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| Q&A: Slalom Pro Mike Maysey (2489 Posts)
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July 19 & 20
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On 6/28/2003 Hamm
wrote in from
(66.63.nnn.nnn)
Mike, i don't wanna scare you, but that night, between the races, some of us adults are drink beer.
Hey, I talked to Sherman yesterday. He said he had a good session with you & PD in Santa Cruz. I bet the 3 of you were a sight on your PD proto's!
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July 19th & 20th
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On 6/27/2003
mike maysey
wrote in from
(67.192.nnn.nnn)
Hamm, thanks for pointing that out...yeah, I suppose so. I was thinking it was just gonna be a day trip, but now it's gonna be a weekend! See you then.
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Racing in July
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On 6/25/2003
Hamm
wrote in from
(63.175.nnn.nnn)
Mike, stoked to see your gonna make it down for WLAC on 7/20. Are you going to make a weekend out of it and do JPL on the 19th?
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Tunnel
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On 6/23/2003
mike maysey
wrote in from
(65.234.nnn.nnn)
I missed a good session I presume? Sirie and I were camping this weekend at Lake Berryessa. It was a spur of the moment decision. Left on Friday after work and came back last night at about 9pm...I'm plenty sunburned and fished out. Next weekend I'll be skating for sure.
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Tunnel Sesh...
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On 6/22/2003
Miko
wrote in from
(66.81.nnn.nnn)
Hi David! I guess you're around for the summer? Anyway, I worked today... skated yesterday. Nice tour of several hills as well as a couple first drops down some I've been eyeballing. Variety y'know.
I'm off thursday and would be into coming up for a ride. It might be nice to do a run or two on Tunnel, then go hit Snake and Claremont for a first go at them. Mike, Clayton, Eli?
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sunday
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On 6/22/2003
david
wrote in from
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miko, if you can make it up there will be a tunnel road session tomorrow....anyone else is welcome to.....
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Santa Cruz Free Ride...
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On 6/21/2003
Miko
wrote in from
(66.81.nnn.nnn)
I know it's late, but tomorrow (sat) I'm riding with Matt S. in Scotts Valley and elsewhere at 10am. Carving and downhilling. If there's interest in higher speeds, I'd be happy to do a tour of our faster spots. Call 831.588.8162 for directions to where we're at. -Miko
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YES!
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On 6/20/2003 Downhillchic
wrote in from
(207.114.nnn.nnn)
Mike I had an awesome ride with you this week. Thanks!
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Pleasure Tool
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On 6/16/2003 Hamm
wrote in from
(63.175.nnn.nnn)
Mike, Ed also makes bitching stickers.
You can design you own 'Mike Maysey' logo and he can do a run. Nice high quality vinyl stickers. I had him do some LCB stickers that look great.
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midtown freestyle
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On 6/16/2003
hc
wrote in from
(207.212.nnn.nnn)
hey all you bay area skaters,
there is gonna be a freestyle jam in palo alto this sunday.
(details under freestyle forum)
come check out richie and gary.
and maybe learn a trick or two.
hc
p.s. maybe we can skate greer or sunnyvale later?
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things
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On 6/14/2003
john airey
wrote in from
(63.198.nnn.nnn)
mike there were two quality south swells in the last week,
but they don't really hit your beach.
And the wind funnel known as the golden
gate is hard on The Beach march to sept. see
http://sfports.wr.usgs.gov/cgi-bin/wind/windbin.cgi,
note the big arrows usually blowing right over your house
from march to september.
I will wave-grovel tomorrow south of you
but wouldn't necessarily recommend it. No south swells on
the radar right now.
You should just skate all summer and then hang up your
skate in october after you are world champion and surf
october to the end of january 31st when
The Beach is at its best, offshore and barrelling, then
quit right as it gets nasty, go snowboard for a month
and then pick up the skate in march.
this type of plan seems to work for mollica, eh?
anyway, good luck on your next race.
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FCR Standings?
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On 6/14/2003
mike maysey
wrote in from
(67.192.nnn.nnn)
Nobody seems to know what the standings are and frankly, I don't really care. I'm just having fun racing with all my friends.
