On the road....

Photos of the adventure.....

2012-02-03T17:10:00.000-08:00

Bull rider!

Try hard!

Get off those pockets, boy!

Top Student Award.....oldest cowboy?

You're only as young as your spine is flexible

Lyle Sankey (left) and Lucas

Cowboys....

My guardian angel dragonfly....

2012-01-21T16:08:00.000-08:00

It’s been three weeks since I rode my last bull and I’m going into withdrawals. The “high” that I’ve been on has mellowed over the past week and my life has returned to somewhat normal. As soon as I returned home from a week in KS riding bulls, I had to dive straight back into work and it’s been fast-n-furious over the course of the past three weeks. I left the family and hit the road on January 2^nd in order to attend a few regional tradeshows, I spent last week in Los Angeles for an Oakley Global Sales meeting, and I flew home last night. It had been three weeks since I last kissed Meg and Kieran. Fast-n-furious…..it feels good to be home for a few days before I fly to Denver next week.

While I was away from the family, I was inspired to get a tattoo commemorating my bull riding epiphany. Cowboy up! I am not a guy that is covered with tats. I have a small one on my leg, a soccer tattoo, that I got inked when I was 18. Knowing that I managed to finish the week without the aid of crutches or riding in the back of an ambulance, I felt that I had some luck on my side as well as some help from a few guardian angels. Molly, my guardian angel dragonfly, was indeed watching over her daddy. I feel very blessed…..

If you’re not yet familiar with The Molly fund, please hit up www.mollyrowlee.org. I rode with a “Molly” sticker on my protective vest while I was in KS and none of the cowboys that I rode bulls with that week asked me about the sticker. During my award speech, I felt compelled to share a bit about Molly’s story and the message was simple; love your babies. Life is so very precious. I posted a new update on the Molly site the other day and please give it a look if you’re interested.

I’m definitely not done riding bulls. I just ordered the Il Toro bucking machine in order to get in some practice and there are some rodeo events running this summer in VT so I can get my fix. I’m still on the hunt to chase down that 8 second dream….I just have to stay healthy.

Photos from my week and vids are en route and I'll post them as soon as they arrive so stay tuned.

Cowboy up!

Buck

Life lessons......

2011-12-30T17:30:00.000-08:00

I almost made the whistle today. I spent last night and this morning visualizing my final ride. I would close my eyes and rehearse my free hand being in the right position coming out of the chute and into the bull’s first move. Elbow in, hand up, getting my rear end off of my pockets and over the bull. I just had to focus on that first big move and then I knew that good things would happen. We watched video analysis of our rides after the morning and afternoon sessions each day. Lyle would correct our mistakes and we would work on making the adjustments. I would jump on the Il Toro trainer and practice – keeping my shoulders square, getting up over the bull, keeping my back strait, and working to get my free hand in the correct position. I was so determined to have a great final ride and I wanted it so badly!

Bull riding school is all about riding bulls. The first day we spent a bit of time breaking down the fundamentals of the three basic moves; Jump and kick (ride the buck first), into the hand, and away from the hand. We spend time on the Il Toro practicing those movements and then we roll into the dismount. If you get bucked off your bull that’s one thing, but if you do make it to the whistle and ride your bull for 8 seconds you STILL have to get off of that bull safely so we practiced our dismounts. After lunch on the first day, we headed over to the chutes and learned about the correct procedure. I learned how to get on and off of the bull perfectly and tie my rope. After that is done you get off, put on your glove, and then you’re back on the bull ready to ride. I don’t want to bore you with the specific details. But the one thing that I learned is that once that rope is tight around your hand and you slide your feet up, then your butt, and you’re in position to ride all you have to do is nod your head and then magic happens.

We were riding bulls on the first day. The only guys that rode were the pros and that really gave us a chance to watch them and learn from their mistakes because Lyle would be making corrections about their chute procedures so it was good to be able to soak in some education before my first ride on the second day. I went to bed that night scared. I wasn’t excited to ride a bull – I was scared to ride a bull. I have been talking about bull riding and wanting to ride bulls for years now. It is so romantic and cool to talk about bull riding and, sure, I would get a little nervous in the days leading up to the day when I was leaving for KS. But on Tuesday night I went to bed knowing that I was going to have to ride a bull in the morning and that scared me.

