How to sell a bike:

You are looking at a great cross country mountain bike that is ready to humiliate your friends with its stiff pedaling platform and climbing prowess, while also providing comfortable and confidence inspiring geometry that will have you flowing downhill with speed that your friends won't believe! What could be better than that you ask? (As if you need a better reason than those two in order to buy this rad bike!).

How about doing all of the above activities while perched on a bike that is unique and few other riders have. Yup, in a sea of Special-Ed-Ized, Tiny, and Santa Crutch you can be ripping by on a mythical beast that eats those others bikes for lunch and still has room to conquer the meanest climbs you can throw at her! Where do you ride? Fort Ord, Santa Cruz, Toro Park, maybe the bike path...you may have to tame her down a bit for that, but she will mind a confident owner.

If you have the desire to own a super cool bike that Santa himself wishes he could deliver Christmas cheer on, then get yourself over here and check this sucker out! Here's what she's rollin': Fox Suspension (the best!) F100x Fork and RP2 Shock XT Crankset SRAM X9 Shifters Avid Juicy 5 brakes SIZE LARGE - I am 6'1"...if you are a few inches on either side of that it should work well. The way the cool frame is built allows a nice, low stand over height.

THIS BIKE IS EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO MAKE YOUR FRIENDS WISH THEY STAYED HOME! What could be better? NOTHING. A full price purchase gets a new set of Kenda tires and Crankbrother Candy C pedals. As if that wasn't enough, the festive red color is PERFECT FOR SITTING UNDER YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE! YES!!!! BUY THIS BIKE! Email or call Brian at: 831.241.4259 Thanks for reading and happy pedaling!

PS: This bike has been ridden. It has some scratches. It has some character. If you are looking for some brand new bike that the other bikes will laugh at because they know it never sees the dirt, then look elsewhere. But if you are looking for a bike that the other bikes will be like "Whoa, Sam, do you see that sucker, watch out, she means business!" then that's what you get. Sissies need not apply. If you are not a sissie, come take a look.

Bobble-Head

Last night's group ride was an interesting one to say the least. Trying to fight off my periodic lock up of my shoulder muscles, I stretched the wrong way and BAAMMMOOO! My shoulder and neck locked up tighter than Eric's grip on a pre-ride whopper! In great agony, I still wanted to do the group ride so I scoured the house and doug out some old pain killers (Thanks Doctor Dean Edell for letting me know that those pills never really expire!). After doubling the prescribed dossage I felt more more loopy than Goofy at Six Flaggs but the shoulder was pretty much non-existant so I thought I was ready! I showed up ready to ride and I'm not sure if me or the pace was more high than usual, but I think it was a combination of the two...we ended up riding for almost 2 hours so it was a great ride. I have noticed that the rides are increasingly becoming faster and faster...perhaps it's time for 2 groups on these rides? The Hammer us senselsess group and then another brisk group that doesn't quite have the kick of the first group, but is still plenty fast and wants to get a ride in as well. What do ya'll think?

MOOSH!

Typically, for me, writing is something that I enjoy. However, when I am pummeled into the ground and suffering from dehydration and exhaustion it makes the fingers tough to move along the key board. However, I am feeling like if I can make it another day or so, I will be getting recovered enough to put something new up. Until then, maybe YOU could think of a reason as to why the federal government should fork over $25M to you...I'm sure you could do better than the Big Three Stooges...

Thursday Night Ride Recap

Nearly perfect conditions greeted us this evening as the moon hung above like a well fed honors student...full and bright! Perfect for Ninja Mountain biking! Even though everyone decided to ride with lights (don't forget rule #1), challenges still emerged as last weeks primo trail conditions (read: wet sand = no crashing) gave way to trails that had dried up and the mild return of the sand traps. Fortunately, there were no major casualties. The awards for the ride break down like this:
Best Pre Ride Meal: Whopper. Greg: "What did you have Eric?" Eric: "I had a whopper dusch bag!"
Best Save: Chris M. I don't think I have ever seen a ninja in training pull off a save of this proportion! It was a full speed, sand pit grabber that ripped him 15 feet clear across one side of the sand pit to the other. He handled it like a true ninja MTB'r though...which is to say "That t'wast shiaaat biaatches!" Nice once CM.
Best Crash: Hmmm, Brett and Eric were dueling for this one, but since Eric's crash landed him in a ferocious bush, I think we have to give him the nod.
Best Brakes: Some annoying mother trucker had the squekiest FREAKIN brakes of all time. It was only trumped by Eric (do we see a pattern here?) basically exploding and blowing his breaks to bits and pieces. Nice. You know what I say. Single Speed. Single Brake.
Best Light: I am pretty sure that most women agree that bigger is better. In that case Ryan kicks all of our butts. He had a battery that would make Ron Jeremy proud!
Best Race: Apparently, I didn't get the TPS report indicating that each incline is a flat out race. I am pretty sure CB and Mark were the primary winners of most of these battles. It's a good thing no Belgian posers were here, because CB and Mark would have put the hurt on that Boonen guy...
Riders we missed...Fast Frank, Shelly, Bri, Nathan, Travis...see you guys Sunday hopefully!
Until next time...do a skid for me.

