, no 24hr speed race, a steady 4-5 days, 25 miles a day, pubs stays, or quaint B&B, good Ale, local food, and filling the tank on a hearty full english breakfast, ready for the day ahead. Possibly even free camping along the way, now there's an idea.

So on my return to Steyning I simply could not resist one last full run from top to bottom on my favourite trail called Twister. Veering off the well trodden path, of the South Downs Way, I pointed my bike downhill, and laid off the brakes as much as I could, hitting each turn and jump as smoothly as possible until the bottom. This is when I need Strava!

What a great way to end a day out on the bike. When I got back to the tent, a cup of tea and three donuts later, and this Chunky Brother was happily content with a perfect day outdoors.

In 2015 I met a young BMX racer named Brynley Savage at Bournemouth BMX Club. I'd been invited up to deliver a session on emotional management for sports people, in this case BMX Racers, from intermediate to Elite riders. 

I had developed a programme called 'Racehead' consisting of a variety of tools that can be used to mange race day emotions before, during and post race. 

Many racers experience severe nerves to anger, fear and lack of confidence and
Brynley was coming of a serious wrist injury, and possibly lacking a little self belief and also fear of consequence, but as a phenomenal rider, in a very dangerous sport, those consequences were real.

I ran the session with each rider focussing intently on the information, we took it to the track and watched as they put their visualisation and new found belief into practice.

On returning home I was contacted by Brynley and began coaching him on a one to one basis using skype. Introducing Brynley to some more in depth techniques like deep relaxation, and greater visualisation sometimes I would send him to sleep within minutes totally relaxed. We pulled out the positives, dealt with the negatives, reframed the losses and moved forward, all the time Brynley noticeably getting mentally stronger in the way he dealt with disappointment, and those close but not close enough moments. I have witnessed his development as a rider, great results here and abroad, and his strength of character getting stronger.

This has been a massive year forn Brynley, and I've not been there as much due to my own energy being needed elsewhere with family illness, but today ( yesterday by the time I post this), Brynley became the 2018 British Champion at Blackpool, and I could not be prouder of this young man. I'm so stoked for him, as he has shown nothing but comittment, drive and passion, to keep following his dream to be the best he can be. I'm stoked for his family too, as they support him 110%, and that's why Team Savage is the Best.

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My first day in Sussex was non stop. A six hour drive from Cornwall, tent up at my brothers lttle campsite below the South Downs and my favourite trails, then as quiclly as I'd arrived off we go to a ploughing match and Clay Pidgeon Shoot. How very country...

Yet this was my life before College, pre- surfing and travelling. Maybe not the ploughing and tractor love, but anywhere we could find a Clay Pidgeon Shoot, myself and my gun toting, country bumkin friends were there. Paid Friday, Skint by Sunday, shooting was my life in my late teens and early twenties, and I was alright too. Making the Sussex County Team, reaching AA Category, and attending National and World Championships were all goals that I achieved. The Worlds were an amazing experience, and I was proud to be overall joint 3rd on the first day, with the eventual winner, a classic Brit by the name of Mickey Rouse. I remember he had turned down a spot in the British Team because they wanted £80 for a blazer and GB Badge, he basically told the selectors to stick it, he entered as an independent and smoked the competition meaning no glory for Team GB. We all gathered that boiling hot day in La Rabat France to watch his last layout, and it was such a great moment to witness.

So today I went to watch my brother Adam, who is, and always will be content living in rural Sussex. I was happy to just watch, enjoy some banter and have a pint or two amongst thousands of young farmers and listen to tales of how everyone shot like the blind leading the blind! However, I was unexpectedly handed a £15k Perrazi Shotgun with strict instructions not to dent it!! These guns are beautifuy made, and admired by many. When I was shooting well, my gun was max £800. So with a very expensive gun, no shooting vest, a pair of Vans on my feet, and sporting a Chunky Brother T-shirt, I was looking as far removed from a former County Team member as possible.

Accompanied my brother around this small shoot, with a feeling of adrenaline I'd not experienced for a long time, I was shaking so much, I'm amazed I could pull tge trigger. It felt strange as I assumed my old stance, my call 'pull' and my grip on a shotgun were still the same and it felt natural. I last shot about 3 years ago, before that probably 20 years.

