5 DOWN-7 TO GO

Crested Butte was the 3rd stop on the 2007 Mountain States Cup circuit and proved to be a physical nightmare. With 1,800 feet of elevation gain per lap, the free flying fire roads at the top were a welcome site.

Several team members complained about the course (as evident by 4 DNFs) but I thought it was the classic reason why we live in Colorado.

Tons of climbing, tire eating off-camber rocks and and deep cow trail 1/2 tracks in elbow deep grass that prompted one " I can go over the handlebars" drill.

Bottom line is that the turtle wins in the long run. I know my competition well (thanks for the trip to Italy, Lou) and with 5 finishes out of 5, I was able to take the MSC Series category lead at least temporarily.

Being #1 in your division at the same time your team is ranked #1 is to be savored. COMotion Sports has a bullseye painted on our back.... we just have to keep on keep'n on.

Lance Has It All Wrong

When Mr. "sell-a-million-Treks" wrote his popular book- "It's Not About The Bike" Lance had a different story to tell. I believe it's a whole lot about the bike.
Not being a natural athlete, I've tried to grab every advantage I can in MTB competition through better equipment and maintenance. Five years running without a single DNF.
After moving to Colorado in 1997 from the Phoenix area, I decided to try MTB racing to regain some of my earlier thrills of motorcycle motocross and flat track racing only without the 2 stroke smoke and weekly medical bills.
OK ,the first one was a Lance-sell Trek hardtail for $499. Ridiculous. My first Hodaka 90cc was only $425. After a year of LXism, I was off on a search for the best MTB I could find. After all honey, I don't have a Harley, snowmobile, waverunner or 4-wheeler. A trip to Steamboat Springs to visit titanium land (working in metallurgy I was curious). Bike was OK but-that little flexy thing is the rear shock?
Next stop-Yeti factory in Golden. Friendly bunch of guys. Josh Somebody (no longer there) gave me a tour. Bikes and bike parts had just come back from Interbike in Vegas and the shop was a little "busy". After interrogating the welder about filler materials, root passes and post welding stress relief, I believed these guys knew what they were doing.
The result was an allegiance to a local source of top level hardware. And somehow, the collection began.





Yeti #1 was a 2002 ASR and 2001 Interbike booth show-off. Basement built from a collection of .com resources and Excel Sports & Wheatridge Cyclery components.






Yeti #2 was an identical 2002 Road Project built by former Yeti sales dude Scott Dammon. A road bike was "prescribed" by my cycling coach John Barclay as a way to increase MTB endurance and later proved to be a post surgery rehab tool for a torn meniscus. Turned my attention away from MTB racing in 2005 doing Ride the Rockies, Elephant Rock Century, Ride for the Cure and several other road riding funbies. She's got about 4K on those Mavics. She was later converted to a 30 speed Ultegra. The triple in honor of my old knees and the Left Hand canyon climb to Ward..

Yeti #3 -DAMN ASR IS TOO HEAVY -27 lbs with Psylo!! I need to build a hardtail for Battle the Bear and Winter Park Hill climb. So I did. E-bay purchased frame and Veloswap components produced a 17 lb. lightweight. Yetifan Bike-of-the-Month has not a single Shimano component.


Yeti #4 2007 ASR with Pro Build and carbon triangle. That's what I'm talking about--hardtail weight with double boinkers. COMotion Sports official ride for 2007 is pure XTR and handles like a go cart. Fox stuff is bullet proof and has more adjustment knobs than I can figure out.

Yeti#5 ..Bubba finally succeeded in getting the company to produce a limited edition cyclo-cross bike. Just finished in October 2008, pure Dura Ace and Ritchey WCS level components for a great training and racing ride.

Might as well take this Yeti thing to the grave with me!!

Passing It On.....

Part of the fun of an empty nest is choosing when and to what degree you re-populate it. Each year the granddaughters come for summertime fun with papa. Funtime must of course revolve around the summer's MTB race schedule.

Shyala's debut was the Angel Fire Shimano Kids race 2006. Complete with skateboard knee and elbow pads, she finished the grueling 2 lap course with only 2 gravity attacks.. 4 less than I incurred.

Veteran Tori will sadly be forced to abandon the Shimano Kids Series after 2007 but has vowed to find some hills in Oklahoma and start a DH or SD career.

First timer Katylin's chase was this year's Battle the Bear race on a garage sale tricycle frantically overhauled until midnight the night before the big race.

Careful guidance from mom and soft grass left no scars on the maiden voyage. Yes, that is a one off, rare YETI tricycle from the early Durango days.

Payoff for 1 lap atop Coyote Crossing...... Attention from the Tough Girls MTB Team. I have adoption papers started on the all four.

What's a BLOG Anyway?

In my never ending quest to reverse time, I thought ..what the hell, pull your beanie down over your ears and do this BLOG thing and expand the fun being a COMotion Sports racer is providing. After all, I've got more history and BS capabilities than the entire Expert class combined. We'll start here and update regularly as we go for the unheard of 5th MSC title in a row.