John Russell, Higher Ground Adventures’ founder called me 7 weeks ago and said, “There’s a mountain bike race in Prairie City…all kinds of riders show up. Orange County could use that. Want to try?”

The next day the experiment was off the ground…within a week we had the printed and web material ready to go and within 4 weeks of our first planned August 26, afterwork, Midweek Mountain Bike Race we received our first registration.  3 weeks later we had 100 registrations with a week to the start. It seemed like it all had slowed down, and we weren’t sure what to expect.  Last Wednesday, August 26, was a total mystery at the time.  Then it hit.

Sunday, August 23, we received 65 and the following day another 60 registrations.  Seems to be a need for mountain bike racing in Orange County.  We had planned for 175 originally, thinking these two races this year would be our great kick off for next year’s 10 week series.  Little did we know what would happen next…pro racers, 315 racers in total and another 200-300 spectators came to Irvine Lake, last Wednesday to check out the race at Irvine Lake.

So here we sit on the other side of the first race, and the second race is quickly approaching. I’ll leave it to the “official, professional, unbiased press event coverage” to lay out what happened next; somehow John’s little idea went big, and Higher Ground Adventures has entered the world of mountain bike racing.  Since it’s a passion of mine, personally, I’m thrilled. But even bigger than that Over the Hump Mtn Bike Race Series touched a nerve with the Southern California Mountain Bike Community and gave us all a midweek, family friendly, grassroots, and yet competitive place to visit.  Come race or watch the next one, Irvine Lake, Tuesday Night, September 15, 2009: 6:00pm race start.

Over the Hump Race coverage at Oakley.com and OCRegister.com

Visit http://overthehumpseries.com/news/ for updates and photos.

See you at the races- Matt

You spoke we listened, “more information, pictures, regular updates, Twitter feed, contact information, resources, online forms, and details”. (For those die-hard Higher Ground fans who love a phone call and value our top-notch customer service: don’t worry we still list our phone number, answer it, and love talking to you).

What’s new:

• Specific information on our most frequented destinations and services
• Features” section on the home page: for quick links to specials and offerings
• We’re now on Twitter! Follow us at http://Twitter.com/HigherGroundAdv
• Resources page: for some added bells and whistles like Fundraising, Online Registration, and Coming Soon: Trip Insurance
• Blog section, where you’ll find weekly articles and updates to keep you informed on the latest at Higher Ground Adventures.

I want to personally think all of you, our valued customers who have been our biggest advertisers, and the reason why we thrive. Please keep sharing your experiences with your friends and colleagues. Referrals from friends are the most trusted endorsement known to man!

Lastly, a special thank you to my wife, Charity, for a great graphic presentation on the site, and Jason Loftis http://jloft.com, who made the site come to life. You both worked hard to get the site up and running, and give us a tool we can use everyday. Thank you!

So here’s to no more static pages and the New and Improved Higher Ground Adventures.

Big Adventures,

Matt