Thanks Fast Frank.....

for talking about spiders and making my significant other paranoid as all hell!! This is what you get when Brian is holding the bowl of Salsa and thinks that there is a spider in his shirt. He hit his chest to kill the "spider" that was in his shirt and salsa went flying EVERYWHERE!! I have never seen anything like it. He still thought there was a spider under his shirt so he ripped off his sweatshirt all in a frenzy and was trying to rip his tshirt off too, all the while I was like there is NO SPIDER IN YOUR SHIRT!!!! Anyway, our kitchen had salsa everywhere.... so thanks Fast Frank!!!

Drilled...

Sometimes you run into the strangest people on your rides. Today, I had put in my "time" and was really looking forward to getting home and stepping into the HOT shower in order to thaw all of my frozen fingers, toes, and face. When along comes a smurf who used his subtle song to lure me into riding with him. "Come on, it will be fun, you can ride with me..." Conceeding, I proceed with caution. However, the ride seems pleasant. The smurf is kind and I think to myself "This was a great idea!"

And then out it came...the DRILL. Try as I may to keep up, I huffed and I puffed and I tried to blow the hill down...all to no avail. As I wheezed over the top I thought "Ah-ha! Fooled!" You would think I would have known better, since I am normally the kind hearted soul suckering other, poor, unsuspecting riders into this uncomfortable position!!!

I guess the cosmic "pay-backs" can be a bitch! Oh well, like I tell my poor suckers "It's good for you!" And I have to admit, it was.

Sunday Morning Group Ride

Here is a picture of Travis Brian and I in our Hammer gear, notice mine is pink. :) So yesterday morning was my (Bri's) first group ride with the Joselyn's crew. I thought that it would be like our Thursday night ride that was about 15 miles, longer than I normally go, but it wasn't too bad. Well I WAS TOTALLY WRONG! It was 2 1/2 hours, 22.6 miles of pain!! It was a lot of climbing and I had to try to keep up with those expert and solid sport riders. Don't forget that I am just a BEGINNER! Well I don't think that I will be a beginner for very long if I train with the smurfs (aka the Joselyn's team with blue kits and helmets) :) I ran out of water and I totally bonked, luckily thanks to Alex, he gave me some juice that helped get me back to the trucks. I was spent, it was the longest ride that I have ever done on a mountain bike ride before. I guess it is time to step it up. Look out Sport riders!

Believe it or not....

Brian really does work. For those of you that think that Brian is out training on his mountain bike and dirt bike all day every day, well he does in fact actually work. He is pro on his bikes because he is a super man blessed with good looks and great skills!! Boo ya!

Bri and Max

So we just got done watching Max for a week while Brian's grandma was out of town. He is so super cute and a total love bug, all except for the little accident in Brian's shoe. Whoops!! Anyway, just wanted to put up a picture of the adorable grover.... Oh and a picture of my new bangs too! :)

2008 Results Wrap Up!! And the winner is.....

JOE BUTLER
CLASS: REALLY OLD DUDES!!! (BEGINNER 55-59 XC)
#1 Ranked rider in Northern California State Championship Series


BRETT BUTLER
CLASS: Sport 25-29 XC
#1 Ranked rider Northern California State Championship Series
#2 Ranked rider in the State of California
#3 Ranked rider Southern California State Championship Series
#6 Ranked rider in the Central Coast Cross Country Series


BRIAN BUTLER
CLASS: Sport 30-34 XC
#1 Ranked rider in State of California
#2 Ranked rider in Northern California State Championship Series
#2 Ranked rider in Southern California State Championship Series


BRIANNE SPIERSCH
CLASS: BEGINNER WOMEN 19-24 XC
#1 Ranked rider in Northern California State Championship Series
#2 Ranked rider in Southern California State Championship Series
2ND place at California State Championships

Seca Zoo

Since we moved into the house there have been a lot of creepy, crawly, furry, scary, animals. Here are a few of them, we have had multiple bobcat sightings and Bri just absolutely loves them because they are little leopards!! We are trying not to have encounters like her grandmother has had with the bears..... so NO FEEDING THE ANIMALS!!!

King of Coe

It's official! Well, maybe unofficial, but Travis is a serious Henry Coe trail master! At last weeks group ride, he was impressive, riding the 7000+ foot of climbing loop with the front of the pack and then when the pace slowed, he said "it's been fun guys, see you next time" and headed out for a bit quicker pace. If you ever want a great ride that consists of climbing, climbing, and more climbing, than hit him up for a ride at Coe, I gaurantee, you will not be dissapointed!

Ying & Yang...

