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West LA College,
Sept 1999
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Featured Right to Left: Tom
Mason, John Cazin, Dave Auld, Jarret Ewanek, Darren
Lott, Scott Peer, Dan Kinney , Perry Fisser, Brent
Cooper, and Dwight Garland on Gravity Bike.
Chad
Mason and friend lurk in
the background.
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The event actually
took place just outside West LA College on
Sophomore Hill.
The race was on a 0.3
mile course, with 4 chicanes and one 90 degree left
turn. Each run the last finisher was eliminated.
The newest riders (including some riding their
first time) were predictably eliminated early, then
the heats got really tight.
It was first American
Buttboard race to feature prizes! (But no entry
fee).
Scott Peer is a world
class In-liner who thought of the whole idea,
raced, and supplied the hill and prizes (even cold
beers for finishers 1 - 6). As the top non-luge
pro, he definitely held his own.
The cameraman (in
front) mistook old wheel holes for foot rests. On
one run he wobbled and ate it ,but managed to
savethe camera. (No leathers - ouch!)
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Note
(above) the amazing lead Tom (far left) and
Perryget on the rest of the riders.
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The Buttboard race was a
Super-Duper Mass start with only the last guy
dropping off each run.
Jarret "Dr. GoFast" (Maple Leaf
on back) surpised everyone by gutting out a major
migrane just to come to watch. As soon as he heard
"RACE," he jumped off his death lounge, borrowed a
demo board and asked, "Now where do I sit on this
thing?" Awesome.
Fun was the prime directive
although there were rules for racing. Slingshoting
was limited to practice and cutting into the
oncoming lane was prohibited for the race. Hitting
the cones was subject to DQ. But since none of the
infractions affected race results, a substitute
penalty was imposed.
Both Perry and Jarret spent a
round "On the Moon," a totally crap surface on the
start line that no one would be caught dead on,
unless it meant staying in for a "second chance"
into the next heat.
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After 15 practice runs, John
Cazin was the first out. He developed a raging
headache by the the first race, SLAMMED on the
brakes 20 yards short of the finish to let everyone
else go by. Later John bought beers and fed half of
the competitiors at his beautiful home. So much for
sore losers.
Several participants came to
play but didn't want to race. Perry Fisser's Nephew
had a lot of fun riding around in his uncle's gear.
"Look Mom, now I'm the Fizz!"
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In-line, Standup, and Gravity
bikes rounded out the fun.
It may seem like it was merely a
little competition among friends. However, Tom
Mason brought the Guinness Book of World Records,
Millenium edition and we counted FOUR world record
holders at that event: Tom Mason for Street Luge,
Dwight Garland for Gravity Bikes, Gary Hardwick for
Speedboarding,. And according to Guinness, the
"World's
Fastest Buttboarder" is
Darren Lott. (This is based on the AIS World Speed
Record Event in Arizona).
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Perry Fisser, Tom Mason, Dave
Auld, and Darren Lott competed strongly for the top
4 slots on every single run. In the final 4 man
heat, Perry led the pack and sat up at the 90. He
endo'd and ground the nose of his board. Darren and
Tom passed, and Dave was over lapped across the
finish line. But Perry held on for the transfer
slot.
Perry ran away with the final 3
man heat, and Tom and Darren battled tightly for
the transfer slot. Coming into the 90, Darren
passed Tom and broke late. Both riders pitched it
out, and Tom carried his slide all the way into the
curb! Spectators were impressed with how Tom
allowed the brunt of the impact to slam the board
he had borrowed from John Cazin, while preserving
his (and his own board's) physical
integrity.
The final with Darren and Perry
was a lesson in Perry's fast pushing and Darren's
attempt to draft and brake late. Perry didn't
crumble, broke reasonably, and held a flawless turn
to victory. Darren made a heroic attempt to take
the turn at full speed -no brakes! His huge slide
kept him off the curb but killed speed and he
cruised in a satisfied second.
Perry
Fisser was the big
winner that day, primarily due to good skills and a
super aggressive push. His first time racing,, he
won on a borrowed Lott Classic and promtly bought
the board
1 Perry Fisser (Center
Top)
2 Darren Lott (Right of Center)
3 Tom Mason (Left of Center)
4 Dave Auld (Far Right)
5 Jarret "Dr. Go Fast" Ewankek (Mid
Left)
6 Scott Peer (Far Left)
7 Danny Kinney
8 Brent Cooper
9 John Cazin
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Darren Lott ©2000
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