Hey everyone, the last time I left you I was heading to Las Vegas, USA. Well I survived and I didn’t even lose all my money.. I managed to walk away from the BlackJack tables with a few dollars to my name which was awesome! But I can definitely see how it can chew people up and spit them out. I was told mostly people can only handle Vegas for 2 days and then they’re broke. We were there for a week and it was one of the best weeks of my life. Parties in the Playboy club with $500 bottles of Vodka and general shenanigans were part and parcel of the trip. We headed back home to Australia after almost a month in America and I was definitely glad to get home. 4 weeks of parties takes it out of you. Valyside Apparel sure know how to do ‘work’ trips haha.

Back in Australia and it’s coming into a hot spring and summer, and I’m starting to wish I was in Europe to get away from the sweltering heat. Having said that, Spring and Summer means it’s silly season down here, and there are more comps and shows that you could poke a stick at. I’m finally back on the bike after my broken ankle and dislocated elbow in a few months and I’ve just picked up a new ride on the 2010 KTM 250SX. I’ve been on Yamaha’s for 6 years and I’ve never owned a Euro bike, but after I was in Belgium riding with the FMX4Ever guys and riding with my mate Schuie who’s a Factory KTM rider in Australia it was time I made the switch. I’m actually really excited to be riding the KTM. Out of the box it’s such a powerful bike and lots of trick bits that just makes you want to get on and ride.



I spent about a day on the track before I was feeling confident to hit ramps up again and start getting my tricks back. So I’m feeling pretty confident already which is awesome. It was only 2 weeks though to get used to my new bike before my first competition came up. On my Birthday I had to drive about 12 hours from Brisbane up to Mackay in the tropical part of Australia. Mackay is a really nice place where the Great Barrier Reef is and lots of tropical islands off the coast. Unfortunately it’s really hot, muggy and windy. The X-Kings competition was a good event with a winch wakeboard competition in inflatable pools, BMX Dirt and also FMX. The wind was the biggest distraction for the riders and the long day didn’t help either. I was feeling pretty good during my runs but by the time the competition came around I was so physically exhausted my muscles went into melt-down. I ended up in 4th place which I was still happy with since I had only ridden for 2 weeks before the comp.



I’m now getting ready for the next few competitions and shows. The Valyside Revheads Australian FMX Championships is on next weekend on the other side (western) of Australia in a little town called Narrogin. The day after that I’ll be heading down to Esperance at the bottom of Western Australia which is 8 hours from Perth to do a photoshoot in the big sand dunes and then the next day heading to Indonesia to do a TV ad.

Until next time, stay cool!

Cheers

Steve

www.stevesommerfeld.com