What can ruin the absolute incredible 'high' achieved from a day of moto in perfect dirt? Well, how about waking up the next morning, fumbling around for your workout clothes in the dark and then slipping your foot into a shoe containing a present from the dog you are watching? Yes, in fact, when your day starts out quite literally, shitty, it can ruin even the best high...

But, alas, the anger management courses must be helping because I did not throw the aforementinoed pooch across the room as hard as I possible (which would have been easy considering its size and that of a football...), nor did I unleash a torrent of profanity that would have surely waken my sleeping beauty. No, instead, I bottled this little tid bit up deep inside where hopefully, I will be able to call on it to ignite an anger filled fire needed to pass one more competitor or climb one last hill.

In the end, the shoes are in the trash, I made it through the morning workout and I am still pleased about the roosting that took place yesterday! I guess, the situation really is what you make of it...

House Crawl

Man, it's a good thing I have been ninja mountain bike training, because today all I did was crawl around under the house with Bri's dad and pal trying to install a furnace under our house. "Oh yeah, we should have that puppy installed pretty quick" I was told. Hmmm, 12 hours later? Well, let's just say it wasn't quite as vigorous as a 2 hour mountain bike ride, but I am wasted! I am not sure how many times I hit my head on floor joist in the literrally built "crawl space" but, I just gave up counting. Maybe next time I go down there I will wear my helmet! Hoping to hit the rain soaked trails tomorrow for some good fun! See you there!

Weaverville Recap!

Where do I begin in describing my new favorite race? True mountain bike trails, climbing, descending, hike-a-biking, scary "if I make a mistake, I wonder if I will ever stop falling down the mountain?" trails, and a perfectly located camp resort right across the street from the venue...dare I say with clean bathrooms? Yeah, like I said, it is my new favorite race!

So what does it take to displace Downieville? Well, D-ville is still incredible, but have you ever tried to pass there? The bozo's going down the hill aren't very accomodating at letting you by. At least here, there is plenty of passing and that makes a big difference. But, regardless of that, this course is simply too much fun! You basically climb to the top of the mountain in a combination of fireroads and tight and twisty flume trails, once to the top to traverse the ridges before coming down some of the best, most challenging XC single track I have ridden!

The race was going great for the Butler clan and whilst Dad and Bri battled it out for their respective class wins (and MORE importantly BRAGGING RIGHTS!), Brett was in solid position in the sport class, and I was trying to pass as many experts as possible!!! (Yeah, yeah, CB, I know I GOTS to move up for next season...) Me and this dude were battling on a cool downhill and then made the turn back up and around only to dump out on the fire road in the middle of a group that we had DROPPED MILES before. Hmmm, looks like some people missed the single track uphill.

Great, I LOVE battling to repass people I have already dropped...

By the time we got to the technical decent me and the dude had re passed most of them and then on the hike-a-bike, I ran past both of them, and thought, "TIME TO MOTO!" I was able to open up a gap and was thinking that this could be my best race of the year when all of a sudden...KAAAABLAAAMOOOO!!!! I went to turn and got body slammed to the ground! OUCH! What the HELL!!!??? Flat front tire, that's what the heck. Oh boy, was I upset!

I changed the tire as quickly as possible, but the damage had been done. I tried to chase back on, but we were not far from the finish, so I ended up in 2nd, by just about 1 minute. Oh well. It was still a great ride. Bri got 2nd too...both in her class and to dad. I think this makes the old man pretty happy! Brett ended up 5th.

What a great weekend! This is definitley one to put on the calendar for next year!!!

Ninja Mountain Bike School

Only the most serious pedalers can partake in this underground and little known, but highly effective training program. Do you think you have what it takes? Do you ofter wonder if there is anything to be scared of in the dark? Do you often wonder that you had reflexes like a ninja and riding skills like Hanz Rey? Then NINJA MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDING SCHOOL is for you!

Do not settle for cheap immitations. These can be easily spotted by a bunch of ninnies riding around a grassy park wearing blindfolds. EASY. Not a challenge. This does NOT count!

All you need remember is this:
The first rule of Ninja Mountain Bike Riding School is that:
1. Lights are for SISSIES!!!

See you at class...

Lagrange Fall Classic, Weaverville CA

If you weren't there you missed the best race of the year! More to come soon.....

Winning..... or not....

This is Bri at Santa Barbara for the second race. That's me in the pink!! (3rd Back) My arch nemesis is the first one on the left in the white!! Grrrr.. I was winning the race until I started having bike problems. I blew the seal on the rear shock while practicing the day before, it was still working then. During the race it got even worse, covered my bike in grease and wouldn't lock out. Then as I was ripping down this hill, a guy had crashed and was getting him and his bike back on the course and he jumped out in front of me. His camel back caught my jersey and threw me to the ground. It was my first crash in a race and I could have killed him!!! I was still winning until more problems with the bike.... the chain dropped 3 times on the back of the course where there was some climbing and that is where 2nd place caught me. It was a great race, I was doing really well and was pretty happy that I lead the first lap!