Santiam Bicycle's 3rd annual Blackrock fundraiser...

The event went down without a hitch. It flowed and stuck the landing... I think the shop guys are getting better at MC'ing. The theatre was PACKED with local riders from all over (Salem-area, Portland, and Eugene).

Rich (the Blackrock Freeride Association president) and Troy (Santiam Bicycle shop owner) did a super job of giving props to those who deserved it (all the trail builders, the ODF manager, the local shop support, TracE - the gourmet cook that always makes lunch on trail work days, and yes, even me, the BFA webmaster)... there's lots of people who are core to making Blackrock what it is, but EVERYONE there that night was part of it - contributing to the ongoing success and sustaining the trails!

Got to see the ROAM preview twice. The projectionist didn't realize the DVD automatically looped, so it played through a second time before he realized. *chuckle* Actually, nobody really minded. In fact, I watch that trailer everyday just to remember I'm part of something bigger than myself (the sport of downhill and freeride mountain biking - it's a lifestyle now).

There were several cool things about the event:
1) there was so much stuff donated from vendors - it was awesome to see how much support Blackrock trails is getting
2) Santiam raised over $6,000 (nearly DOUBLE the amount from last year) for the Blackrock trails
3) got to see the independent local video that Ryan put together (I threw in some footage I didn't use for my vid last year - of Basic Training area getting built and stuff) I was even in some of the shots (I excluded myself from the video last year, so it was nice to get some of my riding in there).
4) Jay Hoots and Fionn Griffiths of the Norco factory team came down from B.C. for the event (surprise!) - Jay even did the raffle drawing.

Had Jay autograph a poster for Kaylee. Yes, someday she'll be riding... Maybe will have a web site like Fionn's: http://www.fionngriffiths.com/.

Afterwards, Troy invited everyone to the Santiam shop for a swap meet. I traded a Saint shifter that I'd won for a Nokian Gazzaloddi Tire (which I desperately needed cuz the tread on my rear tire is all used up). But more importantly, we had a chance to talk with Jay about the downhill/freeride movement up in B.C. - and some of the issues they're dealing with with local municipalities with B.C. province). Some of the issues we're going to be facing some day in Oregon (politics! yuck).

Oh, here's what the "loot pile" (all donated from vendors) consisted of:



And one of the Grand prizes (valued at over $2,000):

Worst Day of the Year Ride 2006...

Wendy and Erika rode their bikes in the "Worst Day of the Year Ride" last weekend (on Sunday) along with 1,500 other riders. It was an 18 mile ride in Portland. Started and ended at the Lucky Lab Pub. This is the 3rd year in a row they've done this ride out of the 5 years it's been organized (I did it last couple of years, but have since focused on mountain biking and not road riding). It's an annual fundraising event for Community Cycling Center.



While waiting for them to finish their ride, I hung out with Kaylee and Nejla (Kaylee's birth mom) at the Lucky Lab. Was good to chat with Nejla and for Kaylee to spend some time with her as well.

Here are photos from the day (family password required):

Worst Day of the Year Ride 2006

Blackrock - Granny's Kitchen ROAD GAP...

I finally did it!

Cleared the road gap and actually landed it. Felt really good to get over this hurdle after couple of spectacular failures (in past 6 months, have attempted it twice: first attempt was just a drop to road but I bounced and flipped over the bars and crashed down the tranny, and on the second attempt the tree next to the jump "got me" and I ended up in a heap with my bike on top of me...)

This time I followed behind Troy - Santiam Bicycle shop owner and builder of Granny's Kitchen trail - and it helped a lot to have someone to follow. Gauged speed better. Let me focus on something other than just the jump long gap and that voice I have to keep tricking that always screams "AAAAH! We're gonna die!!!" *chuckle*

Did the jump 4 times that day. Even threw couple of bar turns for "style points". Feel really confident on that jump now. Can't wait to get out there and do it some more!

There are 4 pictures posted to gallery here:
Road Gap jump at Blackrock

Less than 2 weeks to the Blackrock Mountain Bike Park fundraiser...!

Santiam Bicycle is once again organizing the Blackrock fundraiser. This is the 3rd annual event which is being hosted at Northern Lights Theatre Pub on February 22nd at 6pm in Salem. Last year my "Local Progression Riders Video" was shown (it was about an hour long), and this year another local rider video will be shown in addition to The Collective (a 16mm mountain bike film). This is one of my favorite mountain biking videos! I also contacted the director/producer and scored a copy of the DVD for the raffle AND got them to send a "sneak peek" trailer of their upcoming ROAM video (to be released April '06).

There's a TON of other sponsors of this event. It's the biggest fundraising event of the year for local freeride mountain biking trails... Last year, they raised over $3,000 for the trails (to buy signs, nails, tools and other materials for building and on-going maintenance). THIS year I hope they surpass that! There's more than a few projects on the "To Do" list that require fundage to make them happen (not to mention we're looking at filing for 501(c)(3) status - sure would be nice to take a tax deduction every time I drove out there to work on the trails)!

Here's a list of the sponsors of the 2006 Blackrock trails fundraiser...


(click image for full size view)

You can always learn more about Blackrock through the Blackrock Freeride Association website at http://blackrockfreeride.org.

Kaylee's first trip to the Salem Riverfront Carousel... with birth mom!

We met Kaylee's birth mom, Nejla (pronounced NEZH-lä), for the first time away from the Catholic Charities office today. Was really cool to do something "family" with her. After having lunch, we went to the Riverfront Carousel and park. Took lots of pictures (of course!)



Regardless of your opinion (which is valid *grin*), we think it's very important for Nejla to feel part of our family. She's Kaylee's birth mom, Wendy is Kaylee's mom. Nothing strange about it. Get over it. Open adoption is way refreshing and positive thing for all involved. Kaylee will have an extended family, and the more people who "love on her" (as my mom says) the better I think!

There's more pictures in family gallery here (family password required):

Kaylee with Wendy and Nejla at Riverfront Carousel