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New School Racing / Re: 2026 Race Blog – Year 10 – Here We Go Again!
« Last post by Mikku on June 26, 2026, 09:37 AM »Nearly two weeks down the line and I’m still nursing bruised ribs, meaning no riding of any sort let alone racing. 
Aside from watching the World Cup, one of the things I’m doing to kill time is research helmets, since during my crash my head or more accurately, my Troy Lee D3 carbon helmet hit the ground. The helmet did its job, preventing any injury to my bonce BUT now sports a decent-sized scrape with loss of paint on the upper rear left. I removed the helmet padding and MIPS liner to investigate further and couldn’t see any noticeable crash damage inside, but the official TLD advice is to replace a helmet after any impact or in any event, within three years of purchase. I take the latter recommendation with a pinch of salt but my D3 is a 2017/8 model, so was probably due for replacement anyway regardless of my crash. Since the D3 has now been phased out by TLD, I’ve therefore been looking at a D4 to replace it. There are three types in the D4 range, namely carbon, composite and polyacrylite, the difference in material being reflected in both weight and price, though they all have the all-important (to me) MIPS, which I think played a huge part in protecting my head in the crash.
Unlike the D3, the medium of which fits me perfectly, the medium and large-sized D4 helmets share the same shell but are fitted with different sized liners and padding. A large would therefore be okay if fitted with M-sized pads, though at an additional cost. Medium-sized D4 helmets have apparently sold out in Japan but I was able to try on a large-sized carbon model at a local mtb shop and that actually fitted me well, though interestingly a large-sized composite model felt too big. I'm therefore currently contemplating whether to buy a large D4 then convert it to a medium with different liners and padding or hold out for a medium, either over here or possibly in Blighty, which I could pick up when I visit later this year.
Aside from watching the World Cup, one of the things I’m doing to kill time is research helmets, since during my crash my head or more accurately, my Troy Lee D3 carbon helmet hit the ground. The helmet did its job, preventing any injury to my bonce BUT now sports a decent-sized scrape with loss of paint on the upper rear left. I removed the helmet padding and MIPS liner to investigate further and couldn’t see any noticeable crash damage inside, but the official TLD advice is to replace a helmet after any impact or in any event, within three years of purchase. I take the latter recommendation with a pinch of salt but my D3 is a 2017/8 model, so was probably due for replacement anyway regardless of my crash. Since the D3 has now been phased out by TLD, I’ve therefore been looking at a D4 to replace it. There are three types in the D4 range, namely carbon, composite and polyacrylite, the difference in material being reflected in both weight and price, though they all have the all-important (to me) MIPS, which I think played a huge part in protecting my head in the crash.
Unlike the D3, the medium of which fits me perfectly, the medium and large-sized D4 helmets share the same shell but are fitted with different sized liners and padding. A large would therefore be okay if fitted with M-sized pads, though at an additional cost. Medium-sized D4 helmets have apparently sold out in Japan but I was able to try on a large-sized carbon model at a local mtb shop and that actually fitted me well, though interestingly a large-sized composite model felt too big. I'm therefore currently contemplating whether to buy a large D4 then convert it to a medium with different liners and padding or hold out for a medium, either over here or possibly in Blighty, which I could pick up when I visit later this year.
yep when you click on them they get bigger lol 
The weather held for the weekend, so I hired a car and drove the 70 miles to the Pacific coast for the Seaside Cup race at Hitachinaka. My first time there, I spent the pre-race practice session figuring out the track (basically an anticlockwise U inside a U with asphalt berms) and getting a few gates in. I was in an amalgamated class of 7 riders and was keen to get some race laps in. Unfortunately, the first berm of the first moto was as far as I got, sliding out of third place. Basically my front wheel slid out from under me without warning and I hit the deck hard. Aside from the obligatory asphalt road rash, I immediately felt pain in my ribs and knew that my day was done! I couldn’t ride but managed to walk off the track under my own steam then declined the suggestion of an ambulance, preferring to return the rental car on time over a hospital visit. So I popped some painkillers and slowly but surely managed to drive home, got help unpacking the car and returned it on time and without penalty - job’s a good ‘un. Following an uncomfortable night, I went to hospital today and thankfully X-rays confirmed no fractures, which was a huge relief. I’m therefore hoping to be back on track within the next few weeks. In any case, am happy not to have been more seriously injured in what was most probably my fastest and definitely the most violent crash to date. 
nice big pic would be good 
