[Motionboy2]

I am already late for work, but I have to post this shot real quick.

It was great to meet some monkeys at Durango! Lots of pix and stories to come.

 

[Acadian]

Holy crap...is that Heikki? hope he's okay!!!

 

[Threepointtwo]

I'm glad that wasn't me you caught. I was both relieved and disappointed when they shut that drop down to experts. It was really scary but very few people in my class were doing it.

 

[ssaddict]

OH DAMN, That's what he did!


(luke)
No, his hand looks UGLY!

 

[Acadian]

OH DAMN, That's what he did!


(luke)
No, his hand looks UGLY!

Did you go Kyle?

 

[ssaddict]

Yeah, but my race didn't go any better. My rib's are still cracked from Idaho and my finger still don't work.

So I took a nap in the safety net in the next chicane on the fall line run after this cliff on my final run.

Conclusion, after getting hurt two years in a row... Durango sucks when its super dry and super wet, and just cause Greg Herbold is a world champion doesn't mean he knows SQUAT about course design.

 

[profro]

A pro buddy of mine said that thing was an insanely flat landing.

 

[Acadian]

I heard 2nd hand that many racers got hurt this past weekend - many bad crashes. That blows...

 

[ssaddict]

You know Durango is steep and fast. But the dirt was super dry and loose and powdery so everything was a controlled slide. Fun, but sketchy as hell.

 

[Motionboy2]

A pro buddy of mine said that thing was an insanely flat landing.

Your pro buddy didn't do it like some of the others. When the guys went off that were incredibly fast they landed WAY down. It was amazing to watch. Steve Wentz was the most amazing. He landed about 40 ft out and 30ft down from the take off he did it with a HUGE whip and it was awesome.

SSaddict was there..

I figure, if I am going to be late for work... I should do it right.. Now I am really going.

 

[profro]

Your pro buddy didn't do it like some of the others.

Well, I assume that was the drop he was talking about. He said there was one that was an alternate line to some off-camber rocks. Is that the one?

 

[ssaddict]

Yeah, there was only a select few boosting it out past the rocks to the tranny. The landing on this got worse and worse as a hole sorta developed. This clif is the alternate(or vise versa) to that super slippery off camber rock section that has always been in the course.

 

[neversummersnow]

Fun times, worst race run I've had maybe in my whole life, but fun times.

After my race run, I'm just happy I'm not hurt.

Anybody ever had meningitis? What's the one defining point that makes you know you have it?

 

[neversummersnow]

oh and Josh, you didn't get me off the drop did you?

 

[Ronny Grady]

I wasn't there for the race, but I snuck on and rode the course about two weeks ago. Those drops were fun to ride up to and drop, but they seemed to not be set up well for hitting at full race speed. They didn't have anthing before them to force a racer to check their speed, and as was stated before if you were really cookin (unlike me in this picture) you would have cleared the tranny.

But anyway, like I said I wasn't there for the race. Those steep sections were awesome, tons of fun. Too bad the course isn't legally open to riders all year long.

 

[Motionboy2]

Yeah, that was the drop. Sorry if my post sounded pretentious. I was so impressed, the guys that boosted the drop rode out on the smooth steep section and it was SOO SMOOTH!

 

[hev]

nice pics as always josh.

 

[profro]

Yeah, that was the drop. Sorry if my post sounded pretentious.

No problem, he actually posts here on RM as SinatorJ, but we did give him h3ll at Snowshoe for not taking the drop at the end of the course during practice. :nuts: But he did hit it during the race.

 

[Motionboy2]

oh and Josh, you didn't get me off the drop did you?

I may have, I will have to look. Tonight I will start the sort. I will let you know.

 

[spoke80]

I am already late for work, but I have to post this shot real quick.

It was great to meet some monkeys at Durango! Lots of pix and stories to come.

What drop is this?

 

[Bikerpunk241]

That's the new 3rd drop, only pro/semi were allowed to hit it.

Josh, did you see my endo in the chicane?

I'm with you jeff, though Idaho was definately a worse run, this is the first time I've been passed on course oh well, there's always mammoth!

 

[neversummersnow]

yea, me too...i knew i was going to be passed though, and i was fine with it...ask Billy about my antics

 

[neversummersnow]

oh and Josh, you shouldn't have to think very hard to figure out who I was...I freakin went through a bush and held it together....

