So this past weekend was the first big rail riding event of the year in Nor cal at the 2011 Summer Kickoff at Lake Tulloch Resort. 25 Riders came out to go after the $1000 cash prize event promoter Jerrod Porteur and Lake Tulloch Resort were giving away. We started Friday night with a pre party for the riders, sponsors and vendors that included Hyperlite, Rockstar, Axis and Malibu boats as well as the Liquid Playground in San Jose, Executive Lifestyles Clothing, Risk Everything Clothing, West Coast Nutrition, and the Locker Room.

Saturday morning brought beautiful weather for the first few heats and then someone turned on the wind machine as we finished up the day with a last chance qualifier for all riders that didn’t make the final first time around. Ten riders advanced to the Final Round throwing down their best hammers on the funbox, rooftop rail, and corrugated tube, hoping for a shot at the $1000 prize.

Saturday night saw the fun meter kicked into high gear as everyone enjoyed drink specials from Rockstar and Jager and carried the party into the bar accompanied by a great set played by San Jose’s premier Rock/Reggae band Avair.

Joel Deroche, Justin Fisher, Ryan Watkins, Josh Romero, Ryan Deroche, Trever Marquette, Larry Taylor, Scott Starkweather, Nick Vallerie, and Eddie Valdez were the ten riders making it into the final on Sunday where we were greeted with a bright morning and flat water. When it was all said and done it was WSR’s Eddie Valdez and Justin Fisher taking the first and second spots respectively and Mr. Nick V picking up third.

A very special thank you to all the riders, builders, drivers, judges, and photographers that made this event possible and a shout out to Randall Harris who was kind enough to lend his talents to our judging panel all weekend.

Writeup: Jerrod Porteur
Photos: Cameron Brown