Miss Fontana Pageant This Weekend!

The Miss Fontana Pageant will be held this weekend, Saturday night, right down the road from the NCS Mountain Bike race we all will be attending. Look for rare beauty from the nation's first toxic waste "Super-Fund" cleanup site! Fontana is known the world over for rusted out car bodies on front porches, human-inbreeding, and the California Speedway, where colors that shouldn't go together can be found on families whose genetic makeup hasn't seen outside influence for several generations.
This pageant should remind those present at the Chernobyl nuclear facility's cleanup of the post-melt-down remnants left in the area to this day. Bring an FAA approved airsickness bag if you plan to attend, as this may prove to be a doozy.
Event sponsors are said to be Planned Parenthood, UCLA Medical Center, Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, and The Baron von Frankenstein Facility for The Ridiculously Ugly. Hope to see you all there!

Firestone NCS Race Report; Mo' Medals, No Problems

I'm a sweaty Swedish guy, and as such, HATE really hot days. Friday, it was REALLY frikkin hot. At 100 degrees, Randy, Trevor and I rolled into the Firestone NCS campsite and set up. Within seconds, I was ready to down a gallon of Double Barrel Ale. Trevor and Randy prepped their bikes, waited for the rest of the team to arrive, and I went to work at the KENDA booth. Did I say it was hot? It was so hot, I coulda' done some "crotch-pot-cookin'" in my chamois. mmmmm..crotch-pot-cookin'....

Late Friday/early Saturday (around midnight?) Randy and Taylor awoke to the sound of what seemed to be a large mammal that had been victimized by a mountain lion. After the need to urinate overcame their fear of death, the boys slipped out to see what the hell was making that noise. To their amazement, the noisy beast turned out to be a mid-40's white dude that had a bad food reaction to pizza, and had been paralyzed with poisining to the extent of foaming at the mouth and complete immobility. Taylor woke me up at 1am or so to call 911 and guide them in, since he did not know where the hell we were. Around 1:45am, the cops/medics arrived from Buellton and loaded this poor bastard up, but none of us really slept after that.
Saturday was DH day, and Jay said he just wasn't feelin' it and bowed out. Taylor went for it, though, and had a decent first run that landed him in 9th. After his second run without any major mistakes, he had a great 13th place finish out of a LOADED Semi-Pro field. Randy's son Trevor, racing beginner, had a guy in front of him crash on the first run, then blew his tire on the second. This kid is REALLY fast and will return for vengeance in Fontana next week. If we are lucky, we can convince him to hang out with us for the 2008 racing calendar!



Saturday Vanessa, Ryan and Bert also raced Super-Dizzle. Bringing the first podiums of the weekend, they placed 7th, 5th, and 5th respectively. The course was very fast and bumpy, as was the XC course they would find after the team pre-ride. Saturday for me was spent building the KENDA demo-bike fleet, and selling product to the needy masses. Small Block 8's and Short Tracker's went like mad, but sales were kinda slow due to people just trying to find shade and water.


VEGAS BOB was the story for the weekend. After two years of sickness and training, VB FINALLY got to wreak his vengeance upon the Expert class. Bob exploded and rolled like a juggernaught through the course, landing himself a SOLID 7th place finish out of a HUGE field of top-ranked experts. Glad to see ya back, Vegas! Also, Bob was there with a GIRL! That's right, a non-inflateable real-life GIRL! Bob's gonna get some..Bob's gonna get OOPs..sorry, got a bit outta control there for a second.
Bert Blanchette tore off a podium spot in SINGLE SPEED semi-pro/expert, and placed THIRD! This being done with a broken hand, and after racing the day before. The pic below is of his modified palm-relief-shock absorber that he designed to take a bit of the course's chop. That's frikkin' tough, eh.


James, Randy and Ryan were first to roll out on the XC Sunday. The wizards at Blue Wolf decided that, after letting all riders pre-ride the course for two days, they would then modify the course Sunday am about ten minutes before the race. Oh yeah, and did I mention that the night before, the moved up all XC start times by thirty minutes? Hope ya got the non-existant memo! This made for great fun as the racers tried to identify the un-marshalled and inadequately marked course after the changes had been made. Results couldn't be posted for HOURS due to the massive protests filed by riders who went the RIGHT way who got screwed by course cutters..who had no idea they cut the course. It's amazing that people still are willing to race in CA. The level of incompetence (when compared to other series' across the U.S.) is unparalelled.
Randy placed 22nd out of 44 thanks in large part to a crash at the start that blocked half the riders from progressing. James escaped unscathed, and rode his ass off to an amazing 9h place finish. That comes after MONTHS of living in Florida and not training at all.


