first time in forever. Managed a 5th when I was hoping for at least 7th. Bonus!!!

   What a fantastic weekend and location for the first of what I hope is many Fluidride Cup races.  Well over 200 downhillers of all levels raced on Sunday and I heard at least 40 people signed up for the dual-slalom - not bad for a first-time event.



   Ted and I arrived Friday afternoon, just in time to sign in and see some of the muddiest riders I've seen in a while as it was raining off and on (mostly on) that day.  We decided to settle in at our campsite and make it a full day on the hill for Saturday.  I awoke Saturday morning fairly early, and thankfully so.  Our campsite happened to be sitting on a bluff over a tidal pool.  Needless to say, it was a spectacular sunrise and it helped set the tone for an awesome day of riding, photography and rooting.  After several practice runs, I felt like I knew what to do on Sunday.  It was time to grill some burgers and dogs, take some pics on the 4x track and cheer and capture some action for the dual-slalom event that afternoon.  I kind of regret not racing in it, but I surely will the next time.  All the same, fun was had by all.  A couple more runs down the dh course and back to the campsite for a DWB grill-fest/party-down that lasted until around 1:30-2am.  6:30am came early, but that didn't matter.  Why?  It was SUNDAY-SUNDAY-SUNDAY!!!  RACE DAY!!!!!  Besides, there was only one practice run and I didn't have to get on the shuttle for my run until 11:45am.  I had plenty of time to warm-up on the 4X and DS tracks and cheer on a few friends as I waited to go up for my run.  The overall vibe there was amazing - everybody seemed to have their stoke on and it was a great place to be.  Downhill racing is alive and well in the Pacific Northwest, there's not a doubt in my mind after this event.



   I eventually lined it up at the gate and it was "5-4-3-2-1-GO!!!"  Unfortunately, I went much slower out of the gate than I would have liked to...guess I'd have to try to make up for it along the way.  I knew the course would be well-tracked by my run and that it wasn't as greasy as it was the day prior in practice.  Essentially, pin it!!!  Once I got to the first steep chute, it was a blur.  I could have gone a little faster down the hill, but not by much.  I pedaled when I had a chance and tried not to brake as much as humanly possible.  I only had one sketchy corner where I had to reel it in a hair to keep from drifting off the course.  Otherwise, I feel I did the best I could have done.  After all, I'm racing on a 5-6" travel bike!!!  I wound up finishing alongside the racer that started a minute ahead of me and was only 15 seconds behind the person that started 30 seconds ahead.  I had to sit up behind the minute guy as I caught him in the fastest section of the course near the bottom.  I was trying to get him to move over, but he couldn't hear me for one reason or another.  Oh well, at least I didn't crash!  :)  I wound up 2nd overall in my age group despite that - and there was enough of a gap to where I'm sure I still would have wound up 2nd if I didn't get stalled.  If anything, my poor start cost me a chance to pass the minute guy further up the hill.  Whatever...it was a blast and I hope the next race is just as fun as this one was!  Besides, I beat Pip!!!



   As if the weekend wasn't fun enough, I wound up winning a wheelset in the ensuing raffle!!!  That is one less thing I need to invest in after I buy my friend's V-10 in the very near future.  Once I get that beast up and running, it's time to race expert and save my Mission for regular trail and dual-slalom.





   Good to see some of you out there that weekend and looking for to the coming races - be sure to look for the Recycled Cycles sprinter van and please stop by and say "hi"!  If you're lucky, you may show up just in time for a fresh burger or hot dog - we grill our own!!!  We usually have a repair stand, truing stand and various tools if you need a quick-fix as well.  I'm also getting my Mini DV camera repaired so that I can get better footage of the remainder of this series and all things in between.  I'll be sure to put something good together by season's end.  As-is, there is tons of coverage from this event...to name a few -



bonesovermetal.com/blog/2008/04/07/fluidride-cup-1/



www.pinkbike.com/news/fluidride-cup-race-one-2008.html



www.michaeladamson.eu/iWeb/Site/Alpinelite/A0C2BD24-2F7B-4C75-BC29-D9D1EF1767A2.html



   It's been nearly two weeks since the event, but the PacNW is still buzzing.  Looking forward to the next one!  Major props to Fluidride, Hurricane Racing and NDub Productions for organizing and executing one hell of an event - hopefully the first of many for a long, long time!



Brap!



~Andy

   Tomorrow (Sunday, March 9) is a full day of shuttling at Dry Hill - Port Angeles, WA.  This will be a great chance to preview the hill a month prior to the start of the race season...not to mention get some rips in with all my friends.  It will also be a chance to see if there's anything I need to do to my bike before the races as well.

