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.cccxdh_justin01.jpg  cccxdh_justin03.jpg cccxdh_justin04.jpgin 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 fine, they were all just a little bloodied and Windbiglers bike dead, i trotted across the line respestably but missed the finishing sprint.  Was loads of fun, can't wait for more of that.  What other dh'er round here can claim a like road addiction.  wondering what would have happened had my bike not weighed six more pounds then the average weapon out there.  plan to decimate given more opportunities.  we'll see.

05.29.07
so heres the call straight from weaverville, a very long week of biking and more biking.  too late to go all the way into it (2:00am) so i will try to skim and give the jist.  arrived in Weaverville for 12 hours of Weaverville and Gravity Day Nor Cal DH State Championship prep.  Wednesday night set up camp, eat, chill, relax after driving/towing the yellow death suburban beast of team bigfoot to town .  Thursday morning Erich Weidenkeller of redding rolled into town and we dressed up the dh.  after cutting a tree out of the bottom creek crossing we hiked the WHOLE hill in the blessed sun shine.  five and a half hours later ad may shrubs dow the course was clear ad marked.  some of you may remember the death log in the courses center freeway, you know the one which protruded from the left of the trail at head level and threatened to decapetate riders in one of the courses fastest sections... well me and erich dub killed it, that was the biggest victory of the week considering it was done with a 12 inch blade and nothin but raw man power.  by the time that was done so were we.  ate, kicked it and that was all.  Friday morning got one dh ru o the lil bike with jared delong and paul wilson, felt scared like a ninny.  then some more road marking and a run on the super d xc section before heading to the school to register riders for the next days xc endurance event.  was there on the computer till about 8 then back to camp to kick it cook and crash early.  little sleep as i was nervous about the next days timing, got up at four and took a walk knowing it was the only quiet time i would have to myself for awhile.  were at the school by 6am setting up the last registrants etc.  8 am the race began and i was on till the end.  payed off as the timing was impecable, everyone was stoked and no protests at the end, unheard of... had hoped to get some practice that night but that was entirely not happening, plus my mental state after fiteen hours on the screen was not conducive to high speed reaction time.  so it was back to camp eat and to bed hoping to be recharged for the next days event, beginning the transition into self centered competitor mode.  up at 6am and getting ready.  thanks to a personal shuttle from carl hesselein got a run on the lil bike down the upper dh and super d lower before reg and the crowds.  felt much better up top, and was confident.  my day nearly ended ripping the single track home.  bar cauht a tiny stump on the inside of a subtle right hand corner and i was crossed and launched.  thought i was going to hit dirt hard but kept flying, over the trail, over the edge, and ten feet down into the ditch.  flying long enough to get bummed out my day was about to end.  somehow avoided the downed log i landed next too, and luckily it caught my bike.  negligible damage to both.  close one.  cruised back and kicked it till race time.  after we got to the top and got the heat together it was go time.  was fastest yet through the top, despite having a seat way up my ass.  but definitely paid off in the xc section as you have no choice but to sit and spin for much of the 20+ minute section.  Scott Fellers won the overall and pro with a 26:43 on the 8+ mile course.  His strategy of running his seat low up top and stopping to boost it in the bottom seemed to pay off.  My run was relatively clean.  Few neat wipe outs on the single track toward the end as fatigue caught me, was rasping like i can't remember when by the end, was good for us.  