10.28.07
been trying to get the weaverville story wrapped, but can't yet sorry.  been distracted with life, or the lack of it.  in deeper shock today.  tis true the grass is always greener, and sometimes we don't wake up until our feet land on the other side.  then we learn it may not be as plush as thought.  reeling, but this is what i wanted for ill or insanity.  rode 55 miles yesterday, down to C.R., time trialed, then home.  three hours.  was 36 seconds shy of the record for my age group.  still a p.o.b. at 44:38.  thought i had the 44:02 mark caught but it slipped away.  no clocking out during a time trial and i did a couple of times.  still noticeably way stronger and almost two minutes faster than last time.  had i not done the twenty mile warm up solo and with a 20 mph average I think I would have smashed it.  now today i am riding back the ten miles to eureka and then competing in a 60 minute cyclocross race, where there is supposedly $100 up for grabs.  will be tired but maybe I can pull it out, maybe.  otherwise I am going to be contemplating what I have given up once again.

10.25.07
notch diddy notch.  scratch one on the wall.  "state champs" are over.  i am guilty of calling them the 'pseudo state champs', tis true, a lil disillusioned with the grass roots professionalism, as were the FJ Cruiser crews who brought way too many multi tools for the humble weaverville crowd.  bu that is another story.
the racing was good, despite 2/3 of the conditions being bad.  and yes yours truly went out for three of the 4 events offered and podium in them all.  by the end i was getting pissed with the ninnies i had to compete with in the dh, who hadn't raced 24 miles the day before and had been practicing all weekend.  but ended up spanking all but two of them so they can suck a toe. 
sorry for that, sorry, just had to be sad.  it was a great workout though, and great practice for focusing on the details.  racing is rolling the dice, racing is a thousand decisions leading up to an two hour or seven minute run.  this weekend with its foul weather was a perfect example of this.  gear choice, tire choice, eye protection choice, were all crucial elements and had to be considered.

10.19.07
here we go again, the classic fall classic.  weaverville's lagrange, this year the pseudo state championship.  given the conditions (like ten inches of rain in the last few days) don't know how many will make the trip, and don't know how good of a choice it was to do all three events.  oh well.  you only live once and we only have the opportunity to ride in the rain seven months out of the year.  so savor it while it lasts...  pretty prepared, but of course with the stormy conditions everything is more unknown.  gonna be more of a dog fight.  gonna be survival.  got the mud flaps on my bikes last night and trying to mentally prepare for a half hour super d run tonight in the squal.  as for life outside the bike things are better than they were when i made the last entry, working through things and finding compromise.  the grey areas of adult hood you know?  expect a full writeup for this weekend.  with the weather like this we may not get many photos.  we'll see.  wish me luck.

10.14.07
the earth turns and so does destiny, we must keep our eyes open to the signs and trust that the spirit leads us where we should be.  still unsure which polarity of the spirit has me in its grip but i am along for the ride.  two nights ago my world was flipped upsideways.  still hard to believe, except for the aching in the pit of my stomach.  the complexities of life and the trials do make the sweet sweeter, but having to look back on the sweetness makes you wonder if the tongue will be able to taste such flavor again. 

still followed through with the trip to weaverville yesterday, though my head was not all there.  was pretty anxious and destracted all day.  did get three super d runs in.  one on the trance stafari and two on the kula, as i had to know which would be faster.  the trance is squishy and way faster in the upper lot, but found i could only make about 40 seconds up on it.  then the rest it seems the kula shreds best.  first try on the kula burped my tire so came in four minutes off the split.  third try, with fatigued legs, came in nearly 50 seconds faster so i think my decision is made.  the lil xc machine was not nearly as sketchy up top as i had imagined.  course is pretty smooth, but the call is for wet weather all week so we will see how it breaks down.  did have one close call in the single track.  the same blind, sharpening, narrow,  right hand corner that nearly killed me at the gravity days caught me off gaurd again.  knuckle punched the same stob, but skided just over the edge and didn't catapult into the raveen.  did almost destroy two hikers but almost doesn't count.  yesterday the dirt was moist and perfect.  not likely to be as nice next week, but we can hope.  more so i hope i can find some dry accomadations, as rooms are already booked up, and hope my focus doesn't lapse as the seeds of depression sprout.

