Wow, it has been a long time since I posted anything here on my blog. The main reason for my lack of posting is of course my lack of racing!
After the Snowmass national I was in search of inspiration, not only to race but to keep riding. It seems that after every season I get a bit burnt out on racing and perhaps with riding in general. I can give credit for this "lack of inspiration" to many things: full time job, results that are below my expectations, race courses that are below my expectations, and the lack of good downhill trails in and around my home.
Fortunately I found my inspiration and passion to ride right where it has always been...simply riding for fun with friends.
I made the trek to Northstar for the Labor day weekend along with my brother, Nate-Dawg, Wes, T.J and my old friend Greg Meyer. The riding was great, the weather could not have been more perfect with temperatures in the mid 70s and sunny clear skies. Northstar has some of the best riding terrain as far as bike parks go, with trails ranging from completely rock-strewn technical trails to fully groomed and watered jump trails.
After the Snowmass national I was in search of inspiration, not only to race but to keep riding. It seems that after every season I get a bit burnt out on racing and perhaps with riding in general. I can give credit for this "lack of inspiration" to many things: full time job, results that are below my expectations, race courses that are below my expectations, and the lack of good downhill trails in and around my home.
Fortunately I found my inspiration and passion to ride right where it has always been...simply riding for fun with friends.
I made the trek to Northstar for the Labor day weekend along with my brother, Nate-Dawg, Wes, T.J and my old friend Greg Meyer. The riding was great, the weather could not have been more perfect with temperatures in the mid 70s and sunny clear skies. Northstar has some of the best riding terrain as far as bike parks go, with trails ranging from completely rock-strewn technical trails to fully groomed and watered jump trails.
Later in the month I made my way up to the Mammoth bike park along with Brad Oien, Sanjay, Sean "The Griz", Sven Martin and Bryn Atkinson for a photo shoot/article on the bikepark at Mammoth. With the forecast calling for snow on both days I was rather skeptical if we would get to ride at all. The call was made to go on with the original plan, it turned out to be a very good decision. When we woke on Saturday morning it was snowing lightly. We all went to breakfast and discussed possible photo spots and strategies for the days work. When we arrived back on the mountain it was snowing even more and actually sticking to the ground! We zipped up our winter clothes and got to work! 
What followed was two of the best riding days that I have ever had. The snow, although rather deep in some places, made for awesome traction at Mammoth. Sven took care of all the riding photos and unfortunately also took care of the group's crashes...he injured his wrist while doing a run on Sat. afternoon. To spite his injuries Sven kept clicking the photos away and staying on task, he's an ANIMAL!!!! It was great to ride with Bryn and hear him talk about techniques he uses in corners, rocks and other sections. Look for some pics in upcoming issues of DECLINE magazine!
The next week was Interbike. Wow, Interbike. Usually I prepare a resume to hand out to prospective sponsors, not this year. It just came up too quickly and I had no time to revise my resume. Needless to say I returned from the show, once again, with not sponsors for the '08 season. Not a big issue, I am charged to ride my bike once again...perhaps more than last year. Hopefully something good will come in 2008, one thing is for sure, I will have fun riding and racing my bike.
