what i learned at x-games 13...

after having to watch the debut of the x-games rally event from my couch last year, i vowed to make it to this year's event. how awesome would it have been to see this live...

luckily, colin mcrae knew how sad i was about missing his roll into second place last year, so, he hooked me up this year by landing himself on top of a barrier...

(i stole that photo from expn.com. they have some great coverage of the entire 4-day x-games event.)

so awesome. seriously. and beyond mcrae, there was amazing driving all the way around. and although my boy travis ended up in third (due to a *ahem* questionable dq ruling in the semi round) it was a wicked run for the top slot on the podium. in the end, the foust/bevis team took gold. (yes, i said bevis.) of course, travis will always be #1 with me...

as a bonus, we got to see the men's vert skateboarding final as well, where so cal.'s own mega-olympian snowboarder shaun white took the gold with an insane third run on the ramp. check out the video on russell's recap of the games HERE.

all in all, it was a great way to spend a sunday. i was an x-games rookie this time around, so i thought i'd share a few things i learned...

1. wear sunscreen.

2. if you forgot to put sunscreen on, when someone hands you a promo gift of sunscreen, put it on immediately, not 2 hours later when you feel your skin bursting into flames.

3. the best promo item ever, next to free sunscreen, is a frozen, wet towel. (thank you subaru!)

4. get there early, there are a ton of exhibitors. (had we arrived a little earlier, we could have packed in 5 times as much free taco bell and mountain dew.)

5. bring a camera. (thank goodness for russell's phone!)

6. if the event is after noon in the home depot center soccer arena, get seats on the west side of the stadium. (the sun sets in the west, so you'll be in the shade. we were on the east side.)

7. did i mention sunscreen?

8. wear comfortable shoes. (there is a lot of standing involved in watching skateboarding.)

9. park near the exit. (zero waiting. it was fabulous.)

10. seriously. sunscreen. that's all i'm saying.

if they keep the rally event around for next year, i'll be going again for sure. i think skysurfing hung around for at least 5 years, so hopefully rally can keep enough momentum to hang in there for a few more years as well. now, if they'd just find a way to include a swoop event, i'd be in heaven.