It's been cx mania! The SCX finale in Monroe was super good, and muddy. One of the few muddy races this season(check pic). Then we had WA State CX Champs in Arlington. I was a bit skeptical at first considering how flat it is by the airport. But the crew built an awesome course that was challenging. HODALA! took the whole SS podium! Next up was the USGP in Bend. The SS race started way too early, it was damn chilly. Even though it was dry, it was a fun course. Good times in Oregon. Tomorrow is Thriller Cross, a Cascade Series Race. Ryan has put a lot of effort into this race. It's going to be sweet. So head over to Civic Field, and cheer on your favorite zombie, I mean racer!

SSCXWC was rad! San Francisco is a great town to go hang out, and ride your bike around. The qualifier was a fun ride, and the race course on sunday was super good. Thanks to all of the rain throughout the weekend. My team is awesome! Lots going on in the shop right now. Repairs, refurbishes, and builds. Here are some pics of Randy's almost dead pinarello. The dt and lug were cracked. So this thing is basically getting a new front end. The cages are for Stanley brand flasks. I hauled a bunch to SF to match up with the SSCXWC dino flasks. But someone must've been eating too much weaksauce, cuz there weren't any flasks available! $35 if you're into that sort of biking.

The latest issue of Freehub is out. There's a little builder bio on donkelope bikes. Thanks Brandon! Cross season is in full swing, despite our abnormally nice weather. Great for spectating, but more mud would be nice. Went to Fort Collins for the USGP in early oct. That is a fun town! The racing was pretty fun, hilly, but fun. One more tooth on the cog would've been nice. SSCXWC is just around the corner. Pretty much the whole team is heading down for that event.

It's fall, and there's lots of bike stuff going down. My favorite season. Cross season has started strong, although too early for me. Starcrossed was fun. Not as many spectators at Issaquah as there were at Marymoor, but all who showed up had a great time. Oregon Manifest was last weekend. What a stressful week leading into that. No matter how early I think I start my project, it comes down to the very last minute. The weekend went well with awesome weather, lots of cool bikes, and great people that build them. There are pics of the event all over the web, so surf it up! My entry had a sidecar that I built to haul Raz around. We were definitely one of the crowd favorites. The bike performed awesome. The sidecar needs a couple of tweaks. And my front bag worked stellar. Thanks to Martina a Swift Ind in Seattle. Now back to the work that has been waiting for me. And getting ready for cx season!

The tough road rides just keep coming! The Mount Baker Hill Climb is the weekend of september 10-11. Come support a great ride up the mountain! Great scenery and no traffic. They shut the road down until noon that day.

August has been busy! Working on a builder bio for Freehub Magazine, the Rapha Gentlemen's Race NW, and all of bike work. I haven't been bored. Look for the 3rd issue of Freehub to be on the shelves mid october. I had some great help doing that. Thanks to Augustine and Tim! The Rapha Gentlemen's Race was a 6 person TTT. The course was 130 miles of pavement, gravel and 10000+feet of climbing. It was also in the mid 90's. It was a brutal day in the saddle. But we had a great team, all on matching donkelopes, with nice kits from Randi Jo Fabrications. We looked better than we did in the race. Only 4 of us were able to finish the entire ride. Congrats to the teams that rode it all intact. Not an easy task. 28 teams started, but only 7 completed. The 2011 Oregon Manifest is just around the corner, september 23-24. Working away on that build that features an out of the ordinary attachment. I will try to post pics and progress. Even though it feels like summer just got started here, cross season is approaching. At least I have some decent form from all of the riding to get ready for the RGR.

Whew, it's been too long. Busy summer. I use summer sarcastically. The only summer I've been around, was for SSUSA in Colorado, and a short trip to Wisco. SSUSA was a hoot. It was a very relaxing trip, hanging with good friends. With a nice race in the middle of it all. I'm thinkin' I'll head back to the Fort this fall for a USGP race. Yesterday, Rusty Scott and I headed over to Raleigh's Midsummer's Night Cross Race. It was a great time. Although not mentally ready for cross yet, there was a very bumpy, but fun and fast course. And plenty of food and beer. Yeah. Donkelope bikes has been invited to the Rapha Gentlemen's Race this august. Looking forward to that. The team will be suited up in custom jerseys on a fleet of donkelope road racers. Summer is about half over, and it doesn't even feel like the warm weather has started.