Taylor's MSC Update/Primer Pix!

Yo mang!
So I'm just about fully recovered from this last weekends race up in Angel Fire New Mexico. And, after traveling through such scenic places as Gallup, Albuquerque, and several other shady areas, I have decided that I really have no need to ever drive through New Mexico again. On the positive side, just about any Fireworks a man could possibly desire are completely legal. And, just in case any federal officers are reading this; I did not purchase illegal fireworks from the Reservation, nor did I transport them across state lines into California. With that out of the way, here is the race report:
I arrived into town early in the afternoon on Friday, and much to my surprise, it had been raining and snowing! What a change from earlier in the week in SoCal when it was close to 100 degrees. Jay and Jim had already been out on the course handling the mud and now, showing everybody what the Backboners are all about.
My first day of practice was quite a shock. Living in SoCal, I never get a chance to ride in cold snowy and muddy conditions. And as Jay pointed out, if it is raining/snowing, I'm probably going to skip my ride anyway. The course turned out to be the most challenging course I've ridden this year. The MSC crew incorporated a little bit of everything into the DH course; lots of rocks, long tree/wood sections, roots, drops, jumps, pedaling straights, and even a small road gap.




Practice went well, and the new Tomac Primer just handled the course like a dream. Unfortunately, the course changed rapidly throughout the weekend. From cold temps and snow on day one, to high seventy degree temps and dust on race day! My race run was unspectacular, I made a mistake entering the first rock section, and came to a complete stop thanks to a tree that jumped out in front of me. That first complete stop sort of set the tone for the rest of my race run, as I proceeded to ride off course several more times. After realizing that I was way too far back to have any sort of competitive result, I decided to sit back and enjoy the ride. I coasted the 2nd half of the course, and finished near the bottom of the pack. Oh well, after having solid podium finishes at the California State series races this year, I wasn't too bummed about one bad finish, especially on a such a challenging course with a brand new bike!