Ryan Blanchette (son of The Hurt) rolled to his second podium of the weekend, taking third in his XC race. He had to protest his result, as well, since a Platinum rider who was well behind him took the Pro modified loop shortcut at the top of the hill and shaved a sweet 20 minutes off his lap time. Four hours later, we finally got the protest to stick, and Ryan was awarded his rightfull third place.
Experts went next, and that meant the Fuzziest, Vegas Bob, and Vanessa were set to start. The Fuzz had been suffering on nature hikes on the Channel Islands, and had nothing left for his Expert race. Suffering in the heat, the Fuzz was quickly overtaking by teammate Vegas Bob...and the Women's Auxiliary Librarian's Club. Bob killed it, Fuzzy just wanted to be killed. He finished it though, so please get him a boot o' beer as soon as you can.

Vanessa's race was an epic battle. Looking for revenge after Scottsdale's rocks took her podium spot, Ms. Humic blew out to an early third place. At the half-way mark, Vanessa crashed incredibly hard, and lost three spots. Climbing back up the hill, she jumped gingerly back upon the bike and immediately attacked. She BLASTED her way back into the pack and managed to re-take a podium finish, placing 4th with dirt and blood all over the place. That was one hell of a fight, and Vanessa is on course to whip someone off that first place spot really soon.


Bert "The Hurt" was the last to race, running Single Speed with a recently busted hand. Modifying the bars to give him more cushion, Bert surprised his OWN SELF and raged to a THIRD place podium spot. That's two podiums for him, and two for his son...can you say "Dynasty?"


***This photo is of Randy, at the end of his race, CHARGING past a line of his competitors, passing FIVE GUYS in a quarter mile of hard fought singletrack. I saw this whole thing, and can't tell you how impressive this was!***


All in all, we had a great weekend. ROGER worked his ass off, feeding everyone and putting in ridiculously long days in the KENDA booth. Everyone owes Roger a thanks, including me.
James even drove all the way down to Gaviota during Sunday afternoon's race to get some important items we all had left in Rand's truck! He still made it back in time to help feed, and break down the KENDA trailer for 4 hours.
Great team work everyone, you guys really help to make this team stand out, and represent the Ol' Skool ideals that made mountain biking great.


On another note...TIMARI PRUIS, friend of Backbone and Pro endurance for the Kenda/XFusion team, placed a rippin SECOND PLACE at the 24 hours of Idyllwild mountain bike race! Oh, and she did it all without any help from her team, who requires a TON of help from her. Great work TIMO, we love ya!




***King James, being a very dirty boy.***










***Vanessa enraged after a mid-course crash dropped her from 3rd to 6th******

El Prieto Trail Takes Bert's Hand

2007 Sea Otter Super-D Medalist and last year's National Champ BERT BLANCHETTE fractured his hand last week as he bombed down El Prieto Trail behind Jet Propulsion Laboratories. On his second lap's descent, he decided to prudently remove his hand from his bars while navigating a 20' long boulder face with large chunks of jagged rock waiting to kill him. This was not as prudent a move as originally planned, and Bert "The Hurt" took a sweet header that he really doesn't remember. Of course, since Interbike last year, he really doesn't remember MUCH. Amazing how beer and a really heavy stripper can erase the ol' memory.
Bert is still planning on racing XC and SD this weekend at Firestizzle, despite the eductional background of his doctors. If anyone wants to know how thi goes down, ask Jim Roff. After cracking his wrist at Bonelli two years ago, Jim made the same decision and now has a CLAW for a hand. He can grip small branches really well, but his Junk may never be the same....


C

Mary Mac and Michael Broderick Update

Europe Update
April 25 2007

Hello!

I can hardly believe 2 weeks have passed since we arrived here in
Europe. We have been blessed with a beautiful blooming spring with
temperatures closer to high summer, which is definitely unusual but
has been great for training and living out of an rv!

We are currently in a small campground south west of frankfurt in
the quiet hills stationed at a campground that has wireless (a
first) and is surrounded by some of the best road training we have
experienced in europe! we’re glad to finally have a chance to
check e-mails and plan some logistics for the next few weeks... I
wish we could spend more time at this quiet area, but we have to
hit the road in about 5 hours, which is just enough time for the
laundry to dry and to get our training in. We are currently on our
way to the czech republic for a race this Sat and we are still 700
km away!

we have already done a good bit of driving here in europe starting
as usual in Munich at our friend and RV rental specialist michael
braun’s, packing our substantial lot of equipment aboard one of his
sweet modern rv’s and and heading directly to our first race in
Oldenzaal, Netherlands.

