The editor is on an eight-day tour of Texas that started yesterday with his arrival at the Colin Edwards Texas Tornado Boot Camp near Lake Conroe and will culminate with the Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas on Sunday in Austin. He’s promised a daily blog of his travels. We’ll see if he lives up to that.
Well, I slept in a bunk bed for the first time since my childhood last night. And I slept like a baby. Since my roommate at the Colin Edwards Texas Tornado Boot Camp is bigger (okay, a lot bigger) than me, he got the bed. And I didn’t argue.
You can tell a lot about a program like this by the amount of returning students. Right now there are only three of us who arrived early and one of them (my roommate) has been here “five or six times.” He’s lost count.
My roomie is Henrik Larsen – a big Dane who now calls New Orleans home. He’s a huge fan of the Edwards camp and is the perfect roommate. And not just because he told me where the towels are kept. Mainly because he doesn’t snore.
It’s quiet here now, but that’s going to change soon. Today is arrival day at the camp and it should be a flurry of activity anytime now. We might even get a Colin Edwards sighting soon.
We’re not supposed to get on the little Yamahas until this afternoon so I have a few hours to work up the nerves and practice my Lemaze breathing techniques.
Although we haven’t turned a wheel yet, I’m ready to give this place an A-plus and not just because they have a Keurig coffee maker and a really nice shower. The accommodations are first class from top to bottom and this is by no means camping. There’s also cases of beer sitting around. Nuff said.
I haven’t been on a dirt bike for a while, but I’m looking forward to it. I imagine these guys will be fairly abusive in their training methods. After all, it is called “Boot Camp.” I imagine pain will start shortly after the first ride and it’s hard not to notice the huge bin of ibuprofen that sits behind the bar in the common area in the “Tornado Saloon.” Guessing that is for post-ride. And perhaps post beer tomorrow morning.
I hung out with a few of the instructors last night. Good guys. I figured getting on their good side right away made sense. I’m hopeful they’re not hiding a mean streak that comes out later, but I see it in a few of their eyes.
This school is set to have an international feel to it as Edwards has several of his MotoGP crew members set to attend. That means I might get called names without even knowing it. I’m going to pretend to speak French. I’ve also made a mental note not to criticize CRT bikes.
The crew from BBC is also coming in, pre-Grand Prix, including commentators Steve Parrish and Matt Roberts. I predict a journalist GP at some point. And a fight for aforementioned ibuprofen.
Racer James Rispoli just walked in, followed almost immediately by Edwards himself. No riding for now, but apparently the legal use of shotguns at the back of the property is about to start.
So I’m signing off for now. Will be back when I actually have something to write about. My contract calls for a blog a day. Let’s see how that goes. And no one told me how long it had to be so for now I’m a huge fan of short and sweet.