fall really is here, finally. lots of wetness = good cross conditions. wednesday night was cross practice at lake padden. perfect conditions, lots of wet mud, no water in the sky. there was a good turnout, and everyone looked like they were having a fun time playing in the mud. saturday there is a race at civic field. so go there and get muddy, or cheer on the racers. other news, sscxwc is on the horizon. guaranteed good times! plus, where will it be next year? seattle? CROSSing my fingers for that(c'mon sally). though it would be nice to check out a different scene. at the same time, it's hard to leave the northwest cross scene. we've got the weather, and the crowds! fu manchu has a new album out, and is playing at neumos sat night in seattle. and is one of the best live bands. i've had my tix for weeks. hell yeah!! i don't believe i've posted these shots. this is moe's 29er. moe owns kulshan cycles downtown, and is tall. that is a big bike.

whew! it's been a crazy last couple of months. where to start? we've had some really awesome weather around here lately. too bad i've been too busy to really enjoy it. the mt baker hill climb was a great time, again. fantastic weather, and the fact that no one was really trying to break the record, made for a sweet ride up to artist point. of course the ride down with no cars is what it's all about. for me anyway. three days after that, we loaded up to go to durango, for sswc 09. wow, the local crew did a hell of a job puting on a rad event. too much fun to list. you should've been there, for real. they had a little handmade bike show(the pics are the ride i brought to the party), group rides in and around durango, lots of parties with yummy brews, and the weather held out. the race course was brutal. and left me with a couple of injuries i won't soon forget. good times. back to washington to get ready for the oregon manifest. what a project that was. i didn't get as much on the bike as i would've liked to. but it turned out good, and everybody seemed to like it. instead of me ranting on about it, check the link. lots of coverage by bikeportland.org. and the only photos of the bike at the moment. the judges liked it enough to have it displayed with 11 other bikes at the union for 6 weeks! sweet. the race was hard as hell, but spectacular. i rode half of the race with tony pereira, who won the constructor's challenge. congrats tony! you'll be pimpin' in that suit. thanks to rapha, chris king, and everyone else who helped on that event. it's now cross season full on. so that's what i'll be up to. looking forward to sscxwc. oh yeah. i love fall.