Sunday, February 22, 2009

Pralex Texas Tour


Hey y'all. First off, I'd like to apologize about the lack of posts this past week. We were in Austin, TX, and had intentions of blogging throughout the week, but had some technical difficulties. We even got some riding and video blog footage, bu struggled with the mac laptop to edit it (hopefully we can get it together some time this week). So, here's a list of high/low-lights of the past week, which range in topics from flatland, traveling, and utterly ranom. Sorry for the huge list. Word.

- Stopping in Kingston, ON so Alex can eat Arby's...to find out they don't have roast beef or baked potatoe...wtf

- Picking up Addison and Kimberly in Kitchener, ON around Friday midnight, where we dropped off Patty (Nissan Pathfinder) and picked up Sue (Subaru Forester)

- Hitting ridiculously terrible weather from the border to Battle Creek, MI, but thanks to Addison, Alex, and Jane (GPS system), all was ok.

- Stopping in St Louis, MO to see some of my family, and being fed some decent food for the first time on the trip. Mid-travel showers were also a huge plus!

- Stopping in Tulsa, OK for dinner at Chilis. Amazingly delicious, and another good break from sitting in a car and almost wishing death upon myself.

- Driving through our second over night to arrive in Austin, TX around 6am on Sunday morning, which was coincidentally the day of the Austin Marathon (which we were not informed about). The marathon had lots of main streets (including South Congress Ave, where I hotel was located off of) closed down, which made following Jane's directions very frustrating. http://www.youraustinmarathon.com/

- The marathon seemed to have about 11000 participants, which was a crazy experience to watch. As well, Austin is full of loads of good looking women who like to keep fit!

- Just moments after finishing our 38h trek to Austin, we met up with the Austin crew and helped them put on a post marathon show right downtown.

- Even though check in at the Austin Motel is at 3pm, the hotel staff was cool with letting us just chill by the pool until then. Being homeless in Austin, tanning by a pool, and eating Japanese food (thanks Addison!)...yup, our lives rock(ed)!

- Hitting the infamous Oltorf Garage and just seeing truck after truck (no cars in Texas, just large trucks) of flatlanders showing up. In all, I think there were about 30+ riders from all over Texas, and even some from Louisiana. When I asked some of the guys what made them come out, they said they heard the Canadians were coming. Best. Scene. Ever!

- Soooo many talented riders in Texas. Sorry I can't list everyone, but some of the highlights include:

- Diego, dude's got ridiculous amounts of style and control.

- Kenny Boucher, I'm pretty sure he can pump every trick out there, including tricks that you wouldn't have thought could be pumped.

- Adam Diclaudio, Pralex's favourite TX rider! Dude is super chill, with lots of hard, technical switches and smooth style. Looking forward to seeing you again at JoMoPro, best of luck with riding in the mean time!

- Jim Mckay, super cool style and totally stoked on flatland and life at all times it seems.

- Mark Dandridge! The jam wouldn't have been as big or as fun as it was if it wasn't for him and all the hard work he put in, making calls and sending texts all week previous to the jam. Not to mention how hard he works promoting the TX scene constantly with his videos and website, keep it up!

- Chadwick, again, another rider that puts in work both on his bike and behind the cam. Tons of other riders fit in this category as well, sorry I can't list you all. :(

- Touring around South Congress and Sixth Ave, taking in the sights and sounds of Austin (which is definately a lot different than I expected, and different from the rest of Texas/US...which is a plus!).

- Waking up every morning and sitting out in the sun. Despite not getting any darker (or burnt like my white comrades), highlight of my trip right here!

- Taking a day trip to Padres Island. Despite that place giving me the creeps, got to ride and chill with Aaron Frost at a shitty spot just adjacent to the ocean, and even got to see dolphins. Who drives 40h+ from Canada to see the Gulf of Mexico? We do!

- Alligator Grill finally letting us eat there! Delicious alligator appetizers and hurricanes...no further comment.

- Home Slize pizza. Who goes to Texas for NY style pizza? We do, and it was damn good.

- Guero's Taco Bar! Delicious food, entertaining waitresses.

- Thursday's night session at the OG. Great way to cap off the trip for us, and probably our last decent session until the Toronto comp in 3 weeks from now. :(

- And obviously, spending a week (and too much time in a car) with some of my favourite people ever.


Here's a few links to some coverage (video and photos) from the Canada invades Texas jam...and a video of Pralex in Indy courtesy of Mark Dandridge.

http://www.global-flat.com/videos/index/89

http://www.global-flat.com/photos/thumbnails.php?album=756&page=1

http://vimeo.com/3305993?pg=embed&sec=

http://vimeo.com/3250461?pg=embed&sec=

http://vimeo.com/3220995?pg=embed&sec=

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kblinkz/sets/72157613987618166/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BaPnPrh50g

http://flickr.com/photos/lafphotography/show/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31551395@N04/sets/72157614163598564/show/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/teneyck/sets/72157613948560762/show/

In other news, our Vimeo channel has reached over 1000 views, and we'd like to thank you.  As well, Pralex photographer, Dylan Leeder, is now picking up flatland, and we're building up a bike for him.  Look out for him at JoMoPro!

1 comment:

  1. I am glad you all had a good time. We will have to make it even BIGGER next time..hahah. There were still some really good riders out here in Texas that didn't make it to the jam. Maybe next go around. Thanks for the shout out's too.

    P.S. Links didn't work for some reason.

    Keep on Riding!

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