Craziness

Craziness. You are all frikkin' nuts. We are all just about to jump off on yet ANOTHER season of family-leaving, bank-account draining, equipment destroying, body-breaking racing. From the (formerly known as) NORBA Nationals, to Keyesville, to the Cal State Series, to Sea Otter, to Diablo Mountain Freeride Park, to the Mountain States Cup to the damn races on the East Coast that Ryan and Tookie do...you all are crazy bastards and are damn lucky to have the people in your lives that you have. I have been through many different girlfriends in the past fifteen years, some who hated the outdoors, some who hated the "team," all who resented the fact that I devote so much of my time to you guys and this thing we all share called mountain biking. It usually comes down to something as simple as attention. The team as a whole gets it, the girlfriends don't. They do, really, but over time they want more. Sad thing is, I love this group of freaks as much as anything, and will sacrifice what I need to see that we all can enjoy this little "hobby" of ours. Is that crazy? Maybe, but it's a madness I am ok with.
I have been in a lightening storm on Marathon Trail with Fuzzy, helped Jim's mom out at the old house in Eagle Rock, seen Ryan Blanchette become a man, and have gotten to know a ton of you guys that I would never want to live without. Roger is the nicest guy I have ever met, Jay helps more people than Mother Theresa, and Jeff drove in the snow for FOUR hours just to have lunch with Lonnie, Lydia and I in Ohio. This sport, and this team, have given me the best friends (see; Val and Karl) I have ever had, and I am proud as hell to be the half-wit who gets to keep it all together. Can you guys believe how far we have come? Only Bert knows how far we have come from the CFR days. We had nothing (well, we did, it was just all beind horded in Tom's garage) and had to pay for clothing. I went from a racer for CFR, to the XC team manager, to Backbone. By the end of the year, I will be transitioning the official team name to KENDA/MFactor Racing, and with a little luck we can continue to provide support (industry and financial) to all of you guys! You all enjoy gloves, helmets, body armor and shoes courtesy of Jay at 661/Sunline, computers/HRM's courtesy of James and Jenni at SIGMA, tires and monetary relief and media exposure courtesy of Jim and Lydia at KENDA USA, cash support from MFactor, pedals and other perks from Ken at Xpedo, and all your clothing FREE. Titus, Hydrapak, Boulder Creek Resorts, The Union Hotel, Manitou, etc all have been great to us. With FOUR riders getting paid now, it has been really fun to actually write my first rider support checks! Far cry from paying jerseys, eh?
Anyhow...just wanted to say thanks to all of you, for a lot of things. You all have been there for me through thick and thin, and I just wanted you to know that I notice. Can't wait to see you all every other wekend at the races, kock 'em dead!

Cap'n Nerd