10.10.07
rain rain...  the storms are here...  today be wednesday and i be burning away the time before work at 11.  had big plans to ride a lot yesterday on my day off but an old friend and countless vodka tonics got in the way monday night.  the rest, well, shouting at cops, breaking beer bottles, stumbling, falling into bushes, piggy backs, pool tables, and blow torches was worth it.  felt roughed up yesterday and basically slept till noon.  so only rode up to the j.t. with combat boots, military rain gear, etc.  met ryan and did some unmentionable "assesments" to the terrain.  er i mean of the terrain.  anyway there is always hope and things can always get better.  the whiskeytown 24 this past weekend was a lot of fun.  unfortunately went over feeling ill but luckily my legs still worked and the weather was warm and dry enough to cook it right out of me.  feeling quite strong right now, quite a nice throttle.  back to that place where i am looking for steep tech assents and charging em till my back tire spins out or the front end floats off the ground.  hoping this weather doesn't slow me down.  can't wait for weaverville, going to go train it up out there this weekend.  and that's about all i have to say now, the caffeine has my fingers twitching and i haven't eaten anything yet.  lots of pirate plans in planning, we be back old school style, plus an exciting new t shirt is due for release in the next month, stay tuned.

10.05.07
today be friday, working this afternoon, then packing up and heading to whiskeytown to work the last endurance race of the season.  not really into it but will be nice to go east again and will be nice to make some money on the side.  been riding lots of xc this week, it's all good when the legs come around, fun on the ups and the downs.  a little road on tuesday and perhaps the most disturbing sight of my life... James Cyber and I rode out to blue lake from A town and then climbed up the old 299 to the new 299.  decided to take a little head change in a pull out on the way back down.  as we carried our bikes through the broken glass and debris that is common on this red neck road we were greeted by a pungent and gagging stench.  we pressed on, climbing over the old gate into a small clearing just off the road.  immediately we found ourselves tip toeing through piles of black and grey hair, quite coarse and about three inches long... looked as though a matted transient had shaved theiry head... then, what had appeared to be a moist towel, took on new meaning as we made out a paw in the limp heap...  i said "James there's a coarpse..." This took a minute to sink in with Cyber, who was a few steps behind me...  then he too saw the distantly recognizable figure in the heap...  by this time i was in the center of the clearing, scanning the surroundings for any further clues to the mess, when i saw it, twenty feet to my right at the base of some bushes.  The decapitated head of a large dog lie there locked in a tormented snarl...  i stared in silence for several moments as my brain feverishly sought to understand this sight.  i stammered something at james as he walked toward my frozen figure, and then he too froze in the gaze of the hacked head.  it had been brutally sawed off at the neck, with indescribably gore oozing from the side... the eyes open, the teeth bared, and the ears at attention...  we quickly decided to move on and hurredly shuffled from the clearing.  we gathered at the next turnout and discussed the sight which had stumped our reasoning.  was it a witch ceremony?  a werewolf?  the act of a larger predator?  we decided that a homeless party must have butchered the animal for food, as there were no other remains around aside from a single vertebrae...  but why shave, then skin?  and at what point in the operation had the head been removed?  the skinning was obviously done by professionals, as it was a single piece and very little blood on the scene.  thouroughly disturbed we filed this away and headed on, still confused how this tv screen horror scene had made it into our reality.

09.22.07
been a lot of riding lately  and things are starting to shap up.  just finished the Humboldt Hoedown this weekend and thought i would type in exactly what i inscribed on my umber plates before they go on the wall.  not the most comprehensive coverage but perhaps it is a window into my psyche...
"9/21/07
Humboldt Hoedown Short Track
It was my track... rough technical .6 miles and 6 laps.  I took the holeshot and opened up a 20 second lead on the first lap. Was holding strong until 3rd lap got stuck behind a beginner, (they had started all categories at once!) Carl (Hesselein) caught on and then passed on the climb.  Stayed with him till the finish but he was too strong on the climb 2nd place... ok had hoped for gold.
1st Carl
2nd Me
3rd Fuzzy John
4th Winston
Danny Stewart
Steve ?"

