Alan Goldsmith Update

Alan G., former owner of team sponsor (CFR) SUPERGO Bikes, has a huge write up this week in Bicycle Retailer. Some of you may have been lucky enough to meet this pioneer, and he has certainly influenced more things than most even could imagine. here is the article today from Bicycle Retailer Magazine......




Alan Goldsmith Keeping Finger on Bike Biz



SANTA MONICA, CA (BRAIN)—Ever since Alan Goldsmith sold Supergo to Performance in 2002, anticipating his future plans has been an industry-wide guessing game. Seeing him walk the floors at Eurobike, Taipei and Las Vegas was enough to start tongues wagging.

Now that his consulting stint with Specialized on its concept store program and his sale-related contractual obligations to Performance are finished, Goldsmith is again getting queries on what’s next. He is informally advising a few dealers and manufacturers who can benefit from his expertise, but has no immediate plans beyond that level.

“I’m not technically retired because I have investments outside the bike business that require attention, but not management. And while I have checked out a few business opportunities in the bike industry, I’ve concluded that market conditions are not right for me to own any type of bicycle business,” Goldsmith said.

Besides, he added, at age 64, jump-starting a new business is unlikely given what he views as adverse economic conditions. “However, even if conditions were optimum, as they were for example in 1997, 31 years of Supergo’s roller-coaster excitement was enough to satisfy my appetite but also burn me out,” he said.

“To those, including many former employees who wonder if I will try to recreate Supergo, the answer, unfortunately, is that I believe it’s impossible. Like Michael Jordan’s Bulls and Lance’s US Postal, Supergo’s dream-team crew has moved on,” Goldsmith said.

Today, suppliers, products and the market are radically different from the mid-1990s sweet spot he exploited to reach annual sales of $44 million before selling Supergo to Performance.

“Those conditions were the continuous innovations, road comeback, mountain bike boom, manufacturer closures and consolidations, abundant close-outs, booming e-commerce and other factors,” he said.

“Over the years, I have met numerous dealers and manufacturers whom I liked and enjoyed advising. My job at Specialized in 2005, creating their concept store programs, reinforced my awareness of many high-caliber dealers who crave support in upgrading their companies,” he said. Now operating as Bikester, Inc. in a one-man Santa Monica office, Goldsmith will continue to be available to dealers who need his help.

A practicing attorney before opening his bike shop, he continues to ride, travel and study foreign languages. He recently got a lesson in humility when checking out a possible new legal career contributing pro bono services to some public interest law groups. “I quickly discovered that there’s no demand for old lawyers with more experience in retail than law,” he added.

—Marc Sani

James Schwanke (KHS) Coming To Backbone?

**NOT Schwanke, but he may be providing pix much like this one of Ryan Nolan****



Ahhh the rumor mill.....Pro Four Cross and DH Racer James Schwanke (KHS Factory Team) is in negotiations with yours truly for sponsorship next season. He would certainly bolster the all-Rock-Star gravity group we have, and is slated to race TWO WORLD CUP races for 2008. Taylor trains w/ The Scwanke in Tahoe, and could be a valuable asset to each other for the coming season. I said "asset." James goes through tires like Bert goes through ladie's XXSmall Voler shorts, so he may need to adjust to our allotment, but it sounds like the cameraderie our group provides is more enticing than 65 pairs of tires! I'll keep ya'll posted.....

C

Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto

There is NO WAY that anyone who has lived in California has gone a day without seeing the name "de Anza" on something. Street signs, schools, parks, historical placards, etc all bare his name. So pivotal was his life to the State of California's existance that we all owe him a debt of gratitude despite the fact that he has been dead for three hundred and twenty years or so. I grew up in Riverside, California, and his name and face were everywhere. Very few actually know who he was, so here's my shot to right that situation..

