[frznnomad]

okay so me and ben are just sitting here scarfing down a midnight snack before morning practice and well race. i will be posting my review of the course and all the pics that we get up here as well. so to all those at sugar with me good luck to you and ill cya tommarow, and to all those not your gonna miss one hella race but still good ridding and well enjoy the kick ass weekend.

im out peace.

 

[stubby]

good luck man, I had to leave yesterday night, for my freaking sisters graduation. the dual race was fun. good luck to u and ben in the race!

 

[Peete]

Agreed, slalom looked sketchy but was alot of fun. Especially after it dried up.

Did Herndon make the cut? That really sucks if he didn't. He had a smoking fast second run.

 

[spoke80]

Goodluck riders of the South! Don't let this here family down now ya hear!

 

[frznnomad]

thanks fellas for the support i took 4th in jr sport and ben took 2nd in jr sport so we did pretty well. we will have some pics posted asap so you guys can see what the course was like. i will tell you fellas that didnt make it to the race you are missing out the new course was awsome and butch man good work on the course man its killer kuddos to all that worked on the course.

 

[Tattooo]

Man I was bummed the rock jump over the creek was closed to Sport and Beginner. I went up during expert practice, and it was awesome. Good work on all who worked on that course, damn good time had by this fat kid.

 

[frznnomad]

yeh man me and my boys were a little crushed that they had it closed off to us but man it would have been worth tearing threw the tape to hit it up man. hopefully soon we will get some pics up here and well we can show peps what the course had.:love: :love:

 

[mtnbiker66]

Here's a pic of the jump you guys are talking about. Thats my son Jake in the pic. He got 2nd in 14 and under DH.He wanted to hit that gap really bad. The course was off the hook fer sure. Jake said it was the hardest thing he'd ever been on. He was stoked on getting to ride it,a podium was just a bonus.

 

[Tattooo]

We saw your son at the finish line. I wish my dad would have been cool enough to get on the DH train when I was that young. It would have been big pimpin if he would have just charged it, but smart that he didn't.

 

[mtnbiker66]

We saw your son at the finish line. I wish my dad would have been cool enough to get on the DH train when I was that young. It would have been big pimpin if he would have just charged it, but smart that he didn't.

Yeah, I just ride for fun. I may try a race one day but for now I'll let Jake do that part of it. Herndon's been telling him to ride smart. He's not gonna learn anything crashing all the time so he's trying to get some experience to build on. All the DH guys have been really cool to him and help when they can. He raced XC last year and it was a little more uptight.

 

[frznnomad]

nice to see you got an awsome pic of him man. hope that i helped out a little bit this year man and i hope that he comes back for more man. once your bit you just cant turn away from the race scene man and that course was well awsome. ohh and congrats jack on your second place finish man. way to dominate on your first dh race bro.

 

[motomike]

Pics from pro finals today...

Sven Martin

Herndon

not sam hill Havukainen

Hill

 

[stubby]

excellent pics mike!
what did you think of my uber fast gate starts!

 

[TCP21]

i will post my pics later

 

[mtnbiker66]

Great pics Mike!

 

[jet]

Dammit !!!!! I should have went !!!!!

 

[DHracer1067]

It actually seemed well organized compared to the other nationals I've been to.

 

[Mikedsx]

It actually seemed well organized compared to the other nationals I've been to.

I agree. Rumor has it that Sugar is signed on for next year also. All the courses looked good to me. I would have liked a little longer DS course(but it was alot of fun) other than that everything was cool. Oh yeah and 7th in pro dh for Herndon rocks!

 

[frznnomad]

yeh sugar is having the national again next year. looks like they had a big enough turnout for the event to have another one which is always good, and hey this will give them a great base to build off of and who knows the dual slalome might get better lol.

ohh and ill see if i can get my pics up soon. my photographers are slow lol.

 

[mtnbiker66]

I seen some complaining in some other threads, here's something to think about.In a day of high dollar, cry baby pro sports. It's great to see you guys out racing for the fun,friendship and thrill of the sport. In how many other sports can you run the same course as top pros and see how you stack up(or don't stack up). Go talk to most of them and get tips and run into very few attitudes. My only gripe with the pros is they go all out and the prize $$ is crap. When a pro golfer can win a million in a touney a pro DH rider should win more than $250.00. Big props to all who worked to make the event a good one and to all you nuts bombing off the Mtn.After coaching middle school B-Ball and seeing parent and kids who have lot sight of the fun of sports,it made my day to hang out with all you guys.

 

[jonnynails]

I agree. It is nice to see everyone out doing the sport for the pure love of mountain biking. This was my first race since 2001, and it seemed to me that the number of people racing has decreased significantly. Maybe it is just me, but the sport and expert classes seemed pretty empty(except Junior X) compared to how they used to be, especially for a National?

