So, we are finding our own ways to stay in MTB cycling. A lot of racers are still riding 10 years old Cro-Moly frames with a rigid forks. Some racers are still racing with county lever brakes on their bikes. Chains and cassettes and tires are also the big problem, so we are using the chains till they get broken and then we put them together and ride again, cassettes are usually being changed after 20.000 km-s. About tires, it`s really hard to get some good tires for a good price, so, when we get them, if they get a scar, we tail them.
My way to get some good parts for my bike is writing the letters to MTB companies, and foreign MTB clubs. Around a Month and a half ago, I have received the package from people of Delaware Trail Spinners. When I had opened it I was so surprised. They have sent me a bunch of extra parts, in fact, they sent me so many parts that all of my club mates will ( have ) got something. Special thanks they deserve because of the money that they have tucked of a club budget to send the box to me. You can`t imagine how much it costs to send a really large package from USA to Yugoslavia ( ex Yugoslavia, now Serbia and Monte Negro ). So, I would like to say thanks to all the people from Trail Spinners, specially William C Short and Rick Henry because they tuck all the weight of gethering the parts, prepering the package and sending it out. They hepled me staying in MTB racings for next season. I really do hope that in next years the situation in my country will get much better, so that no one of my friends including me will have to ask for help.
So, that`s my storry. I hope you`ll be will publish it.

Best regards from Yugoslav racer!!

Damir

If you want to drop Damir a note: here's his email: andricd@ptt.yu

The tradition of DH races continued but until 2001. the same racers were taking places in both XC and DH races and on the same bikes. Till this day in my country there are only few real DH bicycles ( but even those bikes are more FR bikes than DH ), so we are still racing Downhill on XC bikes and with out adequate safety equipment.

So, as my specialty are Cross Country races the rest of the story will be about it.
My first race was in Year 1995. since than I am doing around 5 races per Year and my results are getting better each year. We are having around 15 races per Year and some of them are a kind of international races, as there are some Macedonian racers as well. The races are mostly organized by local MTB clubs on the mountains near buy their towns. There is also the one of the best organized races on the mountain Kopaonik which is our biggest SKI center, it`s usually a Yugoslav Championship and it`s organized by the Rescue Tim Of Kopaonik ( we call it GSS ). On this event on Kopaonik we are having also the only traditional DH race in Yugoslavia, the day after XC Championship. One of the most attractive races in the season is Frushogorski Marathon, it`s a marathon race on the mountain of Fruska Gora and it`s around 80 km long. It goes trough a beautiful landscapes and trough the lands of few Monasteries.
The bikes that we ride. At first I need to say that there are no sponsors of any kind for mountain bike racers, so all the racers are finding their own ways to keep their bikes rideble.

Some of our older racers are having shops or services on their own so, they are able to get better parts, but us, younger and students are not able to earn enough money for parts as the money that a average people can earn here is around 50 USD.