2011 Ridge Trail Festival Coming Soon

Back for the second year the Ridge Trail Festival mountain bike event will prove to be another awesome event. Both a collegiate points race and an open community race, the Festival will offer a grueling XC route, a fast flowy Super D route, a stomach churning short track route, and even a full on Downhill event. Photos from last year can be seen and purchased here. I'm still undecided on whether I'll race the XC again, but I'll definitely be photographing all other events I'm not racing.

Check out information about the 2011 Ridge Trail Festival here. The event will again be in the community forest in Redwood Park in Arcata on October 8-9. Direct your questions toward Kirk Cohune at kcohune AT gmail.com.

China

I've recently been honored with the key to China. For those of you that don't get out very often, China is a country in Eastern and Southeastern Asia, with a total size of 9,596,961 sq km. which is just slightly smaller than the U.S. and the fourth largest on Earth. Wow, that's big. China has an extremely diverse climate, and a terrain of mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east. But be careful, there are frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts), damaging floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, droughts, and land subsidence. For more information about China you can visit our friendly CIA website on them.

I could spare the key for a little while so if you're interested in borrowing it please let me know.

Best of Humboldt

Once again the North Coast Journal is putting on their annual Best of Humboldt shakedown where every vote counts, and everything can be voted for. Got a favorite bar, restaurant, or newspaper let them know. You can find the survey in the local newspaper form, or go here for the digital version.

Be sure to be legit as, "Each ballot will be put through an exhaustive 12-step legitimacy verification process — it involves lasers, trained German shepherds and multiple cases of Pabst. We reserve the right to reject any ballots that smell fishy, either figuratively or literally. In short, don’t be that person. Trust democracy."

Have fun and get your vote in by September something.

BMC Cascade Cycling Classic 2011

I had the chance for the second year in a row to head up to Bend during the Cascade Classic stage race. For race information please visit the race website here. Although it's a six day race (including prolouge), I only got to see Saturday's stage of the downtown Bend crit, which by all affairs is the best spectator stage of the race. The weather was perfect and the race was fast with the pro mens' pulling in about 2 minute lap times. I managed to pull the trigger a few hundred times on the nikon, so maybe that pro friend of yours who gave you a kick down on those zipp wheels could get an 8x10 for their birthday. To view the full gallery go here. A few teasers below.

Contemplating the sharp corner.

When blasting away and the madness a few lucky surprises find their way onto the card. I really liked this one.

The ol' grunt play.

It was hot enough for white skin suits. No water needed for this contest.

This guy apparently thought it was a triathlon.

All red, white, and blue for Garmin.

#9 laying it low.

This guy was actually racing to the WBMC.

My full criterium gallery can be viewed here.

Baseball and Fireworks

I can't think of much more American than the two. Well perhaps beside traveling to a Waffle House in your thunderbird with t-tops, which isn't the best car to take to a fireworks show. Spending most of my time in California living in the woods and in the Humboldt Bubble in NorCal, I've never really been impressed with any boom show I've seen in Cali anyway. Nothing like back in the Midwest where places like the Battle Creek Air Show and surprising the Negaunee, Michgian fireworks show which is one of the best fireshows in the sky I've seen.

Despite the lack of pyrotechnic impressiveness in Northern California, there's not much more American than a bunch of friends with a whiffle ball and bat, a flag cake, some great craft brew, homemade vegi burgers, a hula-hoop, and some sparklers.

Pledge to the flag cake.

Scott demolishing one of the whiffle balls.

Squat style.

Light painting with sparklers.

When a hula-hoop and sparklers collide.

Freedom baby!