I didn’t have any specific goals, jotted down on paper, before I arrived in KS. I wanted to ride bulls. I quickly discovered that the problem with wanting to ride bulls is that there is a chance that you could get hurt and hurt very badly. I knew this, of course, but reality hadn’t kicked in until I saw my fellow bull riding pals getting stepped on and dragged. My big problem, in the beginning of the week, was that I was afraid of getting really hurt. I felt mortal! I had to coach myself through that fear and try to imagine only the positive. It was a FIERCE battle. Yesterday afternoon one of our friends had to be taken to the hospital after he was stepped on and the bull broke a few of his ribs. I sat with him, as the paramedics were on their way, and you could see the bull’s hoof imprint on his protective vest. Google Lane Frost – same deal. I was never afraid to nod my head but getting over the fear of being hurt was a major hurdle and it’s an accomplishment I’m more proud of than progressing in my bull riding. After each ride that I was bucked off, I always said a prayer of thanks. I have never come that close to escaping death, multiple times, and if you know me then you know that I’m not one to preach the gospel. But it’s very difficult to not acknowledge that a higher power was looking after me when you have a chance to see some of the photos….ha. Which I will post in 2 weeks when the disc arrives....

I woke up this morning determined to ride my bull to the whistle. I was excited, totally prepared, and while I was eating a very light breakfast I was thinking about everything that I had learned over the past week and I came to the realization that I absorbed an incredible amount of LIFE LESSON’S this past week. Lyle Sankey is not only a great coach but he’s a wonderful motivator. Google this cat - Lyle Sankey. Lyle is the real deal in the world of rodeo, and Lyle was constantly providing us with tips that I easily translated into the real world. One of the things that Lyle said stuck with me because he wasn’t only teaching us how to be better bull riders. Lyle was teaching us how to win. I mentioned in my last Blog about having to “cowboy up.” I told Meg this afternoon that I’m going to get that inked on my arm because it’s a powerful statement. “Cowboy up” can be translated however you want, but to me it means “try hard.” Try hard…what a wonderful life lesson. I look back on my week of bull riding and that pretty much summarizes my effort and that has been prominent in my life for as long as I can remember. I am not the most gifted athlete so I always had to work harder - try harder! Reflecting over my professional career in sales, “trying harder” has always been what I’ve had to do in order to succeed. I arrived at Lyle’s school not realizing that it wasn’t some sort of fantasy camp. There were no other 40 year old guys running around wanting to do the “one-n-done” thing just to say that they rode a bull. Hanging on to a bull for dear life is not riding a bull. I wanted to ride a bull! When I quickly realized that I was surrounded by 11 other bull riders who were very serious about becoming WINNING bull riders I transformed into a very serious bull rider. I was completely inspired by the 11 other guys because they were here to learn how to win. I arrived in KS just stoked to ride a bull but that wasn’t an option because I was at Lyle’s school to learn how to win. There were no late nights out with the guys after we ended for the day. We all went back to the hotel, took care of our bodies, and got prepared to ride better in the morning. I think that is the best part of my experience about going to bull riding school. I was there to learn how to win!!

Kieran, my six year old son, is just awesome. I have no idea what the names were of the bulls that I had ridden this week. Today in the ride off, I rode bull #67. But I have taken Kieran to enough PBR events that he knows the names of all of the rankest, World Champion, bulls. I buy him stuffed animal bulls at every event we attend. Kieran loves Chicken on a Chain and Troubadour! Every night this week, when Kieran and I would talk, he would ask me the name of the bull that I rode. I would make up names and tell him that I rode Sledge Hammer, Razor Wire, Sucker Punch, Hoodlum, and today I almost covered Nail Biter….because he was so mean that everyone was afraid to ride him!....ha. Nail Biter was my best ride of the week, and as soon as I made it safely over the fence I dropped to me knee and gave thanks. I was thankful that I finally was able to control my emotion in the chute. Today was the day when my leg FINALLY stopped shaking in the chute...but my buddy, Derreck, who was spotting/pulling for me still had to remind me to breath. I thanked God for keeping me safe as well as my 11 other buddies, and I thanked the Lord for giving me the strength to overcome my fear of getting hurt and riding aggressive. I was stoked on my ride, I knew that I had done well, but the best compliments always come from your fellow bull riders when they shake your hand, throw you a high five, and tell you how well you rode. Thank you, boys.