   Otherwise, it's business as usual.  Do a ton of trailwork and ride as much as humanly possible.  Eat and rest in between.  What more can one do?

   This is also a great opportunity to bid winter a much anticipated farewell.  See-ya...don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out!!!  It's not that I don't like winter, I just don't like some of my favorite trails being snowed in for too long.  It fuels my silent rage.

   Hope all are having a great end of winter and I wish the best of luck to all this spring/summer/fall.

SEE YOU AT THE RACES!!!  :)

Andy

   It has been consistently cold and wet for what seems like years up here in the PacNW...it's only been 2-3 months, really.  Regardless, it's making riding at some of the techy spots even more so - if not unrideable all together.  Kind of a pisser I'm not into the snowboarding this season - I hear nothing but "sickness" and "epic" when I get to ride with some of my friends on the rare dryish day.

   On the bright side, our local mtn. bike club (BBTC - www.bbtc.org) is making incredible progress on the skill park near downtown Seattle under I-5.  Hell, I almost broke my nose and eye socket there last weekend - they must be doing something right!  There's a couple of good pics of me post-crash on www.bonesovermetal.com - go to the Trail Building Gallery or click on the Collonade Work Party blog.  Good times!

   Better still is the fact that it's less than two months until the inagural Fluidride Cup series kicks off at Port Angeles, WA.  Ooooooooo, I am soooo stoked for this one in particular.  I've ridden there a handful of times over this last year and my last venture out there a few weeks back was a pleasant surprise.  The crew at Olympic Dirt Society have been killing it as far as trailwork is concerned.  I loved the trails before their recent upgrades/extensions of many trails.  The fact that they are teaming up with Hurricane Racing to run this makes me all that more excited.  Petr and his crew do an  outstanding job of organizing starts and getting the timing  down to near-perfection. 

   In the meantime, I'm hoping for a small improvement in the weather.  Until then, it's time to break out the shovels and continue grooming our local spots for the upcoming season.

Peace,

Andy

   Last year was probably the best year of riding I've had to this point in my life...aside from only getting one race in - at least I got the one in.  With that being said, I don't plan on doing anything different in preparation for the '08 race season.  Why should I?  I rode fast, smooth (usually) and progressed beyond any expectations I had when I originally entered this sport.  I have also inspired others along the way, so that alone is motivation enough for me to stay the course I'm currently on.

   If I can add "race well and consistently" to my list of riding accomplishments this year, that would be great.  If not, hopefully I at can at least say I gave it my best shot - whether I wind up 1st, DFL or DNF.  More important is that I have fun regardless of anything.  I hope to feel as stoked as standing on the top box even if I finish 35th out of 35.  If I can do that then I will also be satisfied with my efforts.  I guess as long as I'm pushing myself without taking unnecessary risks, I should be content.



   Who am I kidding?  I WANT TO CRUSH THE WORLD!!!



   All the same, I still want ot have fun the whole time.



HAVE A HAPPY, SAFE AND BRAPTASTIC NEW YEAR!

Seriously.  For starters, I might be behind schedule as far as getting the fundage appropriated for that bike.  At the very least, I'm going to race DS/4X once the season begins.  I have the bike for it now - 2008 Diamondback Mission 3.  It's not a straight-up race bike, but I'm not a straight-up DS/4X'er...yet.  Unlike DH, I think I will enter DS/4X at the Sport level...if not Beginner.  The ulterior motive to not DHing right away is so I can also film/photograph some of the DH action in the early-season.  Dunno, guess I'll deal with that when the time comes.  So long as I'm on the hill in some capacity, I'll be a happy camper.

In the meantime, it's been a riot getting acquainted with the new bike.  Thanks again to Diamondback/Raleigh USA for getting me set up on such a sweet ride!  I highly recommend this bike to anybody that wants a great epic-quality bike that can still handle 20-30ft gaps that easily weighs less than 40lbs.  Awesome component spec to make a great thing even better.

BRAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

~Andy

After what seems like an eternity, but in reality was just over two months, I am again a multiple bike owner.  Aside from my commuter, I will now also have an '08 Diamondback Mission 3 in my stable.  I probably won't see it for a couple of days, but it will be waiting for me when I go back to the shop.  Thanks a TON to the folks at Diamondback/Raleigh America for getting me going once again - I'll be sure to put in many a good word about the bike as I already know I'll love it.  It was one of a few bikes I "surfed" over the last couple of months and, once I get it all dialed in, will be a great all-around machine.



Now if only the weather would be a little nicer!



Have a braptacular Thanksgiving, all!



