Campus Rail Jam Tour 2011 » blog

HOME SWEET BUS

Drew — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 06:08:10 +0000

I find it kinda odd that the crew just spent a week and a couple days away from the bus and pretty much each other and yet i feel at home again on the bus. I had an awesome and relaxing week off from tour, mainly because I got to spend a lot of the time with my girlfriend. I was about to get work done with speedy internet, went a Girl Talk show on St. Patrick’s day and spent a long weekend in Black Butte. I had a great bed the entire time and was about to sleep as long as I wanted without the snores, hacks and movement of dudes, feet away from me! Yet after all this relaxing I am more than happy to be back on the road! I guess I just love traveling and being around such an entertaining group of guys. Even if there is only one “real” tour stop, we still have three events to put on.

I really miss the road and consider myself lucky to be in the position I am in because I know I still have friends back east (Pennsylvania) that have still never been west of Ohio! I guess what i am trying to say is if have the opportunity to be packed into a tight space with eight smelly guys…TAKE IT! No, but really get out and travel there is a butt load of stuff to see in the country and with recent events in Japan, God bless and help them, you never know when something terrible might happen and one the natural or unnatural pieces of history with be gone forever.

Gonzaga tomorrow then some snowboarding, Reno for a week and then of the Utah for the third time in three months for me! Catch ya on the flip side!

I Love What I Do!

Drew — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 00:58:03 +0000

I love being on tour! Sure I miss my girlfriend, showers everyday or a nice toilet when I need one, but we get to do some pretty awesome things along the way. Let me talk you through my last week and a half or so. It all started back right after we left Salt Lake City. We traveled south to the awesome little town of Moab, home to mad adventures and Arches NP. We went last year, but only got to see the delicate arch, so this year we had a bit more time and set off on a four to five hour hike which took the crew to about seven or so arches!

Pine Tree Arch

Jake doing his face down shot in front on the Tunnel Arch!

The 306 ft Landscape Arch...this pic doesn't do it justice for how big it really is in person

The now fallen Wall Arch...fell in 2008

The crew in the Partition Arch

The Navajo Arch

Double O Arch...Bill and I were the only ones that wanted to make the extra .9 of a mile hike!

So after our adventure in Arches it was time to head to Boulder, Co. We landed in Boulder on Sunday afternoon and Jake and I decided to check out the Boulder skate park which is nice, but the nicest…and it kinda smelled like poop the whole time!

Monday a bunch of the crew headed to the newly finished Lafayette skate park. Now this was a very nice park and suggest you go there if your ever in the area. Everything was super smooth and the park included natural rocks cemented in and marble ledges.

Tuesday was a mellow day, but got my stanky clothes washed up so i considered that pretty awesome.

Wednesday we piled into the bus and headed first to the Burton headquarters of Denver and and then headed directly to Woodward at Copper for a FOUR hour session. This place is seriously effin perfect! I have never jumped on tramps that springy nor had to pull myself out of a foam pit so many times in my life. I’m gonna claim that, thats been the most tired I have been alllllllll tour!

Just chillin out with his bone

ohhhh yea!

It's a pretty scary drop in for the foam pits

Joe Bro crushing the bowl

Keenan practicing his hand drags

I told Garrett he couldn't fly, but I guess thats why they have foam pits to land in!

Thursday was our event and for the Boulder event only we have to everything in one day. That’s right…wake up at 6, start building at 7, put snow on at 1:30, event at 5, tear down at 9 and having fun by midnight!

Always a great event and worth all the hard work!

Friday we were able to scoop some tickets for A-basin. It’s not the biggest of the Co resorts, but I think it pretty cool. Wide open and on a powder day it is probably the s%#t! It was a mellow shred day for some due to the previous couple days and fatigue!

Saturday started out pretty crappy with a couple of set backs, but once they were dealt with we were on our way to Bozeman, Mt. Because of our late start and a slow bus it took 14 grueling hours of driving, but we landed at 2 am at my homie Jen’s place. We were greeted with smiles and beverages.

