I'm USAC ranked #1 in men's Cat 2 DH for 2009...wasn't expecting that!

New York State Championships in DH Mens 40+ Cat 2; 2nd overall USAC National Rank for DH Cat 2.

the last race of the season on 10/25/09!

Had a cold but great time at the Gravity East Finals.

this weekend.

as always - formidable, yet lazy.

Yup. Plattekill #1 Men's Cat 2 DH - 1st place. Kind of embarrasing, actually, as I was 20 seconds ahead the 2nd place finisher...The course was made for me, though - it had a lot of pedaling and all out sprinting sections. This has been pretty much my training through the winter and on trail rides now that the glacier formerly know as "Upstate NY" has since melted.

Next round: Plattekill #2 June 13-14. Stay tuned!

The future is now - 2009 is here. The bikes are still in pieces, slowly being reassembled. Fresh parts, helmets, jerseys etc, await the first ride of the season. I come back into the house from the garage, still smelling like Phil Wood waterproof grease. I love it.

2009 looks thus far to be more of a local year - luckily there are about 10 mountains (last time I counted) all within a 2 hour driving range! Plan, do you ask? Mostly NY state races- Plattekill NY state Series, Windham Gravity East and the pro circuit tour/Yankee Clipper, Whiteface Gravity East and hopefully som eof the Thursday 'locals only' races. I am damn lucky to live in the east.

Team Elevate Cycles is also planning to hit up a bunch of opening days - Killington, Whiteface, Plattekill, Jiminy Peak and so forth. Racing is great, but the riding here is amazing as well.

My 'almost 2' sonEwan has also been further indoctrinated into the world of bikes - he is now a proud owner of his 1st balance bike, stickered helmet and all. This will be an amazing year.

And as always, thanks to my sponsors: *elevate cycles*sinister*e13*azonic*odi*spy*nema*661

 - Jim

Well, it's December once again. I've just put the little one to sleep and finally have a moment to do a little reflection. What a wacky year it has been: being a new dad and then becoming a 'parent' for my folks who have now officially hit ages of 80 and 85!  Life is like that, but I have learned quite a bit for all of this; and inbetween I actually got to squeeze in a few races, believe it or don't.

Despite missing races from August through October, I was able to finish with the following standings:
*6th Overall Gravity East Downhill Series, Men's 40+ Expert.
*4th Overall NY State DH Race Series, Men's 40+ Expert.

Most importantly for this year, I've ridden a lot of stuff I've never had the courage to try before and had a lot of fun in the process. Sometimes you can't ask for more than that. I  got a chance to go dirt jumping over Turkey day in Long Island with good friends, and this sparked my interest in getting back to some jumping. Luckily, a local indoor skatepark (Shelter Skatepark in Ablany) is now open for bikes, so I plan to drag my singlespeed Steelhead along with my 42 year old carcass there weekly to keep up some skills and to keep on having fun. In the end, that's what it's all about!

Thanks for your support and see you in 2009 - Jim MacNaughton.