This looks like so much fun. Along with dual slalom now basically existing only to be an Enduro stage (cough*Mammoth & Sea Otter*cough), I say bring back 4 cross as a stage too!
Was part of a NATO mission and stayed in Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland for a few months. Went to the local pawn shop and bought a low end Merida to ride in the local hills on down time. When I left I gave the bike to the security guard of the building we were housed in. Dude was stoked. Good memories.
@noizz: we weren't in Drawsko Pomorskie proper. We were out in the country a few miles out. When I say "hills" I really stress hills, like, a lot of up and down, not anything consistent. The place we stayed at was in a different town but I don't remember the name, all I remember is the gas station off of the main road that we went to and bought beer and these hot dog type edibles that they squeezed the condiments into a cyclindrical before shoving the dog in haha. Drawsko was about 2 miles (3.2 K) down the road from this gas station. The hills weren't bad, a lot short bursts of climbing but it was better than running haha. Beautiful forests and country roads. Took a few trips to Berlin and went to Szczecin a few times. Was lucky enough to go to Warsaw for a few days and then went to Riga, Latvia for a few weeks and chilled out on a liaison assignment.
@BartDM: he was pretty stoked. I broke the deraleur hanger on one of my last rides and he told me he had a friend who could fix it. Overall the trip was great. We had a field day/BBQ with the Polish Soldiers and we traded unit patches, head gear and over all attire. My 101st combat patch and U.S. flag patch netted me some cool Polish flag patches and a beret (patches these days are all Velcro so it was easy to take off haha). We had Canadian and German Army Soldiers there, also. I had to escort a Polish full-bird Colonel around and show him all the displays we had of our weapons systems and their platforms. I just remember the dude was cooler than any Colonel I ever met in the Army even though he was slightly insulted that a Captain was escorting him haha.
Yeah, I can't believe what these guys are risking for that kind of measly pay, not to mention travel costs to participate in an international competition circuit. The winner gets paid significantly more at a regional DH series in the US (Eastern States Cup, for example).
Kudos for the gesture tho, doubt the security guards are overpaid