Sunday, last full day in Cali, and it was cloudy. So weird, haha. But we did come prepared and brought warm clothes, even a rain jacket. We've got plenty and need them all the time in The Netherlands but normally in So Cal not so much. Anyway, preparation is key. We had planned to meet up with McGoo that day but it didn't work out in the end. We still headed that direction and stopped at the Kawasaki test track and then searched for the other test tracks at the next exit. We drove up the hill and did not see anything. But we felt we were close. We parked the Rogue, hiked up a bit to discover 6 Supercross test tracks! Exploring is fun, especially when you find something you were looking for.
Saturday was much the same as Friday over in Anaheim. We got there early to take it all in. Finished the rounds in the pits, said hi to the folks, checked Supercross practice, time qualification, and cruised over to the BMX triples to catch some of the semi-finals, finals and best trick comp. Then everyone made it back into the Anaheim Angel stadium for the Supercross qualification races, LCQ's and finals.
There's no need to explain who did what and who finished where. That's what social media does for everyone these days. But with no live feed of BMX Triples you would still have to be there in person to catch everything. Seeing everything live is just so much better. Smelling the gas, looking where you want to look, hearing the sound, catching the action, the antics, nothing beats the live action. Luckily we were up high in the media room because it did start to rain during the evening program. Rain in California! it was almost a year ago since they'd seen it. Luckily the BMX Triple Challenge was finished already and the trophies and cheques had been handed out to the riders but the Supercross riders now had to deal with difficult vision and a slippery track. It did not turn into a mud fest luckily and the big jumps were also no problem for the boys. Damn they are good at what they do.
The evening passed quickly. Two heats of 250 qualification, LCQ and finals. And the same for the 450 class. The KTM Juniors did a couple of laps on the E-bikes and had the day of their lives.
Waking up, and it's sunny! What a surprise. Maybe not, but that sun is welcome, every single day. After the morning rounds on the internet, answering email and social posts we had an appointment with the two Dutchies at the Chase Bank which used to be a gas station. It's where you park to go to Sheep Hills. To get a drink, you now have to cross the road but the parking spots have remained and the homeless are still hanging out there. After checking out Arjan and Tom's tour van they decided to put their bikes together for a morning session at Sheep Hills. At moments like these you wish you had brought your bike but we had not. Unfortunately. Anyway, it was their first time at Sheep so a little lap was done to check out what was rideable and what wasn't.
Being at a new place for the first time is always a bit strange. What is possible, what line can I remember, how far are the jumps, how much speed do I need? For Sheep Hills to be dry in the winter is pretty unique. We've been here when it was flooded, completely, but since it had not rained since February the place was in decent shape. People ride here on the daily we were told, especially towards sunset, but at 10am no SHL's were there. School, work, we get it. After some scouting Arjan and Tom got to work on their first BMX session of the trip. It didn't take long for them to find lines that worked and we took out the camera to snap some shots. With both of them surviving it was time to pack up to hit the next destination.
On trips like these I wonder why I never really took the chance of living in the USA, like a lot of the Brits did successfully. Waking up to the sun every morning, how good would that be? The walk on the beach, would that ever get old? Mexican food all over the place, friendly people plenty to do, but most of all getting rid of the rain gear, the umbrellas, the Gore-Tex stuff as there is no need for it in SoCal. Would I miss not having 4 seasons? I don't think so. The mountains are only a few hours away, less than half the distance that we need to drive from The Netherlands to Austria. Next to direct family I would not miss much in The Netherlands I believe. I could do without stroopwafels and hagelslag and a frikandel speciaal (had one yesterday though). But no, I never made it that far and haven't even been close to making the move. It makes these short(er) trips special because you need to soak it all up.
We were going to take it chill on Sunday as there was no need to get up early to follow the day program. We had no schedule and that was perfectly fine. With the sun shining once again (we could get used to that) we decided to go for a run on the beach to start the day. We did breakfast (cereal) in the hotel room as it had a fridge and a coffee machine with unlimited cups. It's not uncommon to pay $50 for breakfast for two in this area. Shit's expensive. Must be the sunshine tax.
We had not been to Huntington Beach just yet so we decided to cruise over, park the car, walk main street, watch some surfing from the pier, do some shopping, watch cars and grab lunch at Sancho's. The Masterpools happened to be at the same place. Lots of flatland riders had made it to Newport Beach for the One Love jam.
Saturday. Dilemma. Too much happening. The day after the Birth of the BMX Freestyle Movement book launch 4 things were on the calendar; the annual One Love jam only 7 minutes from our hotel in Newport Beach, the Roasta Mesa Bowl Jam put on by the S&M crew over at the Volcom Bowl in Costa Mesa, the last Vans Combi Pool session in Orange and the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Round 2 in San Diego. Choices, choices, not easy.
As you have probably noticed we have started a motocross platform at FATMX. Philip is venturing into that market and needs to soak up as much information as he can to gain as much knowledge as possible. We put the Rogue on the road again and headed south. Come Leucadia it is time to look for the Enchanted Ramp house. Only BMX-ers will do that. In Encinitas ramps are spotted on the opposite side on the hill. Little things, along with the coastline make traveling in Cali rather enjoyable. The cars and trucks are extra's. 7 cyber trucks a day were spotted on average. Wheels sticking out on the side on big pick-up trucks don't seem to be an issue. Let's just say things are different.
While at the "Fan Fest" we missed the old school BMX bikes that were on display last year. It was a nice addition to the pits. Also missing was a Freestyle MX show this year. Always worth seeing a few whips but the only things going sideways were the Dryfter scooters, a disappointing replacement of the oldskool BMX Bikes and FMX show. We managed to catch up with Eric "Big E" Bartholdus of former Powerlite fame who is now working for Yoshimura RD. We also caught up with Bob Morales
A couple days in now and waking up with the plan to go running again. Glad I did as it's hard to beat running on the beach in the sunshine in perfect temperatures. But we had big plans for the day which started off with a drive down to San Diego for the second round of the AMA Monster Energy Supercross. A quick stop at Subway had us fueled up for the next hours as we walked into Snapdragon stadium for media day. Getting to see things first hand feels good. The trucks, the bikes, the riders, the track, it all came together in SD. It was also the first time the big camera came out on the trip. Taking shots of the shiny bikes and riders in brand new gear is always a win. Did we mention it was sunny?
When the media session was over we were on our way to 100% who had their official new facility
For many years I've done an annual winter trip to California. The first one being 1990 when 3 months were spent in San Diego. The winter weather in The Netherlands is simply shit if you want to keep riding your bike outdoors. The winters of 1991/1992 and 1992/1993 were spent in San Diego as well. Simpler times with nothing but riding and partying on the schedule. I do miss those times. In 1994 and 1995 we moved up to Huntington Beach and made life long friends in that corner. BMX Freestyle wasn't huge back then, and those who rode, had a passion for riding. Several of them stayed in BMX over the years and are now contacts to visit.
Getting to do these California trips with my son Philip (21) means a lot. This was our 3rd annual Cali trip together. For him to experience the sunshine lifestyle in 12 days is important. There is more in life than being in Helmond. With Philip's interest being focused on motocross we combined BMX and MX for the days we were there. Plans were made to visit dealers, friends, manufacturers, events, supercross races, lifestyle shops, and enjoy the palm trees with sunshine.
We left Helmond by taking the first train to Schiphol airport and managed to get checked in and all with time to spare. Thanks to the KLM status this process was easy and breakfast was spent in the lounge.