Loving Life: Campus Rail Jam Tour Finals 2011 Portland Oregon

Friday May 26th I hopped on a plane from Salt Lake City up to Portland, OR. This is the second time I have attended the Cricket Campus Rail Jam Tour Finals, and probably my tenth time competing in the series. The guys at the tour do a great job keeping everything legitimate, therefore its easy to come back year after year! I landed around 7pm and my friend Janessa came and picked me up, we got some food then went to her house to rest up for the following contest day.

The following morning we woke up to some true Oregon weather, rain. Thankfully I had checked the weather prior to leaving so I was prepared. Janessa was patient and kind enough to play tour guide all day before the contest, and she took me to some pretty spectacular places around Portland. We checked out Pittock Mansion, downtown, and some other areas, it was really nice and I appreciate her putting up with me being such a tourist!

The contest didn't start until about 3:30 after we had about thirty minutes to practice. Trying not to get too wet or wear myself out, I only hit it twice during practice to feel the speed.The girls were all grouped together, in the 3rd heat, so we had a while to hang out and socialize. I spent most of my time with Janessa and her boyfriend and fellow Shred Betty team rider Randa Shahin. Between the crowd, the setup, and those two girls my spirits were high and I was ready to get out onto the course.
With about eight or nine other girls competing, I wasn't sure what to expect. These girls not only met, but exceeded my expectations for the level of riding. I was very impressed with what girls were doing, and trying to do. It poured rain on us the whole time, but I had enough in me to get some solid tricks on every feature which included; a down-flat-down rail on the lookers right, a launch box in the middle, and down rail with a kick at the end of it on the lookers left. The jam lasted about 30 minutes, then they announced the top 5 finalists which included myself and Janessa!

The crowd was pleased to have this going on downtown Portland and the CRJT guys always find a way to get them involved. This time they had a dance off featuring some of the very colorful people in the audience. Needless to say it was amazing to watch. After the dance-off it was time for finals to start, all the the guys and girls on ski's and snowboard's were at the top strapped in, itching to drop first.
In the end I believe they were looking for consistency across the board and a variety of tricks. I cleaned the down-flat-down rail a few times, got some solid back lips and 180's on and off the down rail, and some good 180 taps over the launch box. I was very happy to take 1st and Janessa got 2nd and another lady shred friend Krysta got 3rd! It was a great event and a lot of love goes out to the guys who put this on year after year. Another successful year down, and I can't wait to see what's in store for next year. THANKS FOR ANOTHER GREAT EVENT GUYS! Till next year...