"9/22/07
Humboldt Hoedown XC
Felt very shitty this morning.  Hard time eating, sore knee, hard to warm up, cold sweats...  But from the gun felt pretty good.  We let Columbia lead out and then Carl and I went at the first single track.  Worked together the rest of lap 1 and opened up a big gap.  Very fun - first lap 37 min.  Carl then gapped me on the trail 3 climb, chased him to the end of lap 2 at which point he had a 50 sec lead.  Wittled it down through the single track but couldn't close.  Then got caught by the lone Pro on the climb Stayed with him to the climb out of six but couldn't hold on.  Finished 3rd overall 2nd in ex 19-24 and beat Columbia.  Did much better than anticipated, endurance is building.
Carl 1st 1:49
Bear 2nd 1:50
Me 3rd 1:51
Winston 1:55
Fuzzy 1:59"

09.19.07
wednesday now...  recovered from the tour of trinidad effort in time for the final fast tuesday night road ride of the season last night.  sunday's 65 miles were quite the effort.  never has a tour of trinidad broken up so much so fast.  we can thank my teammate carl the "snarl" hesselein for that.  he and fellow hsu'er Theo St. P pushed the pace from the horn with endless burst attacks that wittled the field down to nine by the end of the first 30 miles.  then they turned on the jets on the murray road climb to field brook and split it.  those two and jimbo robbins were off the front all the way back with myself, Winston sauber, tim windbigler, rocky brashear, and steve "the sleeper" giving chase.  we stayed together and within sight of the leaders to blue lake where things got stirred further up the 299 climb.  by the top i was sittng sixth wheel.  had to pull over to pick up a water bottle at the rest stop as my giant enigma cage had again ejected half of my precious fluids a mere five miles into the ride (note be careful of shaving weight in the bottle cage department).  so tim w. and winston gut away, time trialed through b town to try to catch but couldn't close.  so i was solo through west end all the way to arcata bottoms where rocky and the sleeper caught me, then the three of us limped in together.  i saved a spurt for the last two miles on west haven.  starts with a steep switchback climb and felt this was my only shot to drop the larger and more powerful rocky.  put in what i had and mad ten sconds on  him, but didn't have enough to get out of sight.  soon he was back on my wheel and blew by me and the slow and steady climb.  then i flatted, luckily steve was now over a minute back.  threw it in the big ring and rode that flat the next 3/4 mile to trinidad with the rear end flopping like a fish on dry land.  rode in right around 3:07, jut under s 20 mph avg speed, finished 7th.  not bad but felt bad... fast forward to last night avd despite cramps in my calves still i felt good, good enough to break with jimbo robbinds on the old 299 climb out of b town.  and strong enough to beat him up the murray road climb and down the backside, one of my best climbs out there this season.  and didn't even bonk. today feeling great.  so my confidence is high coming into the humboldt hoedown this weekend.  gonna own the technical short track and hopefully make em suffer on the endless climbs in the xc.  won't be making the last northstar weekend but the xc is good prep for la grange finals.  hoorah.

09.16.03
7 am, about to disembark for the Tour De Trinidad.  little coudy this morning as the last stars dissappear, but me thinks it will turn into a nice day.  be back after 65 miles.  peace

09.13.07
two days ago had a sweet little photo shoot with andy fitz on an unknown creek trail (wink wink)  the motivation was to undercut a pro photo i was trying to get published in the azonic catalog.  looks like it was too little too late.  but still worthwhile, the shots will still be valuable.  was me and jared delong and a man they call fuzzy john.  was the most gravity stricken photo shoot ever, good shots, the riding is just kinda there, nothing over the top...  but there will be more to come.  didn't eat breakfast that day, bonked out hiking for the cam, then turned it into a double day and did the tuesday night road ride.  barely held on but it will all help in the tour of trinidad this sunday.  below is one of the pics and a shot from the whiskeytown xc.

09.10.07
well we won another xc this weekend.  back over in whiskeytown, rocks, dust, and a million corners... a real downhiller's xc.  seems to be after winning two la grange classics and now this one.  when the xc geeks get worried we get stoked.  they shortened the 30 mile loop down to 25 due to heat and forest fires polluting the air.  when i heard that i knew i had a shot, couldn't have gone any farther and held position cause i cramped to the point of screaming and falling off my bike one minute from the finish line.  always good to leave it all out there, especially when no one passes you in that moment of weakness.  haven't been doing any training over two hours so it was good to take this one away in 2:11.  the course had so many corners, flat and bermed, that i was able to conserve a lot more then most my competitors, off the brakes and on the gas.  tour of trinidad is this weekend and we will be returning to the road bike, this was a good warm up for that, went and pre road some of the 65 mile loop last night, going to be fun, hard to decided where to turn on the jets but it will happen as we plan to have at least there revo riders at the front.  should be fun.  and it all builds toward la grange in barely over a month, state champs here we come, oh yeah and i bought a skin suit...

