The Donkey

so im finaly leavomg for sea otter in the am. flying into San Fran and staying with the sis wed night. then driving down to Monteray thur morning in time to get out and pre ride the course. from what ive heard and who ive talked too, the course is a sloppy mess. it got some serious rain the past 3 days, and has a 40ish percent chance thru the rest of the week. acording to Wells' site, its been raining there for 24 days strait! the course out there is typicly hard packed, roadie smooth single track, but when it rains, evry trail becomes a little river, leaving nasty ruts. given the coicice, id much rather go with consistent muddy slop and rain, than just dryed, bumpy and rutty tracks. Im really pumped to finaly get out and race on some dirt this year. i havnt raced the mtb since MTB nats last September. racing in Expert U23 is kinds cool, in that, im really going to be trying to win both the Short Track, and the Cross Countery. in Junior X it was always just looking for a top 10. judging by the pre reg. theres going to be some pretty good competition. the only ones i really know that i think could be fast are Michel Hosey ( who was fast, but disapeared last year after sea otter, and didnt race again untill nats, so hes an unknown. always has been strong in the STXC tho ), a guy named Greg Heinz, who podiumed last year ( with a time 5 minutes slower than mine ), and Bennet Brown, last years second overall in the NMBS ( who has been racking up some decent results since Jan of this year down in TX ) another intereting name reged for STXC is Jonathan Favata, no doubt related to brother Chritian. The bike is sweet and redy to go. i gave her a nice make over to pretty it up alittle. had my fork rebiult on monday, so evrythings working there. and my HOPE disk brakes are running smoother than ever after alittle tuneing. im still not sure yet what imgoing to do for tires. i mounted a LArsen TT 2.0 front and a High Roller 2.0 rear last night, which would be perfect for last years course, but with this mud i might end up going back to the Kenda Karmas. theve got a little higher volume ( even tho there listed as a 2.0 as well ) and with wider knobs than the Larsen TT to help shed the mud. im going to leave them on for the STXC on saturday and then see what the conditions are like. heres my early predictions ( which i will probly change before race day.. and not post, but oh well ) I think you have to list Bart Brenjens as a favorite for the mens XC, after just winnning WC#1. also on the Podium, I think you'll see Hose Hermidia and Ralf Nief of Meridea Team. both were up there at the WC. Liam Kelliem also rode supurd last weekend, after getting caught behind a crach and still coming up for third. and he did take second here last year in a sprint with Kaboosh. Todd wells would have to be my pick for top american. after what he did to the others in Puerto Rico, and the fact that hes great in the mud. Kaboosh is a hard call, cause hes been sick. ifs hes healthy, i see him on the podium too. Frishy is going good and will be up there as well. Adam craig is also going to be up there if thinks stay muddy, and with the chage of the course this year for more power climbing... for now i see the order like this. 1. Killeim 2.Brenjents 3.Hermidia 4.Wells 5. Thomas Frishkanet 5.Kaboosh 6.Craig 7.Ralf Nief 8.JHK 9.Jason Sager 10.Brodrik 11.Barry Wicks 12. Chris Sheenon top 30. Mitch Peterson Dead last. battle between Lucas Livermon/and that Cdale kid DNF Ryan Trebon for the women, its kind of up in the air. we havnt seen many of them ride so far this year besides the few world cuppers. after marrys 5th, id say shes the favorite. the luna chix are going to be strong as usual, and Hemena is back and might be strong. Hether Irmenjer is coming off her first winter as a full time pro, not having to work full time, so she could be a force. then of course Sue Haywood, who likes it sloppy, and Alison Syder, who is always strong. i think this ones pretty hard to call, especily as theres no other races this year to compair eachother too. who knows what theyve been up too over the winter. but this is how i see it. 1.Shonny V 2.Marry M 3.Willow 4.Sue Haywood 5.Sydor 6.Irmenger 7. Marks-Marino 8.Katerina 9.Kelly Emitt 10..Hemena Florit 11.Lea Davison 12. Chole Forsmen* the Junior guys will also be pretty interesting. heres what i think mi8ght happen 1.Tristen Uhl 2.Chance Nobel 3.Chris Peterson 4.Travis Livermon ...14. Greg Carpenter Essance Barton will stomp in the Junior ladys Danae York second Thorp third Trevor top 12 in Semi? And ill win both XC and STXC ...updates and pictures coming soon. later.s