Adam Leveque

Brian Chapman

Jon Kenniston

Nicolas Hostein

Story & photos by Kieran Chapman

What the...? Where was everybody?

It's disappointing to see the pitiful turnout at these contests, especially with all the work Chris Poulos put in organizing them. I don't get it: when I originally posted all the contest information on newenglandflatland.com early in the year, Chris got all kinds of feedback (or, quite often, complaints) about how the judging (among other things) was set up. So Chris changed things around to suit what the riders wanted.

And then they didn't show up. I don't get it. They cared enough to raise a stink, but not to go? Weird. Whatever. I don't want to be too negative.

Brian Chapman and I got to Sanford, Maine just after 9:00 AM, followed later by Jon Kenniston. The contest was supposed to have been part of a town festival, but that had been cancelled. The guy from the Parks Department still offered to block off the street for us to ride, but that seemed silly for just three of us, so we blocked off the entrance to a small parking lot and rode there instead.

Needless to say, the contest didn't happen; instead it was just a small riding session, with Nicolas Hostein and local rider Adam Leveque joining the group later in the morning. Several people stopped by to watch the riding, so Chris was successful in introducing the Gospel of Flatland to at least a few people.

Kudos to Chris for helping to support the New England flatland scene. If you have any ideas, comments, or suggestions to help make next year's contests better, feel free to send it to me or Chris (neflatlandseries@aol.com).