09.02.07
fall is creeping upon us.  shadows long my 7 pm, and rides in the trees ending my 8 and it's not getting any better.  yesterday finally got to ride around in the south county a little bit, actually just south of arcata.  first pre rode what will be the first pirate ride, Guerilla DH, with Matt Snyder.  He calls it the skill builder, for god reason, super tight, super hard, all finese.  Matt Crashed like five times in the first run and i was feeling pretty tensed was way good, and only got scolded by one pedestrian.  be on the look out for invite handbills soon.  then went and met up with ryan delonger and rode to chck out the safeway downhill jumps.  to our surprise someone has been grooming them, they are as smooth and fun as they have ever been, just a little smaller.  then he showed with his pit bull, which i almost ran over.  neil some 20" rider who came up with the standard crew.  been doing good work, even hauling water out there.  thanked him and then rode the hell out of the trail.  messed around on hapgood short tracks a little bit, sessioned the little freeze jumps, showed off on the downhills for some groms who begged us to go back and hit them.  they were pumped which got us pumped and it was good.  pretty wiped out after all that and the day before climbing fickle and community forest tt after work.  all good... tonight couch i think then the same tomorrow with a ride all the way to the top.  good times.

08.29.07

well i'm baching it up this week, and still struggling to find the health and time and energy to bust it all up.  Becca has flown to michigan to visit the family and i hoped to ride/design pirate dh right into the new year.  but it isn't going to happen overnite, just like the rebirth of our diminished pirate trail system.  supposing i should go ride around this morning.  had hoped to get out on the tuesday night road ride last night, would have been the first time in two months, but too few of us at work and too much work to do.  so i did my own hour long session around the extremities of a town.  gotta keep something up till la grange wraps it all up in october.  feeling pretty soggy today, throat still sore, but we press on.  joping to unveil some new art themes soon as well as some new footage, but that is pending time and inspiration.  hoping for a little of both.  otherwise, we press on.

08.24.07
nine days and minimal updates, i know slacking, things a changin etc.   but i am pleased to say that plans for the first pirate ride of this fall are in the works.  tentatively set for september 29th somewhere south of Eureka CA.  The "Guerilla DH" is just that, top secret, so if you want to know what's up and the where's and when's you need to talk to a pirate and hope that they are in the know.  not so happy to report i rode myself into the ground last week trying to get back in shape phsyically and relationshiply overnight.  so the last three four days i have been nursing a sore throat and low energy.  think i am on the way out, get to sit on my ass tomorrow and time xc enduros for 12 hours.  that should be fun.  if you are anywhere near arcata's redwood park you should come check it out.  otherwise working on some new profiles for the page, including reigning national semi pro champ Ryan Delong.  that should be up in the next 30 days.  along with pictures from our colorado trip that the damn film lab lost somewhere in transpo.  hope to be back on the trail soon.  later.

08.15.07
well i meant to say goodbye, but was too rushed, so now i say hello.  just got back from snowmass (aspen) colorado yesterday.  attended the norba finals for the first time ever.  was an awesome trip and an experiment in careless racing.  burnt myself up pretty good and surprised my own low expectations with how poorly i finished.  but we need such things, kids need spankings, and racers need to get beat sometimes.  gonna post results and pics and crap but i have been sifting through the last weeks emails for two hours now and i am ready to move on.  more tomorrow or tonight.

08.03.07
august?! jeez, july was fun but glad that it is over, was a real off month for training, just the way it goes when you have birthdays to drink for...  hopefully now get back in the swing so we are ready for some road racing next month and all the fall classics.  this weekend going to get down with the graves, the graves bi annual family reunion that is.  trinidad tonight and tomorrow, more drinking and crazy hats and dancing, here we go...  supposedly leaving for colorado on tuesday, just crazy!  hope it all works out,  seems like forcing it to get to snowmass but i really want to go see it.  was hoping to ride more for prep but the bikes are beat and family obbs are calling so gonna have to hope for the best.

