Gravity Pirate Winter Series Ride #2 January 6th 2006

Round 2: Joel Graves v Jason Allen
Round 2: Justin Graves v Nic Lumas
Consolation Final: Jason Allen v Nic Lumas

As of January 5th conflicting weather reports for race day had the chance of heavy rain in the riders' future. At the very least the course was to be damp and soft due to heavy rains in the days leading up to the event. True to winter ride form rains came in the night before squelching the desire of many to attend. Nevertheless a handful of riders made the trek to the moist and misty mountain cross track.
As Practice began it was clear that the slippery track was making things a bit diffcult, as riders struggled to hold speed, traction, and clear obstacles. Precipitation subsided as practice progressed allowing for better visibility, one of the major handicaps this weekend. Soon riders speeds were picking up and the course was breaking in. Riders completed a solo timed seeding run to build the elimination bracket. Times were very tight on the slow course. Justin Graves of Arcata qualified fatest with a time of 43 seconds despite riding without a rear brake, younger brother Joel Graves was a blink behind in the second spot with a time of 44 seconds. From here the eight riders were seperated by a total of eight seconds.
In round one of elimination rounds progressed as expected aside from an upset in the tight matchup between fourth and fith place qualifiers Matt Hrabko of Santa Cruz and Nic Lumas of Arcata. Hrabko led for the entirety of the race, but going into the courses final corner (a very muddy banked left hand berm) Lumas was close enough to take the inside and pass Hrabko and advance to the second round. Lumas would soon find himself in the small final with third place qualifier Jason Allen of Eureka. The two hardtail riders would have a close heat with Allen claiming third place on the day.
The emminent action of the afternoon was the brewing matchup of Justin Graves and brother Joel Graves. The two had qualified fastest well ahead of the rest of the field, and it was unavoidable that the two would meet in competition. A slight bobble on the gate by Justin gave Joel an early jump but the two pulled side by side and rode the first straight bar to bar, neck and neck. By the first corner Justin had scooched in front of his brother, spectators could hear the two riders' tires scrub in the berm as a small speed check by Justin caused Joel to over correct and be unable to clear the next double allowing Justin to take the win.
With just a few in attendance the vibes were mellow, the riding fun and casual.

Seeding Run

1	Justin Graves	0:43
2	Joel Graves	0:44
3	Jason Allen	0:45
4	Matt Hrabko	0:47
5	Nic Lumas	0:48
6	Ray Ray Williams	0:50
7	Max Capps	0:50
8	Ray Williams	0:51