2025 Southridge Winter Series, XC Race #5 (+some DH)

"I gotta speak, and you want to listen up

There is no time to feast your eyes

You want it all, but the world won't give it up

Up to the edge, your star will rise..."

Who would believe that not eighteen hours earlier the sky was various shades of grey and dripping water all over the place. That mess cleared out pretty quick, and left behind it a bright sun, blue sky, shining mountains, and patches of blooming sunflowers wherever those giant earthmovers had let them be. All that made for pretty darn good conditions for the fifth, and penultimate, weekend of this years' Southridge Winter Series. None of that made things any easier, mind you, as the DNF for the senior-most member of the bunch might attest, but it sure made for some nice views, for those rare moments one could pry their eyes from the trail in front of them. Whether leaning your way through a narrow passage between boulders, gasping for air your third time up the paved road (as the ebikes towing the downhillers up whiz past), or simply saying 'ah, fub it' (or something like that) before dismounting to walk up yet another cursed rocky steep, the XC course at Southridge does not lack for challenge. 

"...Everyone's got their own split factions

Every pawn will pay its price

I've been digging out in all directions

I'll see you through to the after life...

What's your weapon of choice

What's your weapon of choice

There is no weapon to free us all

[well except maybe the bike]..."

(Robert Been and Peter Hayes)

I did manage to stick around a bit after the XC race, climb the opposite mountainside, and take a few shots of the downhillers taking some practice runs:

The end.

But wait, there's more. As a special offer, only for those of you who have read scrolled this far, the days' photo album contains 107 pics, about equally split between XC and DH.