Born to a military family in Fronteras (New Spain), he was given his father's name. In the garrison town of Fronteras he enlisted in the army in 1752, and quickly rode to the rank of Captain in a span of about eight years. He married the daughter of a wealthy mine owner named Perez de Serrano in 1761, and would have no children. That wasn't hard to do, since he would be gone on expeditions and fighting Indians for most of his career.
With the area known as Alta California (current day California, up to about 'Frisco) under constant encroachment by Russian and English traders, New Spain's Viceroy and the King of Spain decided something had to be done to fortify the coast. On January the 8th 1774 he was sent to find an acceptable route west from the Spanish garrison town of Tubac, AZ (near Tucson)into California and up to San Francisco's newly discovered harbor. He would eventually (it was hoped) return with settlers to establish a Presidio and Mission in San Francisco to bolster the military presence along the valuable coastline. He took with him twenty soldiers, three padres, eleven servants, and two hundred and forty animals.




***Statue of de Anza in downtown Riverside, CA.*************






The expedition would cross the Colorado River near the current day CA-Mexico border. Would that make him the first "wet-back?" Not sure, will have to ask Abel for confirmation...ANYHOO....It would run smack dab into what is now my hometown of Riverside, CA, crossing the Santa Ana River (named after another Spaniard). They created a route that the modern Interstates 10/60 follow through Palm Springs and into Moreno Valley, etc. They would reach the Mission San Gabriel near Beauford's house in Van Nuys, CA by March 22nd of 1774. They were in Monterrey by April 19th, then they marched back to Tubac by late May. As a result of his success, he was promted once again to Lt. Colonel....then promptly ordered to retrace his steps with a band of recently trained colonists by October of 1775. They would arrive in San Gabriel again by January of 1776, after surving bitter winter weather in the desert. Only one person would die, and that was a birth-giving fatality that was not uncommon for the time.
He would finish the mission, but not entirely. The settlers stayed in Monterey for the most part, with a small group following him north to locate the spots where the Presidio and the Mission now stand. Noone actually remained to settle on this trip, they would come later. On the return route south, he also managed to locate the abandoned and forgotten Mission de Santa Clara de Asis and the town of San Jose, which had been somehow forgotten and left to die by the Spanish government.
Upon his return to Tubac, he was invited to Mexico City along with the leader of the Yuma Indians. They were asking him to establish a mission garrison town to help protect themselves against raiding tribes like Commanche. By August of 1777, he was made Gov. of the Province of New Mexico. He would then lead raids against the Commanche's into Colorado, forcing them east into Texas and Oklahoma. He managed to kill the warrior-chief Cuerno Verde (not Chile Verde, freaks, you'r making me hungry.) while battling in southern Colorado.
In 1779 he had found a route from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Sonora Mexico...but his Yuma Indian friends rebelled against him. He lost favor with the Viceroy as a result, and was ent back out to kill Commanche left in the east in 1783. By 1784, they were suing for peace, and the Commanche problem was over. He would stay on as Gov. of New Mexico until 1787, then he returned to Sonora. In 1788, he was appointed Commander of the Tucson Presidio, but died before he could take command.






****The church where he was buried*********








He was buried in the Church of Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion de Arispe, but was dug up and re-buried in a flashy new marble mausoleum with help from San Franciso and the University of California.




*****His official death certificate*****************

CAMEL TOE BBQ Sets World Record!

If you came to this site today as a result of a dirty, filthy websearch for female anatomy bits, SHAME ON YOU! OK, well maybe not shame on RANDY, but the rest of you dirt bags should get a date. A French guy, not busy fighting a war somewhere, had the time to break a world record this week by bbq'ing a 1,213lb CAMEL!
Yummy! Roger and I have already booked our flights for some free camel-toe. That's my favorite part! Wash it down with some good Warsteiner Dunkel and call it a weekend. Camel-Toe references don't come as often as I'd like them to, so forgive me if I had to jump on this one guys....

Word to your camel-toe..

C

Return Of The Dork?

So, here's the scoop. I talked to Disney Stuios employee Julie Kuhnle yesterday. She informed me that she sped up her timetable for departing the place they call "Mousechwitz" and will be looking to rent her beautiful Burbank Tudor home by January or February. many of you may remember "Jules" from the 2006 Castaic race when she brought her dogs to hang out and cheer you all on. Lydia and I stayed the last night in Cali there, after the Camp-N-Ride.





