When I left out from my home town (Angleton), I didn't realize that I was going to have a 7 & 1/2 hour drive ahead of me. Amazingly, I drove straight to the contest area after hours of driving, without getting lost. That's more than I can say for the rest of my driving experience while I was there. For some reason, the contest area was the only place I was good at locating, because I spent the rest of the time totally lost. I found that you can find stuff by luck if you drive around long enough.

     The day of the contest had it's ups and downs. The contest was held outdoors in front of the Texoma Cycling Center in a very small parking lot. Luckily it was a clear beautiful day with no wind and a perfect temp of 74°. You always run a risk of bad weather when you have a comp outdoors. As far as riding surfaces go, this one was a little un-flat, or sloped I guess you could say. At first, things were going a bit rough, but it all worked out for the best. With the positive attitude of James McGraw and the support of everyone else, it really turned out to be an awesome day. After all, we were there to help support the Southriders, so it brought a whole new meaning to flatland. I looked at the contest as a time to met up with friends, ride, and just have a good time.

     Despite the surface, James McGraw and Adam DiClaudio were tearing it up. James always seems to have his tricks dialed no matter were he is riding. Adam rode to near perfection. If I remember correctly, he only touched once in the Expert Class. Chris Ridener wanted to have the top rider from each class to move up to the next level, so Adam turned Pro for a day. In the Beginner Class Armando Stevens is really starting to show off his skills as a flatlander. Be looking out for him Expert Class, cause he's moving up.

    The best part of the contest, in my opinion, was the Old School Comp. It was cool to see riders pull tricks out of their bag that you know they haven't done in years. I rode in this event breakless, which made it kind of difficult to pull out my old stuff. I borrowed Chris Balles bike for a moment just so I could get a back wheel hop to decade in there. I was surprised at how many tricks I could still remember. I think that there should be an Old School Class at every contest.

     Over all, it really turned out to be a good contest. Chris Ridener is a really good guy, with his heart into supporting flatland. I have faith in this guy. He had some really good ideas, and I know that his next comp will be a killer. Chainlinkz will stand behind and support the next Texoma Flatland Contest!!!!!!