 

[Motionboy2]

Ok, so here is my story of Durango. I got there Thursday night after driving for over 8 hours. Crossing Wolf pass was hell. 1 lane, dirt and 2 hours of waiting! I got to the condo that I lucked into on Monday. I stayed with Heidi, and Pete, who is a friend of Heidi’s from San Diego.
I got up the next morning and hopped on the lift for pro practice. One of the coolest things about Durango’s course is that it is visible entirely from the lift. I rode up with Voreis and got to talk to him for a little bit. As I rode up I noticed a new addition to the course. The new rock drop.
The rest of the course was pretty similar, though it became apparent that Durango has had less rain this year than last year. It was pretty dusty. The majority of the course was dusty, last year it was all rich black dirt.
I hiked the course and by the end of pro practice I was at the new drop. I only saw one guy go off but it looked pretty sketchy.
Since I have gone to digital I have had to limit my shooting a bit. I don’t have enough memory to shoot all the events like I did last year. So this time I just shot the pro’s. I went to the MTN-X practice and well the course was a little disappointing. IMO it was a bit better than last year in the sense that it was all downhill. The problem was there wasn’t anywhere for anyone to get off the ground. Basically it is about 100mph into a 110degree left turn that was tall on the start and short on the exit. I saw plenty of people get pushed over. Then around another berm to the right into a rhythm with the option of, double-double, pump-double-pump or just pump the whole thing. Here is the problem here. If you double-double you came out of this thing hot! Really fast, into a flat 180 degree turn. Around they go into the smallest double…speedbump thingy ever.. It is good that it was small though because there wasn’t really any speed out of the corner. Then around another right turn to a flat corner into a hip jump. There is so much potential here. But there wasn’t any flow and that last hip had potential, but there wasn’t any way to get speed into it. Oh well Racing is racing, and that first turn got pretty gnarly.
I went back for the Expert race, just to spectate. It is always awesome to watch the experts. They are not as fast as the pro’s but there is always good competition. After the race I was chatting with some friends including RM’s own Damn true and Lee as we headed down the mountain we became honorary members of the Durango wheels club.. Which basically means that we got some free tacos at their private party. PERFECT end to the day.
Saturday started with more Pro Practice. This time when I got down to the Rock drop Steve Wentz goes off the drop. He never really stopped pedaling. It was the most intense thing I have seen. He flew about 30+ feet out and about 20+ft down. I figured that is about as far as you can possibly go but damn was it impressive! After practice was over I headed down to the VIP tent to get something to drink. Media gets some perks, which I hardly ever get to take advantage of because I am usually on the mountain when the Media tent is open. This time I made it, and I got to meet Bob Roll!
Then there was the mtnx. There were some upsets, but from my vantage point I couldn’t see the entire course. It looked to me like Colorado local Jamis Steiber beat out Rennie in their first round together. Very surprising since Rennie looked pretty strong on the course. The thing that bothered me about it was they made them practice on the dust then hosed the course down. Not only that but the spectators that showed up got hosed down too! WTF! Why would you do that? Anyhow you guys probably know by now that Carter and Kitner won. http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=1258
After the mountain Cross there was awards and bull riding. Willy Warren, downhiller extraordinaire and aspiring professional bull rider lost out to Ross Milan who got one of his first payouts for winning at a bike race.

SUNDAYsundaySUNDAY!! That is right race fans Qualifying, SemiPro, then Pro race. I made my way down the course and watch a lot of people that know how to go fast. VERY FAST. I saw a couple wrecks all over the course and when I got to the big drop I saw about 4 wrecks, one of them was Boulders own Shawnee Mac who crashed hard but came up relatively un injured. The most impressive thing I saw is Steve Wentz, he popped off that rock drop as fast as you can possibly go, he tweaked the bike out so beautifully and it was incredible. I think I missed the whole thing with the camera. I am such an amateur. You probably know that Minnar won as did KP USAcycling

Overall it was a great weekend all capped off by a beautiful drive home through Ouray (Switzerland of the Rockies) I can’t wait till next year!!

 

[blong]

Ya, there were definately some injuries. It was just hard to ride fast with it being dry and loose. Fun course anyway.

I broke my finger in practice sunday. At least I got to rock numberplate 69.

 

[ssaddict]

Ya, there were definately some injuries. It was just hard to ride fast with it being dry and loose. Fun course anyway.

I broke my finger in practice sunday. At least I got to rock numberplate 69.

I did exactly what you did in my race run, high sided into that damn safety fence and tumbled most of the way down that damn hill.

I was just bending the barrier down so Minnar and everyone else could hip over it easier, I'm sure glad they bothered to thank me.

 

[DHanamal]

Holy crap...is that Heikki? hope he's okay!!!

He did finish in Semi-pro 53rd according to the results, he must be ok then. He must have really got rung up on that get off, that's a crash.

 

[Motionboy2]

He did finish in Semi-pro 53rd according to the results, he must be ok then. He must have really got rung up on that get off, that's a crash.

He got up pretty quick. The only person, during the race, that didn't get up and finish at that part of the course was Shawnee, he got up and tried to ride and realized he was hurt worse than he thought.

There were plenty of injuries, the ones that I saw the majority of were when that drop was open to the expert class. Durango local Meredith broke her collarbone off that drop on Thursday, and since she is one of the toughest girls on the planet she was home piling firewood on Sunday during the race
The rumor was Vories broke his collarbone on that drop as well. I saw one of the girls from KHS go over the peoplecatcher on the chicane and tumble down to the bottom.
On the other hand, while I was there, I didn't hear a single person complain about the DH course. Everyone I spoke to was pretty psyched!