So, we were talking about returning in Summer of '08....but now we may try to accelerate that process. Julie's place is just below the Verdugo Mountains,
down the street from Don Burke, and not far from the Fuzz. We can walk to all the restaurants/bars from there, and the elementary schools for Luka are not bad. So, that begs the question...







Can we get jobs, get packed, and get out there in time to take advantag of the Chateu Jules? Will I soon be able to ride hills and mountains, rocks and drops? Will we be closer to Charlie Sheen's burnt-out Malibou Lake homestead? The news is still very fresh, and it's a long shot for sure....but rest assured we will see what can happen..









It would sure be fun to wake up at 5:30am again on a Sundau and drive to a race, set up, and just wait for you guys to show up for like..six hours..like usual.
I will certainly keep you all updated. The thought of being able to drink beer by 9:30am and it isn't frowned upon (frikkin' dirt-bag mountain bikers)is so appealing I think my palms are sweating. Well kids, that's all the news that fit to print..
except maybe I think I am pregnant. When I find out who the father is, there will be some serious child-support payments to make!

Chris

Vanessa Humic Triple Crown Champion!

Backbone's Vanessa Humic is this years' TRIPLE CROWN CHAMPION, pictured here dead center, with other category champs. Vanessa will be racing on a brand new, 2.5 lb TOMAC carbon hardtail bike, Xpedo Ti pedals, Sunline hardparts, 661 gloves/helmet, Sigma computer, and KENDA tires for 2008. If you can catch her, and you can still breath, ask her how she likes it!

C

TOMAC Carbon Hardtail Photos

Here is a spy shot of what I will assume is Joel Smith's protoype XL Carbon Tomac hardtail frame built up. This frame will be 2.5 lbs, so the bikes should build up to something ridiculous with the right parts spec. That XL would fit me, so hopefully Joel will allow me to steal it when he's not looking...

Parting Shot

The Fuzz posted this pic on his blog fuzzymtbrider.blogspot.com of his brother (recently married, and still allowed to ride..are ya jealous?) atop the Verdugo mountains behind Burbank High School. Don Burke was probably riding up at the same time they were coming down. If you look close, you may see Beauford in the backyard in Van Nuys! Thanks for a great photo, Fuzz!

C

'Cross Pics From The Fuzzy One

The Fuzziest sent these in from the Turkey Trot 'cross race last week. It's pouring here today, so no riding for me!

Lydia's TREK FUEL EX-8 Demo Ride

I must say, I was amazed at what the girlie-girl managed to pull off yesterday. Borrowing a Trek Fuel EX 8 from the Trek Store in New Albany, we rolled out to Alum yesterday. Lyd is a closet mountain biker, and has only done one run at Alum....at night...alone. All she has done in the daylight is the practice-lap across the street.





We rolled out, and the shifting had to be re-learned. After that, it was all business. Riding things I never thought she would try, she rode literally every bridge and obstacle except four. Two bridges and two log obstacles will have to wait until next time. The bridges were scary to watch, but she never panicked and nailed all the ones she tried. While certainly NOT a Tomac Snyper, the bike performed well enough to give Lyd a huge confidence boost.






She rode all the obstacles pictured here, and a lot more.....without a single wreck. My buddy Brian Davis was not so lucky. He came raging through a corner behind us and cased it bad enough to make him lay there for a few minutes. In his defense, he was riding way too fast on a very greasy turn...with tiny slick xc race tires at about 50 psi. Not good.






We had to stop periodically, due mostly to her not used to having to do so much upper body work while riding..and riding a 28 lb trail bike. She was having so much fun by the time we got back to the car, we actually rode across the street to the skills park where she rode all sorts of skinnys, drops, log piles, and rooty bridges. She will tell you that getting off the seat, looking through the corners, and staying loose in the rough and scary stuff will save your life.







After we returned the bike and got home, it was all about left-overs and football. She is now a football fan, and was yelling out loud during the Cardinals game....and the Philly game. Riding, beer, and football...not a bad way to go on a Sunday.