07.30.07
well this was easily the most embarrassing weekend this season.  so far it all seemed too good and consistent... first time i wasn't leaving with the humboldt target and first time my time was barely a respectable expert time.  felt bad to feel bad but in the end good to be out of my element for two days.  haven't been riding any rocks this season, let alone the powder of north star tahoe.  was struggling to say the least.  had boosted my fork to 8" for the first time in two seasons, and the higher front end did not work out well for the powder, regretted it.  crashed and wrecked a front brake on saturday, swapped my juicys fromt the back up bike, which worked much better then ye ole soles.  then broke a chain.  was frustrated.  so sunday decided i was gonna give flat pedals a chance and just rolled out a timed run.  pretty much decided that i wasn't racin and just rode an explorative run like in practice.  was still getting lost and off line, pretty unprepared.  by the end of the day though i was feeling loads better and having a lot of fun.  so robert rhall is in the hot seat now, beat me by .3 second with a crash, bastard.  lessons learned, want to give the star another chance.  we'll see, seems at least a good warm up for the powder and chop of snowmass.

07.26.07
now that next weekend and northstar rocks are almost here let me say a lil more about last weekends efforts.  so i was dh course guru all last week, lots of work making here pretty and perfect for racers.  the clear cut section was the biggest challenge as there was little dit to be found and it was all under three feet of slash.  couldn't have done it with out the help of Jared Delong, Paul Wilson, and Joel Dallas.  So spent all week working, practicing and hiking.  Come friday and the super d i was feeling weaker then hoped, but equipped with my new speed ball r remote seat post i wanted to lay some down.  out of the gate i felt fine and had a solid run aside from getting an itchy trigger finger, raising my seat at the wrong moment, losing focus, and ramming a stump.  nearly went o.t.b. but held it together and got right back on it.  still pretty costly on a short, seven minute, course.  wound up 6th of 6 pros which really bummed me out, especially since my closest competition for norcal championship, nick olson of chico, beat me by just one stumpin second.  was sixth overall though so not terrible, but definitely didn't feel good to be last to a bunch of xc joes.  course finished on fire road and that was easily a third of the time, so pretty sure my bike lost its time there.  after that effort i was spent but was able to get up and practice dh that night with my bro, and hit the big log jam step down for good measure and to clear the obstacle out of my dreams.  that night just feed and water, and up early the next day to race xc.  the xc race went bad.  legs were empty, course was brutal, and pedal was broken, requiring me to stop and reset the f'er about twenty times during the race.  obviously cost me minutes and lots of places but my legs weren't up to the pro pace anyway.  finished in 2 hours 46 minutes which was respectable but definitely could have gone in the 30's on a good day.  plus was real bent at xc joes who held me up both laps in the good dh sections annhilating all of my tech advantage, quite frustrating.  was first in exp 19-24 (of two) beating the next dude by 14 minutes, but farther back in the overall than i had hoped.  after that chugged recovery stuff and pounded food.  then had to hike the dh one more time to post last markers and last racking.  then got to suit up and ride.  had no pedaling ability that day bit flowed the course well and felt pretty confident.  that night, feed, water, sleep.  next day had some legs again but couldn't eat enough to stay full, i had burned so many calories the day before.  practice went well, timing myself a couple runs had a good idea of what needed to be done.  race runs rolled around and we started picking it up.  first run i won, in the hot seat by a fraction of a second.  felt great, wanted to quit right then.  time were tight as the course was running in the minute fortys, but my smooth run was good to start.  second run i picked up my speed where i had been slow and came down a second faster and still holding the fastest time.  then i really wanted to quit, was wiped and hungry and wanted to wait for the others to see if i even needed to try to go faster.  waited a while, too long, and thenjust went up for run three.  at the top, again, i chilled too long and lost all focus about the run ahead, was hungry, tummy growling, and head light.  got into the gate with no plan but to pedal harder, bad idea on the obstacle ridden course.  second corner over braked and almost washed, then got mad and tried to get it back only to go blind and blow off course on a tiny log drop that had never given me trouble.  didn't crash just came in hot and reacted late and ran into a bush, bringing me to a stop, tweaking my brake lever, and killing my run.  the rest went fine but i rolled across feeling spent and holding a time nine seconds slower then my previous run.  the competition had continued to knock the times down taking another second off, putting me with third fastest time and second overall combined two.  was pretty pissed at myself for not taking nurishment.  had the gus and everything but lost sight of what was at stake.  for the second time in three days nick bested me and pulled further into the overall lead for norcal champs.  he now has two firsts and i two seconds which will make it tough at weaverville in october.  good time, good competition, can't do everything and expect to be as good as one thing.  but everybody loved the trail and expressed it, so i was proud and happy.  just bummed i couldn't lay down the fast time of the day.

07.23.07
i bonked, bonked like a rookie.  so close, but couldn't drive it home.  i'll explain later.

