Tag: Extreme Sports


Las Vegas – Supercross

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I went to Las Vegas for the weekend to watch the 2012 Monster Energy Cup Supercross. There was some great racing, but unfortunately I didn’t get the amazing hotel room upgrade that I had gotten last year.

2012 Monster Energy Cup

2012 Monster Energy Cup


Las Vegas – Monster Energy Supercross

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Monster Energy Supercross in Las Vegas.

Monster Energy Cup Supercross in Las Vegas at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Mike Alessi in Semi Race 1

Monster Energy Cup Supercross in Las Vegas at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Ryan Dungey

Monster Energy Cup Supercross in Las Vegas at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Alessi and Dungey battled for several laps.


France – Motocross of Nations – Finals

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Day two the the 2011 Monster Energy Motocross of Nations. Yesterday was the qualifying races to narrow the field of teams down to the 20 top countries. Today is the Main event, which is actually three races (motos) where two riders from each country race in each moto. The combines finishes of all three riders in the three motos is used to determine the overall winning country.

It rained some overnight so the track started off a bit muddy. The weather is a bit wild, it’s switching back and forth between warm and sunny and cold and poring rain. If you don’t like the the current weather, just wait 30 minutes and it’ll change to something completely different.

2011 Motocross of Nations in France.

Lot's of Red While and Blue, but it's from the French Flag.

2011 Motocross of Nations in France. Race 1 (MX1 + MX2).

Chad Reed from Australia get the hotshot in Race 1 (MX1 + MX2). Ryan Dungey is in 5th or 6th place.

2011 Motocross of Nations in France. Race 1 (MX1 + MX2).

Ryan Dungey moves up to 2nd and chases Chad Reed.

2011 Motocross of Nations in France. Race 1 (MX1 + MX2).

The race started in the sun, but about half way through the clouds moved in and the rains started.

2011 Motocross of Nations in France. Race 1 (MX1 + MX2). Ryan Dungey in the poring rain.

Ryan Dungey in the poring rain.

2011 Motocross of Nations in France. Race 2 (MX2 + Open)

The start of Race 2 (MX2 + Open). Team France's Gautier Paulin gets the hotshot. The two Team USA riders are back in the pack.

2011 Motocross of Nations in France. Race 2 (MX2 + Open)

Blake Baggett ended up 17th in Race 2.

2011 Motocross of Nations in France. Race 2 (MX2 + Open)

Ryan Villopoto battles with Ken Roczen from Germany and Jeffrey Herlings from the Netherlands. Villopoto ends up 3rd in Race 2.

2011 Motocross of Nations in France. Race 3 (MX1 + Open).

Race 3 (MX1 + Open). The sun is shining and Team USA is in the lead. Ryan Dungey in 2nd place.

2011 Motocross of Nations in France. Race 3 (MX1 + Open).

1st place Ryan Villopoto hits a downhill jump in front of the French crowd. The crowd was going nuts during Race 2 when France was winning, but things have gotten a lot quieter with USA in 1st and 2nd.

2011 Motocross of Nations in France. Race 3 (MX1 + Open).

Ryan Dungey, 2nd in Race 3 (MX1 + Open).

2011 Motocross of Nations in France. Forrest Brown.

It's Me!


France – Motocross of Nations – Qualifying

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The Motocross of Nations is an annual motocross race that’s a bit different than most other MX races because it’s one of the only team races. 40 countries compete with three rider teams to determine which country has the best riders. The race takes place in a different country each year. Last year the race took place in the USA and I was able to go watch it in Colorado. I though it was a lot of fun to see all of the races and fans from all of the other countries. This year the races took place in France and I thought would be great to see the race in Europe where most of the teams are from.

2011 Monster Energy Motocross of Nations in Saint Jean d'Angély, France.

Blake Baggett hitting one of the uphill triples in practice for the MX2 Class

Ryan Villopoto during practice for the Open Clase.

Ryan Dungey got second on the of the MX1 Qualifying Heat, but quickly moved into first place.

Dungey blasts through a rutted corner.

Dungey going through a rutted corner.

I'm playing around with long exposure traking shots. French rider Christophe Pourcel.

Blake Baggett with a big lead in the MX2 Qualifying Heat Race.

Blake Bagget hitting one of the large uphill triple jumps.

Blake Bagget hitting one of the large uphill triple jumps.

Team France's Open class rider, Gautier Paulin blasts off the largest jump on the track, a huge downhill ski jump.

Ryan Villopoto hammering through the whoop section on his way to 1st place in the Open Qualifying Hear. Team USA went 1-1-1 in Qualifying, things are looking good for the main events tomorrow.


