I had an amazing weekend! I went to mt hood oregon for the national DH and fluidride cup #3 race w/ my team and one annoying kid we brought along for gas $$$.

for the last four years, i have been telling my buddy mike i would make it down to hood river to ride, and i finally have! i am soooo stoked on that place now!

we rode these trails called post canyon on friday earlier in the day, and it was epic! fast downhill runs, shuttle-able riding, gap jumps, drops, cross country! everything a mtn. biker could want :).

when we got to post canyon, we ran into another buddy, miles, who ios a trailbuilder there, and he gave us the inside scoop on the easier fire roads- which when rolling a hatchback v. a truck is never easy to begin with. haha

miles showed max and i some new trrails, we hit them up, hit up chorus, drop out, left side mx (HUUUUUUGE GAPS AND JUMPS 25-35+ FEET!!!)

http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/1970261/

http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/3034917/

http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/2632543/

ps, none of these pics are me, but it just gives you guys an idea of the trails we were riding! i will have some race pics and video soon though!

and then we hit the race run called GP to the bottom! soooo fun.

after that, we called up my team manager and headed out t0o mt hood!
around 10-ish, we roll into the campsite. it was already pitch black, and my team were hella p/o'ed because we didnt help set up camp.

after pitching my tents and helping dumbass max pitch his, we hit the sack.

day 2: 5 am wake up, quick breakfast, then to the lifts! we headed up to gov't camp @ the base of the mt hood ski bowl. met up w/ some homies there from transition bikes, wheelsport, other shops, and industry buds.

got the registration rolling, packed up the car, put on my gear, and rode the lifts to the top!

nerves set in. never ridden here, hear that the cannonball, the first half mile of the course is gnarly as hell. sooo stoked, yet nervous to ride. it's max's first time. and hes a fat mofo too. no offense to him, but the kid weighs 285!!! and its fat!

we get to the top. all nerves start to calm. without even thinking, i blast it down this loose, steep chute! loose 6-10" wide rocks litter the course, i am BOMBING thru them, not really picking or paying attention to my line. i get to the bottom, and all of a sudden i hear a sound.

i look down, thinking my number plate is rubbing my tires. no. it is my tires. they are both flat! years i've been running these damn tubes, and they flat on this??? impossible!

i start to hike back up, and then a quad comes to my rescue. we load the bike on the back and i ride side-saddle all the way up said gnarly rock chute on a quad!!! it was crazy!

so after that, i ride the lifts down. get to the bottom, buy a new tube, nad roll back to the top agian. same rock chute, except this time, im running 35 psi instead of 25. im fine. money. i make it to the bottom.

then i hit lower cannonball. sketchy. not really, just a steep, loose fire road w/ a bunch of rck and drainage stuff to hop over. then, descencding along the ridgeline, a huge 50+ foot drop on my left, i loose my rear brakes. they are fading, again!@

three times in a month I've had to bleed these fucking things! and theres no pressure in my hose. hydraulics suck. haha. i got to the parking lot, heading to my homies trruck, and this guy offers to bleed them for me, and get the air out. life saver. im actually kinda pissed too, cuz there wass sooo much crap in my brake lines that supposedly got out.

anyway, that said and done, i got like 2 practice runs in on practice day :(

day three, the race:

mornign of, we again got up arounhd 5, this time packing up camp and rolling out.

max annoys everyone. Im the first one up, and packed. funny, eh? anyway, we get to the mtn, first thing we see is my name, up on a bulletin board, in bright orange letters. SEE REGISTRATION. fuck. im thinking my licenses didnt work, or ive been disqualified by simon. idk, but w.e. turns out, they jsut didnt register my number plate. haha.

so we get on the lift, sketchy. again. these rocks, well, you dont knwo these rocks. the closest thing i can find to show you is this pic, from another mountain.

http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/1506524/
http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/110142/
this one is the best :http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/1346058/

well, you guys gett the idea. gnarly. insane type riding.

fortunately, i made it thru the weekend alive! haha.

so anyway, we are all chilling @ the bottom of the lift after practice runs, and i keep hearing start times pushed back. this sucks., my homie mike is on the mic, keeping us updated. then i realize i am starting off the cat 2 men! i fun to the lifts, and get to the top just three riders before i need to race! no time to chill, stretch, or relax. just pinn'r!

i get to the top, run my bike to the front,. they call my number. im in line. 30 second intervals. beep, beep, beep, blip! go! balls to the wall. pinned.

i make the rock line cleaner than ever in practice, diving between the boulders and rolling the faster, yet harder line.

made it out of upper cannonball alive. feelin good. i get to the bottom section, and slidfe out of a corner, into mud and snow! i run my bike up a cliff, and hop on back down the other side. pedal, pedal, pedal!!!

all i can think about it sprinting, but my legs dont move. im in my highest and hardest gear! fuck!

i being to pump and push the bniker, feelign the terrain, but i am off line again! i take lines i did not in practive, and it fucks up my run!

got to the bottom, and my buddy casey is now on the mic, and as i cross the finish, i am bummed. shakin my head. coulda been top 10! could have at least saved 10-15 seconds. i recount my run. i know where i fucked up.

after a while thoguh, i see my times, and the times of other guys.

i am faster. i didnt crash, they did.

12th place out of 42 riders in my age and class, lots of whom are faster than me! damn! i beat 30 other guys! and no training either! i have definitely been re-bitten by the racing bug!

i will return agian mt hood! and i will conquer! haha.

all in all, i did ok, my team mates got podiums, two of them taking their races and age group, max finished the dh w/o dying, and my manager got some sick race footage and some nice wrecks!

man, how can you put a price on such an epic weekend?

carlea and rainbow, i figured @ least you girls could appreciate this for what it was. stokage from an epic weekend of mt biking!