Tuesday April 21st Tri-West High School

Today was my first day back on the tour since leaving the crew in Cincinnati on Friday. I left the tour to head to San Diego for the FMX Team Energy Cup contest, and had enjoyed summer like temperatures over the course of the weekend. On Monday, it was record heat in the San Diego area, and that trend continued during my layover in Las Vegas. By the time I got to Indianapolis last night, I was wishing I had brought a hoodie instead of packing them all into my luggage, because it was cold!!!!!! Apparently some nasty weather had moved through the area over the weekend, and the boys were forced to do a box jump show on Monday. More of that weather was expected for today, so the school opted for a box jump show in the gym.

At first glance this morning, it did not appear to be that bad outside. A few clouds but the sun was shining. I didn't realize what I was in store for with the temperature until I actually stepped outside. Low 40's with the wind blowing, it didn't feel too good and I was glad we were indoors. As we got closer to Tri-West High, the clouds got darker and then it started to sleet. It was coming down pretty good when we pulled up to the school. Tri-West High is in a rural area about 25 miles or so to the northwest of Indianapolis. They have a middle school and high school on the same campus. At first we thought we were going to perform for both schools, but it turned out it was just the high school kids.

We had one show this morning, an assembly lasting about 30 minutes. The students filled the bleachers and it was go time. We have had some great box jump shows on the tour so far, but with Austin Coleman, and Koji Kraft on the box jump, and Trevor Meyer riding flatland, this was definitely going to be entertaining. After we did the intros, I didn't see Austin again for almost the entire show. It turns out, Austin's back brake (his only brake I might add) had broken right after his intro run. We had a NASCAR style pit crew in the hallway, trying to put that thing back together. Both ramp crew guys Armand and Tyler, and our tour manager Chris Hald, were busy helping Austin try to put that brake back together. That meant Koji and Trevor had to carry the load of the show, and they did not disappoint. It was a quick show, but a great one. Austin's decided to pass on getting the brake fixed and jumped into the last portion of the show, and provided the Tri-West students with plenty of backflip variations.

I want to thank the students and staff of Tri-West high for being so understanding of our weather situation, and being so enthusiastic during the show. Next time around, we'll get you guys the full vert show. That's it for today, the rest of the week is forecast for warmer temps and sunny skies.
Jimmy C