1st and 2nd on the Same Day-Fountain head

Well, it finally came to fruition. I think it was in one of Nostradamus' quatrains: He shall rise from the depths to  claim the polyester prize of purple and black; his enemies shall fall-except for one. Eh, maybe not. It took nearly 2 months to finish the series, but today was the final race in the Cranky Monkey series. I was a little worried because my legs werent as fresh as I would like them to feel.

Fountain Head is a brutal course. I liken it to Michaux, but in a condensed version. Rocks, roots and crazy steep climbs with no recovery. I never look forward to racing here. It is a must, though. Would I change it, no. This race weeds out the guys and gals that can through it down. If you can ride here, you are good to go anywhere around the region. Anyway, I was 1st in points coming in with 75, which was only 13 shy of last years 88, so I was a bit nervous about being able to hold on to it. Doug Pepelko, Blake Bricker and Stephen Viers were all here, so it wasnt going to be an easy task. I started were I normally end up, 2nd into the singletrack. I followed behind Doug for a bit and then I took over about 3 miles in. I hate being in first...PERIOD. I am a better come from behind rider. I dropped back behind Doug again; about 18 seconds behind. We stayed that way to the end. So 2nd is where I ended up for the race, but I did manage to hold on to the overall lead and finished with 111 points.

You do get a very nice jersey for being the series champion as well along with gift certificates to The Bike Lane-a class act bike store indead. Be sure to visit those guys in the Fairfax, Va area. If you have never raced an EX2 race-DO IT! SEAVS is also a great sponsor and show what people can do to make this sport so cool.

I rode my Ferrous SS with 32/18 gearing. It was the first time I rode the steel bike here, and it was worth the extra weight. Fountainhead is brutal on the arms and legs. I rode the 29.2 tires and turned out to be not the best choice. These are great on hardpack, not loose rock and loose dirt. The Evoke 3 saddle gets comfier the more I use it. Funny, I get more questions on the RXL carbon cranks. Of course you cant get these beauties any longer, but I have them on 4 bikes-and that is where they will stay. Again, head on in to your Trek dealer-which The Bike Lane is-and get hooked up with what Bontrager offers.

It has been a good start to october so far, so maybe my cx season will follow suit. This year wrapped up a great mountain season. I finished 8 out of 9 races on the podium with a 2 1st's a 2nd and 5 3rd's. My best season so far and all in groovy 29er Crew fashion. Thanks again to the EX2 crew and Jon Rogers!