Wow, so 2007 is over! I'm definitely not going to complain about this year, as it's been one heck of a ride and I'm certainly looking forward to 2008 being better.
Two weeks ago I went to two kick butt events in Los Angeles. First, had the privilege of going to an NBC/USOC promotional shoot where I did many TV interviews and photo shoots with NBC stations as well as USOC outlets. All the material should be used leading up to The Games (assuming I'm lucky enough to make the USA team) and should be great for BMX. NBC is so stinkin' rad and I always want to be a part of whatever they have going on because they know how to do it right.
Probably the highlight of the day was that I was interviewed by Diane Dwyer. My mom and I have watched Diane on the nightly news for years and years! So when she came up to me and said "Hi, I'm Diane" I was pretty psyched. I tried to turn on the charm but I don't know if it worked haha. I did totally call my mom right after though and brag about it. Diane even invited my mom and I to watch a taping of the news and I'm going to take her up on it.
After the NBC shoot I headed over to the USOC Ambassador program at the LAX Hilton. I was there with 7 other BMX athletes. The purpose of the event was to teach us such things as how to handle Chinese culture and Olympic media. I always have a blast at these events because I get to see all my friends I've made at the USOC and no matter what event they would want me to attend, I would be there just to hang out with them.
My highlight at that event was being in a breakout group with Volleyball's Misty May. Of course, she's married now and has a hyphenated last name, but I'm only pumped to know her as Misty May. We did a skit together in our group and it was good times. Below is a picture of the group I was in for some discussions.
Then last Wednesday I went to Tulsa, OK for the ABA Grandnationals, the final race of the year. This is always an important race for me, but since I have focused so much on the Olympics, ABA races have taken a back seat and meant I wasn't to be up for any titles this year. Ever since I turned Pro I have been nominated as one of the top 5 Pro riders (as voted by the kids) at the ABA's Golden Crank Awards and thankfully this year was no different. Last year I won the award, but this year I was not to be so lucky. I do though, stand as the only rider to ever dethrone Bubba Harris for this award. It's tough competiting with Bub on this award, the kid is popular!
As far as the race went- it was ok. At the Friday night Pro Spectacular race I had the outside lane and could only pull through with a 6th place finish. For the Grands I had some pretty decent laps. I ended up with a 3rd in AA Pro and 2nd in Pro Open. Since this was a preparation race for the start of the '08 season I was fairly happy with my results. There was also some crazy drama at the race. Read the BMX forums to catch up on all the gossip. Congrats to Danny Caluag who won both Pro titles...
Next race is the day after Christmas in Columbus, Ohio. 2008 here we come...
Donny
