Greetings! We hope that you had a great summer and are now looking forward to winter and then the 2023 Mtn Bike season. Some of you may have already heard that Rory and I are in the process of retiring from the race scene. We have been promoting and timing events since 2002, which equates to close to 2200 events and averages over 100 events a year. We love what we do, but we are getting older. It is our goal that our retirement does not bring the end to what we have built, and with that said, we are very excited to announce that we are passing the West Side Mtn Bike Series torch to Michael Copenhaver and Ella Dorband's company Bell Lap Productions, LLC. Michael and Ella have been big supporters of the West Side Mtn Bike Series for several years and have been sponsors for the women's purse payouts. We believe this is a great opportunity for the series and we will be around for the 2023 events, to assist with the transition but will follow their lead in this. You should expect the series to be very similar in 2023, but they have the option to make any changes they see fit. Michael and Ella are part of the cycling community, from Mtn Biking, Cyclocross, Road Racing, and at the Velodrome as well.

Michael has been in the bicycle industry for ten years and currently owns Bayview Bicycles on Whidbey Island. He's been racing nearly that long, primarily cross country, but has also raced enduro, cyclocross, road, and track. When he's not riding or fixing bikes he dabbles in action photography. If you've raced with BuDu in the last two years, odds are that he's photographed you!

Ella Dorband is co-captain of Breakfast Racing Team, a multi-discipline team of 53 women, trans, femme, and non-binary racers in the Seattle-ish area. She currently races cyclocross, cross country mountain bike, and track. Previously, she was a Lead and then Board Member at The Bikery. Outside of the bike world, she is a technical project manager and art enthusiast.