The next day was the big Great Falls race. I paddled hard and felt really fast but made a small mistake and ended up in 5th place. The level of competition at the race though was truly world class, so as much as I wanted to win, 5th place still beat a lot of really fast racers. EJ looked awesome all day long and I thought for sure that he would win but due to to high caliber of racing anything less then a perfect race wasn’t good enough. He was however very fast and consistent. Anybody who might have forgotten that EJ still has ridiculous boat speed was surely reminded that he is a force to be dealt with in every event.

Today was the freestyle finals. The competition was at a hole called Bloody Good, but really it is bloody trashy and shallow. Despite its trashy nature it was pretty fun, and the idea of competing made it all the better. In the end I had just about as good of a ride as I could have and was able to win.

EJ was second with a great ride of his own, and Brian Kirk was third paddling nicely as well. I was stoked to win because this is the first time that I have competed since winning the event in Reno. I always feel a little uneasy after any kind of time out of my boat as I know that during that time the paddling world is getting better and I am not. Also, the last few days have been the first time that I have really gone 100 percent since my injury, which by the way has left a weird depression in my side, and I have got to say that I feel like my conditioning is as good as it has ever been.

I have had an awesome time paddling at the Great Falls and can’t believe that I have not been here before now. I am totally stoked that EJ called me up and brought me to this cool place. Tomorrow we are paddling at the Adventure Sports Center, and then I am flying home to the land of heat and fire on Tuesday.

I was sometimes able to pick up the pace for short periods to maybe 75 percent with little discomfort. This is a lot better then the last time that I padded when I was guessing that I could only go at maybe 20 percent.

So, next week I will try to be on flat water most everyday focusing on getting everything in that area strong again. Maybe in two weeks I will be on the river. That’s the plan.

Unfortunately for me I tore a muscle in my side while playing around on the river the day after the River Festival. I was hoping that it would heal up quickly, but it has become quite a problem for me. Yesterday I got into the Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Vail. I received a Cortisone shot and some Novocain patches, but I cant yet tell if it has helped. So, regardless I will be in Colorado either competing or helping to judge. (hopefully competing) I am heading to Steam Boat Springs tomorrow and will start training for their event, so I will have a better idea of what my paddling situation is going to look like then. I won the event last year, so I really hope that I have the opportunity to compete.

Last weekend I worked at CKS in Buena Vista at their annual event. I had a lot of fun, and it seemed as if Jackson Kayak had a strong impact as well.

Very cool!

Next I headed to Telluride with Nick and Emily to help out a Jackson Kayak dealer, Jagged Edge, with some clinics and fun on the river. Unfortunately that trip was cut short due to a snow storm, but I am looking forward to going back next year.

So, that’s it for now. I will update you again soon.

Jackson Kayak shipped me the new Super Star over night delivery, which was unbelievably cool on their part, and I was stoked to finally be in the best kayak ever. I was starting to think the 2007 Super Star to be a myth, but I was oh so wrong. I paddled it down to the hole and told EJ who was there training that my first ride ever in the new boat would be a 140 point ride.

I think that I actually would have scored 120 points, but that is awesome considering I had been in the boat all of 5 minutes.

So, the Festival went off great this year. At one point we had over 8000 people watching us compete. Yes, 8000!! And after all in said and done we probably broke the 30,000 people for the weekend mark. How cool is that for a river event. Its the best event of its type in the world if you ask me.

Thanks to Jim Litchfield, the RSCVA, all of the people who worked to produce to event, the volunteers, the vendors, and the people of Reno for being so supportive of this great event.

Anyways, the competition was unbelievably tough this year. Brian Kirk was having amazing rides as well as Andrew Holcomb, Stephen Wright, Ben Guska, Macy Burnham, and of course EJ. Brian, EJ, and I made the cut to the top three, and in the first round of that Brian was eliminated having his worse ride of the day, and me having my best, being 169 points. So, it came down to EJ and myself, just like I like it, and I was fortunate enough to come out with the win. EJ was competing awesome and that is not easy to to when coming off a huge emotional weekend at the Worlds the week before. I am very happy to have won this event. Being able to represent the brand new Super Star well, winning in my home town, and competing head to head with EJ all make this a memorable event for me.

