King James Goes Privateer..

After many, many years of loyal racing duties for both CFR and BAC, "KING" James Cross is calling it quits. It has been a victorious, glorious, and sometimes tumultuos relationship over the past few years. Always eager to help, but never on time...always preparing his teammates but never prepared, James was always that guy who had a love/hate relationship with the team. When you needed him to build your bike the night before the race, he dutifully accepted the challenge. When you needed him to go to sleep in the team hotel/condo/trailer for the race, he would hammer away until 4:30am with a crescent wrench in a last-ditch attempt to slide a cassette on his freewheel, despite all who needed sleep and would murder if need be.





Such is the drama with the King. Last year we saw James rocket to the podium time and again in BIG RACES..pain patches flying and curses sailing at every female athlete in his way. Racing in R&D products that were completely untested and untried, he would beat his 15lb full-suspension bike into utter collapse every race. You probably don't know ANYONE who knows more about bikes or bike products, or how to build a bike than the King. His talents are wasted on Sport Chalet, and he should be a wrench for a big box team no doubt.







The King races everything. NMBS, Cal State, Keyesville, Nowheresville, your mom's house, it doesn't matter..he'll race it and die before he DNF's. You have to respect that on some level. He is dedicated more than anyone else I know to the sport..I just wish we could get him laid on a regular basis and mellow his ass out.








Everyone on the team, whether they like him or not, owes him a "thanks" at some point along the way. During last year's NMBS at Solvang, he drove halfway home just to catch Randy, who had inadvertently left with someone's car keys. He's built every bike for every rider on the team, past and present, except maybe Bert, Jim, Jay and I. Say what you like, he did sarifice a great deal.







So Mr. Cross, thanks for years of the nicest, most annoying, unselfish, pain in my ass, drama queen, always ready to help anyone guy I have ever met. I wish you luck as a privateer, and if I hear about anyone giving you free stuff I will cut off their nuts and feed them to wild boars. If you need a shady spot, water, or feed zone help though, we'll be there for ya ok?









I am posting this at work, because we are slow today and I will be busy doing taxes, so if I missed anything please feel free to ante up and post something. I would expect to hear from the likes of Christie Pleiss and Teri Strayer on how nice James was to them, even after they left. If they don't, expect a very unpleasant page from me by next week calling them out. Good luck James, see ya out at the races!