So a few of us from the Raleigh triad area decided to hit up the 2nd race of the Snowshoe Series on Aug. 4th. Bryan Byrd, Lance Parbst and Luke all squeezed in Bryan's little Subaru full of bikes and gear and it was SICK! My wife Alvi, our dog Eva and myself were packed in our Subaru and it was SICK! Subaru is now co-sponsor of the Eastern gravity team and they dont even know it. We get there, get signed up and Alvi is already geared up and ready to ride the slalom course on her Eastern Warthog. I head towards the DH course on the Slash to practice for my race which is on Sunday. Bryan, Lance and Luke arrive later in the team car, it was SICK! They go shred the dual slalom course immediately b/c its SICK! Meanwhile, I'm riding up the chairlift between practice runs on the DH course and someone was saying that some girl was out on the slalom course ripping it up and crashed pretty hard. I interupt and ask what kind of bike was she riding, they say an Eastern. Oh, thats my wife! When I get to the top of the mountain I go up to the slalom to see if shes okay. She is! Up and riding again with no front brake on the bike. Thats my way of training her to make her fast like a gazelle! So I decide to watch the rest of the slalom practice and everybody is riding really fast. The course was good and I was getting excited for the race later that evening! 
The mullet count wasnt as high as I expected for West Virginia, but I did see one Mr. Tee looking guy with a mullet and even a dog with a mullet!
Alvi finished the race in 4th place in the Pro womens field. Lance ended up 3rd in the Pro mens field b/c he's SICK! He ran his bike in a dragging move in front of his opponent across the finish line to make it to the round of 4. He then matched up against Bryan in the round of 4, I think. Bryan was hualing the mail out of the gate and made it to the course intersection first with Lance right behind him. Somehow, b/c Bryan is sooo SICK, he decides to take his shoe off during the race and tells Lance to man up and race with no shoes beside him. Lance wasnt falling for it b/c he saw Bryan loose a toe in his platform pedals and his shoe on course. I believe Lance ended up winning b/c Bryan was looking down for his shoe and missed the last gate before the finish. Luke was riding really fast for only his 1st or 2nd slalom race. I'm sure he will get it figured out and he will be ripping with everyone else soon. Here's some other pics of our friends in the Raleigh area that we ride on a weekend warrior basis. 
Andy Devualt and Moto Mike (above)
Amanda (winner of the Pro womens field) and my beautiful Albanian wife Alviola!
Dan's son Connor. Look out he's gonna be a ripper!
We all had a great day of racing! We went to dinner and managed to score some free dessert b/c our waitress was dumb as rocks or she was really, really high on something. She was probably really high on SICKNESS!! Anyway, we smuggled our dog into the hotel room for the night and slept like a bunch of sardines. Luke had a SICK air mattress fort! It was kind a like a cacoon or a taco with Luke in the middle. Yummy! I mean SICK! In the morning Lance and Bryan were all spooning each other. Guess they didnt get close enough during there slalom run. SICK!
Sunday, team Eastern/SICK/Subaru car #1 left home to Raleigh, NC. Alvi and I stayed b/c my race was going down today. The DH course was an easy course to ride but became a little sketchy in some sections to ride fast on it. It took me a good ten runs before I started to feel comfy on the bike. Plus big Hern dog let me follow him down a few times. I was able to pick up on some lines he had which made some sections a easier that I was struggling on the day before. Beautiful weekend so far! Until my race run! The skies opened up and it poured rain. Now it feels like a Snowshoe race! The course was a mess and foggy as can be. I could only see about 20 feet ahead of me most of the run. My run ended up being pretty clean and I made it down with no crashes in the sloppy mud. Come across the finish with a good time, thought I would be on the podium. I got to watch everyone come in the finish b/c I was the 2nd rider to come down in the Pro field. According to the timing I should have taken the 1st or 2nd spot on the podium. But, it was a different story by the time we got to the awards. I was called for 9th place. Bummer! They managed to mess up my time. They didnt even post the times before the awards ceremony and no protest or re-run time period. All b/c they didnt have a printer and it was raining. Terrible excuse if you ask me. So, I will not go to the final Snowshoe race this year.
Other than the timing issue, it was actually a great weekend spending time with friends on and off our bikes! So remember to tie you shoes, make sure the organizer posts timing/results before the awards ceremony and have a SICK time with your friends riding your bike!
Joe
