Thanksgiving Holiday

For the week of Thanksgiving, Jesse was off from school, so we went down to Albuquerque to visit with the parents (and grandmother). I took this time to get away from the bike for a bit, and instead did a bunch of hiking for exercise.
Jesse and I went exploring in some open space behind our parent's house, and found some natural terrian for freeriding. We noticed that someone at some point in time, had built some take-offs and landings in the area to utilize the natural hills and gulleys for jumps. Here are some pics I got of Jesse while we were there. Click on the captions (or the pictures themselves) for larger views of the pictures.


Gap jump across an arroyo.


Nice form off a drop.


Jesse posing.

Notice Jesse's Azonic DS-1 frame and Manitou Nixon Platinum fork. These, combined with his other parts, combine to make an insane single speed dirt jumper.

Road Team for '06, and Cross Racing

On Saturday, I went down to Boulder to do a team ride with a road team I am considering joining for next season (Free Agent Racing is meant to be solely a mountain bike team). Things went well, and they seem to be a great group of guys and good racers. I'd have to say that they are on the top of my list, but I'll wait to disclose the team name until I make my final decision.
Later in the day, because I was in the area, I went and watched a cyclocross race in Denver. This was the first time I had ever seen a 'cross race. I have been considering racing 'cross for some time now, but I wanted to at least see a race before I jumped in. Having seen the equipment and technique involved, I have something to work on for the next year. I need to build a bike and practice the high speed mount/dismount before I'll feel comfortable racing.

Team Roster

Because I have not posted it yet, here is the Free Agent Racing roster for 2006:

Hana Fiserova | Pro Women XC (2003 Collegiate Omnium Champion)
Justin Maka (me) | Semi-Pro Men XC, Category 3 Road
Adam Stepanovic | Expert Men 19-24 XC
Steve Ladd | Expert Men 19-24 XC
Jesse Maka Sport Men | 19-24 DH
Grant Mattive | Sport Men 19-24 DH

Free Agent Racing is intended to be a mountain bike team. Team members are encouraged to join road teams to better serve their road racing needs.
We will be contesting local, regional, and national mountain bike events in 2006.

As things progress, I will be including short bios on the other riders (mine's already up under "About Me").

Race Team Update

Over the weekend of Oct 28-31, two members of Free Agent Racing represented the Colorado State University Rams Cycling Team at Collegiate Nationals. Adam Stepanovic and Steve Ladd raced in the Men's Division 1 cross country and short track races, and Adam also raced in the downhill race (his first, I believe). The standout performance of the weekend was a 7th place finish by Steve in the short track race (out of 60). Awesome! If anyone out there knows short track racing, 60 people on the course at the same time is just chaos, so to place that high is something special. Adam and Steve's efforts, in addition to the efforts of the rest of the CSU men and women, were enough to push the team into 3rd in the overall classification (behind powerhouses Fort Lewis and CU). This is the best placing for the CSU mountain bike team at Nationals in recent memory.

To the right, I have included a picture of me (originally printed in the Rocky Mountain Collegian, CSU's student newspaper) at Collegiate Nats. in 2002 (gotta love the one arm warmer up, one down!). That year, current Discovery Channel pro rider (and America's "Great White Hope"--as Lance calls him), Tom Danielson walked away with the men's cross country title.
This year, my former Team DEAN teammate (and a generally cool guy), Josh Bezecny won the men's cross country and omnium titles, successfully defending those titles from last year. Check out his blog using the link in my "Links" section to the right.

Sponsor Profiles

I have added links to my sponsors' websites in the right side bar, as well links to friends and other sites that I think are cool. Enjoy, and please help me by supporting my sponsors and checking out their sites.
Later this year, or at the the beginning of '06, when I have all my '06 sponsors set, I am thinking of doing a "sponsor profile" each month. In each profile, I would highlight products from one of my sponsors, and supply some pictures and personal thoughts.