So, now it is on to Colorado. I will be leaving on Wednesday and will update you somewhere along the way.

EJ won another World titile which is unbelievable. I know how hard it is to win one Worlds, and am very aware of the commitment that it takes, so the fact that he has now won 4 is mind blowing to me. The guy is straight up a freak of nature and I am glad that I have been around to see this accomplishment. He is without a doubt the best ever, and probably the most dominant that there will ever be.

This coming weekend is the Reno River Festival. I am really looking forward to this event and will be preparing all week long to try to get back to the top of the podium.

Jason Craig and I have been boating a lot together. I have been working with a clock doing timed rides, and generally trying to practice under some kind of pressure. All of my moves here feel really fast, snappy, and good to go.

This weekend I am helping to judge the Collegiate Nationals here in Reno. I am really looking forward to paddling with everyone and watching everyone compete.

The World Championships are only a few weeks away now. I leave next week to head up to the Ottawa River and it will be full on, full time training for me until the event starts. I have myself in great shape, so I should really be able to prepare well with out dealing with fatigue. I have gone back a bit to some of my old ways in terms of how I want to be physically. I used to be big, strong, and very explosive. The last couple of years I have tried to make myself skinny, and weaker, for the sake of staying a lot lighter in my boat. Forget that, right or wrong, I am going back to the old me. Big, strong, explosive and ready to throw down!

I am hopeful, but still a bit skeptical that the Worlds feature will be in and at a prime flow. To the best of my knowledge certain people in the past have made claims to the idea that they can control the water. I have heard such claims before, and never before has the water been controlled for any event that I have ever been to on the Ottawa. I was on the Worlds web site the other day and my concerns were validated. The only reason that I bring this up is that I am really concerned about the risk that this is for he sport. If the water level is good then it could be the best Worlds ever. If the water level is bad then it could be the biggest disaster in Worlds history. It would be a huge blow to the sport of international freestyle competition. My concerns lie only with the sport. Anybody that knows me knows that I will show up at any feature, good or bad, and compete with a great attitude. I have had a great time competing on some really bad features, but I am hopeful that this one will be really good.

Last weekend Lisa and I went up to Eugene to finalize things for our wedding, and I am happy that we don’t have to do that again. I am looking forward to it though as it will be right on the river and all of our friends can spend the day kayaking if they wish. I know that I will be.

This week it is back to training hard. I just registered for the Worlds which is now only weeks away. So, that was kind of a reminder of what is soon to come.

I must have brought the cold weather with me because most days it never got above freezing, which is crazy for that part of the country. The cold didn’t bring us down though. We paddled every day either in the hole at Rock Island or at Brave Wave. I particularly enjoyed the practice time on the wave as I don’t get to spend a lot of time on waves that good. I also got to paddle the new All Star which is unbelievable. Honestly though, it did make me a little bitter that my size, the Super Star, is going to be the last boat finished. Maybe EJ is trying to punish me? He’s messing with me for sure!

When not on the river we played a lot of Ping Pong and lifted weights. Nick, EJ, and I would do a weight workout about every other day and the three of us worked really hard together. I think that I might have grown another peck!

We also set up the projection screen television and had a big super bowl party complete with our own game of foot ball with some of the factory folks. I can’t remember if I my team won or lost, but we must have won. Go Colts!

The last day at Rock Island I popped a rib in my back. I drove to Cookeville to what I would find to be the most red neck Chiropractor ever. This guy was "Hill Billy" to the T, complete with the "business mullet", as I like to call it. He was very good though and within two days I was paddling again.

As always the Jacksons were very hospitable. Despite the fact that they always have plenty of extra bodies eating up their food and sleeping in their beds, they never make us feel like the dirt bags that we are.

Now I am back in Reno. I am kayaking here but have plans to go over to the Feather in the next day or so.

Jay