Perplexed on the state of mountain biking

I am perplexed at what actually is the state of mountain bike racing in my area and across the country. There are just so many mixed signals that I can't figure out what is up. And the fact that I live and train in a little vacuum with very little contact with other cyclists skews the real picture.

facts, figures, observations:
Mountain biking is not the darling it used to be. Sponsorship $, salaries, etc are way down from where they used to be. But the whole 24 scene, the solo scene, the endurance craze, off road stage races, etc. is growing like crazy. There seems to be no shortage of events in CO and other western states. Mid atlantic seems to be still going strong as does south, and north. NORBA races still draw big fields.

Racing in Western VA seems to be on the decline, yet some of the races last year had record turnouts. I don't even know yet if the VA state series is going to happen. The eastern part of the state and the northern part seem to still have a strong racing scenes. But around here XC seems to be almost dead. Maybe it is because I just don't know anyone anymore.

When you have a family sometimes you start to live pretty insular. And actually getting outside to ride is so shoot from the hip that it is impossible to actually schedule stuff sometimes. So I am just losing touch with who is actually riding. I think there is like one guy who I get out with on a regular basis.

We used to have a really active and energetic team. But over the last years we haven't brought in new blood, and the existing members grew older, moved away, had families, and cycling/racing moved down the food chain until the team ended up being just an email list serv.

This year the shop has revamped the team and brought back a ton of energy into it. With some key individuals bringing a lot of momentum, but it is all focused on the road scene and event riding. Event riding being organized centuries especially one we are famous for, the Mountains of Misery. I was all pumped again to be part of something energetic but alas, they said that there isn't a Mountain bike component to the team. Well I guess if no one is racing mtb than that explains that.

But it just sort of took the wind out of my sails. Off road racing is what I'm training my ass off for. It is my personal stage for battling my demons and pushing to the limit. Sure I like riding on the road, and I might even like racing on the road, but for now XC is where I am focused.

Just bums me out that I either don't know the right people to be hanging with or there just isn't the XC buzz here. It's perplexing, and I guess I'm just in the real minority here. Through the net I can still feel connected to the energy that still surrounds mtb racing. But I just wish there was more local support. I need to make an effort to seek out and find some more hardcores to ride with to drag me around the mountain. That is how you get better, by riding with people over your head and pushing to keep up. It is so easy to get complacent riding the same trails alone.

done ranting.