Plug me in

I'm alive tonight

Out on the streets again

Turn me on

I'm too hot to stop

Something you'll never forget

Take my fist

Break down walls

I'm on top tonight

Cause I'm hot, young, running free

A little bit better than I use to be-Motley Crue Circa '81

Just decompressing from this weekend's race out at Mellow Johnny's. Seems some guy that's won a few Tours decided to open it to us Mountain Bikers and let us shred some Texas hill country trails on his private ranch…and it didn't disappoint.

First, the course was pretty tech with lots of rocky drop off's, loose shale corners, and few little punchy climbs. When you add to that sweltering, oppressive summer Texas heat and North America's top XC racers, you have yourself a race that separates the men from the boys.

Let's just cut to the chase and talk about Max Plaxton's ride in the men's Pro XC race. One word comes to mind- Gnarly!

I've had the pleasure these last couple years to ride lead moto at some of these races, so I've witnessed some really good racing, by some of the worlds best riders. Having the best seat in the house, I've really learned about these guys style and how they race. But what I witnessed on Saturday, was equally impressive. Not because I'm a biased team manager, but as a racer I can appreciate the level of all these guys and what they do on their bikes.

To watch Max sit back against North America's best, and then proceed to ride those guys off his wheel for the last two laps, was really impressive. Not just because all the big boys were there, but the conditions on the day were so gnarly, it wasn't really a race we thought anyone would just go off the front and stay away.

In fact I was concerned when he went to the front and started turning the screws. I was sweating my ass off in the neutral feed just standing there, I couldn't imaging doing it at 180+BPM! But obviously the Canuck knew what he was doing, and steadily continued to build his lead up to over two minutes by the races end.

So a big congrats to Max on a great ride, and another solid Pro XC victory to his resume.

For those interested, check out a little Team Sho-Air/Specialized video recap on our team's Face Book Page-

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1262242129875&ref=mf

Till Next Time,

The Red Cowboy.