Times were crazy tight as Ian Massey and I tied with 26:46's.  He went otb briefly right off the start but things balanced out .  Hard to believe it could be so close.  What is even harder to believe is that vic still doesn't time to the tenths.  If Team Bigfoot is going to continue to host norba races and expect the fast riders they've got to step it up.  after that i felt i had sufficient course knowledge and my legs needed recoverey so i sat/laid around till th edh final started bout two hours after the super d run.  first race run was my first dh bike run so it was quite a big unknown.  thought i could anticipate the speed but didn't realize how fast i could go until about half way down.  so much more traction and stability.  was distracted a bit by all this and hit all the wrong ruts.  to boot i had been too much of a ninny to practice the courses creek crossing at all.  figured straight and hard would do it despite everyone's reports that it was quite deep.  so i jammed it straight and tried to pump through only to be shocked by the depth, almost go otb, blow both feet off and somehow flintstove out the other side.  stayed with the bike and pedaled home but was ragged.  time was a 7:47, a personal best, but i then became aware of how much more time could be chopped and knew i woul dhave to to hang anywhere near Fellers neighborhood.  was beating myself up a bit over my unpreparedness, very uncharacteristic coming into a pro final, but it was best of two so there was hope.  knew what i had to do to pick it up up top and formulated a new plan for the creek.  went into zen mode and was ready.  by the time we got to the top i was ready for ciesta but had planned for that , got some gu and some water and started spinning up while evevery body else puches up to wait.  it was a good thing i took my time as i discovered the slow leak in muy rear tire i had ignored days earlier in the shop had acclerated and was now nearly on rim.  borrowed a pump and got it back to norm realizing i would have to hurry up as it wasn't going to stay firm for long.  spun some more ang headed up.  as soon as my run started felt nothing but flow and confidence.  turned it way up on the top and felt killer, breathing deep and hitting my lines hard.  the faster i went the faster i found i could go, and in hindsight i am sad i didn't ride the big bike sooner as i could have easily found a few more clicks which could have put me over the top.  as it was it was the best i had ridden the top and so my focus shifted to the creek, the big fat question mark.  this time i came in faster and instead of pumping in i hopped to the center hoping it would be shallower.  not so.  againg i was shocked by the depth, lost momentum and got bucked off line.  this time more severely as i was launched out ofthe saddle and into the big rocks on the right.  i had the coherence to hang onto the bars and keep the bike up as i cussed and ran out of the creek.  fumbling to get back in the pedals and on the gas.  for a half second i wanted to sit up and quit before realizing i needed to pedal harder for the mistake.  so hammered home pissed at myself sure i was out of contention.  somehow my time was in the mix, the top three mix.  felt great considering all the distractions, but to only be three seconds off the win with a huge blow up makes one wonder and recite those practice lessons over and over.  the second run was a 7:30 sliding under Fellers record of 7:32 the year before, but as expected he shaved a bit more as did his compatriot nick Olson.  so first and second tied on 7:27.  once again if team bigfot doesn't get a real stop watch i am going to stage a walk out...  any way was happy with the result on a day i figured i would be off the pace and just rolling the hill.  pedal hard enough to ground myself at the finsh line for the first time in a while so that was good.  and apparently am a lot closer to the boys then i thought which is going to make for an exciting nor cal title chase.  happy to be in the hunt and even more inspired to kick it up, watch out this volume knob goes up to eleven, it's one louder.