~Andy

   For starters, Vegas was fun for the most.  My feet still hate me, but I feel recharged and all geeked-out after seeing (and riding) some of the goodness laid out before me.  Five days in Vegas is too much, IMHO.  How do people live there???  I'm sure they'd say the same about Seattle if they ever came up for a few days.  Since we arrived just a little too late for the first day of Outdoor Demo, I didn't get to ride nearly as many bikes as I had hoped to...but the ones that I did were good ones for sure.

Diamondback Sortie 3 - Excellent sub-30lb xc bike.  We called it the Mission Lite - as it's a 4" travel version of their 6" all-mountain gem.  It rode just like a Mission, except it climbs even better and still handled the techy sections of trail like a champ.  It's more of an all-day epic xc bike, but could easily shine at sport-level racing.

Commencal Supreme DH - This is one of those "don't worry about about what to do, the bike will take care of it" bikes.  I think it took me the whole of about 15 seconds to feel at home on it.  From there it got even better.  Once we got to the faster, jumpier section of the trails, the bike unveiled another side to it.  It felt stuck to the ground the faster I went, but it also jumped like a rabbit on steroids.  I wish I had more than my full-face and knee pads on at that point - I'm sure it would have hit some of the bigger gaps rather smoothly.  Adjustable head-angle and wheel-base are a nice touch, too.  Bottom line - this bike owns and I'd sell my body for one.

Santa Cruz V-10 - Not much to say here, really.  This is a straight-up dh rig...period.  The techier it gets, the better this bike performs.  I was rolling some lines on this bike that I would never have done my bike...and loving it!  While I wasn't able to jump this one as easily, I'm sure I'd be able to after several rides on it.  Like the Commencal, I'd save a lot of pennies to own one.

So, this time last week I was ready to go home but still had another 24hrs of trade show to endure...and I do mean endure.  I only drank on the first night there, but somehow never got to bed before 2am the entire week.  Vegas, baby!

Now that I'm back, I just got my fork back from the factory and it's in tip-top shape.  WOO-HOO!!!  At the same time, I just discovered that my frame it dust.  We were changing out the pivot-bearings to find that the main pivot is somewhat ovalized.  D'OH!!!  I guess the bright side of it is that it held up for just over 2yrs and, most importantly, this past year.  It has been one of the most exciting years of my life as far as riding bikes goes.  I've seen people doing things and people have seen me doing things that none of us would ever have imagined we'd be doing.  It's hasn't been pretty at times, but it's been pretty sick most of the time.  I guess I'll be selling my freshly warrantied fork, my rarely used stereo and a thing here or there to get a Diamondback Mission so I have something to roll in the mud with over the winter.  It helps we're a dealer at our shop, so I can get one for under a grand.  Long-term, I have my eyes set on a Kona Stab Deluxe.  It will definitely do the job I plan on doing.  Again, it also helps my shop carries - you guessed it...Kona!  IN THE MEANTIME...I at least have my disc brake/riser bar-equipped cyclocross bike to roll around on, so I won't totally forget how to ride a bike or get all out of shape.

I'LL BE BACK...AND SO WILL THE BRAP

   With my exhausting '07 season (one entire race) behind me, it's time to turn my attention to the '08 season.  It will consist of at least five races - that being the number of races in the Mt. Hood Race Series.  My only race to this point in my life took place there earlier this month and I was totally impressed with every aspect of the event.  The organizers did a top-notch job, the fellow racers were very friendly, sometimes odd but always helpful and the fans along the course kept us all going.  There's no way I'm missing it next year.  I wish I was there for the finals this weekend - good luck and safe racing to all that are there.  I can't make it this time around because...VEGAS!!!

   I found out earlier this month that the management of the shop I work at (Recycled Cycles) wanted me to join them this year at Interbike.  If I was supposed to say no, it wasn't going to happen.  Especially when Ted (my GM) mentioned the first two days are Dirt Demo at Bootleg Canyon.  I'm in the market for a DH rig, so this would be my best chance to see what's what as far as bikes I'm curious about.  Not to mention get some rips on some pretty sick (at least that's what I've been told) trails.  In a sense, my '08 season begins down there...not that I plan on blowing the doors off of anybody while I'm there.  That will have to wait.  I'm really excited about the prospect of meeting some of the big guns of the sport while I'm down there, as well as seeing some of the new goodies that the manufacturers are coming up with.  Not that there's been (or ever will be) a bad time to be involved with this sport, but this is easily a great time to be around it!!!

   In the middle of all of this, I will be meeting some bike manufacturers with one of our owners and sitting through various seminars regarding both tech and personnel topics.  Hey, it can't ALL be fun and games, can it?  We shall see.  I'm just glad I have a day off after we get back to recover before I go back to WORK-work.

   After that, I hope to see my fork back from the factory and ready to go on my bike.  That's when the REAL training will begin - BRAP!!!



Peace,

Andy