Well done, Chris - endangered indeed.
The first time I met Eric was the result of posting here, calling for a group ride at Hungry Valley in what, the fall of 2000? Before departing on our "intermediate" loop, he approached me, concerned about his buddy's ability to hang with us (this just shows how well The Eel is concerned about the wefare of others); I assured him all would be fine, and as a result all in our group had one of the better days on the trails, and became more confident in their abilities.
Months later we finally connected for a club enduro at El Mirage - neither of us had computers. Since this was his first, I managed to get us on the same minute, only to show him how to totally blow the race, although we had an overwhelming dose of fun in the process - even manged to roost myself trying to get around a junior. From then he earned his way up in the rankings from novice to expert - not an easy feat, and well deserved.
Another highlight of that first enduro was meeting Eel Sr. Having ridden (east coast) enduros in his younger days, Sr. spoke with astonishment re: all our (west coast) speed changes, whilst he knew of simply 24 MPH - all day, all the time.
There's more albeit that's plenty for now.