05.20.07
sunday sunday, was supposed to go shralp in hoopa today with robbie but he is still having health issues.  so instead breaking in my new dt/wtb wheelset on the jump trail.  called at least ten people this morning looking for a riding bud and couldn't get any.  so went it alone.  breaking for lunch now and touching up the wheels, though they seem to be flawless.  frsh fox 40 rebuild is breaking in nicely too, new stanchions and lowers feel smooth and solid.  like the bike, like it a lot. probably go jump so more in a bit, all the trees along the jump trail corridor have been marked for cutting so have to enjoy it while it lasts.  so if you have a chance place a call to your local congress man or woman and tell them we must save the arcata community forests' free ride interests.  thank you.
    come wednesday it is off to weaverville to prep for team bigfoot's gravity days.  getting paid to clean and mark the dh and super d courses, as well as run timing saturday's 12 hour xc event.  hope it gives me an unfair advantage, that would be nice.  hope to see you there.

05.16.07
Was about to pass out when i discovered the results from Vigo were posted.. i am a fiend for that biz.  was about to come home and drink till i went for xc ride with matt snyder, carl h., nick loomis and mr. shimano... then bought whiskey anyway and was going to drink it before i discovered the results and started fiendishly flipping through every photo.  damn i love this game...

05.13.07
yeah it went down yesterday.  my cherry popped as they say.  100 miles and still here.  no stops, not a foot to ground, completed my first Tour of The Unknown Coast and feeling pretty damn good about it.  Accomplished all of my goals.  number one was to not stop for nothin, managed my bladder well, no flats, no mechanicals and no ride ending cramps.  number two was to hang with the leaders halfway to the top of panther gap.  check, even had a ten minute or so break away with Bob Beede and eventual 3rd place finisher Matt Bowman (felt like a rock star), had a good climb and had the crew in sight to just about the summit.  number three was to finish in under six hours, check.  partially cause i knew I could, and partially cause i wanted to prove it.  Five hours and fifty five minutes.  it hurt, it sucked, it was beautiful, and it was probably the best thing i have ever done.  it was tough losing the pack, though i knew it was coming, but it didn't take long to come to terms with that and focus on my goals and my own battle with the course.  plus when you are alone it is easy to imagine you're hollywood bob, or house or any of the guys, on a breakaway to win...  ate when i needed to, used all the advice i could, found everything everybody said to be true.  was buried in the last 20 miles only to resurface a new man with a new disease.  bit by a bug with nothing more then a patch and tight calves to show for it.  just enough fanatical fans to make it worthwhile too.  thanks to JJ and Jeff and Wes for making it seem like the tour de france, rowdiness is always appreciated.  will I be back, more than likely.  will i be faster longer farther?  you better f'in believe it.

oh yeah and I wore my dirt jumpin helmet and moto gloves and four year old lace up shoes just to prove the point.  gotta rep the G.P.

