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Last night CX-Games had an after party for all the athletes and staff to end a great event. We all had a great time but when the alarm went off at 8am we were all wishing we would have got to sleep earlier. Either way today was a day that we had all been looking forward to due to the fact that we would be going to see The Great Wall of China one of the wonders of the world. CX had arranged a van to pick us up at 9am and once we all piled in everyone was back asleep before the car started moving. An hour and a half later the car stopped and we all woke up. We had arrived at The Great Wall.
As I made my way to the bathroom around 9am my legs felt like I had walked across the great wall ten times. Usually this would concern me but due to the fact that yesterday was so great I was content with the way I was feeling. The best trick was scheduled for 1pm and like clockwork Franky picked me up at 11:30am and we headed to the event. As we made the drive the sky was grey and the fog was thick giving the day a very Halloween type feel. As we drove to the event we joked about how spooky the best trick was going to get!
The phone rang at 8am and through the Chinese I heard the name Silhan. Though I didn't know what the voice was saying I knew something must be wrong with Mathias. Yesterday during practice he had a slight fall that kinked his neck and now today that small kink wouldn't allow Mathias to move his head at all. Franky decided it was best if we all went to the contest and that he was going to take Mathias to the hospital to make sure nothing serious was wrong.
As we entered the course around 2pm you could sense the excitement as well as some nervousness affecting most of the competitors. With only 30 minutes of warm up time before the contest everyone was very eager to get warmed up and finalize their run. The contest format was 2 runs, 60 seconds each, and they take your best run. Along with all the international competitors there was also three Chinese skaters who had moved on from the China National contest the day before. Due to the fact that the skatepark was very spread out everyone had different tricks and unique lines which was very cool to see.
Since the weather took a turn for the worst yesterday with all the rain and dropping temperatures my expectations weren't very high for today. Surprisingly driving to the event the sun was out and the temperature was the highest it had been since arriving in Beijing. As we made our way to the course the mountain bike contest was running late which was fine because it gave me some time to decide how my line was going to be laid out and what lines would required the most practice. As always the local skaters were super welcoming and looked happy to see us which made the feeling more like a skate park session than a contest.
Before a contest everyone is always so excited to begin practicing and most of the time the anticipation is the hardest part. Everyone woke up this morning excited to go to the event site and check the course out. Even Horn and Mathias were in great spirits and dealt with the jet lag really well. We all went to a small coffee shop near the site and as everyone began to wake up the weather began to get worse.
With the sun beaming into my room around 7am this morning I knew it was going to be a good day. Not only was the sun out for only the second time since arriving in Beijing but today some of my good friends/Razors teamates were about to join me in China! It has been one week since I arrived and while my time has been great I haven't been able to communicate fully with anyone and I was excited to share all the amazing things I'd seen and experienced since arriving!
As we pulled up to Tsinghua University in Beijing the college looked more like bustling city than a college. Driving through the enormous campus we came across banks, grocery stores, clothing stores, and of course mass amounts of college girls. Franky informed me that this University was the most prestigious university in all of China and that only the best students are accepted to further their education here. He made the comparison to Harvard in the United States. I was impressed to say the least but in the back of my head I was imagining the consequences of skating Harvard which might possibly lead to an arrest or heavy fines.
Unless you live in Southern California weather is a factor that always put a damper on skating, with that being said today Beijing was hit with heavy winds and rain. Due to the fact that we went to Woodward Beijing the day before nobody was thrilled on the idea of making the long drive two days in a row. We decided that today would be a perfect time to explore the city and do some shopping.
After having a full day of skating yesterday it felt good to get a few extra hours of sleep especially because I knew today we were going to Woodward Beijing, the newest member to the Woodward family. Growing up I never had the chance to visit Woodward, it wasn't until much later in my pro career that I went to Woodward West for the first time. That being said, this morning when I woke up I had the kid on Christmas morning attitude and after doing a bit of exploring around my hotel and grabbing coffee, Franky Zhang picked me up at 12pm. Beijing is huge and even though I'm staying in Beijing we still had to drive two hours to get to Woodward Beijing.
Be sure to check out the live updates from the French vacation tour. We are proud to support the tour, below you can see the first edit from the tour. FRANCE VACATION TOUR Fréjus stop from The Confrérie on Vimeo.
The X-Mas Jam is going down right now! Check out the live updates today and stay on top of what is happening there! This is the biggest contest still this year, so we decided to bring you top coverage from there to get you juiced for the rest of t...