She got all domestic later and did laundry, made cookies, and then came back to watch the rest of the game with me. The whole time she was talking about the ride, and wanting to go back soon to ride he parts he punked out on. The bike worked great for her, and I will certainly keep up the coaching as long as she is enjoying the rides...






*****She rode that log pile!*****







****She did NOT ride that one at the practice park********







****Wet man-berries are nice when you still have five miles to go, and it's 40 degrees utside..***************************************************************






********She rode this too***************************************






*******This was the only bridge she didn't ride...****************************

Finally Full...Seriously

It finally happened. I'm full. So full in fact that today....I am still not hungry. Don't get me wrong, I'd eat if properly motivated, but I am honestly full.
I knew it was bad when I found myself outside, and Lydia's family was throwing wet blankets on my carcass to "keep me damp" as though I were a stranded Pilot Whale.
I came to, and actually found it hard to breath. I had a large chunk of pecan pie wedged into my blow-hole, making the transfer of air difficult.
Sharks have a really cool feature built into their heads. As they bite down and thrash their prey, their eyes roll back inside their heads, and a thick membrane covers their eyeballs. This nictating membrane keeps the eye from being injured during struggles with pumpkin pie, turkey legs, and mashed potatos. At least that's how it went down for me...
So, I had "super-band waistband" sewn into all my team jerseys, and I will begin the breaching process soon...

Happy Black Friday

Chris

Happy Jive Turkey Day!

We should all re-vamp the way Thanksgiving is handled. I know it's all "settlers in New England" and all that, but seriously...I am really sick of seeing kids dressed up as dirty, smelly colonists. How about we also stop eating a nice, oven baked bird? Let's eat some tasty, Cajun-spiced-Jamaican-Jerked-deep-fried in peanut-oil turkey. Collard's, fried okra, and maybe a giant boiling pot of jambalaya or something for a side dish..or crayfish! We could dress up in big fake afro's, wear PIMP suits, and put those funny fake-teeth in. That would be much more entertaining than watching those really bad kid's plays about Plymouth Rock (the colonists didn't actually have the first Thanksgiving there, anyway)...they went to White Castle for some chicken-ring sandwiches!
Work with me on this my funky friends, and we'll recreate this American classic for a new, slightly degenerate younger generation...

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Gobble-Motha'-F*****N'-Gobble, yo...

Luck Bros' Coffee Saves The Day

Treat yourself to a better coffee experience with one of our traditional espresso drinks. Pictured is our cappuccino served in heated, traditional drink ware. It is so beautiful that you won't want to drink it - until you take the first sip.

Luck Bros' Coffee House
*Brothers Since 1970*

Andy, Ed, and the hotties and Luck Bros' Coffee in Grandview have been providing me with the Americano's that fuel the blog pages you all read every day. Columbus has a TON of road cyclists, and this little gem is VERY close to Campus and the Olentangy Bike Path near Third Street. They have food, baked goods, granola, bagels, and the best damn donuts from Der Dutchman bakery the world has ever known.





This is a great spot on the weekends for local musicians, too. Even artists get to mount their work on the walls here! They have free wi-fi, too, which is how I do all the team's blog magic. Stop in and help these two knuckle-heads out, try some espresso, and tip the girls well....they have needs.

Randy's Southridge Race Report

Hey my (expletive) just a little race result from last Sunday at Southridge. Kim, Trevor and I headed out Friday night as usual and Mr. T (Charles Libolt)showed up Saturday afternoon. So anyhoo.. my race on Saturday went off as I expected, midpack on the start and slowly falling back on the first climb (come on! no riding in five weeks except for camp and rizzle) anyway I had a great time just riding and ended up getting ninth out of nine ( SHIT I LET THAT SLIP). I did have a lot of fun and now the season is finally over so I celebrated with my good ol friend Mr.Coors. Sunday was another good day. Trevor was on his new (to him Jay's old bike) Iron Horse Sunday and really felt good on the course. I go up to watch his race run and he has a great one going, and just out of my view at the bottom of the course he told me there were women on the course. He hit one and lost a lot of time and ended up 19th. He was very pissed because he might have lost second place for the year and dropped to third because of it, but I guess that's racing. Mr.T sad he had a terrible run and I think ended up 13th. I hope Darwin doesn't read this because it just keeps running together. Well that's all dude I'm going to get a beer. Randy



