Taylor's First race as a REAL PRO!

Yo Chris!
Its January, and all us west coast peeps know that means that the scenic hills overlooking Fontana are alive again with the sounds of clicking gears, beer bottles opening, and of course a handfull of moderate injuries. Jay, Ryan, Trevor, Darter, and myself (sorry if I forgot anyone) just finished up a weekend of early season racing in Fontana. It would have been an amazing weekend for racing if it wasnt for the hurricane Katrina force winds that took over the hill. It was my first weekend out as a full Pro rider, no more baby pro! I don't know how I pulled it off, but somehow my points from 2008 earned me a single digit pro plate for the year (7-A). It felt really weird starting as the 3rd person down the hill today (there were 40 of us in Pro), and looking over shoulder to see some other big name pro riders seeded behind me. I got a little overly eager to pin it during my race, and blew out some corners, didnt have the smoothest run ever. I felt like it was my first race all over again. I aimed to finish top 20 since it was the first race of the year, and I fell just short of that goal settling into 25th for the day. I'll let everyone else describe their race in their own unique way, but I just have to add that Mike Darter is simply "THE MAN" after what some of us witnessed today. Thats all Im gonna say, you'll have to ask him for details. Oh, and a HUGE thanks to Randy and Kim who brought out the unofficial Backbone race trailer again and hosted lots of great food, and beer! I'll try to find some pics online once they get posted, there were a lot of people taking pictures this weekend.

Taylor