Nut Up or Shut Up

It seems that Travis Pastrana had a lasting impact on some of the students at Colorado Mountain College. After the extreme sports enthusiast left town he inspired one student, Vince to make the ultimate jump. Amazed by his feat I asked him for an interview and he agreed. Here’s what he had to say:
Name: Vince
Major: Associates of Arts
Hometown: Sonora, CA
Age: 21

How long have you been mountain biking?
I started around seventh grade with a really crappy Wal-Mart bike. I kept breaking bikes and returning them and realized it wasn’t what I needed. Eventually I made a trip to the bike shop and got one that stood up to what I needed. From there I began doing stair gaps and jumps with my friends. I also rode with the local bike shop crew taking really long night rides and weekend trips.

What is your favorite part about the sport?
I think one of the coolest things about any action sport is riding with people better than yourself because you can learn so much from them.

How did you come up with the idea of gapping 25 feet of stairs?
When you do an action sport for a certain period of time you start to see the world differently. You look at something and think wow that looks like something I can do on my bike, where ordinary people would think nothing of it. We were training for ski racing on the soccer field when I first saw the gap. It got into my head and I began contemplating it every day.

Did you have any reservations?
I told a few people about it and they thought it was a really cool idea but there was a huge fear factor involved. I got really scared because I knew I could seriously hurt myself.

What inspired you to finally make the jump?
When Rally America came to town I got a chance to interview Travis Pastrana. One of the coolest things he said was, “Everybody has pain, everybody has fear. But it’s how we deal with fear that sets us apart”. As soon as I heard him say that I knew I needed to do the jump.

What kind of planning was involved?
It’s about being a calculated person. Day after day I would sit at the jump and think about how fast and how big I’d have to go. I checked out the landing to make sure it was safe-- which it really wasn’t-- and built a ramp for the take off.

There were a lot of kids watching you. Did you feel any pressure?
There was a skate comp at the school and I was practicing the run up to see how much speed I’d need. People started gathering around and I didn’t really have a choice. I either needed to do it or stop talking like I was going to. As the movie Zombie Land put it, “nut up or shut up.”

What were the very last thoughts running through your head before you did it?
“God, I hope this works…”

Do you have any regrets?
I guess if I had one regret it would be that I didn’t pursue mountain biking harder when I was younger.

What’s next?
Ski racing is something I love and have a really big passion for. I’d like to pursue it for a few years assuming I can stay injury free. I’d also like to continue to pursue mountain biking. The fact that I successfully made the jump made me realize some things are not as hard as they seem. If I see something bigger I’d like to do it. The future is very unpredictable. Hell, I’m in Colorado now!

Endless Opportunities

I am going to college in one of the most beautiful towns I've ever seen while living within walking distance of a major ski resort, and the best part is I'm not being sold short on my education. The classes offered at this school are mind opening and, obviously, educational. In fact I fear going to a larger university because I'm not sure I'll have the same opportunities as I have here. I just wanted to take this time to share a very exciting class that is being offered next semester. It's a six credit class that is split into 3 Poli Sci credits and 3 Art credits. There are a few lecture classes that lead up to a nine day trip through Guatemala. Throughout the trip the class will be visiting art museums, meeting with political figures and visiting Mayan ruins. I'm planning on taking the class because it will be a great follow up to my Intro to Political Science. Rather than sitting in the classroom learning about political issues we are going to explore and see the effects of US policies first hand. Not to mention this would be my first time traveling outside of the United States (Canada not included, I used to live by the border). I also think getting to see the Mayan ruins will be awesome after spending time learning about the Mayans in my Philosophy and Lit classes.





The class has limited availability so if you're interested be sure to pre-register! For more info check out the CMC website: http://www.coloradomtn.edu/cms/one.aspx?pageId=3447601

"New" Car

After living in Steamboat for over a year I've decided to purchase a car. It's not that you actually need one in this town but it does make things more convenient, I was really starting to dread the half hour bike ride to work at 5:30am. Thankfully, my friends Jordan and Mike accompanied me to check out vehicles listed in the classifieds for under $2000. Without them I would have been lost due to my limited knowledge of anything automobile. Jordan and I wound up finding a 91 Honda Accord Station Wagon. It's old and defiantly screams "college student" but I love it. The seats fold down which will be great for taking skis and boards to the mountain and the previous owner gave me snow tires. It might not be the ideal "new" car, but it if it gets my from point A to point B that's all that really matters!

Coffee House

Last week Student Activities hosted a Coffee House for both on and off campus students. A lot of people showed up to hear Doug Wood play instrumentals and enjoy free coffee.