******I am sure that "Darwin" still reads it, he certainly isn't enjoying his mom's corpse the way I would, so he has the time....:)**********************************

Trail(er) Trash

Today was surprisingly perfect in central Ohio. Lyd and I were out late last night enjoying the Grandview nightlife for a couple of hours...and returned home failry hammered. It was balmy and nice, and I was hoping for a good day today so I could run to Alum and throw down a couple laps. Inspired by the thirty pounds I seem to have dropped since coming here (home cookin'), I wanted to see how long a double lap of Phase 1 would take me. Not having ridden since the Camp-N-Ride on the 11th, I wasn't expecting too much.
The first lap was not at race pace by any means, since I don't know this trail very well (only the 4th time I have ridden it). Still turned a decent time of 33 minutes, having ridden all the obstacles and some of the off trail stuff just out of spite. The second lap was a bit faster, only because I had a better idea of where the shifts were and what was around each turn. I stopped a couple of times on lap 1 to grab some frikkin' GARBAGE from the trail and haul it out in the Hydrapak.




It was very clearly garbage left by cyclists, which is very sad. This trail is never more than a few minute walk from a road, so to leave crap on the trail is unforgiveable. Inner tubes, water bottles, gu-packs (on a six mile lap at sea level, do you REALLY need that GU?)etc. were everywhere. There was a crap-ass, beat-down Team Murray that someone had broken in half and hung from tree...in plain sight of Africa Road's paved surface. I was unprepared to haul that out, and being VERY new to the area, this may be some local guy's trademark or something. I'll ask around, and if it's still there Sunday when I return, I'll haul it out. Why would you hang a busted Murray from a tree? Are you really a bad-ass mountain biker because you snapped a fifty dollar Wal-Mart bike in half on Alum Creek's phase 1 trail? Idiot...that's a great way to advertise that we aren't responsible enough to have access to trails.






COMBO has been out preparing for the oncoming winter, working hard on a very long and fun section of elevated platform. It runs over a swampy section of bowled-out trail that HAS to fill with slop after a rain. It's fun and rolly, and will be a hundred yards or so when completed! I am going to get Lyd a demo TREK Fuel 8 for Sunday from the shop, so I can ride my Tomac (Titus). I will be sure to bring a dumptruck to pick up the garbage left by these shit-asses who think it's "too heavy" to "drag out" that inner tube they hung from a tree. Nice work, you pickle-smoochers.....

Ming And Mai Role Models?

I was recently contacted by a couple who were looking for photos and info on Ming and Mai Tai. They had seen our KENDA ad in a magazine, and called Jim W. at Kenda for contact info on us. They told me that they had adopted THREE young girls from overseas and wanted positive role models for them. They chose two of the right people for role models, that's for sure...







Ming Tai used to work for Fox Digital (yes, THAT FOX, the one on Pico and Motor in Los Angeles). He was the guy who created all those crazy robotic football players for all the NFL football games. He has something like ELVN national EMMY awards, and upon leaving FOX, started his own company...MFactor in Venice Beach, CA.
Click on the link to see their work! He is an accomplished DH and XC racer, and has the largest collection of Carbon road bikes I have ever seen. He also has a beautiful home overlooking the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. I'd say role-model!

Mai met Ming many years ago, and they actually didn't work out well at first. After some time had passed, their lives crossed again, and then BAM....they got married! Mai is a very strong rider on the dirt and road. Very tiny and light, she is a constant threat and a climber without equal. The gentleman's children would be very fortunate to have these two as role models, and I hope his daughters live a life as full as Ming and Mai....

C

Ryan Blanchette's 'Cross Race Update

Ryan Blanchette has submitted this race report from Sunny Southern Cal. He eats a lot of candy, so if it sounds wierd, it's mostly because he IS wierd. Really wierd. Pee-Wee-Herman in a movie theatre alone kinda' wierd...








