Tuesday was sort of like a mini WMA reunion up in the mountains of California when Elizabeth Bash, Ashley Fiolek and I went (tried) snowboarding with some of our friends. Jeff and Spenser were really good, in comparison to us at least. Anyone who can make it all the way down without falling looks like a pro to me! I know it is extremely sad that this was only my fourth time ever snowboarding when I just left Michigan where there was three feet of snow. Elizabeth and Ashley had both only gone once before so we were a little intimidated to say the least. Riding up on the chair lift that first time was interesting. Here are three girls who are used to being at the top of our field, and I think we were more afraid of looking stupid than anything else. On our way up we were trying to figure out how all three of us were going to get off the chair lift without taking each other out. If we were on a starting line we could all easily take off and go straight with plenty of room in between us. But a bike and a board are completely different and we were all questioning not only our own abilities to go straight, but each others as well. Elizabeth even joked with Ashley, who was in the middle, “Yeah right, I have seen you ride,” as she signs to her moving her hand from side to side imitating a bike swapping out. “You are going to take us all out.” Amazingly though, only Elizabeth went down that first time and somehow Ashley and I stayed up. Not saying that I was any good, but Ashley and I were both amazed that we both somehow improved since the last time we went, which would never happen in MX. It seems if you don’t ride for just a week you feel rusty on a bike. But the last time I went snowboarding I could barely make it down a hill; I did so many “push ups” that day picking myself up off the ground that I couldn’t move for three days after. This time I was pleased to only crash about five times each run. Don’t laugh that is a big improvement for me. We all improved by the end of the day, but it was mentioned how we would like to see all of those girls who were smoking us try and ride a dirt bike. That’s the thing about being so competitive. You just can’t shut it off when you try a new activity. The fear of failing and looking stupid often stops me from trying something new but by the end of the day we were all glad we went. Here are a few pictures, one of Ashley waving, one of me in a very slow section using ASL (American Sign Language) to say how much I suck, and one of the three of us right before the day started with our nervous smiles anticipating the crashes that were sure to come.
I'm just the average 23-year-old, only instead of partying at college I've devoted my life to racing motorcycles. I travel from race to race and have made friends from all over the...