Doug really got the audience involved.

It started with one student dancing

and next thing we knew it was a full blown Congo line...then a dance party!
we even had students perform a rendition of "Spider Pig"overall it was a great night!

Thanks to everyone who helped out and everyone that came out and made the night a success. Be sure to check out the "This Week" for more upcoming activities including these:

Wednesday October 30th there will be a musician playing in at the Dining Hall starting at 5:30pm. At 9pm he will be giving free guitar lessons! SA is also getting involved with the Steamboat Film Fest this year. We will be offering discounted tickets to movie premiers such has TGR's re:Session and Matchstick Production's In Deep. For more info on show times stop by Tamara's office or go to http://www.steamboatmountainfilmfestival.com/

I saw an Elk!

This morning I woke up around 6am to head to Denver. My friend Ryan flew to NY for the weekend to surprise his Dad at his 50th birthday party and I agreed to pick him up at 9am. After stopping at The Bean for some caffeine I began the journey to Denver International Airport. Around 7am I began my way up Rabbit Ears Pass with the sun rising. I was thinking about the classes I'd be missing and the test I had to take later in the day when low and behold, standing on the side of the road was an elk! I know this is not something a typical driver wants to see because danger may ensue if he decides to run out into the middle of the road but I was thrilled. After living in the mountains for over a year I finally saw a real live wild elk! For obvious reasons I was unable to snap a photo, but I want to share with everyone that I will now cross this off my list of "Things I want to do in Colorado".

Rally Car Races

Last weekend was a big deal for the town of Steamboat Springs. You could hear engines revving everywhere you went because the Rally Races came to town. Although my knowledge of cars is minimal and awareness of celebrities is even lesser, I decided to check it out. Unfortunately the only event I was able to attend was the opening ceremonies where the riders got to show off their cars and everyone got a chance to meet them. This is where I snapped a photo with Travis Pastrana, possibly one of the biggest names in motor action sports. I'll admit I've seen his show Nitro Circus a couple of times but until this weekend I knew little about him. Apparently he used to be into motocross and retired from that when he became the first person to attempt a double back flip in the X games. Now he travels the country doing Rally Racing and has won the cup for the past few years. I was unable to see the actual races because I had to work, but my friend Mariah volunteered at them and got some great shots! Enjoy...

Chris, Me, Travis Pastrana and Mariah

This one was by far the cutest car at the show

My favorite car in actionAnother sweet shotThe pit crew doin' work

I'll take a large latte with an extra shot, sugar free vanilla and whipped cream

I'm currently standing inside the Steaming Bean Coffee House downing my second Italian Soda of the day. The sugar rush is starting to kick in and Jason Mraz is playing a little louder than usual as I haven't seen a soul walk through the front door for the past forty-five minutes. Don't worry, all the dishes are washed and put away and the coffee is fresh and ready for the next customer that comes in. I do like working when it's busy because time flies by so much faster but slow days come in handy when I have a lot of homework to do. Since today is an unusually slow day and a majority of my homework is done I figured I'd take the free time to update this blog.

So far this semester has been going great. I'm really enjoying living off campus. It's nice to go home after work and have my own place to escape to when I don't feel like dealing with the rest of the world. It's also nice to be able to make dinner whenever I want and I really like only worrying about one other person's laundry being in the machine rather than an entire floor.

Classes are going really well. The other night we had a "Star Party" for our Astronomy lab. Rather than sit in a classroom and try to understand the sky based on charts and equations we went out there and explored. I'll admit I could have thought of at least fifteen other things I'd rather have been doing on a Thursday night from 8-10pm, but this lab was my favorite so far. Jimmy put names of stars and constellations on pieces of paper and had us split up into teams of two. We randomly picked one of each and preceded to find them in the sky. If I had to try to find a constellation a month ago I'd show you the Big Dipper, which as it turns out isn't an actual constellation, it's an asterism. Yet there we were, finding Hercules in the sky.

I'm also enjoying my Ethics class. It's really interesting to learn about different philosophies and religions and what they consider a virtuous life. Being raised a Catholic I am thrilled to learn about the history of the church from a historical standpoint rather than religious. I also like exploring different ideologies and the ways people think.

Aside from classes and work, I've been working on this year's campus reader The Translator. It's about a man who grew up in Darfur and all of the terrible things he witnessed there. He wrote the book hoping the rest of the world would read it and come to help these pour impoverished people. It can be difficult to read because it's a complete reality check as far as what has happened over there, but it really drives the point across. I recommend it to anyone who's interested in learning more about the geneocides that have been committed in Darfur.