Dirksen Derby 2014 Day 1

Stan surveys the scene and is stoked I was too cheap to buy him into the race this year. Less waiting in line, nahmean.

This season is off to a slow start in the Northwest. The NOAA forecast looks more depressing by the day as we wait for any snow to fall. Northwest snowboarders are left with nothing to say but fuck El Nino or Obama or whoever’s fault it is that the snow level hasn’t really dropped below 8,000 feet yet this year. So it was no surprised that this year’s Dirksen Derby on December 12 was a lot of people’s first real day of the season, including mine.

Personally I was scared. I’m not scared of much and certainly not scared of riding a snowboard, but for whatever reason, the idea of navigating a plank of wood with edges down  this year’s course, even just for practice at my own pace, seemed teriffying. As I expressed my anxiety to others in the line up though, I was quickly reminded of what the Dirksen Derby is about. Between the multitude of new moms back for their first day on snow (in at least 9 months- but who were still doing the race)  and the fact that every person told me to shut up and snowboard, my aprehensions quickly subsided. In fact, I chose to take my one practice run on the red course, which everyone had been saying was way more technical (read: scary.) And it was a challenge – especially the deep pocket on the third turn, which required staying some quick thinking to even negotiate.

But as usual the Dirksen Derby course is short, sweet and perfect for getting your legs back after too many hours sitting at a desk this fall. And when I made it to the bottom unscathed, my faith in myself, and snowboarding in general was fully restored. Maybe it helps that the average age of the Derby participants is also in their 30s, but man, this is my kinda event. Stay tuned over the next few days for more random thoughts and completely unthorough coverage right here on Yobeat.com!

Tim Eddy is all about fitness, therefore he doesn’t suffer the same first-day-of-the-year issues asus lazy people.

Oh, and Northwest Volcom rep Chayne Shoulz says don’t fuck with him. I’ll take way more pictures tomorrow, I swear.