Text: Effraim.
Photos: Effraim, Art Thomason.
Day 5 of the trip, it’s Friday. The build up to the contest is getting real, everyone is moving just that one step faster. We woke up to sunny skies again, and I wondered if I would get through this annual trip to Colorado without seeing the snow. James, Todd, Will Redd, and Bill Nitschke started to talk about making an edit for the week, of the best clips, but needed an intro. After much laughter, James started playing the Geto Boys “Damn it feels good to be a gangsta”, next thing the house and the cars outside made it feel like a movie set. It started the day off continuing the great vibe that’s been here all week in Monument.
Will Redd drove back from Denver to ride the slab in the morning, and got in a session whilst I interviewed Todd Carter in the basement. That interview will drop tomorrow, look out for it! James started getting the cars packed and trophies sorted and all the last minute preparations that go with organising a contest.
We made the hour drive back to Denver in the afternoon after lunch, to sort out last minute preparations for the contest. It was rad to drive through the back streets of Denver and see all the public art, really cool. James and Todd sorted out a few lighting issues once we arrived at the Rackhouse Pub venue. Next to the flatland area that you can see in the pictures is a brewery. Up top you have a balcony with restaurant and bar. The venue is really good, and will be packed ready for finals tonight. Looking forward to seeing what the vibe is like in this building. Round the back there is a small practise area that Mates Tucek, Art Thomason, and Dax Wolford started sessioning. Whilst the likes of Ed Jodie, Tyler Gilliard, Rob Shaw, and others sessioned the main contest area, the floor is stone.
I did a couple of instagram livefeeds to show you all back home what’s going down here in Denver Colorado at the Battle in the Rockies. Throughout the afternoon and evening more riders began arriving, and it looks like it’s going to be a well attended event with all levels of riding covered. AFA year ends will decided this weekend, so it;s kind of a big deal for all of those involved in fighting for top spots.
After everyone had a couple of hours warm up and all what we could do to be ready for the contest today was done. We headed upstairs for dinner, great burger and chips with Todd Carter. Everyone else slowly joined and we hung out for a few before heading back to Monument for further last minute preparations. It was raining in Denver when we left, and pouring snow in Monument. The elevation of being a mile up is so crazy, we were definitely waking up to snow in the morning. As I’m typing this, James is getting the contest mic/soundsystem set up, it;s going to be a full day judging. So I’ll cut this short and post up a link to the live feed when have one.
