I saw this ad in the paper and thought it was damn funny!!. Adding the suffix "zilla" to anything makes it great. Just look at the bike "Quadzilla" by SE,,,easily the best bike name of all time. Next time you are stuck for a name, think about it. Beggzilla, Brynzilla, Jillzilla, chairzilla, plantzilla, takes things to a new level:)
When someone says something like "We have the best orthopedic surgeons in the Province" be weary. Bryn went for a follow up on his wrist here today in Seattle, and the Quebec doctors left the screw head sticking out of his bone!! How the hell does that happen? Should have known by the lack of a post-op x-ray and non English speaking Canadians that something was jacked.
Sunday didn't start well for me. I woke up to bryn in a sling and spent all day in the hospital with him till I had to go race. He went into surgury to repair a dislocated wrist and a schaphoid broken into two pieces. I crashed all by myself leading the 4x final. Sweet weekend.
And my mom just told me our cat died. :(
4x qualifier went like this: 28 men started, 9 women. Course was dry and running nearly identical lines for everyone. Wasn't as insane as Joel Bain this time, but pretty fun to ride:). Lopes looked the fastest, but Jared and Dan squeeked in ahead of him. Nothing super out of the norm, didn't see any crashes. I was 1st in the girls, 24th in the guys, just behind Dale:). Racing tomorrow is all about that first turn, and it was sketchy in practice with 4 people.
Practice today. Mt.St.Anne has a couple little changes, but it is pretty much the same as always. Monk said this is his 16th time here, crazy.
Little flash from the past, for the 10year anniversary of the Boxxer, Rockshox busted out oldschool fork decals this morning on boxxers, they look so sweet. Xc forks got the treatment too:)
Life with a proper tools rules. No more ghetto builds in the basement, I can put aside the mallot and 2x4 for now:). Thanks so much to my friends over at Park Tool for the sweet deal! I am the proud owner of a new Pk-63 tool kit 
. It was most impressive that all 63 tools fit in the box. This kit comes with all the fancy stuff that you always need but never have, inluding bearing cup press, crown race setter, saw guide, derailleur alignment gauge, chain cleaner, etc, so I am stoked!! Check out parktool.com, blue handled tools makes life easier, you'll be a fan.
Aigle, Switzerland is home to the Union Cycliste Internationale (the main international sanctioning body). We went there last week to have a look. Pretty cold and sterile place, cement and glass all around, bikes living in cages. Can't imagine spending a lot of time inside there, unless I wanted to ride in circles around the veledrome all day. Bmx track out the back looked alright 
, massive roll-in, and some technical sections. Surrounding mountains are beautiful, UCI is close to Portes du Soleil-mountain bike and ski heaven, so if any of those guys inside ride bikes, they are pretty lucky.uci entrance
The new 2008 Gt line up is looking pretty flashy. This last week GT hosted a press camp in Engelberg, Switzerland to show off the new bikes. They have a couple new 6" bikes, a 4" carbon xc bike, a carbon Zaskar hardtail, regular Zaskar, Carbon BMX, and a new GTR road bike...
ENGELBERG, SWITZERLAND
We are still in Switzerland 
for the Gt Press camp. It is pretty fun, lots of media people, some '08 bikes making their debut looking all spiffy, riding, some rain, some sun, cute critters 
with bells, but the best part so far has been the Dance off. Bryn and Lopes head to head in the biggest dance off of all time, zoolander style!!. Bryn was holding down Michael Jackson moonwalk and the shoulder roll head toss or whatever, came back to Lopes, and Lopes busted out the Worm and some break-dance move!! Steve the Effin Legend has a pic of him in the turtle shell spin out move.:) I was waiting for the underwear pull, but got too tired, classic. My stomach hurts so bad from laughing. Between Wardell's antics and that, can't take much more.
CHAMPEREY, SWITZERLAND
Want to see a magic trick?? 
. Sam Hill didn't win today, but he is in another world that doesn't make sense to anyone else, 1.63 seconds off of Matti Lehikoinen's winning time, after this happened, and he crashed. Matti came down the track at 4:10 pm with a dry run, maybe one or two sprinkles, by 4:26 the track was destroyed. Riders were averaging 3-4 crashes, hopeless to stop, getting stuck in the stupid 4"x4" netting, floundering in the mud from catastrophic downpours. Sam was last down the hill and three hundredths of a second off Peaty's dry 2nd place finish. 3rd will keep his chances well alive for the overall. For me this run will never be forgotten, amazing stuff.
CHAMPEREY, SWITZERLAND
GT is the best:) Come from behind victories for both Lopes and myself in really slippery conditions. When the first few heats of the men cam through there were torrential downpours, lghtning, and a big waterfall down into the last straightaway. Took about 20 minutes delay, and then game on. 
Eric Carter is a clever dude. In his racing, he has a plan and a way to get into the final even if he is not the fastest guy. Strategy and patience have got him far in life, he is very tactical. I try to spend time listening to what he has to say, because I respect him a lot. Ec is actively racing stateside, but has also spent a lot of time and energy putting together the Mongoose Tribe program to give back to the sport. Basically a team set up by Eric Carter, with mentorship, joking around, riding bikes, organization while positively showcasing bikes for sponsors. He has set it up so that the program functions independently in the right direction for the future ...INTERVIEW WITH EC
CHAMPEREY, SWITZERLAND
GT dominates 4x qualifying:)
LOPES 1st, JILL 1st 
, BRYN 5th.
1.Lopes 2.Prokop 3.Deldyke 4.Boom Boom 5.Bryn 6.Gee? 7.Jared graves?
CHAMPEREY, SWITZERLAND
First day of Dh and 4x practice. Bryn said "The first DH run of the day was scary, but the second was unreal. You get used to riding off the back of the bike. Kinda have to change your turning style". Saw Minnaar on flats, Peaty, Nico Vouilloz, Barel, Vasquez, Neethling, etc. Heard some awe about Nico, he is as precise as ever apparently.
DH and 4x Course inspections today....
Imagine a huge span of mountains all connected by chairlifts,,, endless downhill and picture perfect scenery, that is Portes du Soleil. Champery, Switzerland is one of like 14 ski towns (Les Gets, Morzine, are a couple others.) open to this network for winter and summer. These are the steepest mountains I have ever seen. The World cup DH course runs down at an extreme pitch under the lift. We are up in the clouds out here, was nice most of the day, but storms roll in really quick and get trapped between the peaks. www.portesdusoleil.com
Nice haircutcut, lucky for Bryn, I made him cool again:).
Went with the Fluidride guys to one of their camps out in Port Angeles, WA last Saturday. Fluidride is a local Seattle Bike shop that sells mostly Downhill race equipment, but also specializes in technical riding instruction for all cycling disciplines. All the instructors are professional riders like Lars Sternberg, Casey Northern, Simon Lawton, etc., so they have plenty of experience, and are some of Washington's best. Video analysis of every rider involves a HD helmet cam, also known as "The Borg" to watch where you can improve. Skills drills, shuttles, one on one instruction, and a lot of fun....
Back on the road for Round 2 of the World Cup... my ticket collection is looking nice n healthy these days.