2009 Wrap up

The 2009 season has been crazy both on and off the bike for me as the keeper of this blog site. I apologize for the lack of updates this season and I aim to do a better job of posting updates during the '10 season. I though it'd be good to put some season highlights up from 2009 just to wrap things up.

Massanutten:

The good old Massanutten YeeHa race has been held since 1997 when it was included on the World Cup Circuit. Mike Thomas took a top 10 in a super competitive Pro Class. SEI took two spots on the Open Class podium with Jeremy Raney and me getting 4th and 5th.

US OPEN:

The US OPEN of Downhill is the most prestigious DH event in the United States. This year, it attraced top world cup contenders with the likes of Sam Hill, Brendan Fairclough, and Gee Atherton. Mike Thomas came within nanoseconds of qualifying and I was a couple seconds behind him. For me, the US Open has always been a battle to see how CLOSE I could come to qualifying. Qualifying for the pro class always seemed to far out to be an actual possibility. Next year I have a new goal.

Snowshoe:

Snowshoe resort holds a 4-race series that is generally agreed upon as being one of the best race series' in the nation. Their courses are top notch, and the organization of their races is flawless. This year, SEI posted some good awesome results. Mike Thomas posted a third place in race two against an awesomely talented field.

The South East scene has risen again with the three race Beech mountain series and the Hawknest "Dirty Bird" and "Hawkoween" races. The SEI crew did well at the Beech mountain races. For the series overall, Mike Thomas got second place, Jeremy Raney got 4th, and Charlie Moonie got 5th.

Charlie Moonie got first place at the inaugural Dirty Bird at Hawksnest resort. Look for big things to come out of this resort in the near future! Thanks to Mike Thomas and Andrew Mueller and the staff at Hawksnest for making these races happen

For the second year in a row, Paris Mountain State Park in my hometown of Greenville SC threw a DH race on an awesome track. Jeremy Raney got 4th on a slick track! I can't wait for next year's race! We spent hours tweeking the track, building berms, and making sure it was quality and we have even bigger plans for next year!

The biggest on-the-bike highlight of the year may be that Mike Thomas took gold at the COLLEGIATE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS while Steven Trottier took a nice 7th place finish at a west coast track! Congrats boys!

In Off the bike news, Amelia Ruth Griffin was born on October 13th 2009!

For the coming season, we've already made some changes. Most noteably, Long-time Carolina based DH pinner Andrew Mueller will be flying the flag with us next year!

More Pics from this Season: