Rain! All I could see was rain! I was in Houston, a stop over on my way to Indiana to do a demo at Vincennes University. As we taxied towards take off, I looked out the window of the plane and hoped that this rain was an anomaly, and that the demos to come would be sunshine filled in the land of the Midwest.

Touching down in Indianapolis, the day seemed to be cooperating, and I made my way to get my bags. As I waited for part of the team to arrive from throughout the West (Jeff Ferris-Skateboard from LA, Billy Gawrych-BMX and Jason Richard-Inline from Phoenix), I scoped out the exit plan and the drive to Vincennes, some 120 miles away in southern Indiana. Once the guys arrived, we hopped into our rental car and hit the road for points south and demos that lay ahead.

As we traveled down the road, we knew things would be different and fun here in Indiana. At one gas stop, we encountered a huge chicken on a trailer, and a bunch of locals who bantered all about the chicken. We posed for pictures with the chicken, and kept on rolling down the road. As we neared Vincennes, we also spied a roller coaster that appeared to be in someone's yard. The track went up the side of a barn and had a loop in the middle. Jason told us that he had seen this on "Ripley's Believe It or Not" and we all determined that we needed to get back there before leaving on Sunday.

Upon our arrival at the hotel, our host in Vincennes, an industrious student named Kyle Herschberger came by speedily to take us out to dinner with the students and faculty who had been organizing the event. At a local Mexican restaurant, we met all the crew and outlined the plan for the next 2 days. Billy and I would do a series of short flatland "teaser" shows on campus on Friday and we would also build a spine ramp that same day. On Saturday, the BMX boys from Chicago, Jake Kohl, Bob Kohl and Casey Burk would join us.

The whole team from the riders to the staff at Vincennes University

The set up on the Blue Basketball court on a Sunny Day

The student group, spearheaded by Kyle, had been planning this event as a kickoff to a series of celebrations held during the last week of classes. I had been corresponding with Kyle for over 8 months, and I saw the fruits of his labors in the newspaper articles and promotional materials that he shared with us that evening. After a nice meal, we headed off to bed, with a gentle rain falling all around.

Rain! When I woke up on Friday, all I could see, hear and smell was rain. Oh well, no big deal (yet), so we used this as a time to head to the local Lowe's for all the materials to make the spine ramp. We loaded up our rental car and Kyle's truck with wood, tools and everything else and headed to the university to begin construction. The rain continued to fall as we began to build the ramp, a project headed up by Jason and contributed to by all. We worked steadily as the rain fell, constructing the steep (5 foot 6 inch curve) spine ramp and interacted with students as we built it. We also scoped out the areas, and decided, weather permitting, that we would perform on a huge outdoor blue basketball court area, that was perfect for the ramp and all the flatland maneuvers.

As the rain fell, and the ramp was built (in under 3 hours), the time for the "teaser" shows came and went. We traveled back to the hotel to wait it out. We waited, and waited and waited. By 7 PM, we had bagged any hope of riding that day, and settled on showing a couple of videos to students in Kyle's dorm. We presented Jeff's new short film, entitled "Men of Action" in which he was one of the lead actors, and it was really well received by the entire group. Following Jeff's video, Billy showed his newest video "2 VCRs and a Broken 4 Track", which also included video pieces on us all and more. Billy's video is truly a work of art, and was enthusiastically enjoyed by us all, riders and students alike. Now, it was back to the hotel to wait for Bob, Jake and Casey, and to pray that the rain would subside.

Sunshine? Yes! Sunshine! As I peered out the window, I could see the sun, the clouds rolling away to reveal vibrant green grass and trees thriving in the springtime sunshine. Bob, Casey and Jake had arrived late in the night, after experiencing some difficulties with the ramps. After a hearty breakfast, we headed off to set the stage and get ready for a day full of demos.

The set up went smooth, although we did have to modify Bob's ramp set up, as the quarter pipe's hinge was almost busted. Bob masterminded a way to secure it, and the riders had to strategize the plan so as to not damage it further and provide a high flying set of shows. It made for some underlying tension that was unnoticeable to the gathering crowd, but evident to us all. Yet, we had all been deeper, and the ramps were in place, and the people began to gather. Not only students and faculty came to the shows, but also plenty of people from the town. Throngs of skateboarders came and rolled around with us on the demo site, and we practiced our lines, checked the sound and launched in our 2 shows for the day.

Dr. Skateboard in the Loop of the Blue Flash

Jason Riding the Big Chicken all around Indiana

The riders lit up Vincennes and the crowd responded wildly at each turn, twist and maneuver. Jeff got the crowd going with his work on the mike, as the "Dr. Skateboard and the Pro Impact Team" (our new name for this venue) began to blast and perform. Casey pulled Superman seat grabs and radical bar spins. Jeff launched over the jump box, at times clearing up to 10 volunteers from the crowd. Jeff also ripped up the spine, flipping and leaning his way with power and style. Jason pulled high 360 and 540 airs over the jump box gap, and flowed with great precision. Bob flipped over the gap, with hands and without, and Jake ripped it up on his bike and skateboard alike. The crowds responded loudly to all the action. Billy ripped up the flatland with speed and style, showcasing all his intricate tricks, all done without brakes on his bike. I joined in too, with impossibles, 540 shuvits, and handstand fingerflips on the flat and a few tricks on the ramps, like 360 shuvits and frontside grind reverts. We autographed cards, gave out stickers, met a lot of local rippers, and had a blast. The people, including the Mayor and the President of the university, extended their appreciation and admiration for our performances.