I am flying to NC tomorrow morning into order to spend a few days with Meg and Kieran before I have to jump on a plane to MI, OH, CT, LA, and then Denver for work. I am leaving KS with a few special mementos of my bull riding adventure. I am taking home my bull rope, a pair of spurs for Kieran, and my spurs that I rode all week. My spurs are pretty special and I didn’t realize how magical they were until after my ride this afternoon. I was surrounded by a few of my new bull riding buddies, hugs and high fives after my ride, and one of them pointed out my damaged spur. My left spur was not only missing a rowel but the shank was totally bent. This only happens when you get bucked off and your spur gets hung up in your bull rope. When this happens, it’s very bad. You are dragged behind or underneath the bull and it’s certain that you will be stomped on multiple times. All of us stared at my busted spur in silence because we all knew the consequences if I had been hung up. At that moment, I felt that surge of energy through my body and I understood too well that did indeed ride with an angel looking after me this past week. Thank you, Molly, and thank you, Capt Ralph.

The most special memento that I’m taking home is going to be one that I will treasure more than any “trinket” that I own and that’s my Top Student Award. I didn’t cover any bulls this week. I didn’t ride 13 bulls this week, but I tried to do better each time that I got on a bull, and I showed up this morning determined to make it to the whistle. Life Lesson. It didn’t happen today but I will ride a bull to the buzzer….soon. Cowboy up! Thank you, Lyle, and bless you. Thank you other 11 dudes for the awesome week. It was a dream come true and the best experience of a lifetime. Cowabunga! Don’t be afraid to nod your head….Life lesson.

Transformation....

2011-12-29T18:40:00.000-08:00

I have been in KS since Monday night and I've been attending the Sankey Bull Riding School in Derby which started on Tuesday morning. I had every intention of writing a re-cap each night, following my bull riding day, but I was too preoccupied with working on my bull riding fundamentals and focused on surviving another day. I wanted to spend a little time tonight sorting out my thoughts but I have every intention of describing the complete details when I make it to the other side tomorrow after I cover my last bull of the week. "Covering" the bull is riding him for the full 8 seconds. Eight seconds might as well be eternity. I think my record is four but tomorrow is the final day and instead of sweating my morning ride I'm actually AMPING to ride my final bull.

I think that I may have turned the corner and transformed into a bull rider. I am not going to lie. The first time that I was down in the chute and setting my rope I was so scared that the boys had to talk me through the chute procedure. I couldn't breath and my left leg would not stop shaking. Fear? Yep. There are 12 of us attending the Sankey School this week. Five of those guys are pro bull riders that are here to fine tune their skills under the watchful eye of mentor Lyle Sankey and get on some practice bulls. I am the only dude that is 40 + and I'm 14 years older than the second oldest bull rider. All of the cowboys, except for me, have aspirations to earn a living riding bulls. That is important to know because I've been fully immersed in the world of bull riding. This "ain't" a school that caters to dudes like me that just want an experience of a lifetime. This is a school where bull riders seek out in order to improve their skills so they can make their house payments. If you have aspirations to make a living riding bulls, Lyle Sankey is the guy that can put you on the right path and I was spending the week with 11 guys that had the dreams to do just that....

"Cowboy up" is not a sticker slogan. The pro bull riders have been getting on three to four bulls a day while most of us buck one or two. It doesn't matter if you jump on four bulls or one bull a day because your body gets wrecked. I have been spending the week with multiple ice packs on various body parts when I get back back to the hotel. It's everything that I can do to just pop open a old beer and slump into bed but I've been pulling on my shorts and getting down into the hotel gym in order to get in a sweat so that I can get the blood flowing and stretch my sore muscles because that's what pro bull riders do when they want to ride the next day.

I am stoked on the fact that this "transformation" has seemed to happen subconsciously. I have had many conversations with the Lord, asking him to not only watch over me but my 11 other buddies as well. I overheard one of the cowboys this morning saying, "Bull ridin' will make you right with God." I have woken up at 2:00 a.m. completely terrified at the thought that I was going to have to ride another bull in a few hours. On my very first bull, that sucker was bucking so hard in the chute, and actually trying to climb out of the chute, that they had to tie his head down so that I could set my bull rope. THAT was my first experience! I have been battling many emotions over the past few days. Yes, I have achieved my goal and I've ridden some bulls but I have not really RIDDEN them - I have been holding on. There is no other experience that can remotely compare to climbing on a bull and hanging on when that chute opens, and I'm telling you that the first few rides are a total blur. But then the transformation begins. You leave NH a surfer and you THINK that you arrive in KS a bull rider but it takes a few rides before you go from "hangin' on" to riding a bull. After riding some bulls, practicing my moves on the Il Toro trainer, and being totally immersed in the bull rider atmosphere for the past week I can honestly say that I'm actually AMPED to ride tomorrow. I think that tonight I expect that I'll be able to sleep through the night and be able to eat some breakfast in the morning. Stoked! Eating has been rough....fear has a way controlling your appetite.