Ok just have to let everyone know that the rv is the way to go when
traveling europe and you could do no better than
www.rv-rental-germany.com for your fully outfitted vehicle and
personal touch that is almost impossible to come by these days when
renting anything.






Though we only had a few days to make the 700k drive, prep the
bikes and handle the logistics to get ready to race, our previous
familiarity with europe and the ease of the rv way of travel helped
immeasurably to arrive fresh on race day.

We arrived to contest the first race of the Benelux cup series
(belgium, netherlands and luxembourg) and were glad we arrive with
half a day to dial in each twist and turn of the fast loose (big
ring only) course.

Short version, I ended up winning and mike finished 9th in hot,
dusty and typically well attended conditions. The lot of the
Netherlands are super flat but all the races we have contested here
are full of fun single and ingenious courses that push the limits
of all the riders.

After a few days of recovery and training in the Netherlands, we
headed south to Belgium.

Our sore muscles are still recovering from racing the first world
cup in Houffalize, this past Sunday. Mike and I were glad for the
return of this classic mtb race venue. We have made our way
through here many times, not only to race, but also spending days
training in the surrounding hills--as always it is nice to return
to familiar territory. The quaint stone built town nestled in a
valley between the steep hills of the Ardennes is the perfect
atmosphere for a bike race and no doubt one of the best places for
the first round of the World Cup series.

Being creatures of habit we returned to our favorite local
campground down the river and far enough outside of town to limit
the influx of the thick Belgian crowds that show in force to watch
the race. The Belgian people really embrace the cycling culture
and certainly it doesn't hurt their businesses to have tons of
extra bodies in town and throngs of thirsty and hungry race fans
flooding the streets on race day.

The competition this year was typical but still a bit staggering,
the numbers of competitors in the elite fields was bordering on
ridiculous with 245 elite men and 124 women! Mike and I knew it
was going to be tough to make it thru the steep wide pavement start
loop and maintain our good start positions from last year’s work.
The course was similar to the last time we raced here, with a few
added extra climbs and exciting drops... nice changes making this a
fast, steep, winding cloverleaf course that pleased the racers and
entertained the spectators like never before.

Mike and I both suffered it out pretty good in the heat and
finished without any major problems, but unfortunately not with the
results we were hoping for. The difficult start had everything to
do with this. We were both unprepared (or just unwilling) to
grind up the impossibly steep 2 k pavement climb at full throttle
right from the start gun. This gave many start fast then blow up
and bog down the rest of the field type racers a chance to do their
thing.

Even a slight hesitation or a bad line can cost you time and at the
world cups a few seconds are so difficult to come by; A lesson we
were forced to relearn in houffalize! Still in the interest of a
good result both Mike and I have raced enough to have trouble
giving every ounce of energy at the start, knowing we need to gauge
the output for the whole race. but in this case with such large
fields and tight trail we spent the rest of the race paying for our
tactics .

I weeded my way forward throughout the race , climbing strong and
descending smooth, to finish 16th. My legs felt awesome and the
bike was perfect, but I lacked those few seconds of incredible
suffering at the start that I needed to make that podium spot I was
hoping for.

Although familiar, the level of competition seems to have been
upped another notch. The women from China have really continued to
step it up, with U-23 world champion, Ren Chengyuan (CHN) out
sprinting the formerly untouchable Gunn-Rita (NOR) for the win.
Margarita Fullana (ESP) in 3rd, Sabine Spitz (GER) in 4th and
Jingjing Wang (CHN) in 5th. I am glad there are 5 more world cups
to contest and looking forward to some intense racing at smaller
venues for the next month... building it up!

Mike rode a strong race but suffered as I did in the start. Still
he kept focused throughout the choking dust and turmoil caused by
the enormous field of riders. With 245 men filing into single
track, there was unfortunately quite a bit of time that Mike spent
literally standing still waiting his turn to enter the single
track. He pushed forward completing laps ever faster as he passed
riders or they dropped out on their own accord. He finally
completed the 5 lap race in a painful 2 and a half hours.
Though it was far from where his sights were set I was proud of
Mike and his mental resolve to make the best of his bad start...
From 157th on the first lap, he moved up 60 positions to finish
99th.


