RV Adventures #2, April 2nd - April 5th: Postcards from Primm with a little bit of roadrash

Posted April 3rd 2007

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To watch the video:
RV 2007 #1
Alex, Gavin, and Jim in the desert: Texas, NABX, & some roadrash.
(Film & roadrash by Lil' Alex Brown. Surfing in Texas by Cap'n Buck Ashcraft.)

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Words and photos by Gavin Butler

After three solid days of driving it was great to take a break from the wheel after arriving late last night.

Alex and Jim at the Grand Canyon:

Primm, a casino town twenty minutes out of Las Vegas is an interesting place: two random casinos in the middle of nowhere with some of the dodgiest cliental I have seen. We all feel right at home here.

The first few days of the event have been pretty low key with the main competition starting later in the week. For the most part people are training and hanging out in the desert with loads of buggiers and sailors racing across the desert.

The location is amazing with nearly 360-degree mountains surrounding the cracked red desert surface. The surface itself is so hard, like rough concrete that rips shreds off the riders if they fall. I haven't seen land kiting before but it is a lot less forgiving than the water or snow. The guys carry hydrogen peroxide in the pockets round here so they can wash away the high metal contents of the desert floor out of their cuts before they get infected.

The wind has been light with a little breeze the first day and next to none the following days. An afternoon breeze usually picks up on dark for the guys to ride the 17m Waroo pros.

It's so dry and dusty here. The RV fills up with dust each time we pull up to the desert bed and by the end of the day it's red with dirt (inside and out). Not sure if the RV wash on the way into town was really a good idea as it's filthy already.

The whole buggy crews are great and they are there to ride and have fun in the many modes of transport that they use. It will be interesting to the see the competition format on the weekend and the spills that come along with it. Alex went for a late afternoon cruise yesterday which resulted in carnage. The tire blew out on his landboard and down he went with a big slide across the desert floor. We watched him limping back to the bus with blood all over his back, arm and shorts.

It was pretty nasty and I think this will see him out of action for a couple of days. We had to wash him down with the hydrogen to kill the germs from the desert floor and it looked really painful as it fizzed on his skin. I hope he is ok for the event later in the week.

Jim who has been helping us film has been a great help with the video and some solid riding himself.

He had a great sunset / night session on Wednesday to the high mountain back drop. It's so dry here and the afternoon light is amazing.

More soon from the RV. We should have the results and wrap up in the event by then. Then it's off to Utah to snow kite with Jake.

-Gavin

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For previous news on the 2007 RV Tour, right click on the following links, and open in new window:

RV Adventures #1: Alex Brown back on the RV: Texas to Vegas, & ready to hit NABX

For the complete RV Adventures, visit the RV page at www.bestkiteboarding.com/RV-Tour-Page.