Clay's Lyons Outdoor Games

By Clay Wright

The town of Lyons put on a heck of an event for us and there was
something for everyone!

The flows were higher for South St. Vrain Race and even top racers
got pushed, flipped, and spun out to the delight of the safety
crews. Tao took it despite a major detour on his second lap
followed by Pat Keller and Bryan Kirk and I was 4th despite getting
stuck at the start and flipping near the bottom. Super-fun course
and a great safety team only had one save to make but it was quick
and efficient. All the racers had tales to tell and I look forwards
to seeing any photo or video for sure.

After Saturday’s race, the kayakers got to enjoy the rest of the
games – we tested the bike jumping and pump track courses, watched
dog races, and tried Stand-up Paddleboarding demos on the pond. It
was really cool to hang out at en event trying other sports and
watching those who excel perform.

Sunday’s Freestyle showed just how fast and poppy these little 2010
All Stars can go. Stephen was boosting high above the fray and took
the win with poppy Airloop to Orbit and massive Space to Mcnasty
combos. Nick raced his way to second with high scoring fast,
technical rides without the bonuses, while Bryan Kirk’s smooth
tricky’s and Phonics earned him 3rd place. I think the funnest to
watch at this event was Greg Parker. Greg’s ‘all-in’ technique –
diving deep like a loop as he spins into explosive Phonics’s and
Mcnasty’s was a crowd favorite. The amount of ‘pop’ he was getting
on his technical tricks was creative and impressive even when he
occasionally landed in the eddy.

In the women’s class, it was the Emily vs Ruth show once again, with
both ladies nailing airloop, L Mcnasty’s and L Phonics – Ruth let the
way till the last ride where Emily hit all those plus getting the
Space Godilla instead of the airwheel. Elaine Cambell was third,
hitting a phonics monkey as well.

Check out LyonsOutdoorgames.com for more info, video, photos and
results later in the week when it’s updated. Till then check out
Tara Etter’s photos and video of my first run on the Narrows:

Clay