Sunday we rode Bridger Bowl, which is about 15 mins or 25 mins in the bus from Bozeman. This was mine and the crews first time there and couldn’t have asked for a better day. They are 9 inches of fresh and a butt load of terrain! Thanks to Jen we were able to see just about all the mtn and find the secret stashes that weren’t completely tracked out. She kept going on about “choking on thecold smoke.” I wasn’t sure what this was, but found out quickly on my first face shot when i couldn’t breath due to all the powder in my face. Apparently this was the cold smoke i was choking on and i didn’t even care! That night she took us to the Bozeman Hot Springs for the recovery session and everyone had a blast!

Jen just admiring the snow...or loving the tree strong?!

Garrett sending it over a natrual step up

Robbie, an East Coast homie taking advantage of the natural features as well

Monday we drove into Boise and we are getting ready to have fun again in a new town! I hope to have a nice adventure story to update my 3 fans with next week. I love my life!

-Drew

on the road again…

jake — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 23:24:38 +0000

Tour can be surprising at times like when I woke up this morning. I fell asleep next to a friends house and woke up in a walmart parking lot. You just never know what can happen in the matter of a few hours. I thoroughly enjoy the thrill of it. Speaking of thrill the boulder event went off and the crowd was stoked to see the locals throwing down their best. I have to say that everyone was on top of their game but the girls… the girls were out of control! Boulder girls shred and shred hard. I have a lot of respect for girls who push action sports because lets be honest with all the stereotyping and the “well she is a girl” needs to stop because they are coming on fast and ready to take over. As I talk about girl shredders it reminds me of the help that Boulder Freeride gave us since 7am day of the event. Boulder Freeride is all around top of the line ski and snowboard club. The way it runs and works as a whole is impressive controlling a club base of roughly 4,000 members. And not to be pro female for this article but the girls definitely powered through a 15 hour work day no problem. I was blown away and fell in love. Thank you Boulder Freeride!

We had a rough morning before leaving Boulder but finally made it 14 hours later to Bozeman, MT, where I am writing this from, with friends awaiting our arrival. Its brick out and I hear the mountains are freshly coated with greatness. The crew rolled up to Bridgerbowl stoked and ready to receive face shots. Its a small mountain with beautiful terrain and lots of tranny. Tranny Finding (TF) all day was just what we needed after a long epic week. Just wait for the new weekly update, Mustache March! Now we are off to Boise, ID! Peace & Love.

P.S. My computer is fixed, Enjoy!

SLC!!!

jake — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 23:25:28 +0000

Yesterday was our third event at the University of Utah and the level of riding was progressive and inspiring. For my fourth year at the University of Utah event I’ve seen the RV turn into the bus and competitors turn pro. I couldn’t ask for anything better than being apart of history. On another note it has been quite the week, getting rowdy and breaking hearts (GMFB). Now we are heading to Boulder for our next event March 3 on The Hill.

This post is different from what I normally go for with pictures and stories but my laptop had an accident. Long story short when we drove from Tucson to Las Vegas I left my computer on my bunk while navigating the bus to hear the thud of my Macbook Pro upside down flat on the floor. I woke up Garrett. Sorry responsi-bro! And opened my Macbook Pro to a destroyed screen and thankfully no hardware damage. Thankfully the Salt Lake City Apple store will have it fixed before we leave Utah and I can redeem myself for this black and white post.

Great Event at the U of U

Joe — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 06:45:19 +0000

today was awesome. everyone on the crew is feeling the hurt from a long day of hard work but the feeling of success is well worth it. the riders today were extremely talented and the crowd was hyped on it. this is why we are out here on the road. i cant wait to see what goes down in Boulder!

Lunch in Tucson, Breakfast in Vegas, Dinner in SLC

Parker Bolden — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 03:01:41 +0000

With a quick waterfall shower to freshen up in Sabino Canyon, it was goodbye to the desert sun and hello to mountainous Salt Lake City. That is, after an early morning in Las Vegas. I wandered the strip with only the truest Las Vagabonds between 2 am. and 6 am. and headed back to the bus for a short nap and a long drive. There were no worries who was going to ride shotgun as the entire crew piled in front to observe the new terrain. Mountains..Mountains…Mountains. I got my scenic fill and retired to my bunk to listen to some music. We arrived in SLC around 9 pm and voted that Charlie Chows grill was the dinner spot. I played garbage disposal on everybody’s leftovers because some expensive misconduct back in Tucson. The crew checked in at Jake’s house, met his closest friends, and checked out for the night.