5.07.07
So spring thaw 2007 in the record books...  was a tight trip for funds and such, managed to pull it, glad we did, but the belt is now pretty tight.  anyhow blasted off friday morning riding with mr nick loomis, arrived in ashland around 3:00 and met up with friend derek to do some descending down the famed Marty's trail of ashland.  myself and Snyder and nick, and Ansel, and Martin and Derek all had a ball even though nobody could stay together.  Everybody got lost but then found themselves and it was a dandy evening.  bopped around, got registered and fed, and chilled out till my brother got into town at about 10:30.  then loaded up and headed over to derek's in medford where we promptly passed out.
next morning up at six to prep for the Spring Thaw XC,  little cafe, little dumpy, little pack up, you know.  got to the park in time and started getting ready, didn't quite time my urination properly and had a bit of baggage on the ride but not too bad.  took off at 9:10am with the fast boys.  up the initial climb was feeling good, picking people off, but then the oavement turned fire road continued.  the fire road went on and on until log after i wanted it to be gone.  then we did a sweet little ten minute single track ascent in the snow which rocked, pulled more time there.  the reward for killing that section though was popping out onto another fire road traverse which would last between 9 and ten miles.  here i was forced to pace line a bunch and found myself hating the ride and ready to ask my money back half way through, never good.  then got working with a nice guy and made good time to the final descent and final single track riding.  soon caught the group of four that had gotten away from me earlier and basically killed it wall the way home.  had a descent ride, but way too much road, way to much sitting in.  lamo.  pretty much convinced me i am still not ready for the tour of the unknown coast, couldn't take an hour of sitting in, how can i do six... finished with an alright result considering i disliked the course so much.  8th in a huge expert field of 19-39 year olds and 36th overall out of 218 on the long course.  with all the fire road times were pretty quick for a 26 mile course, i coming in at 2:04.
wrapped up the xc day by pulling a kona cruiser frame in the raffle while being accused of rigging it seeing as kona rep jimmy james had dressed me out in kona warmups since my ride and clothing had not arrived to meet me yet.  then rolled out to the dh for some practice.  felt pretty good saturday evening, was pretty wiped but hadn't laid it all out in the xc, not knowing the course at all, so was still able to hit the course pretty hard.  much of the xc had been in the snow, so likewise the dh was a bit damp and this was perfect.  the trail was hooking and a lot of fun.  even got one more town drop in that night as we wrapped up.  sunday, race day, having already logged sufficient training and fun miles for the weekend, i was pretty relaxed and pretty tired.  things went to schedule race morning, got my practice in pretty much how i wanted, aside from a serious bell ringing pinball on my first run.  sun spots and shadows were drawing rough contrast early in the day and i lost sight of an overhanging tree in a subtle right hand corner.  right arm's funny bone bounced me off the first tree sending me skidding and careening head and shoulder into another on the left side of the trail, out side of corner.  hit the ground hard and fast to be lumbere over by joel who was coming close behind, as he tried to jump off his bike so as not to smadh my head.  was good fun except i hit so hard i thought my arm was broken, went totally numb for a good bit, but just sore now.  was able to shake it out, hike back up, ad hit the section fast, but that ringer stayed in my mind, and elbow, all day.  wasn't quite set in the top rock section but knew it wasn't all going to happen there.  just chilled and spun around till start time just six riders back from the start of it all.  run came and it was on, first paid race on flat pedals since 2000.  was going to back out and run clips, despite my reasoning that hanging in the courses many switchbacks could be beneficial, except my left pedal die in the cross country race, it barely held on, was quite lucky it didn't fall off, had to nurse it home.  anyhow run 1 of 1 on flts went down pretty smooth, cautious into the top rocks, fast out, then too fast on the free way, where twice i almost slid out.  nice through the single track and smooth through the switchbacks, then hard to the line.  knew it was ok, knew it wasn't going to beat nathan's course record time that day, but you can't help but wonder until you hear.  a surprising number of fast guys flatted or crashed, still the times were tight and two seconds split the semi pro top four.  i slid into third, got on the box, and was sixth overall that day out of 160.  felt good to show up and go to work and work well.  can always work better, but things are working pretty wel right now.  gotta thank Revolution Bikes for making this season happen for me and Azonic Racing for helping me look good while i do it.  rest of the pirate squad had mixed results but rode faster then ever.  brother joel took the sport mens win by less than a second.  jared delong was third in expert men.  happy was killing it until a fateful log bite which sent him flying to a broken collar bone and thumb etc.  he'll be back soon and killing it again, just tough to see him have to sit again.  matt snyder crashed and missed a personal best by less than half a second, so he is hungry for more.  fast todd hoeft from redding won the expert 40+ decisively and his son austin killed the 14 and under category with commmanding moto style.  after we ate and chilled and awarded we cut back to medford, packed up, and headed to their open outdoor bmx track.  awesome track, way smooth, way public, sick berms, fun doubles, the whole bit.  so we shredded till 8:30 when we were totally dead (nic, joel, derek, tayva, lisa, and i) and then blasted back and made arcata before midnight.
argueably i could have ridden faster then myu 4:34 in the dh had i not charge the xc and so much trail riding the days before.  but the weekend was for traiing and for base and that was accomplished.  to be able to do it all and still get on the box was sweet.  hope to maintain the trend and just get quicker as we go.

5.01.07
May is here and with it showers... managed to get out and spin for an hour today in the redwoods.  was nice little jaunt but quite wet quite wet.  now resting up trying to scheme how to make it all gel in Ashland this weekend for the spring thaw.  we'll see we'll see.  lots of positive energy backing me and i am happy for that, a boy couldn't ask for more supportive friends and community.

