Regarding the event I joined in Kobe in April, the long awaited footage of the finals was released. Great parts include the alley-oop 360 drop off by Ken, the winner.
Provided Ken’s birthday has not arrived yet, I have just turned twice as old as him as of today. That’s crazy cool too. I’m not demanding doubled evaluation for my riding here; it just awes me what these young riders are doing, especially since I plain sucked when I was 19.
Watching the footage, it’s quite funny how few things I did. I was talking to Kazy before the event and agreed with his plan to “drop in, just do what I want to do and enjoy doing, and leave the rest to judges,” and that’s exactly what I did. Kazy made it to the finals too, and showed us off in his own way. A good rider who’s not scared to be different from others and knows how to enjoy that situation.
The organizer thought I was constantly riding in physical pain in both qualification and final runs, but that’s not true. Especially in the finals, the bitter pain I had was all about not having figured out what to hit and what to do. Personally I think Ryo from Shiga, who showed up with bright blue hair, has been through more scratches and cuts. He looked healthy this time and yet didn’t place so high, but he constantly amazes me with his outstanding skill level and smooth riding incorporating hard tricks.
Honestly, I never used to imagine myself in this age, still having fun riding and still progressing. If there is any secret to it, eating well and taking good care of injuries may be that. And nevertheless, I can’t thank my parents enough for raising this healthy being that I am.
Now I’m off to the first of the series of events planned for my birthday. The MRI shooting for my neck.