My first stand went well until I missed my last target, the others were dust!! From here on it went downhill until the last stand where I bumped into two old shooting pals, John Morgan and Barry Anscombe, and this absolutely made my day. Now 80 years old, Barry, a former national team member, was my old Coach, Gunsmith and Mentor, when I was shooting competitively at a higher level. He took me to France for the Worlds and watched me shoot on every layout ( 8 layouts of 25 targets on each) whilst we were there. I'm pretty sure I did him proud beating a couple of the British Team, and one of only 12 people, out of 750 entrants, to shoot a layout straight, 25/25. Barry was there to compete but also eatch and coach his young apprentice, and his smile and praise I shall always remember, a truly brilliant person.

On that last stand, inspired by my old pal, with two tricky targets, one fast 'rabbit, which rolls and bounces along the ground and upon shooting this a target going away from behind my right should. I remembered my coaching all those years ago and walked away missing just two, but the ones I hit were again dust.
I was so stoked, what a great day what a throwback. No bikes, no waves, just banter, shooting, dodgy cheeseburgers, tractors and beer.

Footnote: A 15k shotgun still misses by a country mile!! 

I'm off this week riding bikes in Sussex and visiting my family which I'm pretty excited about. I'll be blogging about some real fun stuff, but also trying to answer a few questions I've been asking of myself lately. Like I said, this blog is a journey and surfing and bikes are a part of this. This is certainly not a negative, its a real positive thing because I am a bit lost in life at the moment and I realise this and I'm taking action.  I'm writing again as part of me finding the answers and that is such a great step for me to where I would like to be.  I have spent the past few years coaching others to be successful, to develop as people, and yet here I am, looking for a few answers for myself, and I'm asking the difficult questions to myself. 

I suppose, riding off-road can be the metaphor to life, the skills that develop can easily be transferred to life, and that's the power of the riding. By learning from our riding,  being outdoors, and setting challenges, can be conveyed into helping ourselves, and others. Cycling in all its forms has the ability to help us move forward towards positive physical and mental well-being, as long as we ride our our race we can all ride into a positive future, and after my week in Sussex, my blog will be better, I'll have solutions, that have real purpose.

I started to think of my own situation in terms of arriving at a Bike Park for the first time, seen as a series of brief lessons in life. Take my recent visit to Black Mountain Cycle Centre, with my son Jago and some of my old BMX race friends. It goes something like this....

Upon arrival at the drop off zone, the forestry opens up to reveal a network of trail choices. Smiling can often seem premature when you finally make a decision to ride a certain trail, but then have to immediately question your ability when the signage says….'is this trail for you?' Lesson One here is self belief. 
 
Levels of skill, technical bike handling, jumping and confidence are tested on trails based upon ski resorts ascending from blue to black, each letting you know what type of rider you are, or not. At the top you can decide to 'Mix and Match' if you like, finding a preferred route back to the pick up zone of cafe, but either way it all starts with a decision. Lesson Two, being assertive.  

Being mindful is a requirement, looking 5 plus metres down the trail is essential to staying on your bike and pre planning your movements. It's not a race, but sometimes speed is your friend, speed is not a requirement and yet speed will assist you round the turns. Lesson Three; Its about being confident. 

Some sections require speed, focus, concentration, and decisions are preferably made immediately to avoid disaster, so split second judgment is key to staying on your bike. Self-belief develops the more you ride the trail, and over confidence will put you on your back or worse. Lesson Four; Learn and Develop. 

So, how then can this help us find our way. 
 
Our lives revolve around making decisions an too often we question the outcomes, as humans we find ourselves making impulsive snap judgments, or avoiding decisions we later believe might regret, and yet, this might be a missed opportunity. We are so brilliant at guessing with no factual information, it often takes others to put us in our place with a direct question or two. There are times at work when we lack being decisive, (speaking from experience) when that much needed measure of assertiveness might possibly have put a very different spin on a sticky situation, but the moment passed and we said ‘yes’, when really we meant ‘no’! 
 