04.29.07
Ok, so i fell off a little bit here, it happens, i can't swear it will be the last time.  Been busy focusing on riding a lot, letting everything else slide back a bit, film work included.  Been good results though so far.  presently recovering from the Lemurian Long Course XC yesterday at Whiskey Town Lake.  Grueling course, had a darn good ride to win my Expert 18-30 and place top twenty overall.  Felt good although it hurt so bad.  Was extra nice to be the top finisher on the Revo team, just shows the boss your doin your job.  Then today recovered by spinning the stp over to redwood acres bmx and competing in the cruiser race for the first time in about two years.  was fun, got gnarly butterflies even though it was super casual, good stuff.  Then a wee bit of skate park for flavor, although i was shaking pretty bad at that point.  i do realize i haven't said much about the sea otter, it went well, good rides.  how about i write a retrospective when the sea otter album hits, still cracking around with the footage.
till then

04.04.07

Been trying to get to this entry for several days now, but the adventure of life has been rolling right along.  Shall we call it the Redding Mobbers Premiere Report?  Shall we call it the new eyes explanation?  Shall we call it legs still recovering and mind lagging behind?  No matter what we call it the trip last weekend to Redding area was incredible.  Incredible company, incredible hospitality, unparalleled riding, a successful screening, and well...

2:30am Saturday Morning:  After spending all evening packing, organizing merchandise, burning last minute DVD's, confirming directions, etc.  I went to sleep.

5:00am Saturday Morning:  Woke up to throw last bikes on car, wake brother up, and get ourselves out of dodge.  Gassed up and were east bound on 299 by six oclock.

8:30am Saturday Morning:  Arrive at Whiskeytown recreation area and chill our for about half an hour before preparing for xc ride with Redding Mountain bike club.  By nine the club began to roll in and they kept coming till somewhere between 30-40 riders (apparently a small group) were prepared to head out.  We rode for a little over ten miles on some very technical, steep, and rocky trails.  the group slowly divided up as riders chose different directions and difficulties.  Overall the group was super cool, very supportive, and stoked to show us around their neighborhood.  met some great folks, sold a few DVD's and had a ball.

1:00pm Saturday Afternoon:  By the end of the ride we were feeling our lack of sleep and just wanted to kick it.  We rolled to our temporary homestead with Sandy Ross and got cleaned up, fed, etc.  Pretty much bummed around all afternoon, worked on the bikes a bit, tested the video projector ad just ejoyed the beautiful day.

5:30pm Saturday Evening:  Depart Sandy's for Ultimate Pizza CO.  We totally ransacked the placem rearranged, hung our posters and screen and set down some temporary roots.  Sandy came through huge with a projector and DVD player, couldn't have done it without her.  The place was flooded with light till 7:30 so pushed back the feature a little bit, but folks began showig up late ayway so it was perfect.  Ran the reel, raffled some schwag (BIG UP AZONIC RACING)  stoked the populous out.  had a couple pitchers in me, feeling great, shooting the shit.  Good folks good times.  Thanks Jim ad the Ultimate Pizza Crew, Big Up Big Up.

12:00am Sunday Morning: Passed out havig called off the night ride, feeling wiped.  Looking forward to six oclock wake up to go downhilling.

6:53am Sunday Morning:  wake up and check cell phone, tells me it is 5:53am, stoked, check messages, taking my time waking up, but wondering why it is so light outside... phone then resets to 6:53!  Then back.  Damn satelites.  So we bounce in a crazy hurry already half an hour late.  Of course we met the crew just fine, no hard feelings that i know of.

8:00am Approaching top of South fork mountain DH run.  Big Up Todd Hoeft, Nor Cal God, and father of the best Pirate trail I have ever ridden.  First run i stack like a patsy in the top rock garde chasing todd and L.G. down.  Only feel at like 2 miles an hour but all rocks there are razors so got a little bloodied.  Hike back up and clean my way back to the group.  To put the trail into perspective, the top 1/3 mile drops 800 feet in elevation, bad ass.  Then the bottom becomes wide open chunderous double track, a natural creek rock section with flowing water, and more incredible corners then anyone should ever get to ride in one day.  After run one the Chain Gang drew, Erick Weidenkeller Jeremiah Collins and L.G. cut out for 10:00am work, Joel and I do another run, and then another.  Pinned top to bottom the trail is somewhere around ten minutes it seemed.  But the abuse, fun, and challenge is equivalent to a solid hour anywhere else.