No doubt most of the pros don't have attitudes and that is unlike most other sports. It was nice to walk up and talk to John Kirkcaldie and Duncan Riffle and find out what tires were hooking up in morning practice on Friday. Niether one of them hurried me off and they both seemed to really like the course. I would definitely like to thank all the volunteers who helped make this happen and everyone who worked hard getting this course ready.

From what I heard yesterday, Sugar will have a national for three years. Next year it is going to be in July. That is good news for all of us. Who's headed to Vermont later this week?????????????

 

[Msisle Dad]

yeh sugar is having the national again next year. looks like they had a big enough turnout for the event to have another one which is always good, and hey this will give them a great base to build off of and who knows the dual slalome might get better lol.

ohh and ill see if i can get my pics up soon. my photographers are slow lol.

I doubt the turnout was the motivation for next years National. They probabaly had a 3year contract to begin with. Word will spread on how well the event went and it will grow. But the turnout was that of a regional (with the exception of the pros).

 

[motomike]

I doubt the turnout was the motivation for next years National. They probabaly had a 3year contract to begin with. Word will spread on how well the event went and it will grow. But the turnout was that of a regional (with the exception of the pros).

I guess you didn't see any of the XC races?

 

[Msisle Dad]

i looked at the gravity events only, and the numbers away from pro were low

 

[ZachTheMech]

It was awsome my only gripe as well as im sure a ton of peoples was the 20 dollar charge for a lift pass once we got there. Nowhere in any registration had it stated there would be a charge... Its not like people werent gonan pay it, youd have to be crasy to decide to walk up each time. Think that was lame, other then that it was great.

 

[bizutch]

I doubt the turnout was the motivation for next years National. They probabaly had a 3year contract to begin with. Word will spread on how well the event went and it will grow. But the turnout was that of a regional (with the exception of the pros).

Don't quote me on this but a little birdy said NORBA wanted Sugar to sign up for 4 years. Sugar held off on a multi-year commitment until they saw how well this one went. But form my understanding they are going to sign for next year too.

As for turnout in DH, I honestly think it has alot to do with the ridership in our region decreasing due to the lack of venues to ride at in our area. Windrock is the only riding area you have a reason to own a DH bike (primarily expert only trails too..so it doesn't promote progression of ridership...be good or get hurt) The race scene in the South has fallen off due to lack of an aggressive, motivated promoter and/or interest from the ski areas in having us for now.

Snowshoe, Mt Snow and Diablo all have resorts open all summer and tons of people can really put a DH bike to use every weekend at a resort if they live in that region. Here we have 1 event this year that requires 8 inches of travel....that's it.

I think another factor was that it's a first year National and most stayed away waiting to see what it's like before making big travel plans and dropping vacation money on an unknown venue. Now that we've established the venue as being a good XC and DH venue with the upgraded DH and very extended descents on XC as compared to that of old...it should entice a better ridership next year from a greater distance.

 

[bizutch]

Oh...and to illustrate my point about DH races in the area encouraging a higher turnout. The 1st Wolf Laurel race we had a few years back after a lull in DH races had 68 riders at it. By the 4th race there(1st race of the following season), we had 115 racers. Having a consistent venue increased participation so much so that ridership almost doubled in a single year!

 

[tomvan72]

How did everybody do in there catagories?

 

[frznnomad]

thanks for all the info butch. glad to hear all of the positive feedback from a race that well i thorally enjoyed this year and last year as well. both years i have been blown away by the course especially this year. so i hope to see all you boys there next year and the courses can only get better.:love:

 

[bizutch]

How did everybody do in there catagories?

we missed you. How was the beach? Jeff's wife behave herself?:love:

 

[profro]

As for turnout in DH, I honestly think it has alot to do with the ridership in our region decreasing due to the lack of venues to ride at in our area. Windrock is the only riding area you have a reason to own a DH bike (primarily expert only trails too..so it doesn't promote progression of ridership...be good or get hurt) The race scene in the South has fallen off due to lack of an aggressive, motivated promoter and/or interest from the ski areas in having us for now.

I think, in general, the sport is in a lull. As the national scene started to fall apart (no pro payout, etc.), so did all the regional scenes. The only still left standing are those around venues like Windrock, Diablo, and Snoswhoe. Enough people at those venues have enough soul to make it happen. But look at it, all of those places has a local scene and they don't care too much about NORBA and Nationals. I think there is something to be seen between the lines there.

