September 10, 2014
Man did it rain. Dallas called it and it came down. We huddled under the team tent for hours. Watched a few guys go up and do some rain runs. We didn’t even get to track walk yet. Rain let up around 11am. Shack and I headed up for a walk. Picture of Shack from the lift says it all. It was dank, wet, and zero sun. As if this was not gloomy enough, no Phil for this one. He had some business to handle and couldn’t make this race. Missed ya buddy for sure!
We take some runs on the wet course. I’m running WetScreams. They are holding like a mofo. Fun course, even wet. Matt and Bobby get on the course and run a train on that bitch for a few runs….until…BAM. Pouring rain. We took some super wet runs and it was super duper fun. Love rain riding. Nothing like it man. And BlueMTN sticks in the wet so it was real confident riding, really. Worst part was the tear-offs / roll-offs. Water kept getting under mine so visibility was literally horrible. Matt and I each did one in the down pour and came out looking like the mud kiddies from Woodstock Two. Might be the muddiest I’ve ever been. So fun.
Parking lot camping at Blue is fun. They provide wood, fire pits, bathrooms. We lit up the fire and dried our clothes off there along with everyone else camping. See that guy Shack photobombed? Yeah, he was bombed. 10 minutes later and he was face down in the gravel. That’s what you get for double fisting vodka and Monster. Around 11pm, the fog set in fierce. It stuck around for race morning too and burned off right before race runs.
Joe finished this race in in 5th and the season overall in fifth. Considering it was his second year racing, this is great results. Remember people, there have been Cat 1 guys in Cat 2 30-39 for years. We’re racing some legit competition here. Great riding Joe. It’s been an awesome season having you and Katie and Zoe around the entire time! 2015 baby!
I finished this race in fourth and the season in fourth overall. Needed to beat Mr. Palmer in the finals. He’s Blue MTN local, with a season pass, and put in the sideline time to get fast on the course. Kudos, JP. You earned it.
I got a lot faster here at Blue and faster at all courses this year. Huge gains. Wouldn’t trade it for the world. Feels great getting incrementally faster each year. Feels even better knowing exactly where you are loosing time and why. Winning is really awesome. But you don’t always learn as much winning. My personal goal has always been eliminating the fear factors commonly known to DH. Features are no longer scary. Rain riding and wet features are no thang. And, feeling confident and fast seems more like a consistent state of being now. Racing helped me earn these things. Without HAVING to do it, it wouldn’t have come so quickly.
Matt killed it for this race. First place and first place overall. Such a sick first season of DH racing for this cat. Great race run shots and so much fun to have him on the team in 2014. Big congrats Matt. Great season for ya and great having you to chase and follow into shit. Looking forward to offseason freeriding and maybe a Whistler trip?
The man. Mr. Haris Michailides. Congrats to you sir. You took this race (first) and you took the overall. Bobby set out with a solid goal to beat our class and he nailed it. Talked so much shit the week before. SO MUCH. Fool was making MIMES and all that. Texting me. Taunting me. It’s all good, B. You wrote that check and cashed the shit out of it. Proud of you, brother. Thanks for rolling with us in 2014. Learned a ton from you. Looking forward to seeing what you lay down in Cat 1 for 2015.
Ah, Joe and the bike. We should write a nursery rhyme or a kids book or some shit like that. Base it on some guy named Joe that worked on his bike too much. lol. Playin’ Joe. We love ya. But you are always dicking around with that Kona. In your defense, there is always something you find that needs to get fixed. This time it was a brake bleed. And man did it turn into a saga. I’m talking about from daylight to no light. Crowds, multiple people helping, iPhone “how-to’s” and even a group of spectators. See for your self. Love this series. lol.
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