Keep me in your prayers - I'm going to be aggressive and goin' for it in the morning. Cowboy up!

Bull riding in Kansas

2011-12-26T17:09:00.000-08:00

When I sit back and think about it, I guess it is a little strange that a surfer from NH is spending the week in Derby, KS riding bulls at the Sankey Rodeo School. I don't think that it's so crazy because I've wanted to do this for a long time. It's almost like it is a "calling," I can't really explain it, but riding bulls means more to me than just checking off a box on my "bucket list" because I don't have a bucket list. I've been fortunate to surf and snowboard all over the planet. I've surfed world class waves and I've done the Helli snowboard trip, but riding bulls will certainly pull me out of my comfort zone and I expect that I'll be trembling with fear the first time I lower myself down into the chute and sitting on top of a 1600 lb bucking bull. Those that know me can attest to the fact that I'm not some stereotypical adrenaline junkie. I don't search out the biggest waves to ride and I don't huck myself off of cliffs in the AK back country. Honestly, I'm just a dude that has always wanted to ride bulls. And this week I've come to KS to do just that.....

When my daughter, Molly, passed away from cancer a few years ago, my wife, Meg, needed some closure. A few of our close friends suggested to Meg that she should visit with a psychic medium. I am not going to get into that story, because that's another story all together, but I will say that when Meg came home and relayed her meeting with the medium to me the psychic medium told her that I was a cowboy in my previous life. That made perfect sense...to both of us.

I originally had this bull riding trip planned with a few of my surf buddies last year, but life happens when you're busy making other plans. I had just began working for Oakley and I had a surf trip to Fiji and the bull riding trip all dialed. I needed to begin working for Oakley so I had to choose between Fiji and riding bulls in TX. The bull riding adventure would have to be put on hold. As time passed, my friend's enthusiasm for bull riding faded but I was still obsessed. I needed to do this - I had to get this trip done now before something else got in the way - so a few months ago I pulled the trigger and booked the travel...fully committed.

I have been to a handful of PBR events when the tour rolls through CT. I watch the action on Versus each week but knowing that I was going to be putting myself in danger took my motivation to get really fit to the next level. I'm not twenty years old, I've got another fourteen to twenty years on those young guys, but I still like to think that I'm "young." In my previous life I was a soccer player and when I was a player I was obsessed. I was never the stud athlete or star player. I was the kid that always had to train harder and I was cool with that because working hard gave me a lot of confidence which shaped me into a competitor.

My point is that I trained hard for bull riding. Some folks need to run marathons or participate in triathlons in order to remain motivated to stay fit. When I was in high school. I had an ODP coach, Anson Dorrance (UNC fame) who told us that it was easier to stay fit than it was to get fit. I work hard to stay under 145lbs so my tiny surfboards will float me. Crossfit has been my passion for the past few years, but knowing that I had eight weeks to prepare my body for the punishment of riding bulls provided me with an incredible amount of motivation. I trained like a professional athlete...who happens to have a day job. I was in the gym at 5am on most days - squeezing in another training session at lunch when I wasn't on the road - and I focused on my stretching and hammered my core. I did 3000 cartwheels! When was the last time that you did a cartwheel? I trained like a maniac and I paid close attention to what I was eating and then I trained harder. I jumped on the scale the other day just see where I landed and I was at 139. Cowboy tough! I imagine that if I was in the military, and I was running patrols in Afghanistan, I would work out hard in order to survive war. That was my mindset leading up to this week. I have a beautiful wife, a six year old son, and a baby due in March and my family at home need me. I am the provider. I have a wonderful life, a fantastic job, and could not allow myself to not fully prepare myself for riding bulls. I am prepared, I feel @#$%!! strong.....

This morning I left NH a surfer and arrived in Witchita a cowboy. Tomorrow is day #1 at the Sankey Bull Riding School. Game on.......