Mike is not one to take advantage of the flimsy course tape and
find an illegal line, he prefers to tough it out with the majority
of the field while some others will cut the course to advance their
positions illegally. In the heat of the moment some riders do not
respect the rules or the brotherhood of the racers and decide to
cut the course to find a better but not rightfully earned result.
We know that sometimes it is not the result that really matters or
the points, but that we are out there, honestly giving our best.

Mike and I have planned to compete in 3 uci ranked races in the
next 10 days, with lots if kilometers of driving in between. this
block of time will see us travel to the Czech Republic to Italy
then backup to Germany. it will give us a welcome chance to train
up our racing. We are both looking forward to the opportunity to
brush up on the excruciating and all important start that cannot be
trained in any better way than on race day.

Hopefully this e-mail finds you and your people happy and healthy!
we are continually grateful for the support to race our bikes over
here. Thank you for helping to make it happen!

All the best,
Mary and Mike

Backbone Ads Coming Soon!

These are artwork files of "banner ads" that will be hitting various websites soon!










Look for them first on Whistler Mountain Bike Park's webpage..












followed by several others as the weeks progress....








Fuzzy's picture that Lydia B. used is from the Firestone Walker race last year..and mine is from Flagstaff! Damn...ya'll are famous!!

A HUGE AD IS COMING...I HAVE THE ARTWORK (many of you have seen it) BUT I HAVE TO WAIT TO SHOW IT ON THE BLOG UNTIL JULY.....

Nice work everyone, and thanks KENDA!!!

Jeff "Tookie" Williams Plays With Self, Misses Start.

So, in typical Backbone fashion, my Beast in the East Jeff had a sweet start to his season. Believing he had plenty of time prior to his start, he ran off to fondle his junk in the Port-O-Let. As he completed his "mission" he realized that his class of racers had gone already, and he was at least 200 yards behind. Proving you won't go blind by doing this, he took off and managed to get back in the top 5 before his brand new pedals exploded. The right side came completely apart mid-race, and after all that work, "Tookie" had to take a DNF for his season opener. XPEDO is replacing the pedals as we speak, and Jeff will now take a colostomy bag in his chamois for any pre-race bowel evacuation he may feel necessary to complete. I love this story, it just gives me SO MUCH to work with! I will be nice, though, because Jeff is a nice guy, and can probably beat my ass...unless I just fell on him and crushed him like a mighty Redwood.

FIRESTONE NCS RACE THIS WEEKEND!

This weekend is the Firestone NCS race, and YES Margaret, there will be a DH race! This course is always fast and fun, but a little bumpy to the fact that the property is a working CATTLE RANCH! Last year we watched as Bert raced around the course with a large wheelsucker until the last lap, and this is where the Fuzz broke his Tomac a couple of seasons ago. Jay almost looped out his pit-bike, Jim Roff's buddy DOM raced here, and James ate crap pretty badly as well the same year Fuzz busted his bike! I guess we should maybe NOT drink so much the night before a race (when I say WE, I mean Ara), that may help. Anyhow, this year it will be much larger as it is an NCS event, and many Backboners will be camped out. Hope it doesn't rain! Bring a coat, as the nights here get REALLY frikkin' cold, and the local towns are very small and crowded on the weekends...

C

SUMO Class

"Sumo Class" predated the current racing category known as "Clydesdale" here in the Golden State. Older race series' like the California Cup (put on by Guido at Lo-Fat Cycles in Temecula) in the early 90's and the old Amateur Cup Series all called it like it was. They also had better rules regarding large-man racing. Unlike today's 200lb rider limit, which on a 6'3" man is NOTHING, the old SUMO class had a 300lb limit, and a 30lb minimum bike weight. When I see the super-fit "Clydesdales" of today, it chaps my ass because I know that the REAL Clydesdales were pushed out by the lighter weight restriction. The big guys today could easily compete at the Sport or even Expert level in standard classifications. Hell, I qualify for Clydesdale today, and have absolutely NO BUSINESS being there....wouldn't even consider it, knowing how cool the real deal guys used to be. Beer guts swayin', there wasn't a jersey around that could have covered those hairy fat mo' fo's. BUT, they showed up every weekend to throw down and try and do something to counter the effect of a diet rich in fried animal carcass and processed cheese spread. Kudos the the old SUMO's, and a pox on the very fit and lean poacher-posers in today's Clydesdale races.

Rock on my flabby friends....rock on.

