As a season pass holder, I received a letter from the general manager of Northstar at Tahoe. The letter stated that the lifts and the mountain will be closed due to construction for the 2006 mountain bike season. This confirmed the widespread e-rumors going around. The letter further stated that this was only temporary and will reopen for the 2007 season.

With Northstar closing down for 2006, it took a local riding spot from us and a local downhill race series. I planned to purchase a season pass, as always, and compete in the local downhill series.

The 2007 season holds some promise and I will be one of the first in line on opening day to purchase my season pass.

I was able to qualify and attend this year`s Nationals at Infineon Raceway Sonoma, CA. At Friday`s practice, I put in as many runs as I possibly could. Lines were ever changing and there were a couple of corners I thought I could work on. Saturday, race day, I only did two practice runs and then waited at the top for my race run.

Race run finally came and I felt pretty smooth but I could have been faster. I kept the bike upright and had no crashes so the day went well.

I placed 6th, missing the podium by tenths of a second.

This was my first experience with Team Bigfoot. They put on a great race and had great attitudes. Everyone from the people working on the course to the people BBQ`n the free burgers were super nice.

The course was loose and dusty (think Northstar w/out the rocks)and kept you thinking about what was next. I placed 4th in the 30-39 expert class and am happy with the results.

I really enjoyed the race and hats off to the Bigfoot crew!!