This was my first trip to North Carolina and it started with Dave Mirra picking up Micheal Ho, Dennis McCoy, and myself in his truck and then smoking the tires about half way back to Dave’s. Just one of the things you just get used to after riding around with Rally Car Racers that just got their professional license.
Shortly after we got to Dave’s house and dropped our stuff off, we went to check out the Warehouse and get a session of riding in before dinner. If you have never been to Dave’s private warehouse you are missing out. There are endless lines to take and super smooth trannies; it’s easy to just flow around till you can’t breath.
The resi box is the best I have ridden, Dave’s resi box actually has a landing you can see not just a mellow slant that pretty much starts right after the lip. This difference took a little getting used to, including bailing on a backflip, I over rotated. Something hit my leg as I let the bike go and slid down the landing; “Damn”, I thought as I got up and did it again with no problems.
We continued to ride the rest of the evening and then decided to get ready for dinner. As I took off my pads I noticed one of my freshly washed DC’s was red? I thought this is weird and then I pulled up my pant leg which had also mysteriously turned red. At that moment I realized there was not just a scratch but the worst cut I have had. Suddenly I had a problem to deal with.
Knowing that our reservations at Finelli’s, a local Italian restaurant were not far off, Dave had an idea! He made a quick call to Dr. Brad, a friend of Dave’s, and we drove back to the Mirra’s home. Seconds after we pulled up I was sitting on a chair with my leg propped up and Dr. Brad stitching me up, right in the middle of Dave’s tile floor. As he poked and sewed at the gash on my leg, I thought, “wow, this is really living the life”. One minute you find out there’s a huge gash in your leg and the next you’re getting it stitched up no hospital, no waiting room, and no paper work.
After the quick stitch job we headed out to Dave’s favorite Italian restaraunt, Finelli’s. As I browsed through the menu I couldn’t help but notice an item called Dave Mirra’s Gold Medal Chicken, which Dennis quickly steered me away from, by reminding me that Dave’s Gold Medal Chicken must be at least three years old.
We finished our phenominal Italian dinner and headed to one of Dave’s favorite watering holes, 505, aka Chiefs! They had a live band, and a great crowd! The Greenville locals, all of Dave’s friends are without a doubt some great people to hang out with, especially Ty, Mike, Chris, Andria, and Tiffany, who we seemed to chill out with quite a bit.
The next day as I battled my hangover, we had a short session of riding at the warehouse, then prepared for another night of fun! It started off similar to the night before, Finelli’s, a few $100 bottles of wine, then to the 505, which this time was much slower, but had some amazing freshly squeezed orange juice and vodka drinks, then we moved on. After ending up with an expensive magnet from some local taxy service on Dave’s Denalli we headed downtown to 519. It was a great time, your typical college bar scene mixed with a dozen or so Pro BMXers, even Dennis was out getting loose!
The next day I battled another gnarly hangover that was worse than the day before. One thing I didn’t come prepared for was heaving amounts of alcohol consumption. That afternoon we rode the warehouse, then prepared for poker and partying back at Dave’s. There was a great turn out, excellent burgers from the grill prepared by chef Ho and a bunch of amazing riders, Guettler, Cooke, Laird, Harrington, Wirch, and many more, also Kevin Adams, aka Gator, who’s going to owe me a ticket back to Greenville when KU wins the title this year!
I decided to call it a night when everyone else headed out to 505 at about 2 am, and picked up the mess around the house and got to sleep. The next morning we started off at the Daily Grind for some lunch and then back to the warehouse for one last session.
As I boarded the plane to return home to Lawrence, KS, I thought about what kind of life is possible from being an amazing rider and just how much fun is really going on out in Greenville. After a trip like this one it’s easy to see why Greenville attracts so many people that ride BMX. I had a killer time with Dave and his family and I really appreciate how welcoming and accommodating they were!
Thank You,
Hunter Wright
Photo’s by: Todd Nichols
Ryan Guettler is over at the JoMo Pro contest this weekend. The good vibe of the contest that has done its rounds has brought a whole lot of BMX Pros to the park for the third edition of the contest. It is Ryan Guettler’s first time at JoMo pro and he arrived 3 days early. The extra time was needed getting used to the park which has hundreds of lines.
