rideSFO SDG Seats in!!!

Actually, it looks like it will be a week or so til we get them, but its nice to see the graphics actually stitched into the seat. From this pic, the seats look great. The simple silver/gray and black color scheme will go nicely with all of our bikes. I think the plan is to also sell a limited number to the general public through rideSFO. I'll post more and better pics when we get the actual seats in hand. We've been waiting a long time for these... Can't wait.

Team Ride, Mile Rock - March 16, 2008

With Fontana on the horizon as the first NMBS race of the year, we figured we'd better get some rock practice in to get ready. Andy had the idea of sessioning the waterfall on Mile in Pacifica. Half of us ride there on a regular basis, the other half had never ridden there. We rode up to the top of Boyscout and pushed up Mile. Once we got to the waterfall, we all stopped and did about 8-10 runs a piece. From left to right we see Andy, Keith, Luke, Khaner (at the tip top), Eric and Jerome with me behind the camera.

Even though he'd never ridden Mile, Eric pinned the waterfall section scary fast. He was by far the fastest of the team that day.

Luke...

Andy right before the waterfall...

Keith CCCX #1 - March 9, 2008

This is a bit out of order. I couldn't find a pic of Keith from this race when i did the earlier posting, and i just found this one. Nice form through the rock drop jump. This run resulted in one of many first place finishes for Keith in Jr Ex. You can't totally see here, but this was pre-TLD gear, 510, etc. Keith's sporting the basketball shorts and vans.

The first SC frames - Early March, 2008

Yes. It really is. A 2008 v10. I was as shocked to get it as you are to see pics of it here. We ordered our frames with the assumption that we wouldn't get them for a couple months and mine showed up right away. Maybe its because i ordered Black Ano and for some reason no one else wanted it... not sure, but i was the only one on the team to get a v10 frame. I weighed it and my 2005 v10 and the weight difference was substantial, over a pound. Luckily Keith wanted my 05 frame and i could pay for a portion of the new rig. Unfortunately UPS dinged the headtube when they delivered it and i had to send it back to SC to make sure it was only cosmetic. Fortunately, it was and they sent it right back. Whew. I'm not sure what we would have done if i would have had to wait. Keith needed a race frame, and well, I needed a new frame. This frame is really a work of art and is undoubtedly the best looking DH frame out there. Nice Job SC. Keep em coming. Specifically two larges in white and a medium in orange.

Jerome got his Nomad and is very happy with it. The white looks dope. The bike is light and flickable but with a substantial amount of travel which makes it an awesome all-mountain bike. I can't wait til he sells it to me.

The white Azonic wheels and 55ATA complete the package nicely.

My new Blur 4X. Silver Ano. Fox RP23 shock. Large. The frame is dope and I'd highly advise getting the Ano. It really resists scratching. Its just the right amount of travel for racing DS and for a lot of the trail riding that we do in the city on Mount Sutro. Oops. Don't tell anyone. Sutro is the best kept secret in the city. We live a 5 minute ride from some really nice high speed trails. The 5 minutes is gruelling uphill, but its still 5 minutes. Anyway, back to the bike... Its awesome. Can't say enough about it. And its silver. Retro and Modern at the same time.

Khaner's new DS bike. We were going to buy a new Jackal, but found a new 2007 Chameleon on ebay for a great price. I'd read nothing but great reviews on the Chameleon, so I figured it would be the perfect slalom bike for Khaner. We had a bit of a wait for a new Marz 4X Wold Cup, but it was well worth the wait. The fork is sweet and the white looks great with the full-on white wheels from Azonic. Azonic isn't an official sponsor, but they've been great with hooking us up with wheels. They're a great price and hold up incredibly well, especially for the price. The finish on this frame is really nice and color is perfect. I'm not a big fan of blue, but the blue is a dark slate blue almost ano looking and really holds up against nicks and scratches.