California – Summer X-Games 17

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The Summer X-Games is annual competition put on by ESPN of the best action sports athletes competing in a bunch of different events, sort of a mini Olympics for action and extreme sports.

For the last 8 years the Summer X-Games has been held here in Los Angeles, which is great for me, because I enjoy going to see some of the events live. The last two years I wasn’t able to go to any events because I was traveling, but I was in town this year, so was able to attend several of the events.

X-Games 17 at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles. Moto X Step Up.

Moto X Step Up. Basicly the high-jump, but on a motocross bike.

X-Games 17 at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles. Best Wipe.

Moto X Best Wipe. Who can do the coolest whip on their motocross bike.

X-Games 17 at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles. Moto X Best Trick.

Travis Pastrana goes for a crazy twisting double back flip in the Moto X Best Trick competition. Unfortunately he crashed and broke his ankle.

X-Games 17 at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles. BMX Big Air.

BMX Big Air.

X-Games 17 at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles. Rallycross.

The streets around the Staples Center are turned into a racecourse for the Rallycross.

X-Games 17 at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles.

Cool trashcan.

A new event for this year’s Summer X-Games and the last event of the games was Endurocross. Endurocross is a mash-up of supercross and enduro. Rides race each other around a custom track build inside an arena. The track is a bit similar to a supercross track, but with added rocks, logs, waterholes and other obstacles that might been seen in an enduro race.

X-Games 17 at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles. Endurocross.

Panorama of the Endurocross track inside the Staples Center.

X-Games 17 at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles. Endurocross.

The tight start resulted in many pile-ups.

X-Games 17 at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles. Endurocross.

Log Obstacle.

X-Games 17 at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles. Endurocross.

Struggling to get over a large log.

X-Games 17 at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles. Endurocross.

Tire Jump.

X-Games 17 at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles. Endurocross.

The waterhole.


Utah – Skiing

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Every year I go on a ski trip to Salt Lake City with a big group of friends from when I lived in Atlanta. My Dad also flies in from Minnesota to join us.

Skiing at Snow Bird ski resort.

Me skiing in in Mineral Basin at Snow Bird. We had fresh powder, but the visibility and conditions were not the greatest.

Skiing at Snow Bird ski resort.

My Dad had a good crash on a steep section of a run and ended up sliding for several hundred feet before stopping.

Skiing at Brighton ski resort.

Me at the top of Brighton.


California – Skiing the 4th of July Weekend – Monday

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The last day of the ski season.

Me at the top of Mammoth. During the winter, this sign can be completely buried with snow

There was still a small terrain park with 4 rails and a medium kicker with a smaller kicker next to it

This photo is just sad. It's the last day for skiing and these guys would rather work on their tan.

At the end of the day everyone gathers at the top of the mountain for for an end of the year party/snowball fight.

Approaching the top of the mountain at the end of the day. The crowd is bombarding the gondolas with snowballs

The crowd gathering at the top of the mountain for a season end party-snowball fight

Snowball fight in slow motion

After skiing I went for a soak in one of the natural hot springs around Mammoth


California – Skiing the 4th of July Weekend – Sunday

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Happy 4th of July!

I after returning from Canada I decided to go up to Mammoth Mountain for their last weekend of skiing for the season. I was originally planning to drive up Saturday so that I could ski Sunday and Monday, but I was still tired from my Canada trip so I decided to go to stay in LA on Saturday and then get up early Sunday morning and make the drive up to Mammoth. Sunday morning I was still moving a bit slowly and didn’t get on the road until 5:30. But I still managed to get to Mammoth and hit the slopes by 11:00 for a couple hours of skiing.

It was amazing how much snow had melted since I was here two weeks ago. The bottom of the mountain was pretty much all melted with only small snow paths made by the snowcats to get to the lift. But once you got to the top of the mountain there was quite a bit of snow. There were two chairlifts and the gondola running.

July 4th and still skiing

July 4th and still skiing

There was lots of snow on top of the mountain, but getting to the bottom was a little trickier

There was lots of snow on top of the mountain, but getting to the bottom was a little trickier

I think this guy made a wrong turn and ran out snow

I think this guy made a wrong turn and ran out snow

Bikinis and Bikes

Bikinis and Bikes

This guy was having a good time

This guy was having a good time

Lately I’ve been trying to shoot time lapse movies of the stars. So after skiing I decided to find a good location where I could camp out and set my camera up. I ended finding a spot in the mountains above Bishop that gave me a nice view of the Owens Valley, Bishop and the Sierra Nevada mountains.

My camp for the night

My camp for the night

The stars above Bishop

The stars above Bishop


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