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Thanks John
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On 6/14/2003
mike maysey
wrote in from
(67.192.nnn.nnn)
so how have the waves been lately? My knee is probably healed enough now to give it another go. I was actually thinking of trying to get some waves today. Think it's worth a look?
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congrats on podiums!
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On 6/14/2003
john airey
wrote in from
(63.198.nnn.nnn)
mike, congrats on your 2 podiums.
What are the FCR standings? Do you have a
chance for the series title?
I used to always tell myself that if you are close it is
just a matter of time, I hope you continue to have fun,
cause those wins will come. Good luck on the next one.
I seem to be doing a lot of park riding and surfing,
not much slalom practice,
but if we have any local events, I will try to
come and be cannon fodder for the up and coming.
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Wheel Wear
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On 6/13/2003
mike maysey
wrote in from
(65.234.nnn.nnn)
Hey Dave...don't worry about the coning wheels...that means you're skating more than keyboarding. The coned wheels will actually increase grip. Personally, I prefer to use coned wheels on steeper courses where speed generation isn't an issue and traction is difficult to find. The trade-off is they do tend to roll a little slower, so on courses where speed is tough to muster, I use newer wheels that are less coned. One more thing...coned wheels are better to practice on because they force you to pump harder to generate more speed.
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Wheel wear Q&A
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On 6/13/2003 Dave
wrote in from
(67.2.nnn.nnn)
My back wheels (Avalon 80A) are coning inside edges.
Is this normal wear? Will this make the wheels slower?
more or less grip? Do you use fresh wheels for races?
Thanks Dave
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perpetuity
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On 6/12/2003
MARK MCCREE
wrote in from
(65.41.nnn.nnn)
Mike, It was fun racing with you this past weekend. The subject of the past few posts are more than news to me. I have long before agreed to the fact that venue sanctioning is the key to a successfull program.
You can't sell baseballs and bats without little league, minor league, major league and the world series.
You can't sell an activity to the viewing public without the players WITH the bats and balls.
Right now I believe it is important for all of the equip. mfr'rs to re-invest in some kind of venue endeavor. Simply offering product is only half of the equation.
I have vowed to make sure that a percentage of every $ spent by racers goes to a promotion of some kind of slalom racing.
I did it in '78 with ARA, and I am positioning myself to do it again. I challenge all of the "players" in this game to get with me and start a proactive move toward guaranteeing the financial stability of venue promotion.
Without it, we are selling baseballs and bats to a gameless group of people - how long can that last?
McCree
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Thanks Don, Jack, John
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On 6/12/2003 John Gilmour
wrote in from
(206.243.nnn.nnn)
I have to agree with Don O'Shei. Without races there is no sport as we now know it. Why practice if there are no races? Why buy the gear if there are no races? I slalomed for exercise and fun for myself...but for the most part it is difficult to involve people in slalom if there are no races.
Jack, Don, and John and their other partners took an important step forward in making a series out of slalom and that has encouraged others to do the same. Dan Gesmer seems to attend more races than any racer- Thanks Dan.
It has been interesting to watch the sport wake up again. Each time there is a hurdle, people have to prove that the sport IS worth it and people ARE interested. There has to be interest for people to invest and for some it is a chicken and egg thing. For instance...Terence Kirby invested some of his money to buy up all the remaining stock of hyper stradas from all of the Roller Rinks. Terence proved that there was demand for slalom wheels...which led people to start making wheels for our sport again.
EBAY has been key to viewing demand for slalom products in our early stages. I watched prices of Turner Summer Ski decks soar..and this information was valuable for Howard to step into the slalom market. Demand for trucks also increased and we saw demand for Offset trucks increase.
As someone who slalomed in contests and had long stretches without contests I can tell you that I was pretty content slaloming on the same gear year after year- (want more challenge....just change the course). Contests make you want to get better gear and provide a market for the industry to make better gear. Better gear that is SPECIFIC for our sport lends credibility to our sport.
