A combination of living in a new location and different motives for the race season has given me the opportunity to compete at new venues against new riders. During the third week in April, the Santa Cruz crew of Doss, Alex, Scott and I made the trek to Redding CA for the epic Saturday race, The Lemurian Classic. With the car loaded down and the trailer attached, we were ready for a weekend of adventure. For those who don’t know, the Lemurian Classic is a big loop race (26 miles) with 5k or so feet of climbing and amazing descending. This event truly is a mountain bikers course that pushes you start to finish. The theme of the day was either climbing or descending. Fun trails and plenty of competition, I ended up finishing 4th on the day after having issues with my chain guide, with the rest of the Santa Cruz crew putting in solid performances all around. Following the race, the crew plus Jeff and Natalie were greeted with ice cold beers as we soaked in the views from the dock at Whiskeytown Lake. After some classic heckling at a rookie sail boater’s expense, we loaded up the car to find a camp spot with the help of some locals’ knowledge which put us next to the river and with great trail access. After setting up camp, it was time for dinner which was prepared by chef extraordinaire Scott Chapin, which was followed by a few more beers before a swig of whiskey (we were in Whiskeytown after all) as a night cap. After a solid 8 hours of sleep, I was woken to a cup of coffee and the smell of french toast, eggs and bacon. Quickly putting down the calories, we headed out on an adventure exploring the Whiskeytown rec area. Numerous vistas, snow caps and waterfalls greeted us periodically. 6 hours later we found ourselves back at our vehicles for the journey home with another amazing weekend in the record books.



Descending gas can hill



The 29er post Lemurian beatdown



The car and trailer/cooking station. Scott hard a work.



Scott waiting for his cozie to float to him



Stickered up. Wasabi, Alex's band



Views from the dock



The Lemurian crew



During the last week in April, I was off to the land of gray weather where the locals are notorious for wearing socks with sandals. Yes, I’m talking about my native Pacific Northwest. Once again I found myself in the Mazdaradi heading north on a 850 mile journey to Hood River Oregon for the first round of the Fluidride Enduro series race. For those who are unfamiliar with the enduro format, it is similar to Super-D racing with endurance downhill runs over 10 minutes, though typically it is a multi-race run weekend so consistency is key. I had loaded in the car my S-works Stumpjumper FSR and my newly acquired S-works Enduro so having the right bike for the course was not an issue. I found myself rolling into the venue at 6 p.m. on Friday, giving me time to pull out a bike and do a little recon work on the course. The course started out of the gate with a wide open fire road with drifty sweeping turns then quickly dropped into single track. The top section of single track was rather techy with tight switchbacks and loose off camber followed by wide open traverses following the ridgeline. 7 or so minutes into the run, riders were faced with a slight uphill to rolling climb that was nothing when riding at a casual pace, but at race pace it quickly put racers into the red and seeing stars if you were giving it your all. The guys to beat were local legend Nathan Riddle and Kona rider Matt Slaven. Rolling off the starting gate on my first run, I managed to put up the time to beat with a sub 12 minute run with Nathan and Matt bringing up 2nd and 3rd. Following Saturday’s races, Sundayss race was on the same course though times were expected to be a little faster. I ended up dumping the bike in one of the top switchbacks and ended up 2nd to the Riddler with Matt bringing in 3rd on the weekend. What a fun format of racing and there is no wonder enduro racing is so big in Europe. Anyways, good racing, quality courses, excellent trail riding with the guys and even a little pumptrack action while in Hood River, I’ll be back for sure. Also, mark your calendars for the second round of the Fluidride Enduro Sept. 9-12 at Mt. Hood, if you don’t make it you truly are missing out on a fun weekend.


One of the many switchbacks


After packing up the car following the weekend of fun, I noticed an oil patch under the Mazadradi. For those who don’t know, I drive a 1990 Mazda Protégé. It is far from new in looks and feel, but it is reliable and I know it inside and out. My father gave it to me my junior year of college, and soon after I drove it 3000 miles across the country for school in North Carolina. Since then, I have driven it back to the west coast and currently has 199,000 miles on it. A couple months ago, my dad and I pulled the motor out and replaced the clutch as I anticipate getting everything I can out of that little maroon speed demon. Anyways, for as long as I have had it, it has burned/lost a quart of oil every 1500 miles. After noticing the leak I checked the oil, not even on the dipstick so it was losing more than a quart every 500, DOH. I made the decision to drive north 150 miles to tackle the issue with the help of my dad and use of his garage. After the replacement of a few seals and a gasket I was back in business and looking at the calendar for upcoming races in the PNW.

After two weeks in the northwest, I drove south to the Ashland Spring Thaw double header. Based out of Ashland Oregon, the Spring Thaw is a two event weekend with at 26 mile xc race on Saturday and a DH (more of a Super-D) on Sunday. Despite 20 miles of both climbing fireroad or traversing fireroad which both seemed endless, the 6 miles of descending was a blast. With a decent sized step-up, step-down jump on the top section followed by fast and wide open singletrack with an occasional tight switchback thrown into the mix, the descending left me grinning ear to ear. I had cleat issues about 15 minutes into the xc race and lost contact with the leaders though managed to finished 14th on the day. Props to Brian and Shelly finishing 1st and 3rd in their categories though, very cool! Following the xc race was the DH on Sunday. Race times were close with times a little over 4 minutes on the fast, non technical course. Wier took it (again) with Slaven and I rounding out the podium. I will definitely be back again next year as the whole weekend was a blast. A special thanks goes out to Bill and Sue of Ashland Mountain Adventures for the shuttle service and keeping everything running smoothly. There is rumor of making an all-mountain category for the event with the best all around rider winning the race, similar to Downieville which would be cool.



Podium in the DH



Using all the suspension on that S-works Enduro


Check out the video below for race footage of the DH




This week I am up in my hometown Auburn Washington to participate in a race unlike any I have ever competed in. I am one of eight on the Barron Heating team competing in a seven leg relay which starts at the top of Mt. Baker and ends in Bellingham Bay. The 90 mile relay starts off with teammates Torin Koos in the cross county skiing, Morgan Titus downhill skiing, Phil Mitchell running, Adrian Hegyvary doing the road biking leg, Brad Bauer and Ray Trudgeon tackling the canoeing leg, me riding the mountain bike leg and Rich Sprout doing the sea kayak leg. I am on a tremendously talented team with guys who have previously been in the Olympics in their respected disciplines. I look forward to working with these guys as we attempt to get the fastest time on the day. Wish us luck!

The article on Ski to Sea on the USA Today website