Dog tired and totally filthy, we hastily threw everything in the trailer and went to sleep in the arena parking lot. Early the next morning, we made the jaunt up to my parents' place in the foothills and started the long process of cleaning up and preparing for next week's race. One downfall to EnduroCross is the amount of wear and tear that can take place on your machine; riding through huge boulders and water crossings is no cakewalk for equipment. Luckily, though, we had some entertainment while we worked: '06 EX crowd favorite Nick "Trials Guy" Mantzoros and his buddy Garrett Greenfield had nothing to do, so they decided to tag along for the next few days, entertaining us with nose wheelies and an odd taste in food (Nick was seen eating a burrito made of a tortilla Dog tired and totally filthy, we hastily threw everything stuffed with Skittles, Pop Tarts and a Snickers bar with maple syrup inside. Yuck.).
After we got our bikes reprepped (which consisted of changing oil, straightening rotors and checking everything top to bottom), it was time for some R&R-we cut firewood, shot skeet, rode trials, threw knives and enjoyed my Mom's down home cooking for the whole next day. You can't have fun forever, though, so the next morning it was back to business as we again loaded up and hopped over to Geoff Aaron's home in Bailey, Colorado. Geoff is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, but he didn't earn his 10 trials championships without working hard, and he certainly knows how to crack the whip when it comes to practicing. Realizing our propensity for goofing off, Geoff immediately put us on a gnarly training diet of waking up early, hiking in the mountains, rock climbing without ropes and riding over boulders that shouldn't be ridden upon. You really have to see Aaron ride to appreciate his skill, and his flawless approach to every obstacle motivated us to sharpen up for the coming weekend. It wasn't all work, though, as Geoff rewarded our progress by showing us the many sights around his friendly little town, which has some of the coolest backwoods hangouts imaginable. Still, by the time we motored back onto the freeway we were hardened, focused and ready to race.
It's a good thing we practiced all week, because Oklahoma was a whole different animal than Colorado. Set inside the famed Lazy-E Rodeo Arena, the huge course looked like a supercross track covered in tires and logs. To give you an idea of how big the venue is, I rode a freestyle contest there in 2002 where we competed over eight ramps, five dirt hits and a double-double-double rhythm section with plenty of room to spare. The place is big, and the Shane Schaeffer-created track wasn't something you could just ride around. One of the most snarling obstacles was a dirt step-up to a plateau of logs, followed by another huge log and a steep, small downside. With nearly everyone watching the first practice, the freestyler inside took hold. I failed an attempt to pop up the step and over the logs in what Huffman described as, "the scariest crash I've ever seen." My trials tire clipped the top and sent me flipping over the bar, but I somehow cleared the next log and rolled straight to my feet without a single scratch. While my bike was totally tweaked, I was stoked to walk away unharmed, even if I had just played guinea pig for everyone about to go out for practice. For the remainder of day qualifiers and into the pro race that night, nobody tried the hideous little double again.
David Knight was the man to beat at both rounds. | 
Damon Huffman back in action! | 
In the final laps, Chris Denison gets a little blurry-eyed. EX will do that to you. |
 |  |  |