07.18.07
this has got to be quick cause i have to be at work in five minutes.  the course is a go, so much fun!  the bigfoot that is.  jared delong and i played on it a bit last night in the rain and had a blast.  most importantly the new clear cut sections are sweet.  rough, challenging, multiple line choices, wide, very very good.  i am proud to share it all now.  doesn't mean work is done, stobbing tonight and marking tomorrow.  race on!

07.16.07
the count down is on, four days till our big foot classic kicks off.  course work is moving right along.  a third of the course had been clear cut this year, so it is up to us to make due and make the giant slash pile rideable in a weeks time.  yesterday with many hands (myself, jared delong, paul wilson, joel ?, and vic armijo) we were able to connect the lower third with the upper third, completing a line through the clear cut.  at this point it is rideable top to bottom, but still much work before the new section is packed, so much slash it is like a giant sponge.  i was surprised with what we got done yesterday, lots of stick pulling, chain sawing, and racking.  some good obstacles to add to the already epic amount of technical line choices.  some more air time and some more outs.  the course is short but sweet, no other race has the number of line options that the bigfoot has, going to require some real handling jumping skills.  i am excited.  a little nervous cause  gonna have to step up and go big, but lookng forward to it.

07.08.07
today was a nice day, desite not getting to the race this weekend felt like i had a good work out.  will be hard to hear about everyone's success, or whatever, but that is how it goes being a poor boy.  at this point i am starting to plan the savings to make it out to colorado for snowmass, have never seen it and think one ncs race this year would be worthwhile.  any how laid in a bit this morning then had coffee and a donut and shuffled around town.  suited up and rode one mild lap on the thursday night time trial course.  laid down a 22:56, which is good for going seventy five percent or so.  working on the crucial mp3 mix that will give me the record this week, think i can do it, feeling strong.  then rinsed off and took in a matineee of mike moore's new flick "Sicko"  was quite good, quite poignant, he is a superb story teller.  reminded me that i had planned to be out of the country by this time, and some of the reasons why.  so easy to lose sight of those goals when we get caught up in consuming and chasing material goods every day.  forget there is more living out there and people who are doing it just as well, if not better.  then wiped the eyes and changed gears to bmx.  made it out to the track in time to sign up and finish a half a sandwich minutes before my first heat.  felt slow with all the food but wasn't really threatened.  so i sat back the first two rounds so i could ride each one, before taking the win to the main.  then hammered the whole track and got another win on the cruiser 24".  watered the dirt a bit and switched over to the stp 26".  by this time my food was down and my legs were back.  proceeded to pull two lines i had never pulled before, felt so good to learn some new moves on the eve of my 24th birthday (by the way the party is next friday night the 13th, you should look me up, yall invited and we will be getting loose.)  Was coming into the rythm section and (it will sound like greek but) manual roller one, double rollers 2 and three, pop the table top, double the next two rollers, pop the next table, pop the next double, then clear the triple.  had never hit is like that and was able to do it so consistent i almost closed my eyes.  then found gthe balls to gun it at the first straight's triple and made it clean for the first time ever.  then hit it like ten more times no sweat, loving it.  so good, almost better then surfing... then spun my legs out riding the single speed the 8 miles or so back home to arcata.  that's that, tomorrow gonna order a gravity dropping seat post, and then try to make it up to the big foot course to asses and layout.  right now gotta drink beer.  should say more but i have already said too much.

07.07.07
now that is a date!  tonight i am on my ass, a little jumping this evening, a little bmx race yesterday, a little more tomorrow.  feel like i should be at cougar mtn, but kinda nice not to be...  have lots more i should be saying but the short and long of it is i wish i was a fast boy and racing schladming tomorrow.  peat and rennie dodged timed qualifying, sam was fastest 4:07, minaar second 4:11, blenkinsop third 4:12.  i am pumped, check out the call at Transcend Mag.  That's that, I need motivation, if you want me to ride more tell me so.
Cheers

