Lots and Lots....

It is amazing to look back on the time line of our lives and compare where we were and where we are now. Well over a year ago I started writing as a means of a release. It gave me some place to vent, to pray and if nothing else, a place to chronicle my journey through life. I started it October 28 2008 and its now a 37 page long running word document that I just keep adding to. Tonight I was reading back over some previous entries and I was amazed at the dramatic change I can see from then to now. Many of them jump out at me but one specific entry was from August 28 of last year, not quite 6 months ago.

I was in the process of building a new ramp and multiple times became worried that I was biting off more than I could chew. I would stand there in the shop and look up at this monster of a ramp and begin worrying that I wasn’t going to be able to do it. I laughed tonight when I read that because I remember sitting there and thinking about giving up on the freestyle thing all together. Six months down the road I’m certainly glad that I didn’t.

I can’t begin to describe how crazy this journey has been and what a ride it continues to be. The latest excitement, upon returning from my trip to the south, has been getting back on the quad and improving my game. Recently I took a step that I’ve been waiting for, for a while and pushed the ramp back to a 72 foot gap. That is the money distance. Nearly all of our shows we will be jumping at a 72 foot gap (the distance between the takeoff and landing ramps) so finally making the push and jumping that distance was a good milestone. The sessions since have gone well (play Video). I've been able to get through all of my tricks and add some new variations. As of right now, I have no more shows scheduled until April but I’m hoping that something comes up and they can use me at least once during the month of March.

In the mean time I’ve been spending a fair amount of time with some friends I met through the local Bible College. They’ve been awesome inviting me to come hang out on campus as well as join them for an off campus bible study. Its been a refreshing change of pace to be able to spend time with people my own age rather than being surrounded by youth all the time. That said however, I’m still working with the youth at Life Church and continuing to build relationships there. Youth ministry is definitely a challenge. I struggle with the lack of discipline at times and those students that just seem to lack respect. Its been a long time since I’ve worked with youth so maybe that is just to be expected but its been a challenge none the less.

That’s pretty much it for right now. I’m filling my days with various web,/networking activities, riding as much as possible and spending time with the youth at church and my new friends at the bible college. There is also a family here in town that has taken me in on multiple occasions and more or less adopted me. They’ve been SO generous over the last few months and are always eager to provide a home cooked meal and fellowship should I find myself getting lonely. As a means of expressing my gratitude I do my best to keep the fire stoked and warm and the kitchen sink free of dishes. Pretty fair trade off if you ask me!

I'll leave you with a couple of videos from the road...
Freestyle tour video
Dancing Quad Rider