This week i was asked to jump at a moto-x event in Newfoundland Canada, and I have decided i need to get one of those teleporter things that you see on star trek ... ha ha. After the nightmare a few weeks ago getting to Belgium, and this weeks 30 hours in airplanes and sleeping on airport floors just to get there, i really think the "Beam me up Scotty !" deal would come in handy.
 
The weather was nasty. When i arrived in St John's on Saturday afternoon it was 45 deg, with high winds and raining .... brrrrrrrrrr. The guys were just getting the portable landing finished for the show that night, and to be honest, I was starting to get a bit worried.
 
With the show only a few hours away and the rain dying down, they decided to bring the landing to the arena and put the carpet on the deck there, instead of taking a chance on getting it wet. This was the first time the landing had been transported and it was interesting to say the least. Picture a 13 foot tall wedge, being pulled behind a pic up truck, in high winds on the freeway... well at about 50 mph the landing became airborne, all wheels off the ground, and just by luck decided to fly off into the ditch, and not into on coming traffic... one good thing, it didn't even put a scratch on the beast. Although the transporting design needed some reworking, the landing itself was super sturdy and even rolling it on its side at 50 mph into the ditch did not effect the Newfie craftsmanship.


 
About an hour later we got the landing to the arena, put the carpet on the deck, and a few min later the take-off arrived. No time to practice, so on saturday night myself and the "Newfoundland Lunatics" did our best to entertain the sold out crowd, and from the screaming and applause id say we did a great job.
 
Crappy flight up, nasty weather, no sleep and no practice but the show and the Newfies were awesome, and to me that makes it all worth while !
 
Now after a pretty smooth flight back to Florida, im going to get some practice in, and try to get a flip combo of any sort figured out... man its weird coming back to working on no footers and one handers again. I remember my first one hander back in the day, I was so pumped, almost crashed, but my 93 kx250 was a trusty steed and I was able to keep it on 2 wheels ... ha ha. Now im trying to do it upside down and although my brain is saying "take your hand off pussy" my body is fighting my brain and saying "no way, im not letting go of these bars for nothing !"
 
Ill keep ya posted on my flip combo progress, or lack there of ... and I just found out im doing a show in florida with one of my favorite fmx riders, "Cowboy" Kenny Bartram, should be a blast.
 
Stay safe!

Cheers,

Paul


www.paulsmithfmx.com
www.myspace.com/paulsmithfmx

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