The activity of riding a bike, as fast as your skill allows, downhill, on trails built to build your confidence, or riding natural terrain where forward planning, preparation and route choice can be a brilliant foundation for life. If we are able to retrieve the data we require through being mindful of the activity, and then, reflecting on your achievements, this can easily become a key to life development and learning from those outcomes. By simply asking, what went well, how did it go well, what did you learn and How could I improve? The answers, if we are honest,  will help us find our solution for the future.

​Remember, this is a journey of wheels and waves, lets see where we ride to....
 

I posted this blog some months ago on my coaching website and the topic is very timely since listening to the news this past few weeks. We are in a time when all the media is telling us don't eat this or that, it will shorten your life, wear a knee brace to support your knees, or you must get out and exercise to avoid imminent death! But also the clocks go back tomorrow night so officially winter is here and dark evenings are  upon us. Anyway, I thought rather than not post today,  I'll put this right here while I write up a bunch of new stuff, and hopefully save a life. Apologies as like I said, yes I've published it before but...so what, you might not have read it...

We all have time to exercise, we just have more excuses,  and making the most of sixty minutes always sounded a bit rushed to me! But I had just that, start to finish,  a one hour window of evening light, as the evenings are drawing in. My choices to fill that time with some selfish fun were as follows ... surf of ride my bike? Why? I can't do the gym, I'm not paying £40 per month to run on a treadmill, or lift weights, and I hate running as I broke my foot a couple of years back so that ones out. 

Granted the day before I'd had a cracking 30 minute surf before rushing up the hill to fullfil my role as a Airbnb host, so there were extenuating circumstances for such a brief surf. Primarily, we were happily parked and payment made,  I was already in a wetsuit and myself and family were already on the beach. Secondly,  I was wet  already!!  Nonetheless with a clearance window to neglect the family, it was a brilliant 30 minutes of fun filled longboarding on a perfect wave, kindly gate crashing a fun surf session with friends I'd not seen for ages.

So on this day , with one hour of light, all the hassle of getting parked and paying more money, changing into a damp wetsuit and walking down the far end of Sennen beach for a crowded wave, on new sizeable South Westerly swell,  for what would likely be two waves, amongst a frothing crowd of young rippers, and then fighting to get out of my suit again, well, I made the choice of option B...go ride my bike!!  
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I had light and time to throw my bike on the car, and head up to the first, and last hill in Britain, Chapel Carn Brea, 687ft above the waves below, ride as hard as I could until nearly sick!!  

It was probably one of the most intensive but enjoyable sessions I've had on my Enduro bike. Both physically and mentally, I  felt the benefits with fast paced climbs, into flat out descents, sprinting, followed by a technical climb, flat out descent and so on. I followed this pattern for 45 minutes until my legs were jelly and my lungs heaving, even my beard was sweating! The last 15 minutes I just enjoyed riding, at a relaxed steady pace trying new lines,  progressing my gravity skills, and saying hello to the five ponies that rome free grazing on the hill and having a quick selfie.

A short, sweet, adrenaline filled one hour session is often all that is needed. I'm sure we have all been told at some point, myth or not,  that cars occasionally need a good flat out rag to blow out the cobwebs, and thats what this felt like! 

In our lives of commitment its easy to get frustrated not having enough time to play! Lets face it,  most men are arguably still children at heart,  yet our long suffering wives, mine especially, are often more organised in their planning of activity, and yet probably struggle to keep us tethered at times,  or we'd simply play all day long and when we can't play, we get grumpy.  As the commitments grow, and the evenings now draw in again,  playtime can often be short, or seemingly non existent, frustration pours out and tensions run high. It's about the balance, and by making it short and sweet, all parties are happy and you've increased your chances of doing the same again very soon, I believe these are known as gaining brownie points.

The benefits of limited time,  intense activity sessions are firstly super fun if you go into it with that positive mindset, almost with a plan of what you want to achieve. Simply resenting the fact you only have limited time will only result in frustration, lack of focus and a negative experience.  
  
