Four of my classmates and I went to a rodeo at the Virginia State Fair to learn more about the culture of bull riding. First having to stop by the corn dog stand, just in time to let the ketchup dispenser throw up all over my tan shorts and shoes. After watching some barrel racing and calves getting whip lashed by a good roping, we finally saw what we came for. Man on bull -entertaining because it is so outlandish. One of the cowboys maybe be smarter than the others or had mistaken the dirt and smell of manure for a ice rink, but whatever the truth was, he wore a hockey helmet rather than a cowboy hat. After the rodeo we went "backstage," we met with bull rider Dan Welsh. A BMX bike rider as a kid looking for a higher adrenaline rush when he was in college. He told us everything from getting stepped on and walking away without a bruise to how a he caravans across the country with other riders like a rock band - just a little less glamorous.
