….apologies first of all for not posting for so long, I haven’t meant to worry anyone but I’ve had a few connection issues and I’m the only person who seems to get a signal (and can type at 40+ wpm)…..anyway quite a lot has been going on, for me anyway. Last Friday I sessioned the pipe again, I was definitely feeling more settled than previously and when we bumped into Pete again we seemed to notice an improvement from the day before as well, so I must have been doing something right. Feeling tired and sore on Saturday The Boyf and I had a chill at home day and just wandered round the town and shops, it was nice just to do nothing and let me get mentally ready for the tough day I had on Sunday.
Sunday was supposed to be a sunny day for the most part with a snow storm coming in in the late afternoon, it did look a bit on the chilly side though so taking my light jacket and my super-feather jacket The Boyf and I headed up the hill for the 9am registration for the Vans Unbound Pipe competition (part of the USASA freestyle circuit which seems to be the equivalent of the AIM series)…..me to register, him to be supportive, get pictures and generally put up with my “I’m in a competition so I’m stressed” bitching!
I figured I’d give the comp a shot, really just as a warm up for the Brits the week after next, lets face it any practice is good practice so when I was registering and found out they had 2 comps that day rather than one I registered for both. Heading up the hill for warm up it all seemed fine the pipe was in good condition as normal, if a little icey but hey at 9:30am you can’t really expect anything else. According to The Boyf my runs were looking settled and I was getting a good rhythm, so I relaxed a bit and started to have fun. Of course by the time the comp was due to start at 11am the storm had started to move in, the wind was picking up and the light flattened (so no photos I’m afraid). So there I was with about 50 other competitors at the top of the pipe, all of us in the wrong goggles for the light and the comp started…..I have to say that I’m pleased I wasn’t getting height out of the pipe on this occasion, the wind was bad enough just riding up to the lip without getting blown over but for those getting air it could be a real struggle, especially when the snow flurries meant they couldn’t spot the landings, it really was spin and pray.
So it was cold, windy and there was quite a bit of time between runs (50 mins or so) but I managed to hold my head together, stop myself freezing (feather jackets rule!) and do some good runs. In fact I was really pleased with how I rode…..even more pleased when it came to the prize giving and I’d won both comps in the Masters category! Yay! (Sorry Doc, still no sponsors though). So after receiving my 2 gold medals and some beanies, stickers and other goodies in the entrant raffle I headed home for a well earned rest)
Since then the weather has been a bit hit and miss, the storm came in and we had a storm total of 3 feet of snow, so there hasn’t been much riding going on….with winds of 160mph and the snow being “Sierra Cement” rather than fluffy powder it hasn’t been safe or really worth the effort of riding. Still we have had a blue-bird day today…..Stu and Lee hiked a bit and got some good lines before stopping by to see The Boyf and I hit up Forest Trail again where although I haven’t worked up the courage to spin I was clearing the knuckle on the 3 main kickers there and getting different grabs on each. The Boyf has been getting used to some new boots and bindings and was definitely starting to get more tweakage on his grabs in his new softer stuff….so it’s all looking good for when we head to Norwich with the Euroboys’ Airbag!
Whether we’ll ride again before we come home on Saturday remains to be seen, a new storm should hit tonight and this is supposed to be the fluffy stuff so if the winds ease off we should get some freshies, if not it’ll be more shopping!
I’ll try and keep you updated but may have signal probs again if the storms a biggy, so don’t panic if you don’t hear from us until I’m back home on Sunday.
..some new boots and bindings..? Good to hear there are benefits to old age. Though you’d catch me riding in a whiteout, you feckless whippersnappers