One hour to cram as much fun in as possible, at a pace that suits you,  means you will come home physically tired but not frustrated,  and certainly not  distracted by what your missing. Make the most of that one hour window with an activity that is accessible and will maximise the craving for fun and you'll be fully stoked you went out.

Going back to my surfing, my 30 minute surf was treated like a heat in a competition, 30 minutes, best four waves to be scored. It was fun, made me choose my waves carefully, but work hard at the same time. I was mindful that others were getting there waves too so often took left overs, but made the most of those. It was fun, my surfing seemed progressive and I achieved what I wanted to before I became tired. I returned to my family, happy, an no longer distracted. It was 30 minutes of much needed stoke. 

I hope, for those who might read this,  you might recognise and relate. I'd like this post to encourage you to reframe the way you might be thinking about time and exercise.  You have time, you have one hour, thats one hour to feel frustrated or one hour to have fun? Easy decision really.

Let me introduce you to my dog. If you follow me on Instagram, or a friend on facebook, then you'll be familiar with my Border Terrier. Named after the lovechild of Han Solo, and Princess Laya, being a big disappointment turned to the dark side once he'd failed Jedi school. Under the expert coaching of Uncle Luke, who, like most of todays teachers, probably did most of the work for the ungrateful little shit,  and got nothing but grief in return.

Anyway, our dog Kylo is as much a grizzly menace as his name sake but without the Jedi skills or light sabre.
At nearly a year old he's perfectly house trained but so stubborn, the dark destroyer of my socks, forever full of energy, and currently undertaking his Level One Trail Dog Certificate!

Recently losing his nuts at the hands of the Vet, we are hoping that the cushions will have some respite from his sexual frustration, and we are holding on in a vague hope that he'll stop rolling in dog shit, which he does seemingly in order to spread the word amongst the female dog kingdom that he's available, sorry, now unavailable. So, in his spare time, my beautiful dog, minus his nuts, loves to get out with me on my mountain bike and we've had quite a stunning summer up on our hills. Training is going well, nothing to strenuous as he's still young,  although my 2.5inch front tyre almost saved us £100 in vets bills by nearly dragging his nuts into the granite when he stopped dead in front of me to roll in Horse shit! We are now revising his homework to ensure he's always behind me on descents! 

We're hoping that in a couple of months he'll move onto Level Two and hit some more trails and venture out further and longer, so keep an eye on the blog for full report on his progress. In the meantime, his empty nut sack is a shadow of it former self and the cone round his neck is playing havoc with coming in and out of the patio door! So this is Kylo, family member, Trail dog in Training and King of the HIll, he thinks!

I would like to feel this blog will be about the happenings of life, not just pre-planned events but what comes at me head on during those events, maybe the 'Misadventures of a Chunky Brother', or simply what I observe in my surroundings, my activities and my experiences. This journey will most certainly include my family and friends but will be organically grown. Case in point: I began writing my first blog yesterday, an epic account of the changing seasons and my love of riding bikes!  Hold that thought.....

​Today I changed my mind.  This eveing I was outside skating with my son Jago and today my first blog is about just that.

You see, my wife Jill and I have a pair of 'Duane Peter' Pocket Pistol Slalom Skateboards. Our old Brighton seafront Sunday arvo slalom sessions were so much fun. Alongside an epic crew we spent many happy, sunny days lining up the cones, ripping through them as fast as we could,  and then skating off into the sunset for an apres beer at the Fortune of War. 

Today I'm bias, I'm proud, and most definitely stoked. On his mums deck I noticed Jagos style and his focus take hold. I filmed a few runs and watched it over and over at various speeds and observed a grasp of style. Jago has learnt to ride the nose,  which is no mean feat on a small deck like these, but prior to getting to this critical point of looking down at tarmac, there were no shuffles, no awkward trips, just fluid footwork and a timeless cross step, then 'boom'...hang ten! 

So my first blog in a very long time, are the words of a proud Dad who's watched his son find his flow, and flow equals happiness. Its simple, choose an activity, make it a challenge, don't cheat or make it too easy, get an immediate reward, and you'll find Flow, once you find flow, you find happiness.

Jago found his Mum's Skateboard, he discovered his flow, some style and a big ol' smile!