Sunday came around quick and we got the tough build out of the way for Thursday’s event. Promoting has been a bit more challenging in the cold weather on a commuter campus, but you can’t beat a megaphone to shout at unsuspecting students. Event day is tomorrow and I’m stoked to see some of the best competition this tour will offer. Until then I’m going to continue thrift shopping, and making yoshi shirts.

WELP, Later Arizona!

Drew — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 06:33:56 +0000

I hate to say it but, YEAAAAAAA! As much as I love summer weather…I would rather save it for the summer! We made it out of the desert, finally, after two weeks and back into the cold wintery conditions of Utah. Brrrrrrrrrr, BUT, Ahhhhhhhh! I can’t say that I didn’t have fun. Great times in Tempe and Tucson was…well, Tucson. The crew made it out alive and maybe event broke a heart or two. With all the heat behind us here are a couple photos to enjoy!

I had no idea Bill was a Suns fan

Garrett just tryin to do his job!

Sedona that Picture...STP!

Even Joe is in awe

This place is awesome

I can tell you that I have a new appreciation for Arizona even though i still wouldn’t want to visit in the 118 degree summer heat I have heard about! PEACE!

On The Road Again

Parker Bolden — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 23:27:00 +0000

With our first event at ASU under our belts we said our goodbyes and hit the road again. Flagstaff was our first stop of the weekend to hit the mountain and capture some footage of not only boarding, but testing out some sponsor gear. I hiked up the terrain park, gear in hand, ready to hit a box with a 140 pound max snow scooter from Railz USA. I weigh 185 pounds. I hopped on the wobbly cruiser and hit a box with very little composure. Steadily stomped a 50-50 for the first two inches, tried to gather my footing, and ended up going head over heels off to complete my test run. After ten or so failed attempts we made the trek back to the bus and hit the road again for Tucson. Little sleep and lots of energy drinks fueled the six hour drive and we rolled into town around ten at night to get some sleep and recover for our first day of promoting at U of A. Im sorry U of A’ers but I have to give a shout out to my awesome students and friends at ASU for being far more welcoming and friendly! All hope is not lost with my morale high approaching build day tomorrow. Anticipating one of our largest crowds on tour and the hottest weather so far, I’m ready to get the event underway. No doubt in my mind this will be another day to remember on a tour that has surpassed all expectations and continuously blown my mind. Love the crew, love my job, love my life.

peace guys and gals!

Knock Knock!

keenan — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 23:42:35 +0000

….Who’s there? CRJT?… CRJT who?… Campus Rail Jam Tour Duh, psh, gosh! GNARWAL POW POW!!!

After a combined drive time of 48+ hours, two amazing ski days and a few all nighter’s, we finally made it to Tempe AZ and I must say, it literally feels like an amazing summers Oregon day. Not to cold, not to hot but juuuuuuust right! Aaahhh!

We kicked off the official first day of Tour slaying promotions. We meticulously passed out more than 1,000 flyers in about 2 hours leaving us no choice to open the 2^nd box of handbills. As the students slowly started to go home for the day we packed up and skated over to the bus only to promote the event even more (from the top of the bus of course).

Fast-forward 2 days the big shot Mr. Dan Genco arrived in to help as a “very good volunteer”. He did such a good job! I’m proud of you squirrel bear! It was refreshing to build on flat ground and not in -6 degrees; we’re spoiled for these first two event’s. The green horns don’t know what’s coming when we arrive in Utah and Colorado muahahahahaha.

he event kicked off and it went relatively smooth. The crew is young, energetic, fun and willing to work their little hiney’s off. These qualities are ingredients for a good event. As those shinny orange doors shut and the lock was sealed, we knew the first event was complete. With epic high fives and strange yoshi sounds, we ended the night in the only fashion we new… Dancing by ourselves!

skating!!!

Joe — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 00:21:16 +0000

got to skate a little park with some buddies from portland last night. so much fun! i will def be taking advantage of every chance to skate a park during this trip!