Beuaford Very Sick

My son, Beauford, has fallen ill this week. He had a surgical procedure done that led to the discovery of some tooth decay, which has led to the discovery of some corneal cist that has k.o.'d my old man. He is at the vet today, and will need for me to put drops in his eyes each hour until bed time. Say a prayer for the ol' fart, because he is about 15 years old and certainly runs the risk of not making it.
I am 35, and hell I probably wouldn't make it, either. Send donations to the Beauford relief fund (or Desi) via the old address.

Chris

KENDA Uses Manatee In Ads!

In a move that will make the Birkenstock lovin', owl-saving PETA people happy, Kenda Tire has used a manatee in it's most recent ad for Midwest Bike Magazine! Look closely, as the majestic beasts' flippers are difficult to see. You can clearly see the pasty skin, however, as it appears to look like wet oatmeal poured into a pair of pantyhose. The eco-friendly peeps at Kenda are always looking out for the animals, and are raising awareness one manatee at a time...

Hollywood's History; Leo Carillo

Found in the Woodlawn Cemetary and Mausoleum in Santa Monica (1847 West 14th Street) is the grave of a little known man with larger-than-life impact on Angelinos. Tucked in behind the hedge wall of this little known cemetary lies Leo Carillo (1880-1961). This name may ring a bell to those living here, having Leo Carillo State Beach bear his name in Malibu. His ranch in Carlsbad has also become a California State Historic Landmark known as Leo Carillo Ranch Historic Park.
For the older generation of film buffs, Mr. Carillo played the role of Pancho, the sidekick on the t.v. show The Cisco Kid. He was much more than an actor, as history would uncover. He was a direct descendant of the Spanish conquistadores, and his ancestors were grand land owners in Southern California prior to state hood. One of California's last governors was a relative when still under the control of the Mexicans. Mr. Carillo could be seen in over ninety films, and typically played an accented "foreigner." Before any acting work came his way, he had a steady career as a writer and cartoonist. He was also a staunch conservationist who has been graced with several California open spaces named for him.
Leo Carillo can be found in the Woodlawn Cemetary in section 2, north of the cemetarie's 14th St. entrance. His headstone can be located below a palm tree next to Rose avenue, lot #2.

Adding Ads

I know this photo of Darter has nothing to do with advertising on the site, but DAMN it is just too frikkin' funny.



I have decided that we are getting enough visits to my little labor of love, and would like to try and get a bit of income as a result of the time invested. You will start to see advertising on this little site of ours, and with any luck, I'll be rich by this time next week. Nice knowing all of you, don't call me I'll be drunk. :)

Sea Otter Classic Weekend Pix

How do you NOT love Kim? Does she fit in here or what?











What does one really need to say about this pic of James? Comedy Gold.










Jay Schippers keepin' it real at the 661 Sunline booth after his race.









I'm afraid that my dirt-bagginess has rubbed off on the last bastion of goodness..










Super-Hottie Dawn Lyons trying to dodge the team photo lens.










Roger helping out as usual.










The FUZZ representin' on his '07 Racer-X, Hydrapak, and Kenda tires












The Tird-Floater that consumed Saturday's events.













They say every man is just a six-pack away from gay....

Sea Otter Classic Sunday Report

Sunday arrived WAY too damn early again. We had EVERYONE racing today, and it started well before 8a.m. I was up and out by 6a.m., and went straight to work tearing down Randy's road bike so I could build his sparkly new TITUS MODENA road frame. The KENDA XFusion team mechanic was clearly upset, but unfortunately for him I would destroy him if he said anything else to me this weekend I found unsavory. You know it's a problem when all of your riders ask permission to beat his ass before the close of the first day. Tiny little-bitty men always have mouths larger than their asses, geez.



The XC races all started by 7:30 today, starting with the Expert men. Fuzzy and Darter were off first, followed by Heidi and Vanessa. Randy and King James rolled out around 8:30 for the Sport/Beginner classes. Fuzzy was on a loaner TITUS Racer-X in the awesome "Super-Pimp White" color, but the bike was a medium. It was too big, and despite a top ten start position, the Fuzz had to DNF after his first lap due to massive back cramps from the overstretched cockpit...that's right, I said "cockpit." Is that where all the chickens go to die? Was that cleaner than you thought it would be? :) He was on a small in Scottsdale and loved it, but that bike was not available for Sunday. It was certainly my fault, as he had a perfectly set up bike from another manufacturer that I asked him NOT to ride to better represent the sponsors. Sorry Fuzz, my bad all the way. Darter had a great race, and was on a loaner NINER that was a great bike for the often choppy course. King James rode the XL Racer-X that was destined for Bert, and he really enjoyed the comfort and efficiency the bike provided out of the box. A long time TURNER rider, he had a great race on a bike that proved to be much less finicky than his 4 pound wonder-Turner. I will admit that he was spotted weighing the factory Titus ride on a scale....some habits just won't die. Randy "The Enforcer" Rush was so busy dreaming up ways to feed his ex-wife to an African fresh water Croc (KRIKEY!) he almost missed his race. Between her and the neighboring team's mechanic, I was worried that someone would meet an untimely demise before the weekend. All that drama being the case, Randy still did a great job of dominating his Sport class on a devastating course, absolutely DROPPING all the sukkaz who tried to draft him to the finish. That was a hell of a demonstration of power!