 

[ssaddict]

He did finish in Semi-pro 53rd according to the results, he must be ok then. He must have really got rung up on that get off, that's a crash.

He said he got up then fell over, but managed to get his bike across the line after letting Sanjay pass. His hand is jacked though, if it's not broken in a number of places I'll be really suprised. He must have punched a rock when he hit and rolled.


Vories and Van Dine were hucking that to damn near flat in practice, f*cking nuts!


Anyone catch Myles's custom number plate? (cardboard cut from a 30 pack Keystone box)

 

[CTR]

Pro top 10 results

 

[Motionboy2]

Tracy Hannah is probably the most impressive person on the womens end. I can't get over how she finished 2nd and is only 16.

There was a Pro guy standing on the top of the 3rd drop trying to sack up to it and you hear "RIDER UP!" Tracy comes through, doesn't even slow down and nails it and rides off. The course marshall says to the guy "that was a 16 year old girl" I nearly lost it. It just cracked me up.

 

[Full Trucker]

Durango was rad! Jumping off of cliffs is the coolest thing you can do on a bike, I'm convinced! Oh yeah, and we hit a terradactyl chicken hawk in the van on the way home... Ross was psyched!

 

[ssaddict]

Tracy Hannah is probably the most impressive person on the womens end. I can't get over how she finished 2nd and is only 16.

I completly agree, riding with her at both Idaho and Durango. She has an unbelieveable ammount of potential and I'd be willing to put money on her being the next Anne Caroline. I cannot believe how a girl that tiny has THAT much bike control and can go SO fast. I guess when your training partner is Mick it helps?

 

[Motionboy2]

I guess when your training partner is Mick it helps?

I hope it does especially when you have the same genes too! When I saw her the first time off the bike I couldn't believe she was the one going that fast! Very impressive!

 

[Full Trucker]

While we wait on slowmotionboy to get some more pics up, there are a couple good ones posted over at spoony-g's site. Matty Thompson, floating ninja-style with a gimped up foot:

 

[Pegboy]

Damn, Del Bosco 10th, fastest US guy! I don't know who else on board knows him but he is fast as fvck! I used to ride some with him back in Vail CO. I swear if he didn't compete in skiing up until May every year, and lived in an area where he could ride year round he would no doubt be the top US guy!

 

[ÆX]

Ok, so here is my story of Durango. I got there Thursday night after driving for over 8 hours. Crossing Wolf pass was hell. 1 lane, dirt and 2 hours of waiting! !!

yeah that happend to me when i went to silverton a month ago.
needless to say i pass about 30 cars. i just can't contain myself on sutch a wide gravel road.


o, my race was fine i won "legends" aka vet pro. gene hamilton was 10 secs back. talked to tomac, tattoo lou, phil tinsman. they are all in for mammoth so we can have a podium. i didn't punish myself on the 3rd drop till sunday.
i think most of the pro feild could of stepped it down it was just slowing down and the lack of guts that kept 1/2 of the feild from doing it. wh ndone right is was so much smother that ploping it!

a agree with ssadict that it was the slickest |" hardpack" i have ever road.
the only crash i had was a 30mph front wheel washout on the first fast right.
carving one minute, face full of moon dust the next. i would like to thank BIB for the comp 32. that made the dust much easyer. also thanks to manitou my breakout pluss was so sticky i could only ride 1/2 a run till my hads were numb. lance gave me new lowers, new damper bushings and did some trick drills and my fork was 110% better.

GO sanjay! nice run man!

BCD ##############111111111111111111111


Edit: i won the overall NMBS.
i waited thru the whole awards, nada. i hade to go tell them i won
and get my "plaque" whoo hoo. if norba makes a class they need
to follow tru. just b/c JT decided not to race it doesn't mean it
should be treated less that beg mens over 40 mod bike class.!

 

[Motionboy2]

Yeah, I saw your only crash. Unfortunately the camera was all packed up. It was good to meet you.

Here is another for now.

 

[Transcend]

holy hell josh....way to go buddy! That minnaar one rocks. brrrraaaaaaap

 

[bizutch]

OK...jsut thought of this conspiracy theory! What if the gearbox on Minnar's bike contains a "inertia wheel". Stick with me here. If you've ever ridden a Schwinn Spinner, you know what I mean. Once it gets rolling...it will roll by itself for 10 minutes.

What if inside there, the rear wheel is attached to some sort of "inertia wheel" that spins on some sort of freehub when he's not pedaling...but engages the rear wheel when he pedals? Not a fully FIXED hub like on a spinner...but one that clutches off when the cranks don't turn.

Essentially, the inertia wheel gets cranked up by his first few pedal cranks and then freehubs inside while the pedals aren't turning. When the pedals turn forward again, it clutches the inertia wheel into action and powers the chain and rear hub.

Each time the rider goes to torque on the pedals, the inertia wheel engages and makes the bike snap forward like it's got an engine.

Wouldn't this be a FANTASTIC explanation for Honda's R & D of the gearbox. It would make a motorcycle gets 80-85 miles to the gallon, or a bicycle pedal like nothing. >