CCCX #1 - March 9, 2008

The first time the whole team got together to race was at the first race of the CCCX Downhill series in the first series of 2008. That's a lot of firsts. Everyone especially enjoyed the push up to the top. We all got about 3 runs in a piece, except for Keith who owns this place. Somehow, he probably got 3 runs in to our 1. Regardless of the leisurely hike, the CCCX races are always good for some race practice and socializing in the pits. We should have taken a team picture, but we didn't. And we didn't have our jerseys yet, and didn't have most of our sponsors gear. Most of us were already running Marzocchi forks, Formula brakes, Crank Bros pedals, Sunline bars and stems, 510's, TLD gear, SDG seats, 661 Knee pads, and Gamut Guides. A number of us were on Santa Cruz frames (2 out of 3 podiums anyway). It was a good warmup for the season, and a good chance for us all to ride together for the first time. Riding with Keith, Luke and Eric definitely made me faster. I followed them into the loose, rutted switchback section countless times and felt slow as hell, but it all paid off in my race run. Yeah, i could have been faster, but i had a clean run and got to stand next to the legend Keith Defiebre once again. Whoo hoo. Here, Eric takes a pretty tech litte turn with surprising speed and control.

Andy hucks the rock drop thingy at speed in the old-school rideSFO jersey. Sorry sponsors... No jerseys at this race. We did have them ready for the first NMBS at Fontana. That's what counts, right?

No jump photo for Luke. The old guys get them this time around. Nice form, though. Hug the tape on the apex.

J-rome styles it out as usual. this was as much style as I saw out of anyone on this "jump".

Khaner hits the little rock jump, drop section thingy. This was one of the few spots on the course where your bike could leave the ground on purpose.

Dustin comes out of a sketch loose s-turn. Nice pic by Eric or Luke (not sure which) but thanks for lugging the camera equipment around and for getting this unique shot.

Keith
1st Place
Jr Expert
18&Under

Keith
Shakes
Hands
with his
friend
Allen
Stoddart.
Eric finished 8th (on the far right). This was a tough division as usual. 18 and under Jr Ex is always legit. These guys times were up in the top 3 pro times for the race, and there were 18 kids in the division. Not too bad for a local race!!!

Khaner
1st Place
14&Under

Dustin
2nd Place
35-44
Expert

DH

888ATA WC - March 06 2008

As soon as Marzocchi signed on, Andy, Jerome, Khaner and I all ordered new forks for the DH bikes. Jerome, Khaner and I had been running Boxxer WC's and Andy was running a Fox 40. Honestly, we were all a bit skeptical about the new 888 from a racing perspective. We had all loved Marzocchi from a maintenance standpoint: you didn't have to do any. They last forever. I've personally had at least 15 different Marzocchi forks over the years and they've essentially been maintenance free. So, that got us excited. The true test was when we went to SC for a DH ride and tested out the new 888s. We were pleasantly surprised. Compared to the Boxxer, the 888 had a lot more lateral stiffness. I especially noticed it going through ruts that followed the line of the trail. Instead of my front wheel being sucked into the rut and having it take me for a ride, my front end tracked through it, and down the path of my choosing. The only slight sacrifice is about a pound in weight. Going balls out Downhill, that shouldn't be an issue. In the pic, you'll notice the 2005 V10 that was passed on from Jerome to me (for a reasonable price, of course). At this point we were all still waiting on our 08 frames to show up, and Keith was waiting to buy this frame from me. Gotta keep it in the family.

Faction Team Jerseys - March 2008

Sorry about the dirty Jersey. I had meant to take some pics right after we had them screened but the first time we saw them was at Fontana just before practice. Regardless, the dirt adds character, and a plenty of proof that there's been a bit of racing going on...

We worked on Jersey designs for months. We had planned on a custom HotShoppe Jersey and created numerous designs in different styles and colors. Ultimately, the one thing we could agree on at the beginning of March: We needed a Jersey for Fontana. We decided to go with a TLD Jersey and get the team graphics and sponsor logos screened. I put together the design, Phil hooked up the printing and luckily we got them by Thursday practice. It was nice to see heads turn and notice the cohesive look of the team. It was also nice to be able to look across the mountain and see where your teammates were on the course as you were walking up to the start. The Jersey's for sure stood out and got noticed. Thanks to TLD for the hook up and Phil for getting them printed in a hurry. Next year, we'll have the HotShoppe jerseys rollin' and ready to go before the season gets underway. At this point, we've got a lot of headway on the designs and plenty of options to work with.

The back of the Jersey... where the logos live.

We each had our names put on the back, some with the first initial since there are two Smiths and two Hasserjian's on the team. Luke and Eric's last name is so long, the type had to be about half the size of the rest of ours. Andy got a first initial thanks to his name being 4 letters long, otherwise, it would have been the height of the Jersey. Thanks again to TLD and Phil at rideSFO for the Jerseys, and to all of our sponsors for supporting us our first year out.