a little news from 10,200 ft.

Holy smokes, I had a great time in Leaville for race #1 of the Winter Mountain Bike Series yesterday. I headed up Friday evening to avoid traffic & get the rig set up at Leadville Liquors for a good night's sleep. I stopped in & said hi before heading to bed. They have us pimped out in there...rockin' our custom DPA snowboard promo, all 4 brands proudly on display as well as $1 off DPA 12-Packs with your race number.


As in the Front Range I awoke to crazy beautiful weather, unlike the Front Range we were at 10,200 ft gazing on one of the most powerful views in Colorado & racing on a mix of snow road, groomed trail & snowmobile singletrack. We had a good group of about 30 racers gathered for a 10:00 start time. It was a super fun race that ranged from 59 Minutes to 2 and a half hours for others. Chris on a pugsley took the victory & I was in second before mistakenly stopping & wandering off course 20 feet before the finish...but after figuring it out I did come in 3rd just a few seconds behind second still breaking the 1 hour mark. I ran my standard winter setup of Kenda Nevegals at fairly low pressure along with my standard 32x18.75(ish) gear ratio. It was a great set up & I only came off the bike to run twice...I also had to put a foot down once & went thigh deep. All in all not too bad as the only time I hit the snow. The race was a blast, a bunch of fun on a bike. Their were also a good number of volunteers & spectators checking it out. After the racing was done we all gathered at Rosie's to celebrate a great day on the bike & enjoy food & OB Brews during the raffle & awards. After the awards I was invited to join the folks from Cloud City Wheelers & Cycles of Life bike shop for a few more beers over some great elk taco dinner. Hot damn, a pretty full day all around complete with a very poor sounding "jam" session & a great time hanging out with the Leadheads...did I mention they like to drink??? Thanks for the hospitality...it great hospitality & even better people seem to be something consistent with being on the road in Colorado - thanks to you all!

If you missed this one because you were busy, weren't sure what to think or simply persuaded by the great weather of the Front Range you should take out a pen & mark February 7th on your calendar. It will be race number 2 of the series & will start @ 7:00 PM at the Tennessee Pass Nordic Center. Bring your lights to Tennessee Pass Nordic Center for a fast race through the trees at Ski Cooper. We're continuing the planning of a few forms on night life after the race is done. Keep an eye here along with the mtbr forums for more details as they come together. One thing is not up in the air...it will be a great freeking time. Did I mention it's the day after the 4th annual BMA membership meeting & 2 days before a FULL MOON. Yep, it's gonna be epic...don't miss it.

I'm off to grab some skate skiing before continuing onward to the Winter X Games 13 destination. Hope everyone was able to get out on two wheels this weekend, sure was a great one.

...and one heckova big colorado shout out to Katie Compton for showing she is KNOCKING ON THE DOOR of her first World Championship...congrats & best of luck!