Aiming High | Part 6: James Shirley – Keepin’ Busy
With the racing season at a close we check in with James after a long and busy year as he heads for home in Scotland. Apparently there is more to James than just riding bikes…
It’s been a while since my last blog. I know I should have written one sooner, but I genuinely feel as though I’ve been busy. When I meet someone new and they ask me what it is I do, I usually respond with a few casual words. Something along the lines of I ride my bike to which they give me a slightly confused look. It’s true, I do ride my bike, but it’s not quite that straight forward. I think I sell myself a little bit short. As well as the fine details I mentioned in my last blog to maintain high stoke levels and optimum race results; there are a lot of other things that need to happen too.
I technically get paid to race for the Radon Factory Enduro Team. However, if I want to stay where I am – merely turning up for competition isn’t good enough. Clearly there is pressure to do well but even if I do succeed then it counts for nothing if nobody hears about it. So as well as racing, travelling and the obvious training required there is a lot of office work to do too.
Social media is almost essential for any sponsored rider. It’s a little job that needs to be kept on top of. I possibly don’t take make use of it enough, but I also don’t want to bombard people with posts, all of the time. I try to aim for quality rather than quantity so to all of you who take the time to read this, I invite you to come and follow me. Here is my Instagram page at instagram.com/jamesy_boy_shirley or a quick search for Jamesy Boy Shirley is guaranteed to work.
The other avenue which I use frequently is Facebook. As well as promotional/marketing reasons it’s a great tool for keeping in touch with friends and family whilst I’m away. Despite the fact that I am an athlete, I’ve decided not to bother with an Athlete Page. My life IS riding bikes. If I had a second page, I wouldn’t have anything to post on my normal page! Here is a link to my profile on Facebook: facebook.com/Jamesy.Boy.Shirley. If you like riding bikes then we can be friends. If you’d like to follow the team page as well then come and find us here: facebook.com/factoryenduroteam.
Writing emails takes up a huge part of my time. It is often not what you know but who you know so keeping in touch is really important. Written forms of communication are great because it means that specific details can be logged and saved. Caution must be taken however to avoid misinterpretation: especially when dealing with people whose first language is not the same as your own. It is too easy to cause offence or give the wrong impression when emotional reactions cannot be instantly recognized. This applies to almost everyone in my contact list so I take special care not to piss anyone off!
My main piece of office work I find difficult is trying to write this blog. It can be a daunting task and I take an embarrassingly long time to write it but its worth it. Once I actually start I begin to enjoy it. When I look back through my diary to jog my memory it’s amazing to see what I’ve achieved. From the start of this year up until the end of October I spent just 5 weeks in Scotland. In this time, I’ve seen some truly beautiful places and I’ve done some exciting races. Since my first race at the beginning of the season (34 weeks ago) I’ve done 19 races all across Europe as well as a couple in New Zealand.
Since writing my last blog in August I did my first ever adventure race (the Trans Savoie – a style of racing I’d like to do again), I spent some time in Finale Ligure leading up to the EWS (one of my favourite places) and I finished 4th in the European Enduro Series (despite getting lost in Paganella and having a puncture in Malaga).
Miles Mallinson from Wired Tree Videos has captured a little bit of lifestyle and racing action over the last few weeks. Footage from the EWS in Finale Ligure is shown above and footage from the last EES in Malaga is below.
There are certain complications that arise through a life of gypsy racing and my terrible language skills certainly don’t help. Finding good internet is always a mission. If the van breaks down then that’s really stressful and if I need new parts for my bike then it’s not just as easy as going to the bike shop. It’s great having sponsors but sometimes it would be simpler if I could buy what I needed in the colour that I wanted there and then. No strings attached. No emails required. No CVs needed. No negotiations. No justifications. No contracts. No expectations. No brand conflicts. No complications. No delivery addresses necessary. If it isn’t an emergency, however, then its always worth the wait. I spent a few weeks chasing the Italian DHL man for my latest box of goodies, but the contents completely made up for the hassle – my Radon Bikes Ladies Sunset Hybrid Supreme:
No joke, this bike is amazing. I use it all of the time. I thought about buying a scooter/moped to carry in the back of the van for shopping missions and trips to the beach but why have a big heavy expensive to run an engine which needs to be taxed and insured when you can have a sweet little electric assisted bike instead? It’s not that slow either. Genius.
One other office task I set myself in the summer was to set up a European bank account. It’s not difficult but it does take a bit of time to organise and I find it a bit confusing when it’s in a funny language. I get paid in Euros and I spend most of my money in Euros so it seems silly to lose out in currency conversion fees. It is especially relevant considering how weak the Euro is to the Pound at the moment. For any UK readers, you have a great opportunity just now to take advantage of the situation by buying yourself a shiny new direct sales German brand bike for a very reasonable price…
After spending so much time away it’s always great to come home again. Nothing is as beautiful or as spectacular as the drive through Glencoe on the way to Fort William.
The main reason I came back was to spend time with my friends and family so my older brother Gavin had arranged a very special bonding session for me… He had entered us, along with a couple of close friends, as a team of four into the UK 24hour XC championships which were being held at Nevis Range – just 6 miles from the family house. I did my first 24hour cross country event with these guys over 10 years ago and it was great for us to be reunited again. Not only did we enjoy ourselves in this grueling challenge but I was pleased to get the fastest lap in the race and we also managed to take the overall win!
The offseason has now officially begun. It would be easy to think that I’m on holiday now, but it is quite the opposite. Projects for next season have been in the pipeline for months already and I’ve got plenty of things to keep my busy this winter. The master plan is in place…
If you fancy a closer look at the Radon Slide 160 that James has been steering this season then have a look at the bike check we conducted with him here.
Check out the previous parts of the series:
- Part 1: James Shirley – A Life On The Road
- Part 2: James Shirley’s Season Begins
- Part 3: James Shirley’s Trials & Tribulations
- Part 4: James Shirley’s European Enduro Champs
- Part 5: James Shirley can ride a bike after all
Words: James Shirley Photos: Ross Bell (1,5) Mick Kirkman (2,4,6) James Shirley (3,7,10,11) Sven Martin (8) Antonio Lopez (9) Sportograf (12) Ronan Dugan (13)
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