Every year, for the past ten years, I have done a road trip with the shop guys. It was my way of saying thank you to the guys who are here helping me do shop shit all year long. The trips have evolved from a 4 day weekend trip in two cars, to a ten day trip in an RV with all the shop guys and a few friends, and the last 4 years have been the 8 shop guys and a Suburban on a week long trip to Louisville or Florida. This past year was a year of change, the shop guys shifted around, a few went away, a few new faces came in, I was busy with the shop at the normal time to go on our annual trip around Halloween, so I decided to plan something a little different.
I take a great deal of joy in bringing the guys to places they have never been, halfway across the country, riding places they only have seen in videos and magazines, meeting people they have only seen in videos and magazines, seeing that BMX is so amazing and universal in that friends are easily made just by having a kids bike under you.
This time I got a bit selfish and wanted to do BMX only trip and fly to a destination and then drive around and fly home. I could never have done it without Justin, My one shop skateboarder, he hung back and ran the shop making it possible for me to leave. I had room for 3 other passengers on the trip so the hardest part of the plan was to pick who i was not bringing. After looking at jobs, school, girlfriends, and wives, and who has been coming around to ride and hang out, it was clear. Also I wanted to bring a few guys who have never experienced the BMX roadtrip, and then there is Dan, I dont ever want to go on a trip without Dan, so he was an obv. choice. I asked Dan, and my two newest shop guys, Joe lussier and Sam Jones. I called them all and asked them if they would want to fly into Portland Or, drive down the entire west coast, then over to Vegas, to Pheonix and finally end in Austin. 3 weeks, 4 guys, 1 rented van, and they all said YES! The trip I have always wanted was a go.
These next posts are a day by day of the trip, more for me than anyone else, but if you choose to check em out, I hope it makes you want to get out, and go explore, and take some people with you that wouldn't go on their own...
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