The DH boys were due up at 10a.m., and the course had dried out a ton since Saturday. Taylor had equipped his bike with a fresh set of KENDA "King Of Traction" tires in anticipation of hip-deep mud. Not so, as the course had solidified and drained to perfection overnight thanks to hurricane force winds. With fresh 2.35 Nevegals in place, he flung himself down the course with abandon and finished off the leader by several seconds. His race was cleaner than Jay's, though. Flying through the course, Jay had come into the lower doubles waaaaaay too hot and clipped a re-bar reinforced course marker. Crashing horribly, Jay's back will be bruised for some time. He had told me earlier in the day he was NOT going to race, but apparently his need to R&D the new Sunline headset, stem, bars and saddle weighed heavy on his soul. Jay didn't look too good after the crash, but the super-bad-ass SUNLINE products survived without a scratch.




The ladies had great races. Vanessa placed top ten in a HUGE ladies field, the lrgest she has ever experienced. That comes on the heels of three days of racing. She placed 5th in Super-D, then 9th in Short track the day before. Heidi had
a killer race aboard her perfectly equipped 2005 Racer-X. She placed top 10 in her enormous xc class as well, having five times the typical amount of competition.




Roger came through big time this weekend, and is quickly becoming the backbone of Backbone. I want to personally thank Roger for all the help and support he provides to me (and thusly you guys) that I know I never even hear about. Randy's double-breasted-mattress-thrasher of a wife, KIM, also rocked the KENDA trailer this weekend. She utilized her "lumps" to devastate Jim Wannamakebabies's brain cells and manipulate every other vendor booth's operators for way too much free stuff. Damn, if I had boobs I'd already be retired. Frikkin' boobs. Dawn Lyons also drove up to hang out and help, and it was great to see her.
Randy and Kim's son, Trevor, raced beginner DH on Saturday in the torrential-tird-floater downpour. The rain fell like a cow pissing on a flat rock, and Trevor still managed a 19th place finish out of 135 riders in his class. Great job dude! can you say "sport?" :)

On another note, Jim Roff and Court were scheduled to race in Fruita, Colorado this weekend. I'll let ya'll know how that worked out as soon as I find out.

Sea Otter Classic Saturday Shenannigans

James' portable hyperbaric chamber for pre-race oxygenation




Saturday at the race was a total travesty. With the rain falling harder and faster than a bad girls dream, the KENDA tire trailer was under water and full of sponsored riders looking for respite. Jim was the only guy with a poncho, and was feverishly trying to batten down the hatches (despite many requests from me for him to give me the poncho so i could do it for him). Very few sales, and even fewer riders showing up for the Pro Short Track led to a boring and COLD day...until we returned to the room.




Kate from Hydrapak





After dinner, Heidi (Quadzilla) decided it was going to be Metro-Sexual night in the team hotel room. Taylor and I were subjected to facial cleansings and cucumbers on our eyeballs. It just me want salad or something. Heidi then began jumping on the bed, nearly stuffing her bean through the ceiling. We celebrated my late birthday by getting hammered the night before everyone raced. Good Call!

Sea Otter, Day Two

Friday was amazingly fun, and despite the four hours of sleep I had it was a very productive day. Vanessa's late Short Track race led her to a top ten finish and I had managed to spend a decent amount of time discussing sponsorship and promotional ideas with team supporters. Kate at Hydrapak discussed some new product changes for 2008, and mentioned that they get more hits on their website from our blog than from anything else. It was a beautiful day, but the weather is coming in tonight, and rain is forecasted for the entire day. Luckily enough for us, we have NO racers on course. Randy's son-in-law will be racing DH, but in the mud that will likely be falling, it will be anything but fun. The lower double jump that lands off-camber on the pavement will undoubtedly take many of the riders out.
More race news tomorrow! Thanks everyone..

Cap'n Chris





























































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