07.05.07
well we made it through independence day.  was actually quite fun.  a little bbq, beer fest and tire toss celebration in back of the 'ol shoppy.  followed by time with my partner and a trip out to woodly island to see the fireworks (awesome!).  the only unawesome part was the fact that all the egrets in the rookery were awakened ad frightened out of their trees.  perhaps i am a bleeding heart, but theat has to be a bother... 
all this before most head to the cougar mtn classic, and after i went to monterey.  should be going to cougar, but decided it wasn't in the bank.  rather paying off some screen printing so i can get jerseys finished for the new groms.  Last weekend on tghe other hand was deemed a priority, as it was pat of the infamous nor cal state series...  that was a blast, basic trail, no shuttle b ut a good time and good event.  very loose and very drifty though not technical beyond that.  finding myself much more willing to gamble in corners then  a year or two ago.  down to hang a foot a slide trying for extra meters versus being cautious and erroring toward smooth and slow.  as you see in this picture my race run consisted of such chance taking.  in fact my run was sub par, blew most of the crucial corners, so i was happy to winde up second, even if it was only by .4 seconds.  this gap could have possibly been attributed to my decision to weat a tight jersey versus the baggy.  the first straight was unprotectred fire road and had a head wind building through the day...  but pulled it out, even with the mistakes i wasn't on pace to best the winner, who was eight seconds faster.  those kind of things make me feel so so about this pro riding.  yes at least half is physical shape and skill.  but such a large portion is wisdom; when to eat, what to wear, tires, tools, practice, patience, all of the preperation.  sometimes utilizing this wisdom to win seems unfair or like cheating, but that hasn't stopped me yet.  so i guess we will continue to utilize what some have dubbed, 'age and treachery'.  on thely  flip side is joely's fleeting moments of brilliance.  here you see him on the verge on dominating this tricky direction chenge beyond belief.  no cigar though, wipe out and only seventeen seconds back...
  Full Series

06.25.07
days fly by, rides compile.  today i am thankful for Ryan Delong.  The only cat around crazy enough to ride where and how i want to ride these days.  Last night after closing the shop at five we suited up and headed up fickle hill, nine miles up fickle hill to the couch trail.  road all mountain 30+ pound full suspension with bags, baggies, and dirt jump lids.  was killer.  once up we bombed the way we do, pushing each other all the way and no break offs.  good times.  two and a half hours followed by a lot of pasta.  love summer days, never end it seems.

06.20.07

Tonight we have a brief photo essay to catch up to speed.  I am bored so i am doing this, but i am also lazy so it will be very brief.  First I have a girl friend these days, as many of you are finding out.  here we are when i had dyke like hair and dirty bandanas.  then i was in weaverville timing the 12 hour race and competiting in gravity events.  this is jj katri, lap one, my view from the timing booth.  the BMX track has been begun to be beed beautified.  You'll see Rob Rhall there in the ho moving some dirt onto turn 2, which is sweet now.  Still a long way to go, but it is getting closer.  the arcata crit went down, way fun.  here you see the lilest rider, ellis kahn.  then me warming up, marshalling, and cooling down with the boys.  next me and my pops and older brother ganged up and got joely an early birthday present in the shape of a boxxer team fork to replace his 2004 super t.  big upgrade, big surprise.  think he still doesn't know what to do with it, but once he figures it out you all better watch your butts.  then last but not least there's me doing what i do on the jump trail arcata forest.

06.16.07
somehow i've done it again.  a full day behind all day, was convinced it was the 15th, wishful thinking.  was wrenching late tonight, trying to rebuild the Maestro Linkage on my Giant Trance.  It has held up killer but seeking superior plushness and silence.  This season has taken some serious wrench energy, no catastrophic issues, and the most reources at my disposal yet, but with four race bikes to keep up and alwyas jockeying parts back and forth it has been a bit trying.  of course i am wiser and more aware than ever this season in terms of setting my bikes up to the course specifics, but with thie awareness comes more strees as the standards are elevated.  always something and onight it turned out to be a little cracky crack in the rear end of my trance.  just turned a year old so it is no suprise, i have cracked every bike i have owned at some point...  have a couple weeks before the next race but still a stresser.  gotta get it resolved quickly as toro park is on the 1st of july...  hopefully all flows smoothly.  seems like they are all faliing apart but i guess we're just riding hard.  tat's all.

