On the road...still

This is all so crazy! Two weeks ago I left California thinking I was going to Texas for a freestyle show. I had no clue what was in store but I can definitely say that I'm SO excited to be here. Currently I'm back in Duluth Georgia hanging out at the house of one of the other guys on tour. He has generously opened his home up to us as we are in between shows.

The first show was in Gonzales Louisiana and after that we spent the whole week hanging out here in Duluth. Thursday afternoon we drove a couple hours down the road to Augusta Georgia for our next two day event. The weekend typically goes something like this: Arrive in town Thursday night, check out the venue and spend the evening at the hotel. Friday around noon we usually head to the arena to set up the ramp and practice. This is kind of the most stressful yet most freeing point of the weekend. Every time I hit a ramp on a new setup its a little nerve racking. Granted we're using the same ramp, the same landing and the same quads, but it just still makes you nervous. Additionally we were riding on a cement floor so that made the run up to the ramp a little different. At first it was really tacky and you could accelerate quickly but as the day wore on it became polished and really slick. We didn't have a ton of room for a take off so you really had to be on the gas.

None the less we set up the ramp and I motored around the arena for a bit and finally went for it. First jump was perfect!!! I raised my arm and gave a couple fist pumps as I could breathe a sigh of relief. After that it was game on and I went through my whole bag of tricks and finished off practice satisfied. From there it was back to the hotel.

On show day we arrive two hours before it starts just so the promoter can keep track of us and make sure we're all there when the lights go down. The show starts at 8pm and they dim the lights and begin introductions. Not all shows are done in the dark but this one was and its so fun when they introduce you to tear around the stadium while they've got you in a spotlight. Its way fun and on Saturday night as I was in a bit of a dancing mood I hopped off my quad and busted out the worm. It doesn't work so well in riding gear!

That was the format for both nights and the show went awesome. A couple highlights were the pit party on Saturday before the show. Fans had an opportunity to come to the pits and meet all the athletes and take photos etc. It was a lot of fun and I love meeting the kids that are too shy to come up and say hi. Another funny thing was my debut of the "Cha Cha Slide." The promoters have rather interesting music played before the show starts and upon hearing the beats drop I wandered out onto the floor and busted out my best moves for the nearly 5000 people in the stands. It was hysterical and I didn't really know what I was doing but the crowd got into it and the promoter even told me I had to do it again the following night. I'll have video soon!

Lastly kind of the icing on the cake was getting a photo in the local Augusta Chronicle. A kid brought the paper to the pit party to have it signed and I was totally blown away. Such a neat blessing to have some added exposure and get my name and picture put in the paper. I ordered a few copies today so I'll post it up here when I get back to Californioa and get the paper.

The photos I included are of the pit party and our set up for the show.