I may not race DH right off the bat next season.
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