Sunday, March 30, 2008

My Debut Into the Expert Field

Well, I knew I wasn't ready to upgrade, but didn't quite realize how unready I was.

Cal State #1 Bonelli Park:

Keysville Classic, Kernville:

NMBS #1 Fontana:Oh, well, I'm just stoked to be racing. It certainly ain't gettin me down to not be podiuming. I now have something to grow into. By the end of the season I should be beating one or two experts and I'll be happy. With results like these, the only place I can go is up!
I'm starting to realize I need to actually TRAIN (like with an actual plan and some structure to my riding instead of just riding whenever) (oh, and having a coach probably wouldn't hurt!-seems like most all the experts do.)

In other news, this boy got a chance to stretch his legs out on some snow-less ground. Must be a relief to see actual dirt and flowers and temperatures above 50 or whatever you're getting!

The Subie Fisher semi-pro's looked pretty slick in arguably the best kit out there!

And to top it off, Matt sure showed those California pretty boys how it's done in Texas when he laid the smack down in Short Track today and took the bronze. It's a toss up what's better: his third place finish or some snazzy kits. I don't know, you decide.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Balla' Chicks

I just have to mention when I rode last Saturday on our local trail (El Prieto) I think 100% of the girls on the trail that day were on single speeds. Me, Tanya, and Sarah. I didn't even see any guys on a single that day. Sa-weet!

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Keysville Classic

Holy crap that was tough! I raced up near Lake Isabella this weekend. My second expert race. Once again, last place (5th out of 5) but once again I'm fine with that and really proud of my effort. I finished only 40 seconds from 4th place. Even though I could see her ahead of me in the distance for almost the whole race, I just had nothing extra in my legs to put out to catch her. The experts are so fast and the race distances are so much more than I'm used to. My time today was 3:01. That's a long time to be racing for!!! But somehow all that suffering just makes me so happy after it's done. Yay, racing is so fun. Not to mention, the scenery around the Kern River is beautiful!

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Racing at Last!


I am so excited the mtn bike race season has officially begun for me! I kicked off the season with the first Cal State Series race at Bonelli Park. And it was my first expert race ever. I got 4th out of 4 but I'm still proud of my effort. I assumed I would get totally creamed racing with the experts but was only 3 min back of third place. So, not bad! Thanks, Dave for urging me to move up from the sport category. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have done it.

:) (That's me smiling for the love of the sport!)

P.S. Thanks, Banner for being the photographer! Much appreciated.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Short Story by Travis Warner

One Night In L.A.

They spoke in foreign tongue as we drove into the night. I was tied
up like the others of my kind in the back of a grey-white van. One
grim-faced and tired looking man sat watch with us. I didn’t know
where I was going and I wasn’t quite sure from where I’d come but I

knew they didn’t want me dead. My best guess was they were only
trying to cover up the trail.

Of a sudden the doors jerked open and I was thrown recklessly from
the vehicle into the early morning. The impact tore at my fibers
leaving me damaged and motionless. It was something I hadn’t
experienced before. I had only heard the stories which seemed to
lilt through the corridors like folklore passed down through
generations. I lay there motionless.

The sky grew light as I lay.

Some hours passed--how many I didn’t know. Slowly the birds began
to chirp, lending hope to my apathy. I was drifting in and out, in
and out, and then, finally, out.



He was staring blankly down at me. No words left his lips. There
was only the soft beating of the lawn sprinklers as they passed back
and forth across his pajamas. By now his coffee was cold but he
didn’t seem to mind. He didn’t seem to notice. All he could do
was
stare.

He seemed unmoved by the story told on my disheveled face. The
blankness consumed him and then me. He seemed to stare back without
sympathy. A hint of boredom and disinterest seemed to flicker across
his face a moment but that was it. Emotionless.

I began to question the humanity of Man. How uncaring and unmoved
he was in the face of tragedy. How unsympathetic he was to the
horrors before him. Murder. Rape. Chaos. Death. These were the
things of which man was made. Not kindness or brotherhood. The
society had been stripped of him. The world had become a
conglomerate of “I”s. There was no unity, no shoulder to shoulder

effort to keep a man sane. No effort to better himself or others.

Here I was the face of tragedy and need lying at the feet of a man
with the power to listen. And yet I seemed to stare back with more
wonder than he. His face changed from boredom to annoyance at the
sight of me. I was but a routine problem in his busy life. He had
better things to do than listen to my story. I didn’t dare break my

stare. My only hope was to penetrate into the depths of this mans
heart and perhaps evoke some semblance of philanthropy.

It seemed a lifetime of silence before the man finally bent down and
grasped me in his hands. He turned and carried me out of the
blinding sun and into the warmth of his home.

“Deloris! Didn’t I tell you to cancel our fucking subscription to

the L.A. Times?! You know I hate the crap they print! Nothing but
bad news and more bad news!”

I was thrown recklessly into the eternal silence of a nearby
wastebasket never to be heard from again.