One-two-three-shoot!

YOU, Ryan Fowler!

Let it be know that Ryan Fowler is now Of·ficial·ly in the

SSWC of 2008!

I headed down the Skyline park this past weekend to do a little racin' with the bay area crowd. Single speeders were in FULL EFFECT with 6 of the top 10 everall positions being held by gearless folks! Click here for results. I thought my placing would be good enough to grab one of the 6 lucky tickets up for grabs for entry into the worlds. (read about golden tickets in previous post) Once we hit the podium though, it was learned that the two fastest men and THE fastest woman would garnish three of the lucky golden tickets. And with that, I was out. It didn't bother me too much as I was one of the lucky 350 riders to get in earlier this year.

Then, Curtis Inglis (race promoter) anounced that he would be doing a ro-sham-bo for the final three tickets. Before I knew it, I was paired up... threw "paper"..... which beats rock...... every single time. You're welcome Ryan.

The course: Well, I don't know if the worlds course will be the same route as we raced this past weekend, but if it is, it's gonna be pretty damn fun. It's a "salt & peppering" of Auburn, Santa Cruz and Downieville trails that all happen in a 8.5 mi loop with 1,600ft of climbing per lap. I'd guess that about 2/3rds of the climbing happens on the first climb which is a fire road, fairly exposed (hot) with some nice headwalls to keep you honest. It's plenty of time to get things sorted out on the first lap. The first climb finishes with a nice 50 meter hike a bike. After that, things are you're typical xc ride with meandering single track. Up. Down. A couple more hike a bikes. Nothing too technical.

Gearing: I ran a 39x12. Just kidding. I ran a 34x18 which is what I'm used to. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't change a thing.

The area: It's pretty cool. The campground has water. People were nice. I didn't get a chance to check out any wineries but I will next time.... ain't that right Buck.