Guess what guys. Osama Struck again. This time he attacked………………ME!!! In my cyclocross race Sunday morning I had started off great, holding a small first place lead of about 5-7 seconds when suddenly my calf muscles “exploded” and were rendered useless for the rest of the race. This was only on lap 5, and in a timed race of 45 minutes it was about 10 minutes into the race. I could do anything at race pace (except fart and go down hill) but all the methane in my ass wasn’t enough of a boost to make me get over my blown up calf muscles. (Hahaha “blown”) Any who I was still able to squeak out a 3rd place finish. Mr. Hurt as we all know can’t start races fast for crap, but like a girl in the sack (or if you want me to make it PG-13) a diesel engine once he gets going; he wont stop till………………awwww who am I kidding he doesn’t stop, after a sketchy start he was able to bounce back to a podium spot and snatched 3rd place in the single speed division. Vanessa and Roger made late entries as usual and Vanessa raced the Elite Men’s category. And unfortunately she was DQed from High Testosterone levels. So as swift as Chris to the bathroom after eat’n some chili, she snuck into the Elite Women’s category and took a…………..YOU guessed it 3rd in her category. So over all a good weekend for team BackBone as we averaged a……um hold on (doing random ass calculations in my head) 3rd place finish for between the 3 of us racers. Well just thought I would inform you guys of our success this weekend. This Report was brought to you by Ryan “MINI CRASH” Blanchette. xD



MINI CRASH OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

KENDA K.O.T. Protoypes Out!

"Slim" Jim Wannamaker had the protoype 1.8" casing King Of Traction on his personal Santa Cruz Blur last week as he was preparing to depart for the "Iceman Cometh" race in the frozen north. After well over a year of design changes, thirty thousand dollar mold creations in Taiwan, and existing publications that say it's here...IT'S HERE!!
Taylor Libolt was running a prototype 2.5 KOT at Sea Otter this year during late week rainy practice runs. In Cali this one may not do too well until January or February, but it's perfect for the sloppy, leafy, rooty and muddy conditions here in the midwest and eastern area trails. They looked like an SB8 down the center, with large and pointy spikes resembling the old-school ONZA Porcupine tires of the early nineties.
I will be begging for these very soon, as my trails are already grossly slick.
Look for them to be available in a month or two..FINALLY!

Chris

Tranny Trouble

Don't get nervous, all you super-uptight anti-gay people out there...transvestite's aren't marching on Washington or murdering straight people in the streets of West Hollywood (that would be hard, since there ARE no straight people in WeHo). I am just freaked out because last night on the drive home, the Backbone-Mobile experienced a hard lurch, then a pop, then the transmission ran like
ass. I limped her home, went to back into my parking spot on the street....and low and behold..no frikkin' reverse. Nice. We just spent six hundred bucks on Lyd's car, now I have to drop unspecified amounts of Tomac Snyper money on the truck.

I guess i can't cry too much. The truck is a '99, and the only other thing I have ever done to it is replace the fuel pump and replace the wheel bearing on the front right side. Still sucks though...I was close to paying off the last credit loan I have, and that would have been the end of any outstanding credit I have! Oh well, that's life I guess. If the truck didn't run so damn well, I'd sell it. If anyone would like to donate to the dirt-bag transmission-relief fund in large denominations (thousands of dollars would certainly work..why not? Politicians do it all the time?)just e-mail me and send those millions straight away! :)

Allright kids, I gotta' run. I have to wait by my phone for the AAMCO transmission center to call me and give the bankruptcy-inducing news....

C

Camp-N-Ride, part II

So...back to the story. Bert, Ryan and Kristine showed up with the TOMAC CARBIDE frames. The back of Bert's truck was abuzz with activity and anticipation. The first was Bert's XL. The second was a what??? A large. What did Bob need? A Medium. After an hour, the laughter began to subside. It's always funny when someone (other than me) gets the shit end of the stick. That is being remedied as we speak, but it was still frikkin hilarious.









Soon after that, the Park Gestapo rolled up (THREE of them) and began to congregate. The tiny-bitty one spoke first. Sounding like one of the "Chipmunks" singing a Christmas song, he squeeked up and asked to see everyone's reservations. Thing is, they don't take reservations by the site, they are all first come first served. They also sold two of our group (online) sites with hook-ups for their trailers...but they don't HAVE hook-ups. I had arrived at 7:30am Friday morning, HOURS in advance of anyone else, to claim the four sites we needed. All was fine, until late Friday night when Randy and Kim rolled in, expecting a large site w/hookups. After realizing THEIR mistake, Randy almost killed the park-kiosk kid. In an effort to save his own life, the kid gave Randy one extra site (#26) to be able to park his trailer an truck. Done.....right?









Not so much....here's the story of the smallest cop ever. He said something, and as I looked through the night air at a normal man's height, I was confused, for I saw no one. It was not until Roger tapped me on the shoulder and directed my gaze down towards my ankle that I was able to make him out in the dark night air. I ran back to camp, grabbed a box, and asked him to stand on it so we could talk. Taking his tiny little hand and helping him up on the box (careful not to crush the juice box in his Lilliputian grasp) he began to speak again. He was apparently confused as to why we had five spots instead of four, and wanted us to clear out one of our camp-sites. After explaining to this fetus of a man-child that we had been sold 2 hook-up sites, and that I had reserved the four original sites at 7:30am (again, 1st come, 1st served..that means I win, you lose) he was s**t out of luck, he was agitated. It was like when his mommy witheld the toy from his Fruit Loops in the morning. Roger saw the situation deteriorating quickly, and fearing that the Park Officer would likely be beaten with his own gun, or even possibly EATEN alive by me, he stepped up and offered to move a car from a spot, directly in the center of camp.
We did this, and waited for the poor people who would then be squatting in the center of our 40-plus person band of rejects. We waited all night. We woke up, and waited some more. No one came. I strolled through the campground, and many other sites were still vacant as well. We went through an hour of midget hell for nothing. This is why nobody likes tiny people...they get some authority and forget that they are still tiny..then they get the hell beaten out of them.









Roger was pretty pissed in the morning when nobody was in that spot, and probably was wishing he'd have let me eat that little fella. Breakfast was great, thanks to Kim. She made some modified Chilaquilles plate with potatoes, sausage and eggs. It was so good, and my size -1 Gap kids wearin' woman ate herself into a Dress Barn size 62. Now we can share clothes! The morning ride was fun on Sunday, and Lydia, Abel, Betsy and I ran up the canyon. Lyd really loved her NINER RIP 9 in a medium. We cruised up to the top of upper-Sin Nombre, and flew down the hill with reckless abandon. Betsy was very nice and helpful to Lyd. I understand the awkwardness of the situation to a few of you, having to meet someone new with me. I wanted to say a very real and serious thanks to Valerie, Karl, Betsy and Tim for the hospitality shown to Lyd. She genuinely felt like you guys all had been friends forever. It was super funny to see Lydia trying to follow abel through the singletrack. Abel was BOMBING the DH, and Lyd was just following him with all the trust in the world. That proved funny a few times, as she exploded out the bak of a couple of turns! She did manage to take a few burms, jumps and drops that I never thought would be attempted, and I'm afraid she's hooked now.









We all returned to camp by noon or so, and began to pack it up. Roger and James had the unfortunate task of driving to the Valley and returning the demo bikes, and Abel drove us to Julie Kuhnle's house in Burbank. It was a beautiful night, so after a short relaxing hour or two, we walked the couple of miles to Burbank's entertainment district for dinner at the old eam hangout, B.J.'s Pizza.
We awoke to the alarm at 6a.m. Monday morning, went to the airport, and winged home on my new favorite airline, SKYBUS. Thanks to everyone for EVERYTHING, it was really nice to see you all again. We'll be back soon for good, and may be back sooner for Christmas at my Mom's house in Riverside! Jingle my bells, ya'll...