WWW.NWCUP.COMBit of rain this morning, but everything was clear skies for qualifying. I am really pleased to announce that Bryn took top seed amongst a stacked field by a couple seconds. Nice work!!! I got a top 3 with a little crash, not bad. So tomorrow A.M. will be the final. Track is pretty sweet! extra rough, little wet, fast, wish us luck:)
PRO MEN- Unofficially 1. Bryn 2. Dan Atherton 3. Luke Strobel
PRO WOMEN 1. Tracy Mosley 2. Rachel Atherton 3. Jill
First round of the US National series is underway here in P.A. Huge turnout, several top riders in attendance, 5 former World champions (Minnaar, Bryceland, Rachel, Buhly, and myself), top world cuppers (Bryn, Luke Strobel, Stevie Smith, Gwin, Leov, Neethling, Ben Reid, Minnaar, Bryceland, Tracy Mosley, Rachel Atherton, Dan Atherton, Rando, Ruffles, Danny Hart, etc), USA's finest, and a grip of regional riders enjoying Washington's lovely terrain. Suppose this track here has a lot of similar qualities to Maribor as far as being high speed, rough , rooty, a bit wet, so Fox SHOX testing here before the first World Cup is quite beneficial. Also handy that Volcano kept everyone around too:) Pits here on Dry hill have never looked so factory, yet everyone is just hanging out, relaxing all cool. Catered burritos, Thai food, and campfire will do that. Awesome boost for the local scene and to prove to the Forest Service the value of these trails here. Quite a few media guys covering the event as well which will make this series grow all that much more; Sven for Vital, Pinkbike, JDD Designs, Ian Hylands, 'n more. This is the closest to home I have ever got to race mountain bikes, 3hrs:). N-Dub is super sweet, glad people are loving the trails. Rained this afternoon, so all the bumps are gonna get bumpier with one more day of practice and quali, race on sunday...
Nothing better than custom!!!. Odi got an engraving/ etching machine and carved me up some custom end caps for my ruffian grips. Thanks Colby!! Odigrips.com 
Suspension is one of the trickiest parts of mountain biking. Getting things set up perfect requires a lot of attention to the detail. I have never done proper suspension testing, but learned so much today about the difference in compression settings, damping, etc. The engineers from Fox are here with clipboards, measuring tools, and advanced knowledge to make our bikes perform to their best ability for each rider. Big crew of World Cup riders, Trek, Yeti, Transition, Evil, etc. There should be public workshops for suspension tuning, maybe they are, but it helps a lot! I would have loved to know this stuff starting out, beyond the basics of sag and spring rates. Anyway, I was really impressed and changed what I thought was pretty good, quite a bit. Hi speed and low speed changes how the bike sits, how it absorbs hits, how it handles technical sections, high speed rough sections. etc. I'm no expert, but feel fortunate to have this opportunity to learn. Thank you FOX Racing SHOX!!
FRESNO, CA Made a quick little stop over at Sportsmobile after Sea Otter. The place is a super friendly family owned business that can build pretty much whatever you want as far as van conversions:) I got a Sprinter last year, and it has been the best thing I have ever owned or used!!!. Particularly nice on muddy days, you can hose off the bike, throw it in the back, change clothes inside, cook some food, and roll out. I have a little arrangement with Transition to use my rig for the US season here. Once you have one of these sprinters, it pretty hard to go anywhere with out it. Fresh wrap, but same glorious machine. All that I changed was taking the microwave out for more storage, some different pockets for shoes in the back, and rigged it up so you can watch movies on the front head unit as well as in the back- ultimate road tripper. Check out the new look. I worked on the design for our jerseys and the rig.
http://www.transitionbikes.com/Blog.cfm
