NEW ZEALAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
by Jason Donnell

PAGE TWO

Wednesday we went to a town about an hour away to do some mountain biking in the forest. The mountain bike trails were by far the best I had ever ridden. They were endless runs with big hits and these crazy two and three foot berms that you could carve the hell out of. We road long and hard and after visiting some bike shops and good grub we headed back to Tarrunga. Dave and I decided to head to the track when we got back and have a secret training session. We rode for about an hour trying different lines on different sections on the track. It was funny seeing him so psyched on BMX racing.

Thursday Kevin, Dave, Coxy and myself went and played golf while Ryan and Tony did some shopping. After some searching we found this really cool course so we rented clubs and played nine holes. We all played well considering the shady borrowed clubs. I hit the shot of my life holing about a 30 yard chip shot on the first hole and Dave took the overall victory.

Thursday evening we all went to a riders and sponsors meeting where we were introduced and given our number plates for the race. We then were treated to a good dinner and headed for a bar for more fun.

I didn't really have much on my agenda Friday except practice in the evening so I went with Dave and Tony to this vert ramp down the road to watch Dave ride. We were all surprised to find about 50 people waiting his arrival. It seemed liked the New Zealand kids knew what we were going to do before we did because Dave had no intentions of riding vert until that afternoon, yet all these kids were waiting for him. There were about five other guys riding with Dave on the half pipe and a few of them were pretty decent. But obviously Dave stole the show busting out huge airs and grinds and on his last run he did a huge flare and the crowd went wild.

While waiting for Dave to sign autographs it dawned on me how awesome the whole BMX scene in New Zealand is. The half pipe was in the middle of a park overlooking the ocean. And as we found out during the trip skateparks, halfpipes and tracks are all over the country free for anyone to ride.

When I got back to the room Kevin and I went and practiced for about an hour at the track. We did a few gates with Kamikaze and Jamie Gray (the two Australian elite riders). They were both really fast and we knew that we would be in for a tough challenge. I felt pretty strong but Kevin was probably going the fastest.

After practice all of us went to Pins Cycle bike shop for an autograph session. There were probably 250 kids in a single file line to get our autographs. They brought an assortment of things for us to sign from Snap Magazines, helmets, to catalogues. After that Dave and Ryan did a demo with the New Zealand Freestyle team over a box jump they had set up. The crowd was pumped and it was a big success. Ryan was riding awesome doing sick 360 and backflip variations.

Saturday was race day for me and Kevin and we both raced really good. We were a little confused about the race format because we had to race six motos just to transfer to the semi in Mens Elite. In our other and more important class (The Men's Elite test Team), it was five laps over the course of two days to determine the team champion. It was a combination of the best two New Zealand pros versus the best two Australian pros versus Kevin and I. It was like racing 5 mains and the team with the lowest points won. At the end of the day I won two out three mains with Kevin top three in all of them.

Saturday night was the much anticipated jumping contest. I have never experienced a jump comp with so much energy and hype in my life. There were over a thousand people in this small indoor building. Over half the people were standing 10 people deep because the bleachers were filled up. There was a big steep role-in to a 15-foot double and then you had to slam on your breaks so you didn't crash into a wall. Kevin decided he was going to announce and he had me laughing the whole night. Dave rode for a little while but decided to announce as well because his ankle was hurting him. I was one of the judges and the riding level was really impressive. There were forty guys entered with 10 finalists. Ryan wasn't competing because he would have obviously won by a mile but he rode for the fun of it. Kevin and Dave had the crowd going nuts and would get the whole crowd chanting "NYQUIST! NYQUIST!" before his runs. Many of the riders were riding well over their heads and Kevin and Dave got a money collection for a couple of the guys to try a certain tricks. They collected over 200 dollars for a guy to pull a no footed bar spin and after about 10 failed attempts he pulled it. Ryan put in 100 dollars of his own money for someone to pull a 720 and eventually some guy pulled it. It was unbelievable.

Sunday Kevin and I woke up sick and worn out but at the end of the day we had won the Test Team challenge. Luckily Kevin picked up the slack because I didn't ride that good. But it was the first time in four years the Americans had won so we were stoked.

Ryan and Dave's much anticipated one on one BMX race also took place Sunday and it did not disappoint. Dave rode my bike and Ryan rode Kevin's. Dave took the victory but Ryan was right behind him the whole track. They about died at the finish line but I think everyone including myself were impressed by how fast and smooth they rode.

After the races we all showered, ate and went to a bar called the Astro Lab to hang out with all our new found friends one last time. There were all kinds of funny things going on. I got paid twenty bucks to do the worm on the dance floor. We came back to our room just in time to pack our bags and catch our flight back home. About 13 hours later we arrived in Los Angeles and everyone went their separate ways.

I had the time of my life the ten days I spent in New Zealand and I hope to some day go back again.

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