Peace out Winter, Spring is here! Portland WBTJ Wrap Up
by Steve Cominski
Photographs by Sean Masai
It was perfect weather for a road trip and a great start to a bike season that never really ends for some of us. It was like the start of Spring on the morning of March 5th as we drove to Portland for some radical action from the best Pro mountain bike riders in the world at the Portland Wham Bam Thank You Jam. The new contest series is the brainchild of Aaron Lutze and Landon Holt. The Portland event is the first of a four event series.
Chuck yourself off the step-down start and get down to business.
Sean and I picked up our buddy Palu and with the car loaded we went directly to Hillsboro, Oregon. We stopped briefly at Trail Head Cycles, saying hi to the guys there and confirming their attendance at the event. Cruising the last few miles to Hindsight MX, the landscape turned rural with pastures and fields of crops as far as we could see. This far out of town, Oregon starts to show some of its beautiful colors and you feel really close to the ocean even though the Oregon coast is still 45 minutes to the West. It was early afternoon and the course was taking shape as we arrived. Lutze took me to the check-in counter to get our bracelets where we greeted a few riders signing their waivers and getting ready. I saw my friend Joe Perrizo who would go on to ride strong throughout the contest, narrowly missing selection for the finals.
Andy Sundbaum and Sean Massai make sure their hotel room is up to standard.
Looking over the course it was clear the builders had put together a design to challenge the riders and give them the air they needed to throw the big stuff. Once the first three jumps were finished it was time to open practice. Steven Bafus was the first to test the drop in. After a couple quick drops, it was declared “buttah” and others were lining up to session the three jumps.
Practice had barely begun when Adam Hauck overshot to flat on a Superman on the second jump, knocking himself out. I found myself holding on to Adam while he came to and stuck with him until medics arrived to help him off to the hospital for further examination. Carter Holland and Eric and Sadie Davies went along to make sure Adam was okay. They would all stay until late that night with Adam at the hospital. It was great to see a riders good friends look after him when he’s far from home. We would see Adam again on Tuesday, shaken a bit but thankfully okay overall. Adam would not ride the rest of the event. The remainder of practice went well with riders dialing in their best moves on the jumps.
Palu Kingston doesn't need dirt or ramps.
He thought the bed would do just fine until
he ended up on his head.
The boys and I headed back to our “hotel” around 10pm. We’ll call it "The Overnight Shithole," located just across the street from the chic Jupiter Hotel and Doug Fir Lounge. We cleaned up a bit and emptied our gear out of the Caddie. We loaded up my roommate Travis and Andy Sundbaum, making it a party of five for steak and entertainment at the notorious Acropolis. Good food and excellent times were had by all at dinner. We made our way back to the hotel after midnight for some more refreshing beverages, alas, too late to join the others at the Doug Fir which closed just moments before our arrival. We were not dismayed due to having taken the precaution of storing numerous cold ones in the hotel room fridge. We trooped back upstairs and hung out late into the night.
Tuesday morning came fast. We checked out and departed for a long day. Sean, Travis, and Andy rolled to the event right away. Palu came along with me for a couple shop visits and some riding before we made it back to the contest. We rode the Oregon City skate park in bright sunlight and near 70-degree weather. This session was made even better by the presence of numerous local smashers including Caleb, Vince Kroff, Ryan Sher, and several others who basically put on a free BMX demo for anyone who happened to stop by the park. These guys killed the whole place and did it so casually you’d think everyone who rode there could hit those lines. Sufficiently stoked from this display and having broken a slight sweat riding ourselves, Palu and I headed out to Hindsight MX for the contest, ready for action.
Jamie Goldman with the old whippy-whap.
The riding was underway with practice sessions going since noon; riders were getting dialed in on all sorts of tricks. The course builders completed the curved wall and the GI Joe van step-up step-down features earlier and riders were starting to incorporate them into their runs. We saw strong riding from many; Peanut looked smooth and confident flipping, whipping, and throwing 3s both ways with great style. Another youth who would later make the final was Tyler McCaul, Cam’s younger brother and Aptos, CA shredder. Tyler had dialed tuck no-handers and tail whips to opposite tail whips. Everyone knew he was gunning for a spot in the finals with his big bro. He wouldn’t disappoint either, making several strong runs and finding his way to that Pro Final berth. Fellow hucker Phil Sundbaum made things look almost too easy on his way to a second place finish, throwing 360 whips, flips, and everything else you can name. He rode all day long without going down once that I saw. Jamie Goldman also looked great until a front flip attempt gone awry sent him to the ground so hard people were spilling their smuggled beers. Amazingly he recovered enough to throw one or two more runs, which could have won contests on any other day.
I won’t waste your time describing every run or significant moment of the contest.Suffice to say the finalists in Amateur and Pro groups were shredders. Standouts all day remained Big and Little McCaul, Jamie Goldman, Phil Sundbaum, East coast ripper Dave Smutok, Greg Watts, and Trond Hansen hailing all the way from Europe. These guys rose to the top of the judges’ cards, as well as the crowds’ attention, on their way to the podium.
Phil "Sunbeam" goes macho ballerina as he spins over the starting death gap.
After awards were handed out everyone got on the road pretty quickly. Most riders headed back to the hotel to hastily pack and try to catch a celebratory drink with the others before traveling. We found ourselves pulled over rather quickly after leaving the contest, having missed our turn to the highway and making a bit of a creative maneuver to recover. Luckily, these particular Oregon State Patrolmen were very understanding of an out-of-towner who had gotten confused, and they let us continue on after a brief check of my paperwork. We were so grateful not to have gotten a ticket that we decided to forgo the festivities at the Doug Fir and just head home to Seattle for a good night’s sleep. Despite feeling bad for not joining the others at the post-event festivities, we felt great having seen so many good friends and such awesome riding. We definitely feel optimistic about the season of riding ahead of us.
Smutok looks like an unshaven Clark Kent, doesn't he?
Props go out to Aaron and Landon, along with their staff including Jim Bob and Rocker, who built most of the wood obstacles and the Ski-Jump drop. Taow Productions and event Sponsors like FSA/Gravity, Nike 6.0, Dakine, and Red Bull, also helped make the contest possible. We are stoked that companies like these are supporting our growing sport and helping make days like this possible. We're all looking forward to the announcement from Wham Bam guys about the other big mountain venues in the 2007 series.
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