Here is a picture of Ernie Leos, rider #127, during one of the practice runs for the SGDC’s Gravity Shootout downhill mountain bike race. In this photo you can see him catching some air on one of the jumps. Way to go Ernie! Ernie is from Santa Maria, California. He raced in the beginner men’s 15-18 class.

If you’ve just stumbled onto our blog for the first time, Welcome! Thanks for dropping by. We hope you’ll take a look around the rest of the web site too, starting with our Race report, if you haven’t already seen it. The race report shows more highlights from the April ‘08 Santa Ynez Valley event, plus there is a limited-time offer of free photos for the riders who we photographed during the race and the practice runs prior to the race. So please take a look!

Our site also features a Comparison Search Engine For Bike Gear, which you can find by either clicking that link or hitting the “home” button at the top left of your monitor. The Comparison Search Engine is a handy tool which will help you find the best pricing on whatever bikes, bike parts or other cycling gear you might be interested in finding. How it works: you enter some keywords- any combination of keywords, like the name of a bike you want to look at, or the name of a part for your bike, or a brand name like Fox or Shimano. The comparison search engine will search many different bike stores and other sites- including Jenson USA, Price Point, , ebay and lots of others. The Comparison Search Engine will save you the hassle of checking lots of different stores to see who’s got the gear you want, and it will also show you who’s got the best price. The comparison search engine is completely free for you to use. It includes mountain bikes, BMX bikes, road bikes, plus other stuff that cyclists would be interested in (everything from Fox Jerseys to tents for camping at your next event. Did I mention that we might be camping at the next Santa Ynez Valley event? It looked like everyone else was having so much fun camping that we want to camp next time too!) At any rate we hope you’ll take a look at the Comparison Search Engine and let us know what you think.

If you have any additions or corrections to this post, please comment! Thanks so much for dropping by.

Posted by: Amy S.

Here is a picture of Colton Arbuckle, rider #178, during the SGDC’s Gravity Shootout downhill mountain bike race. Colton is from San Luis Obispo, California. He raced in the beginner men’s 15-18 class.

This photo was taken during the race as Colton was approaching the S-curve. You can’t really tell from the photo how tight this curve was, especially for a beginner. This is the kind of stuff my husband Mike lives to ride- he loves technical trails, but personally, I’d say this spot was a doozy! My hat’s off to Colton and all the riders who gave the race a shot. Great job, guys.

I’ve already posted lots more photos from the downhill race. To see highlights from the race and the awards ceremony, please see our race report. Or, you can look at more MTB race photos that are posted right here on our cycling blog. If you have any additions or corrections to this post, or for that matter any page or post on this web site, please comment! Also, feel free to share any thoughts, insights, or observations you may have. MTB racing commentary is always welcome.

Also, we hope you’ll check out our Cycling Comparison Search Engine too! Thanks for visiting.

Posted by: Amy S.

Here is a blurry photo of Hayden Jamieson, rider #104. Sorry about the bad photography; I was dog-sitting plus trying to take pictures, and apparently the 2 activities don’t mix as well as I’d hoped. At any rate, this picture of Hayden was taken on Sunday, April 13th during the race. Hayden raced in the Beginner Men 15-18 class. Hayden, hope to see more of you at upcoming races- and if I do I will try to get a better picture next time! Hayden is from Mammoth Lakes, California.

Edited to add a couple of reminders:

You can click here to see our race report from the Gravity Shootout downhill race in the Santa Ynez Valley April 12-13 if you haven’t already seen it- I have more than 50 photos posted with highlights from the race plus the awards ceremony.

Also, please check out the rest of our site too if you haven’t already. We’ve got some articles posted (with more on the way soon), plus a fantastic new cycling comparison search engine that will hopefully save you a lot of time and money when you shop for bike gear. Enjoy!

Thanks a lot for dropping by.

Posted by: Amy S.

Just a couple of reminders:

1) You can click here to see our race report from the SGDC Santa Ynez April 12-13 event if you haven’t already seen it- I have more than 50 photos posted with highlights from the race plus the awards ceremony. Enjoy!

2) Please visit our Bicycle and Cycling Comparison Search Engine. This handy tool will help you save a lot of time and money when you shop for bike gear. Let’s say for example you’re looking for some Avid Juicy brakes. Just go to the Bikeoptions.com Comparison Search Engine, enter “Avid Juicy brakes”, and it will find a whole bunch of different Avid Juicy brakes from a whole bunch of different bike stores online. You’ll be able to see at a glance who has them, and who has them at the best price. The comparison search engine is completely free for you to use. We hope you’ll find it helpful!

You can scroll down to see lots more cycling, MTB and racing photos. Thanks so much for visiting bikeoptions.com!

Posted by: Amy S.

Here is a photo of Mark Escobar (rider #101). You can’t really tell from the photo how tight this curve was, but it was a technically challenging spot, especially for a beginner. This picture of Mark was taken on Sunday, April 13th during the race. Mark raced in the Beginner Men 15-18 class. He is from Santa Maria, California.

Posted by: Amy S.

Here we have a photo of James Koch (#101) as he’s approaching the S curve on the trail. This picture of James was taken on Saturday, April 12th during one of the practice runs before the race. James raced in the Sport Men 40+ class. He is from Atherton, California.

Posted by: Amy S.

Faster than a Santa Cruz “Speeding” Bullit, and able to leap this year’s mini jumps in a single bound.

Way to work it.

Bring it…

Posted by: Mike S.

Sorry motorcycle race fans, but Dave had to step in at the last second for Ben Bostrom #155. If it is any consolation he is pretty quick on a Kawasaki Ninja 600!

My kind of rider, cunning and inventive. Rumors have it Shimano may be coming out with a comparable model available for Christmas.

All padded up and ready to roll…

Catch you at the finish line!

Posted by: Mike S.

At left, I’ve posted a photo of Adrian Thome, (#142), which was taken of him during one of the April 12th practice runs for the Gravity Shootout downhill mountain bike race. Adrian raced in the Sport Men 19-39 class. He is from Altadena, California.

Below is another photo of Adrian, also taken on the same day. I shot this aerial view while hitching a ride in the helicopter. OK, not really. The real story: This photo was taken after I had just arrived on the scene at the event, and I had no idea where I was going. I was on the wrong trail all together- which is typical for me, the “directionless wonder” photographer. I ended up hiking quite a distance up a hilltop that was somewhat above the correct trail. Luckily for me, I spotted some of the riders whizzing by below, or I would have been lost for a long time. When I took this picture, the camera was zoomed in as far as it would go, and even considering that, Adrian still looks like he is a long distance away. One thing I do like about this photo: it actually shows how extreme the curve was on that part of the trail. I’m not sure that my other photos manage to accurately convey that.

If you have any additions or corrections to this post, please comment! Comments are always welcome. Thanks for visiting!

Posted by: Amy S.

Here are a couple of pictures of Geoff Fisher (#89) which were taken on Saturday, April 12th, during the practice runs before the Gravity Shootout Downhill mountain bike race. Geoff raced in the Sport / Men 19-39 class. He is from Fontana, California.

Everyone, please feel free to post & comment, especially if you notice that I made a goofy typo or other error. But even if I didn’t, I’d love to read your comments about the race, or about biking in general. So don’t be shy!

Posted by: Amy S.