Right now there is not much lacking to really make this fly. I'd personally like to see at least three times as many competitive racers, but as it stands we have what I think is the minimum to have a sport. We have specialized gear...which will likely continue to improve. We have the beginnings of a Sanctioning body for the USA and the possibility of a reawakening for Europe, and another smaller competition circuit in Japan. Videos are also key and Maria and Kenny and John all have helped to make it possible to see our sport. High production video events that were televised are important ...but current accessibility to Contest footage seems to be just as important. Looking at Vlad's Breck photos...you don't have to be a slalom racer to see the enthusiasm for Gary's event.
The one thing that is missing... A place to do slalom in your home town. Perhaps the whole "cone issue" has to be revisited. I think it has been the one thing that has always made it difficult for people to get into slalom.
The other thing...a $79 timing system.
As for Mike who said...
"As for the tight race...I rode a White Turner Fullnose classic, made by Vince"
props to showing that the Classics are more than Classics- they still are full on racing machines. Invest in the gear some of it gets better with age.
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FCR
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On 6/12/2003
Hamm
wrote in from
(63.175.nnn.nnn)
Miko, your post is DEAD ON TARGET.
Some simple communication about the status of the season would be HUGE to the racers depending on them.
Elsinore results?
Season Standings?
La Costa & Tahoe? they are not even on the FCR Website.
Help us!
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Tahoe, LaCosta and Morro FCR races
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On 6/12/2003 gary
wrote in from
(17.104.nnn.nnn)
FCR, what dates are scheduled for the Tahoe, LaCosta and Morro?
please let us know so we can plan ahead.
thanks.
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FCR/MM/Miko/HG
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On 6/11/2003
John Ravitch
wrote in from
(64.163.nnn.nnn)
I actually agree with all 4 of your posts - we need more positive and constructive dialogue - maybe better offline, out of the spotlight for the moment, so we can move things forward more efficiently.
All of us are very busy with our lives, but at the end of the day FCR and Howard's business have done a tremendous amount for the sport - I, for one, am very thankful. It has really changed my life - to get off my butt at 41 and race in an organized venue with new friends, is a joy come true. I have enjoyed the whole racing scene which is why I keep coming back. Do I think there is room for improvement - yes, certainly.
The key is looking at the reality of the situation and deciding what can be done within the limited financial resources available - we all do this every day in our professional careers, maybe we can also do it here.
Here are 5 steps we use at IDEO to move things forward:
1. seperate the people from the problem
2. focus on mutual interests, not positions
3. invent options for mutual gain
4. insist on usinq objective criteria to evaluate options
5. execute the idea and repeat the cycle
I want to keep racing. As many people know, I am available to help however I can on the marketing front. Just ping me and lets start the discussion. I had a great time at Breck - I appreciate everything that Gary, Jack, Don, John, Jen and Dan did for us. So if I can return the favor - call or email me. If this racing thing slips through the cracks or does not evolve based on all learning we've had since GGP a few years back - it will be a real shame.
Thanks,
John Ravitch
415-615-5054
jravitch@ideo.com
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FCR Races!
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On 6/11/2003
Miko
wrote in from
(66.81.nnn.nnn)
To further clutter up Mike's house.
Nice to hear from you Don! I'm bummed that my own schedule has kept me from getting to Elsinore and Breck. I made it to the Slalom Cross and it was awesome.
I'm totally stoked to hear about Tahoe, La Costa and Morro Bay and look forward to them. Are they going to occur on the previous dates posted? I've had them on my calendar for awhile now, and would love to get my dates locked down with my employer so I can plan to attend. Otherwise I may end up hosed again and be stuck watching from my computer. I LOVE to race, and I think you know that. Help me get to the races with some dates!
Oh yeah! Is Catalina still planned as a post-worlds shindig?
I was losing hope about '03 there too Don, and would comment that simply posting a monthly update and hello to us would really go a long way.
I've bitched about a few courses, but get on them and work the details out and race, and I go home stoked. I learn something every time. I've absolutely loved many of the courses and continue to replay memories of those weekends, and know I will until the day I die. This has been an incredible rebirth of the sport.
You guys (and ncdsa) are also responsible for an extended worldwide community and many, many new friends, for which I'm very, very thankful. I'm also convinced that you, Jack, John and co. are directly responsible for the growth of the sport. Are you going to be able to get on a board and race with us this year?