06.10.07
12 mile supa D... well it was fun, if a little hazy... traveled up with the Rhallagans friday night.  we crashed out under the stars on the top of Mt. Ashland.  was my first time up there and was very impressed with the terrain.  got a little altitude sick that night but was fine for the rest.  Saturday got up and peeled off three runs (36 miles) on the race course.  Lots of ripping wind tuck fire road, lots of beautiful flowing single track, a hellish ascent, and high speed sketchy steeps to finish it off.  dirt was just moist enough to be pleasant and got further packed as it sprinkled hard on our final run saturday night.  thankfully the storm never broke and we were able to remain relatively dry in our tents that night.  next morning shake up and race.  i was second off on the day, a start time of 9:31.  tried to get the legs warmed up but was hard to prepare for a five minute fire road bomb in the chilly fog, followed by a ten minute climb.  Curtis Beavers was first but broke his chain the first pedal stroke out of the gate so I was the first rider on course, with local legend nathan riddle two riders back.  was a bad sign that i was set on getting caught right from the get go, kept glancing back wondering when it would come.  had chased the WTB team for a run the day before and knew their pace was pretty damn fast and steady, knew i was close but mentally lacked the courage and knowledge to attack.  plus experienced some troubling gear issues.  felt more unprepared for this race then any this season, gear wise.  so hard to know what to run.  full lycra, strap down clipless shoes, dj helmet... that was all good.  wore goggles down though which wasn't sso good.  they had been fine in practice but race morning was colder and wetter then the day prior and after the climb they were fogged till the last ten minutes of the run.  spent too much time thinking about them, and trying to put them back on when i should have been hammering.  other issue was my front lockout which i rely on heavily.  the lock switch was loose and sketcking me out, had trouble engaging it and disengaging, again getting in my head and distracting.  otherwise i was pretty smooth and fluid, though much too conservative with my energy...  the Riddler caught me about twenty five minutes in, then the Weir wolf caugh me with about five to go.  drafted him for a bit and chatted it up, telling him all about riddles split time...  after the race he told me it was funny but having so much to say meant i should have been pushing harder, as he could not utter a word.  in the final steep switchbacked descent he slowly pulled away, illuminating my final disadvantage, the gravity dropper.  every pro had one but me and one other cat, and sure that could have been 30 seconds on a 40 minute run with so many tight corners.  so we learn, this racing is equipment heavy biznatch.  plus all those WTB cats had Garmin cgps computers on their bikes.  in hindsight it was foolish to not have timed any of my practice, having no idea where to pace and where to push.  tricks of the trade i guess.  none did it better then weir who won it all with a time of 35:53 and an average spee od 20.7 mph.  Riddle was second with a 36:17 (2 seconds per mile slower) and Beavers was 3rd with a 37 somethin.  I brought up 6th with a 39:12, was nice to go under forty and not get am'd (bested by any non pro riders) but came across the line with legs to spare and strategy to apply.  that's the game though, good competition, good training.
joely got the horror show award, coming across with a bloodied nose that had gotten all over everywhere.  he was ok, had just faced hard in a switchback being overly fatigued, wound up fourth, a good effort coming in the 45's.  Paul wilson edged him barely and was ten seconds off the sport podium, would have had it had he not decided to let loose a rolling pee half way down.  pretty impresseive never the less.

06.07.07
Weekend after weekend we try to keep the train rolling... bikes damaged in storage, beat by the elements, haggard by my increasing demands I struggle to keep the wheels turning in kind.  but we are making it so far, pay check to paycheck, back up to ashland the land of lithia, this weekend.  opted for the 12 mile super d over the second installment of the carnegie CHDH series.  still have one more shot at that, and my endurance is pretty good right now so we will see how that goes.  another trance 4.2" travel weekend.  too much in the mind to manifest all at once, but apparently we have a lot in the hopper so don't get your hopes down.  we'll see if we can hang with weiry weir this weekend, maybe maybe.  at least get some practice in with nathan the riddler riddle. of and p.s. presented my lil bro with an early birthday present of a boxxer team fork today, so watch out, once his equipment is as tight as yours your all dead meat (maybe myself included, but that would be good motivation).

06.05.07
days fly by, settling in the new apartment, bikes getting rained on, gotta build a shed...  completed two events in the arcata criterium this sunday.  first was the 20 minute fat tire race, too bad only three riders including me.  won it, but mostly it was just a warm up for the expert race.  the big one was fifty minutes without a slouch to be found.  managed to hang with the leaders and even put in a couple attacks.  but come the final two laps got a little out of my head and lost good positioning, was still in descent position come the second to last turn and was prepping to gun it when things exploded in front of me.  Tim Windbigler went down (he suspects a bar, stem failure) then Jim Robbins and JJ Katri exploded.  Bikes were going head high and we were pinned wheel to wheel in the courses most dangerous corner.  was two riders back from the crash and could not avoid the carnage, skidding in, high siding and flopping on Katri carbon cushion.  I was fi