TARA’S DIARY – Feb 3, 2008 - Sunday
Anaheim SX 3 – I’M STILL A FAN!!
Last night I went to the Anaheim SX and had a great time. Stephane from BIKE Mag. France was an absolute gem and hooked me up with 2 VIP tix and plenty of goodies that came along with that. Carter and I had a chance to cruise over to the Honda / Red Bull Rig and have lunch w/ Stephane and the food was awesome. I only saw Troy for a second since he was running around like crazy taking care of his Honda team, but at the same time he was taking care of his son Max b/c Max was going to be in the KTM kids race later that evening. When I saw Troy he introduced me to the reigning Superbike Champion Ben Spies. I gotta say he didn't have much of a personality or maybe he just had a big head, but either way I met him. From there we just kept cruising through the pits. It was great to see alot of people/riders that I haven't seen in some along time.
I had a chance to see Dave Cullinan aka. Cully whom I haven't seen in quite sometime. Cully is such a great guy and I always missed him when he retired from the circuit. I did a double take when I saw the Athertons all the way over from the UK. They were hanging with Fitzy and Elayna from Fox Shox Racing. When Carter and I finally made it over to the Red Bull rig I met up with Jordan from Red Bull and talked about some things regarding Wings for Life. I hope to work in helping Jordan, Troy, and Ernie put something together for Wings for Life. Their research along with the Christopher Reeve Foundation is vital in working with stem cell research. Anyway, while I was at the Red Bull tent I had a chance to see Kyle Strait and his best buddy Cam as well as Pinter and my good friend Blake. His girlfriend Dejah gave me my tattoo and I can't wait to get another one. Although I might have to mix it up a bit and get my next one from somebody different. I got a chance to talk to Carey Hart and I have to say he was such a nice guy. I only talked to him for a second, but he just seemed to be sincere. I think it's awesome that he's able to start his own Hart & Huntington team so good luck to him.
I had a chance to go over and say hi to Billy Laninovich and wish him luck. I had ridden with him at the end of last year in Whistler along with David Pingree. Gawd, it was such a great time riding with them!
I'm sure it sounds funny that I'm naming all these names, but I'm just as much a fan even if I've met them, ridden with them, etc. I have to say besides having great seats, watching some good racing, etc., when I had a chance to meet Juan Pablo Montoya I was super pumped. So with that said go check out the picture section. I know some of you may think its name dropping, but I don't claim to be buddies with all these people I am just a fan and think they are amazing athletes.
I'm off to my friend Kai's house today for Super Bowl Sunday so I better get going.
Cheers!
t
Never Give Up!
Editor’s Note: Tara Llanes is recording her progress in rehab as she continues to recover from the spinal cord injuries she suffered in a mountain bike race in Colorado on September 1. This is the latest update posted to her MySpace page. Tara has been blogging about her recovery since mid-September. All of her blogs, photos of her recovery and many, many good wishes can be found at:
http://www.myspace.com/mtbtara
Her family, friends, and supporters are urging those folks who want to help contribute to a special fund set up for Tara’s recovery to visit:
http://www.tarallanesroadtorecovery.com
Below are two of her most recent postings to her MySpace page. Also here are a couple of recent photos. One of them promotes TARA JAM, coming up at Rye Airfield in New Hampshire on February 23.