12:00pm Sunday Afternoon: after three runs down the south fork Sandy, Joel and eye decide to go shuttle the Ice Box DH at whiskey town lake before heading back to the house.  More sick unseen trail, ripping rock sections, etc.  Permasmile.

2:00pm Sunday Afternoon:  Back at Sandy's packing up the rig to depart, thanks yous and all that Jazz.

3:00pm Sunday Afternoon:  At the Chain Gang Bike shop meeting up with Jeremiah and L.G. to roll to the "Rider Ranch", Jeremiah's pad.  Once there we explore the possibilities of his sick and fresh pumptrack, be daunted by his phat back yard cliff drop, scope his trials course and short track trails, bang his drums a bit, have some matte, and get way stoked out.  The session was solid, Erick W. showed up and Joe ? was there.  Lots pf progression, helped motivate some first attempts on the track which is always fun, good company riding was elevated.

6:00pm Sunday Evening:  Jeremiah and L.G. lead us to the Redding Jump trail.  The legend was revealed, have heard of it for years, was prepared to be blown away and unable to ride it, but was unprepared for what I actually encountered.  Met Chad Mitchell, Jason Marciano, and Chasin ? there along with several other rippers and had my mind blown to smitherens.  Some pictures are coming but they will do the show no justice I am sure.  I saw things i never thought achievable outside of an x games arena.  Not to put anything on anyone but, the R.J.T. is what is happening, everything else is tiddly winks...  Don't even know how much i should say or describe becuase then you will get images and think you know what i am talking about, but you won't.  The amount of work, the size, the amplitude, and the skill of the kids there is insane.  All riding hardtails, all throwing it huge, and all humble and welcoming u and anyone to ride their trails.  Amazed.  I'll just say I saw Mitchell send his hardail about 35 feet and almost three stories overhead, it blew my mind...  The wind was picking up on the top so we dropped onto the downhill jump run and sessioned a sick section.  Took me numerous bitch runs to get it down but when I did my adrenaline was pegged like it hasn't been for days.  On the verge of exhaustion and completely stoked out I experienced more hang time in a forty minute session then I have in a long time anywhere else.  "Centipede" to ? to "Java" to "Party Popper".  Things are just a little different there, the bar is a little higher, the kids all come up in a more intense atmosphere and so they build a little bit more intense stuff, the intensity gets stacked and, blamo, you have the RJT phenomenon (Big Up Cecil Johns).  The lips are a little steeper, the gaps a little bigger, the landings a little more sniper, the bikes a little sketchier, and the skills a little more refined.  The dirt is loose, even when they say it is tacky, and fosters bike control like nothing else.  They name every hit and everyone agress on it, each hit does indeed have a personality, as do the trails, steeped in history, blood and sweat.  I was possesed by something there, I will be back soon, and I will definitely never dig the same again.

8:30pm Sunday Evening:  The session finally wound down at dusk and we had split with the rippers.  Rode the trail back out and loaded up L.G. to give him a ride home.  36 hours after our arrival we were headed west to resume the coastal attack.  It took an hour for me to come down from the adrenaline of our JT session, and when I did I was done, toast, kaput, but so stoked that I couldn't really shut the mind down. 

12:00am Monday Morning:  Home safe and sound and committed to step things up in the Hum CO ,inspired by the loose lucidity of the Redding Militia.

Now I have been on our own RJT every evening for the past three days, throwing dirt, whips, tables and turn bars.  When i arrived at the jumps they were no longer interesting, pinner is the word.  So it must continue.  Again not to put anything on anyone, but i sense much more complacency here in hum co then other places, more contentment, less openmindedness, a little more ego and assumption that our shit is on par.  Sorry to break the news but we have a lot of catching up to do.  So next time you step ou to ride just remember there is always a grom somewhere throwing it high, harder, faster, and better so keep pushing and keep it loose.

P.s. Look for pictures of some of the trip highlights in the Spring Ridefiles Coming Soon.