17th Annual Southridge Challenge

It had been two months since the race season had come to an end for me and in november it’s always nice to have a race to break up the off season! The Annual Southridge Challenges are always held at Fontana! The weather was beautiful this time around and the course had great flow to it with some really cool turns. On Saturday I put in six practice runs and felt pretty good! Half of the course I had already ran earlier in the year at another race so I new it and didn’t need to put in to much time since the conditions were the same! Sunday morning came around and I put in a few practice runs in to make sure everything was the same and my lines were still available! I was seeded pretty early so I was out of the start box before 11am! Besides feeling good about the course I ended up getting a little to zesty up on top and after the s-turns I got off line and went into this left hand g-out too inside! I washed out the front wheel and had an off the bike crash! The bars had bent so I had to straighten them out before I continued my race run. I lost anywhere from 10 to 15 seconds on my total race run with that mishap! I had It pinned and in control the rest of my run though! I pushed myself to the limit and was impressed with my endurance! I ended up placing 10th and actually beating a few people! I was nine seconds off the leader! So I know I would of had it if I had put together a solid race run! That’s part of racing and that’s what keeps me coming back for more!
THAT PERFECT RUN!
Before this race I was in the lead for the overall title by 140 points! I had the overall in the bag and didnt need to race this event to take the title but I love to race so I wouldn’t miss it for the world! The points I recieved for 10th place kept me well ahead of the second place overall racer so I’m stoked that I ended the year with the Overall Title. Thanks for all the support this year! It’s been a Great year for me and my sponsors with two titles and awesome race experiences! I couldn’t of done it without your help!

2008 Cal State Champion Poster

2008 California Golden State Champion

Winning three out of four races in the Golden State Series locked up the championship for me. I couldn't be more happier! Thank you everyone that helped me reach my goals this season. Greatly appreciated.

2008 California Golden State Championship Finals

After been off the bike for over three weeks and dealing with one of the worst injuries I’ve had, I accomplished
something I didn’t think was possible. This weekend was the final round of the California State Championship
Series held at Woodward West in Tehachapi, California. I was leading the series by only 15 points and with only
one more race left I knew I would have to race to have any chance of locking up the overall State Championship.
Saturday practice was fun. The course was short but longer than the previous race held there. Thirty seconds longer
to be exact. It ended up being a fun course for what it was, not my style but I was able to figure out some decent
lines and manage to carry my speed through all the obstacles.

I only did one practice run on race day morning due to the shuttle lines being full. I just wanted to make sure the
lines I was using on the course were still good and wouldn’t have to change anything before my race runs. This race
was two run format combined times. My first run was smooth but felt I could push it a little harder in some
sections. I ended up having the fastest time after everyone was done with there first run. Going into the second
run in 1st always puts a little pressure on me especially when I want to charge it a bit harder! Three quarters of the
way down on my second run I slipped a pedal and lost momentum in a critical section. I managed to get my feet
on the pedals before the next turn and finish out the rest of my run clean and fast but the damage was done. I lost
about 3-5 seconds on that mistake and I lost 1st place by less than a second.
Since I won the 1st run by a signifigant margian my combined time was the fastest of the day and I ended up winning
the final round of the California state series. With that been my third 1st place finish of the series I was able to secure the
overall win for series and become the California State Champion for 2008.

2008 THE Composite EC Helmet

-Strong & Lightweight
-15 vents & 4 vent channels in dual EPS liner
-Stainless steel D-rings & custom THE rivets
-Exceeds CPSC & CE standards

Cal State Round 3_ June 1st, 2008

The 3rd round of the Cal State series brought us back to Good old Fontana, California. A little different from
Angelfire, New Mexico and by that I mean temperature and terrain (no Lift access). Considering I’ve spent lot of time
racing the Fontana courses it was all good! I was surprised to see they decided not to run the traditional Calf State course!
They taped a course down the other side of the mountain. There was a little bit of the National course in it which was fun!
It was actually a fun flowy course. Practice on Saturday was fun, I only banged out five practice runs since the course
was pretty straight forward and it was hot! No need to over exert myself even thou I had Plenty of VitaminWater to
keep me hydrated! I saw alot of people hiking and just thought it wasn’t the best thing to do considering it was a
two run format on Sunday!

When Sunday came around the course was a little beat up from practice but not to bad.
I’d say it was standard Fontana conditions for this time of year! Dry, slick and dusty! They seeded me to start early on
Sunday which was nice. I took off out of the gate nine minutes after they started and had a real clean run for my first run.
I hung out at the bottom to see my time and check the rest of the field and I was sitting in first after we all took our first
runs! I felt I could push it a little bit harder on my second run but didn't want to push it to hard and throw it all away.
I had a two second buffer on second place but it’s anyone’s race so you cant think you have it! You have to give it your
all to the end! On my second run I wanted to chop down a couple seconds on my time which would guarantee me
1st place.

I had a little dab up top and got bumped off line in the bottom section right before the finish but still
manage to pull a decent time! only 1.85 seconds off my first run and with my combined time I placed first! That’s my
second 1st place finish in the Cal-State Series this year so I’m pretty sure I locked down the Championship! I have one
more race in that series in Sept and I will get the Cal-State Championship jersey for 2008!

MSC #3 Angelfire, New Mexico Memorial Day Weekend 2008

Angelfire, New Mexico was a great experience! It took us 14 hours to get out there on Thursday.
It was a long day of driving. When we crossed the New Mexico border It was snowing and we new
we where in for a good time! We pulled in to the Angelfire Resort sometime between 10 and 11pm
and I just hit the sack knowing I had practice at 8am the following morning. Practice was gnarly.
The top half of the mountain was covered with snow and ice. On my 4th run down I had a nasty
crash in the upper section. Pretty much lost my front end on some roots covered with ice and
landed sideways on my leg. It took me a few minutes to get of the course and took the rest of the
day off to care for my injury. Saturdays pros practice was at 8am again and I honestly didn't think I
would be able to ride the rest of the weekend but somehow pulled myself out of bed and geared up!
I took it a little easier that morning knowing the conditions were pretty hectic! My leg and knee felt
better the more I kept moving it so I continued to ride the mountain and ride open practice in the afternoon.
Sunday came around and pro practice was around 12 so I finally got some time to sleep. The storm blew
out and it was clear blue skies and about 70 degrees. Pretty much perfect conditions even thou the top
was still a little wet. The course was starting to dry out and get faster and actually safer! Race day was on
monday (Memorial Day) and the course was in great condition. I took off out of the starting box and
everything was good until this off camber root section were I lost control and flipped over my bars. I got
up fairly quick and jumped back on my bike in a section were you really needed momentum. It didn’t
take long to get back up to speed but still lost the race with that crash! About half way down the 5-6 minute
Course I end up catching the rider in front of me! The bottom half of the course is high speed and didn’t
get the chance to pass the rider. I proceeded to get stuck behind this guy all the way to the finish line. Which
had to of cost me anywhere from 10 to 20 seconds on my time! I ended up placing 22nd out of 60 which I
thought wasn’t to bad considering I had a off the bike crash and was held up for half the course!