I'm glad that Sugar was a sucess. Trust me, I missed the competition. I wanted to be there and compete, but as things arose I just couldn't make it there until late Friday night. So be it. I wasn't going to pay NORBA prices to get just a few hours of slow lift assisted practice. However thats my major point... be it Sugar or Snowmass, NORBA national prices and practice times aren't a great value for your time and money.

But DS DOM has a point, there needs to be a major restructing. The attendance at NORBAs is declining and just about everyone in the field being on the podium is lame. No wonder American's are a joke on the international scene. We are taught to be winners under the easiest circumstances.

 

[frznnomad]

point well taken and i do see your point there profro. i dropped 58 dollars on the comp and another 20 for the lift pass and i only got three runs down the mountain, but i needed it so to me it wasnt just about the ride it was just being there so for me it was worth it and some not, but you make a very true point.

 

[Metal Dude]

I had a breath of fresh air this weekend, raced the
MSC in Colorado instead of slalom at Sugar on a course
from 20yrs ago.
It was awesome, over 800 riders in all
180 in slalom on Sat. and 220 in MTX on Sunday
the promoters did everything right, they were prepared thought out,
and the riders had great attitudes that I saw in the Late 90s.
great effort from promoters who are riders not whiners.
34 Pros in slalom and MTX. So many Jrs. and over 30 racers
jrs. hitting dirt jumps in between runs. It was really cool vibe.
Pro podium for slalom was John Watt 1st-Chuck Pitts 2nd(me)
Ross Milan 3rd and Matt Thomson 4th Sunday I qualified for MTX
but the race took til dark and I had to catch my flight dont know who won.
The east coast needs to take notes from these guys.
Bond, quit bitchin and not ask for races, one guy do all the work
and all that ask only show up on ride monkey to gab why they didnt
make it! MtB is NOT DEAD just discuraged, but we've gotta take
the power back!

 

[profro]

I did a MSC race at Telluride last year and it was one of the best races I've been too. Some of these guys around here need to get out more and see how things are done elsewhere.

BTW Chuck congrats on the 2nd place!

 

[bizutch]

I did a MSC race at Telluride last year and it was one of the best races I've been too. Some of these guys around here need to get out more and see how things are done elsewhere.

BTW Chuck congrats on the 2nd place!

we're too busy sneaking in runs, including you and me and Jeremy and Matt, to mess with putting on an event.:love:

Speaking of promoters...how the heck is Terry doing after his fall up top? He looked like hell riding that utility vehicle down the hill!

 

[Metal Dude]

yeah, thanks bro
I've really just had it with Nationals and UsA cycling
those roadies just want our money! And dont care about MTB
150 Bucks for Pro license and what
do you get? No rankings for MTX/Slalom, No representative to
see that MTX/Slalom courses are up to par for national status.
These are courses that need professional design to be good.
We're still just a side show to them.
I've done every national but 2 since 1998 and have seen the effort
level on the entire promotion go downhill pardon the phrase.
So this year I am hitting races I know effort is put into.
I dropped my pro mtx license to semi because only nationals seperate pro/semi pro. Not doing nationals and not giving
norba the extra 100 bucks, or the satisfaction!
I hope the people who went to Sugar had a great time
Dont get me wrong, it looked like the DH course was good.
We just need to use forums to develop our series in the SE Again!

 

[spoke80]

I talked to Terry Sunday and he said that he broke himself pretty good on that upper drop. I believe he mentioned that he broke his collar-bone in a few places. He sounded not so stoked...



pour some yak out for your downed homey

 

[bizutch]

Hey Chuck, I have to fault NORBA for one big flop regarding the DS that put Sugar behind a ****ty eight ball. Apparently NORBA didn't want Sugar to layout the DS until they saw the location and approved the layout before construction. SO, Eric told me they got there last Thursday. They then blocked his idea of a 30-40 second long course starting up near the top of the green lift! Plus, them making him wait to begin didn't allow him to start on the course until MONDAY MORNING! That put him in a bad bind to make something out of nothing.

I tried to get them to turn reins over to Herndon, but Chris didn't want to have his name attached to a crappy course. Chris asked for complete control over layout...they refused...he declined to assist. Can't blame him really.

But NORBA put the resort in a bind by not allowing them to layout their course well in advance. Dumb policy.

 

[profro]

we're too busy sneaking in runs, including you and me and Jeremy and Matt, to mess with putting on an event.:love:

Speaking of promoters...how the heck is Terry doing after his fall up top? He looked like hell riding that utility vehicle down the hill!

I don't mean to understand how to PUT on a race. I mean you might understand that Nationals are just crappy events to pay money to go to. Look at your experience at the US Open. Every Diablo race is just like that except that don't have the real-time leader board up and running.

 

[mtnbiker66]

So how do you go about getting NORBA to listen to and adress the racres issues?