Redneck Weekend

Due to ACL reconstruction surgery followed by pregnancy, I haven't been able to go snowboarding for the past two season. As this is my first season ailment free, I've been DYING to get back on my board. And since Ry and I are broke, we've been keeping our eyes out for discount lift passes. It turns out that Brighton offers 2-for-1 night boarding passes every Friday with x96 freeloader cards. With the discount, it works out to be $16 a ticket. I could definitely afford that. But, the problem was, I had to get a freeloader card and didn't wanna truck it all the way up to SLC to do so.

As luck would have it, X96 just so happened to be doing a remote from the Cricket store in Provo last Thursday. My bro and I headed over to pick up our cards. While there, we scored 2 pairs of tickets to the monster truck rally at the E Center.

Me, Roy, and Smokestack headed up to West Valley to partake in the redneck madness...and redneck it was. I'm pretty sure we were the only people there without a denim jacket or mullets. But man, it was FUN!!! And it totally reminded me of when my dad used to take us to see the trucks at Arco Arena. Very nostalgic!
Does this truck look like a dinosaur to you? That's cuz it was!







Along with the monster truck crushing action, there was also some motocross. At first, the six riders came out and were just driving round and round the little arena. It was super lame! Little did I know, they were only warming up for their freestyle tricks. They flew off a HUGE ramp and did crazy tricks, like a million feet up in the air. While it was really cool, I had total anxiety. I was just waiting for one of those riders to miss the landing ramp, or not pull their bike around fast enough and fall on their heads. I was so scared that I was gonna witness someone's death. I can't see that! That'd scar me for life!! Luckily, these guys were pros and everyone rode away scott-free...well, except for the one rider who was actually riding the entire time on a broken ankle that he sustained from an earlier show. That's pretty hardcore! By the way, the picture in the middle is of a guy doing a backflip. He was insane!
But my favorite part of the whole evening was the little pickup truck rally they did. These were guys who worked on old Ford Rangers and Chevy S10's in their backyards all winter just to beat them up. And believe me, there was definitely enough carnage to leave even the most sadistic creatures smiling.

One guy's drive line completely fell out the bottom of his truck after breaking a U-joint. He had to be rescued.Another guy went off one of the jumps and landed right on a cement barrier, only yards away from spectators. Needless to say, he ended his run by being towed.
But not all the trucks were crappy. There was actually a really nice trophy truck out there, sponsored by Toyo Tires and everything. He looked like he should have been down in Baja. However, looks weren't everything. While he could take the jumps and bumps like a champ, his engine must not have had enough kick to it cuz he was a slow poke! I hope he was embarrassed.
But the most embarrassing moment of the night goes to Wikki. She couldn't come to monster trucks because she and Keizya baby were at home sick. And I won't go into details about why Wikki should be ashamed...but those of us who were fortunate enough to revel in the experience will never let her live it down!! ;)

Oh, and for those of you who were wondering about how I faired on the slopes after a 2 year hiatus...it was just like riding a bike. At first I was a bit weary. I was scared that I would totally bite it. Luckily, I only fell when getting off the lift...but that's nothing new. I ALWAYS fall getting off the lift, even on my good days!! Seriously though, after one warm up run, I was back at it! It was like I hadn't missed a beat!!! Well, I take that back. I wasn't pulling any 180s like I used to be able to do. Though, I did go off a few little jumps, no huge kickers or anything. But I got like 3 feet of air, for sure!!! Still, I was feeling the strain on my body of 2 years of inactivity! Man, am I outta shape!! Going down the mountain, I was definitely feeling the burn in my calves and thighs! Even worse, my bad knee was KILLING! I know that as I get back into shape, the calves/thigh burning will reduce. But, I just hope that my knee won't hold me back. Is there any way to work out your knee???? I've never seen, like, muscley knees. Is that even a one? I know my sister has this third knee thing, maybe she'll let me borrow one since she's got some to spare!