Photos by: Monique & Brittany Spaulding

Report by: Quinton Spaulding

We made our regular trip down to Fontana, CA last Friday, for round # 2 of the SHIMANO Winter Series. I was excited for the dirt conditions, as they had received rain and had a good chance of getting more precipitation throughout the weekend.

The “Early Bird” always gets the worm… right? – which translates to getting the primo spot for KHS in the pits.

Everybody showed up bright and early Saturday morning to setup, including the presenting sponsor.

Chumba was out there with their “Demo Crew!”

The “Mongoose Tribe” headed by Eric Carter, now falls under the GT Brand / Umbrella… wow!

Many other vendors were corralled in the pit area, and this “Fontucky Village” just grows bigger at every race.

“The Cheez” gets all the trophies out before the weekend kicks off as there’s no time in between the madness of handling the P.A. and the podium presentations.

It rained on-and- off all weekend, which made for fantastic race conditions… we were all stoked!

My biggest fan and the hero of my life -  Sydne Spaulding sports a trophy given to her by Free Agent Team Manager, Dale Holmes… Thanks Dale!

Team  Houseman in conjunction with SponsorHouse, held a 4X clinic Saturday morning.  KHS “B Team” rider Double D was a participant and said he learned a lot. I believe it went off well!

Campers filled the “free camping” area from one end to the other, even in the rain… hardcore!

So-Cal always looks so green and lush during the winter months.

Staging for the Cross Country early Saturday morning was quite an affair, conditions were PERFECT! With the continued rain throughout Saturday evening, the dirt was as good as it gets for a Mountain Bike race.

World Champ and FreeAgent Team Manager, Dale Holmes was in the house Saturday to compete in the 4X heats. Whenever Holmes is in attendance, he attracts attention.

The Free Agent Van goes everywhere Dale goes…rightfully so!

Holmes had some technical trouble Saturday during the 4X, he lost his chain, and along with it a few spots on the podium.  He still pumped the track to a 3rd place podium finish… amazing!

Pro Men 4X Top 5

The Shimano “kids race” was a huge hit, and it turned out that Moe’s (from www.mtnbikeriders.com) daughter was in the front row and had an unfair advantage over all the other kids on her KHS.

A Local News Channel checks in with Binggeli on how his off-season training went, and how he is progressing thus far for 2009.

Logan Binggeli had a great race run Sunday morning, he finished 7th  (just hundredths of a second off the podium).

Photo courtesy of: www.bluefirepictures.com

I also had a good run, finishing right behind him in 8th place! I was really pleased with my result… the training is paying off and I am on the hunt for a podium finish this series.

Pro Men DH  Results

KHS “B Team” rider, Rodney Bradley took a podium finish in the Downhill Sunday. Our “B Team” is really starting to grow in numbers, this is attributed to the presence of the Factory Team and an AWESOME “Grass Roots” program offered by KHS Bicycles.

Check out our Grass Roots Racing program at www.khsbicycles.com

A “Big Thanks” to all our 2009 sponsors!

The KHS Team will be back in Fontana, CA Feb 7-8 for round # 3 of the 15th Annual SHIMANO Winter Series. Please stay tuned for more updates and photos as they become available.

All the best!

Q.

Photos by: Monique & Brittany Spaulding

Report by: Quinton Spaulding

The registration line was  long  from the get go – it pretty much stayed this way all weekend until all entries were completed.

I was told by race promoter, and series owner, Don Jackson, that these were some of the best race entry numbers since the late 90′s.

Apparently even a horse tried to sign up in the “Clydesdale” class… his entry was denied for obvious reasons!!

The Southridge USA ladies did not get a break with registration the entire day on Saturday.  Even though they were always in control, they were visibly worn out at the end of it all.

Even though  an extra van and an additional full size flat bed truck was added to handle the herds of downhillers, the shuttle lines remained  long as always.

Southridge Racing has custom aluminum bike racks on these trucks to secure the bikes in.

They also pack them in with great care to avoid any damage to these very expensive bicycles.

Photo courtesy: Terry Martin

KHS rider, and recent renewal to the “Factory Squad” for 2009 (Logan Binggeli) had a good opening race for the season – he finished 7th in a field of 38. Binggeli has trained hard in the off season and has set the bar high for himself this year.

Photo courtesy: Terry Martin

I fared pretty well, finishing 15th, but really was looking to do better. The 40 mph Santa Ana winds killed my momentum down the wall, and this in the end hurt my overall finish.

PRO MEN DH RESULTS

KHS “B Team” Ripper – James Dehaven, on his way down the hill to a podium finish!

Jimbo finished 4th on the day.

Time to shut it down, pack it all up and tackle the drive home.  The drive home is always a time of reflection for me, reflecting on the events that have transpired throughout that particular trip, wondering if we made the right tire choices for the course, questioning where I could have made up those extra seconds that might have got me on the podium??  Most importantly… wondering how to  avoid eating McDonald’s at the next stop!!

KHS has a couple of new sponsors for 2009,

Amino Vital will be taking care of our hydration and supplemental needs and we will have Velo Saddles under us as we pursue more titles this season. We are extremely thankful to have a great group of co sponsors.

KHS Free Bike giveaway!!

Please click on the link below, and enter to win a KHS Velvet, this bike will change the way you ride, UP and DOWN the trail.

enter_to_win.php

The KHS Team will be back in Fontana, CA Jan 24-25 for round # 2 of the 15th Annual SHIMANO Winter Series. Please stay tuned for more updates and photos as they become available.

All the best!

Q.