By Keith Darner

It was my first real trip to bootleg, I usually go there for Yeti to help with the trade show and do promotional stuff like hang out in an Elvis outfit. However In January I was headed there with Five guys in my truck and five guys coming from else where. The trip there was a total nightmare. As we had terrible driving condition, including snow and slick roads. We were pulling the RPM trailer because we were hauling demo bikes for people on the team to ride once we were out there.

We made a food stop in Grand Junction for some amazing Mexican food. There wasn't a person under six foot tall in the cab of what is normally a pretty big truck. But when you stuff 5 six foot plus guys in that cab it all the sudden becomes very small. In addition add the foul driving conditions and all the sudden you have a 12 to 14 hour trip. The amazing thing is a car coming from New Mexico with three other riders taking a completely different route in similar conditions arrived at the exact same time which was like 11:30 in the PM. Our other team member who came the next morning from Arizona did a 180 off the interstate into the median, or shall I say his dad did, which woke up from a dead sleep. He said that he nearly shat himself when he woke up and they were going backwards through the median.

After a night of good rest we woke pretty early and had a great breakfast at one of the local diners. Then it was off to the trails of bootleg. After some bike adjustments we were off to the sweet shuttle runs of bootleg. I for one was very disoriented my first two runs. I was late with my breaking and my sense of balance was just not right. In my defense I had not been on my DH bike since October 6th which was like three and a half months earlier.

The real purpose of the trip was to select our two or three fastest riders for an elite junior program that Yeti is putting together in an attempt to put a few more of our riders at the world championships. Friday was just fr riding and getting used to the 303's. On Saturday we were to do timed DH runs to select those riders. After a great day of downhill runs we went back to the house we rented which was sweet and cleaned up and went to dinner.

Saturday morning two more of our riders showed up and again we all did DH runs together sharing bikes. After lunch we did two more DH runs then it was time for the timed DH runs in which riders would be selected to attend the first Yeti Team Camp in April. We got both runs completed just as dusk was setting out over the western Nevada skyline. After a great dinner of homemade burgers and tater tots we all went to bed only to be awaken by the sound of ran drops falling on our sweet rental house.

Sunday we woke to a real rain storm and decided that we would forgo any DH runs and start the long drive home. I knew it was going to be a long drive after having viewed the weather channel. We did make a stop in St. George at a cracker barrel for an amazingly good breakfast. Three out of the five meals that were ordered that morning came with all you can eat biscuits and gravy. One of our juniors ate enough B&G for six people.

From there home we were in either a driving rain storm or snow. A trip that would normally take 12 hours wound up taking 16 1/2 hours. However the riding was amazing and it was nice to have most of the 2008 RPM team members together for the first time. it took me three days to catch up on my sleep and actually feel rested.