All the best!
-Miko
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FCR
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On 6/11/2003
hg
wrote in from
(208.14.nnn.nnn)
Don -
As some of your comments are directed at me, I'll take the liberty of further cluttering Mike's forum with a response ...
1. I think it's fair to say that I have supported almost all of the events on the slalom race calendar at some level or another over the past 1.5 years, not the least of which were FCR events, and I look forward to continuing that support at some level.
2. I can't speak for the other vendors, but I'll wager that I have a substantially larger tax write-off than you for the expense of supporting the slalom "industry" in 2002.
3. As the 2003 race season unfolded, I did not get the same sense of commitment from FCR to race organization that we saw in 2002. However, your presense, along with John and Jack in support of Gary at Breck gave me a sense of renewed commitment and enthusiasm to the support of racing, and I was greatly encouraged to see this.
I truly meant no disrespect to what you have contributed to the sport, but I was concerned about your lack of visibility and accessibility. From your statements, it seems that my concerns were not well founded.
Howard
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Thanks Don
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On 6/11/2003
mike maysey
wrote in from
(67.192.nnn.nnn)
I agree, FCR has most definately made some tremendous contributions to the sport as we know it. Without you guys, I don't think the sport would be enjoying any of the success it's seen in the past couple years. Thanks to Don, Jack, and John for putting up with all of us at the races. Lord knows we can be a handful! I come to the races to race. And hey, some of the courses were great and some were not the kind of courses I'd set for myself, but I skated and had fun anyway. Keep it up. I for one appreciate the time and effort you guys invest so this silly ass sport can continue.
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99
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On 6/11/2003
Don O'Shei
wrote in from
(172.198.nnn.nnn)
Hi Mike,
For some reason there has been a lot of off topic posting in your forum so unfortunaItely I have to compound the discourtesy by adding to that.
I guess I have to make a few points:
1. All prize money from last season has been paid out.
2. I believe anyone that posts anything controversial without providing his identity and a method for contacting him directly such as an email address is a coward. 99 you in particular are troubling because you are very critical but make it very difficult to assess your perspective because I have no idea who you are. Slalom Hack is a similar character.
3. I have no hard feelings against the ISSA or any particular style of course or any particular racer. Its all a market mechanism. If you don't like the FCR approach then don't race. If you don't like ISSA don't race. But there seems to be this need to tear the FCR series down by a lot of people. If you disagree with Arab fine but leave FCR out of it.
4. As to courses, I believe that FCR races have featured a great variety of courses. The only exception is that we haven't and won't do any flatland courses and we won't do any straight cone courses. It's just not our thing. I think that those things are fine in specialized events. For example I watched the Paris video and thought the Special Slalom was fine, the GS was interesting, the tight was probably fun to compete in but it was dull as dirt to watch. Thats not meant as a criticism its just my reaction.
5. Without the races put on by Jack, John and I and our associates Henry, Gary, Dennis and Steve there would be no sport of slalom in its current state. That includes every state of the art piece of equipment and every single contest being held either in Europe or the US. Unlike a lot of people in the industry FCR doesn't make a nickel off of any of this. Anyone who doesn't acknowledge those facts is not being honest about the history of the past 3 years. Give it some thought, how much of what you are doing now (including many great events on the east coast and in europe) is happening because of the energy that came out of FCR related events. You can like or dislike the fact but you have to respect it. And if you don't then that says more about you than about FCR.
6. So far this year FCR has done 2 races (plus a vert pro race/all around event) at Lake Elsinore in a tremendous venue, we have gotten a significant number of famous Pros onto slalom boards and racing (including Andy McDonald, Brian Patch and Omar Hassan). Done 2 very competitive Bank Slalom races in Albuquerque, the Bahne Slalomcross, 3 races in Breckenridge and are planning a 3 race event at Tahoe, 3 races at Morro Bay and 3 races at la Costa. Thats 17 races by my count.
7. We have gotten hardly a penny in sponsorship money from anyone.
8. Howard I expect from your posts that you weren't aware of all this activity and that we can count on your sponsorship support for the future races.
Don O'Shei
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