What's up Milner!

On my way to work I thought saw John Milner from American Graffiti cruising in his '32 Ford Deuce Coupe. Turns out it was David DiFalco, former Bruce Gordon Cycles shop rat-turned hot rod guru. With a Chevy smallblock pushing 750 hp, it cost dave $1.32 in gas to stop and let me take this picture.

Skyline Park Mountain Bike Race

Some guy named Curtis Inglis is putting on a race in Napa. This would be a good opportunity for those of you doing SSWC08 to do a little Re-Con. Here's what he sent me:

Get this on your calendar now...

...here's your opportunity to preview parts of the SSWC08 course, sample the terrain and take part in a great local race—all at the same time!

Come race the Eagle Cycling Mtn Bike Race, at Skyline

Park in beee-u-teeful Napa Valley. Gears or SS are in this one, as

well as more categories than you can shake a stick at.

Not only a really fun, technical course, there's actually an opportunity make a little $$!

$300 Pro/Elite/Expert purse. Awarded by fastest times to the top five male and female finishers. Medals to third place in all classes.

Oh yeah and one more thing (or 6 more things)—

If you didn’t get into SSWC08, here’s your chance …

6 Golden Tickets available

3 go to top finishers in SS category

More details here.

I'm on a stunt bike!

Our local superdad, Scott Bowen, organized a mountain bike clinic for kids this past week up at Howarth Park. He wrangled a bunch of us local riders and racers to be "instructors", which all of us were more than happy to do. Monday was basic training with various obstacle courses they had to navigate. You could see the fear in some of their eyes as they approached the "super-see-saw" but they all did it. One of the girls in my group of 5-7 year olds, Madison, said it was, "Scary and Fun!". That's always a great combo. Wednesday was graduation day with a 2 mile trail ride and a race. For half the trail ride all I heard was, "Let's go faster!". I tried to teach the kids to pace themselves and the reply I got from Sam was, "I can't pace myself, I'm on a stunt bike!" Fair enough. After the trail ride they all received "diplomas". I was not allowed to give a commencement speech. These kids are way more skilled than I was at their age. They are going to rule when they get older, assuming they stick with riding. The way things are going, by the time they turn 16 bikes might be their only choice. There will be another class on July 7 and 9th (see earlier post for details). For more pics go here.

Playing Hooky

A couple Fridays ago the wife and I took to the hills of Mt. Tam for a day of solitary riding. It's been a long time since I played hooky to ride Tam. I grew up not too far from the mountain but as a kid it seemed so far away. It was a place my dad would take my brother and me fishing after school and by car took 40 minutes to get there. As a teenager I discovered that I could ride my bike there quicker than I could drive and exploring the mountain by bike consumed most of my free time. I don't get a chance to ride there as much now but when I do, I'm reminded how lucky I was, and am, to be able to ride in such a beautiful place. Marin gets a bad rap for its trail user conflicts but I can honestly say I've never had a bad day riding up there. Sure, you get a ticket every now and then for speeding or riding an illegal trail, but I just consider it a "user fee". It's just too nice a place to let crap like that ruin the experience. Anyway, there's no one up there on Fridays so you kinda have the place to yourself.