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Derek
Guetter flipping his Can-Am DS450
ATV
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Wabasso, MN (1/31/2010) - 4
weeks into this tour and all I can say is wow!
What an experience this has been, not only getting
to ride with the best in the world, but overcoming
the fears and pressure of each weekend (I remind
you I’ve only been flipping for about
2 months now!). It would seem like this setup
is the same every weekend, which it pretty much
is, but some of these arenas are so damn tight
it definitely makes my job a lot more stressful.
We started in Pittsburgh and it went off
without a hitch. It felt really good to get
the first show under the belt and reassure
myself that I belong here and can handle flipping
without getting much riding in prior. Richmond
was OK, not the best turnout but having it
a 2 show weekend made up for that. What’s
bogus about the 2 show weekends is getting
yourself in that state of mind to do the gnarly
job all over again. Everyone on this tour
can pretty much backflip with their eyes closed,
well not me. I cannot wait until I get to
that point. I’m not nervous about flipping,
but I am nervous about coming into a show
mentally unprepared, so I take a lot of time
and energy getting myself ready for the task
at hand.
Boston was such a good time! I had my old
roommates from Newport Beach come to the show
and it was so awesome to have people that
I admire come see me ride. The place erupted
when I got on the floor, so much adrenaline
was running threw my body and it was surely
one of my top five moments of my life riding!
The floor was a bit smaller than what I was
accustomed to, but I dealt with it and it
all worked out. Unfortunately, Boston’s
floor wasn’t the smallest we’d
be riding in, Dallas was rumored to be even
tighter.. Oh shnap!
Dallas TX January 23,2010. Dallas was very
tense for me, this floor didn’t have
a tunnel to start off in, and the floor was
like 15 feet shorter than Boston was. Just
to give you some quick info, my comfortable
setup is about 300’ of total area for
run-in, ramp, gap, and run-out; 90’
or so of that would be my run-in. Boston was
right around 75’, which wasn’t
too bad but still made it interesting. To
show up in Dallas and only see 64’ for
me to turn, accelerate, click 3rd gear, line
up and flip was scary! They had told me I
didn’t have to flip if I didn’t
feel comfortable, and to be honest I didn’t
want to one bit. Practice was scary just trying
to clear the setup, but to flip it was very
hairy. Thankfully I had Ben Bettis with me
this past weekend, he helped keep my head
focused and do whatever I felt comfortable
with and just have fun. It was nice to have
someone that understands pressure situations
such as this, for that little bit of reassurance.
As I’m sitting in the tunnel just moments
before I go out, I tell myself just have fun
and make up your mind when the time comes.
The American Airlines Center was packed, everywhere
I looked I hardly saw an empty seat. The crowd
was into it as I did my routine, and it came
to that moment of truth. I normally am very
confident with flipping and motion to the
crowd that I’m about to tug, but man
this was different. I rode around to the take
off ramp, and waited for a few seconds and
told my mind we got this. As I sat there preparing
for my flip, the crowd was getting loud and
my body took over and my mind shut off. I
knew I was going to make it at that point.
Coming into the ramp was gnarly, that is such
an intense moment that you cannot fully understand
what it’s like until you step into my
shoes. I flipped but came up just a tad bit
short, which I can credit to my super short
run-in. The landing wasn’t the cleanest
but I landed it safe and all the emotional
tension I had built up just came out. I threw
my arms up and the place exploded with excitement!
This building was rocking and I may have been
more excited than anyone else there watching!
Of course there may have been some cursing
coming from beneath my helmet, but I think
we can let that slide because this flip was
waaaay scarier than any of the shows prior!
So now it’s a few days off and I get
to do it all over again in Houston this weekend.
Every show just builds my confidence more
and more and I feel if I can flip that scary
setup, I can flip anything they throw at me.
Be sure to check out this tour at a city near
you, it’s something you will be pleasantly
surprised from and you’ll be glad you
read this piece!!
For the schedule, tickets and info log on
to www.Nuclearcowboyz.com
Later Peeps!
Derek G Quadfreestyle.com
www.quadfreestyle.com/
G3 / Akraix Quad Freestyle
27157 230th. St.
Wabasso, MN 56293
