040 BITS & PIECES Roamin’ in the Gloamin’
Danny Paving a new MacAskill way back home Continuing this issue’s theme on the creative masterminds that are changing MTB as we know it, one rider we couldn’t go past is Danny MacAskill. Danny’s new web film titled ‘Way Back Home’ is quite simply a work of extraordinary art. It’s beautiful and mind blowing both at the same time. Danny is a genius on a bike. He is one of just a few riders on the planet that isn’t just pulling the same old big tricks, but is in fact pushing the envelope of possibility and creating a whole new world. We recently caught up with Danny to talk about the new film as well as life in general. It has to be said first up, your opening trick in the film, what the f*ck!? Ha yes I wanted to make sure we started the film with something special. A few people have reacted like that in fact after watching the opening clip. I’m thankful. You’re the first person we’ve ever seen throw down a stale to front flip drop. Tell us a bit about the first time you tried it? Unfortunately I am not the first person to do front flip drops. Even before I had ever seen anybody do them it was always a sort of Holy Grail trick for me. When I was 13 or 14 I would joke to friends about being able to do front flip down drops. Last winter I had about 9 months off my bike due to 3 broken collarbones in a row. These injuries gave me a lot of time to think about riding I wanted to do and tricks I wanted to learn. I bought some crash mats as I don’t have a foam pit near by where I could learn front flips.
We hear this film was quite a while in the pipeline. What was the significance of the locations, Edinburgh to Skye? As I said I was injured for about 9 months over last winter. This gave me a lot of time to think about the locations for the film. It was actually RedBull who first came up with the idea of riding all over Scotland. I thought I would maybe be riding some where like Barcelona or some where everybody rides and is easy to make riding edits. The idea of me riding back to where I grew up (Dunvegan) on the Isle Of Skye was just amazing. I really couldn’t have come up with, or done a project that meant more to me than this one. You ride some pretty incredible buildings during the film, was there much red tape to go through in terms of getting permission from National Trust or did you just get sneaky and ride it on the sly? Well some of the buildings we had to get permission for, for example Edinburgh Castle.
We managed to get a 1 1/2 hour window to ride there. It was funny having their health and safety officer stressing about what we were doing! Most of the other locations we didn’t have permission for. Most of the places didn’t really have anybody about as they are so remote and I’m not damaging anything with my bike, so I’m hoping that people won’t get too mad when they see the places I have been riding... When most people ride street they just work on the same old tricks and lines they see in movies or in magazines, but with you, so much of what you do is completely original, inventive. Where does your creativity come from to branch out so much? I have been very lucky with my riding. First of all I grew up on a small island off the north west coast of Scotland and as a kid I would ride my bike every day with my friends or by myself doing skids and wheelies and generally having the time of my life. Over the years some of my friends stopped riding but I would still go out and ride every day.
They say everybody has a story. Danny MacAskill has more than just one though. DAVE SOWERBY Seriously, as if anybody was meant to be this good on a bike!? //
Danny MacAskill 24 Dunvegan Isle of Skye INSPIRED BIKES, RED BULL, POC, HOPE
I now ride by myself about 99% of the time just doing skids and wheelies, I like it this way as I can ride whatever I like when I like and I’m not trying to ride like somebody else. Watching the newest trick or the top riders ride wasn’t so easy when I was younger as there wasn’t really internet. Now you can see the newest trick a couple of hours after it is landed. I am really grateful I have grown up riding the way I have though. One thing the film doesn’t show is out takes. Is that because you dialed everything first time or because you don’t like the world seeing you crash and burn? I never crash or fall, I’m like a cat! Haha I wish. On this filming trip I had loads of crashes. I’m sure they will make their way to the internet at some point but I like to keep the riding edits clean and for the riding to flow, so my friend Dave doesn’t really use the crashes.
When I drove from Edinburgh over to Skye at the end of last year it was right in the middle of the deer ruffage season and we very nearly nailed a dozen or so times by the bastards along the way. Did you hit or kill anything during your trip? I am very careful driving in my camper van, so no I didn’t kill anything, luckily. I caught a few Mackerel and had them for dinner one day but that was about all the killing I did. Quick bike related question, have you ever ridden 26” wheels? Yeah I rode a 26” wheeled trials bike from about the age of 11 till I first got sponsored by Inspired Bikes when I was 19. I really like the way 26” trials bikes feel its just the wheels are a wee bit weak for the riding I’m doing as my bike tends to take a proper beating when I’m learning something new. All my mountain bikes have 26” wheels of course.
What about suspension forks for street? I like the feeling of stinging wrists so I think I’ll just stick to fully ridged on street. Now that front flip drops have been ticked off the list, what’s the next ‘big’ trick you’re working on? I have a lot of different tricks I would love to learn this winter but I think you’ll just have to wait and see them in the next videos. Any chance of seeing you ‘downunder’ riding any time soon? I would love to do a filming trip around Australia! The only thing I would be worried about is the heat. As you know from being in Scotland, it doesn’t get very hot here and I die riding in temperatures above 15 deg. C! Words by JT
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Tim Eaton blazing! //
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62 UG2 Brought to you by MARZOCCHI and KALI
HILLENBRAND
HILLENBRAND
It might have been drizzling and cold throughout the first day but it did little to dampen the atmosphere and antics, both on and off the track. // HILLENBRAND
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ANOTHER
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A N D BY M I D O C TO B E R E V E RYO N E WAS STA R T I N G TO B U Z Z F O R T H E WA R M E R M O N T H S O F S U M M E R A N D T H E D H S E A S O N TO AG A I N G E T U N D E RWAY. B U T T H E N J U ST T H R E E W E E K S O U T F R O M T H E O P E N I N G R O U N D O F T H E N AT I O N A L S E R I E S U P AT I L L I N B A H I N Q U E E N S L A N D, N E WS B R O K E T H AT T H E R AC E H A D B E E N C A N C E L L E D D U E TO B A D W E AT H E R . I T S E N T O U T A WAV E O F D I SA P P O I N T M E N T R I G H T A R O U N D T H E CO U N T RY. CREW HAD BEEN OUT TRAINING HARD FOR MONTHS AND E V E RYO N E WAS G E T T I N G T H E I R N E W R AC E B I K E S A L L D I A L L E D I N , T H E N B A M , E V E RY T H I N G LO O K E D TO B E P U T O N H O L D F O R Y E T A N OT H E R 6 W E E K S U N T I L TAS S I E . E V E RY B O DY WA S B U M M I N G . A F E W N I G H TS L AT E R W E W E R E D OW N AT T H E P U B C E L E B R AT I N G O U R L AST I S S U E H AV I N G G O N E O F F TO T H E PRINTERS WHEN SOMEONE PIPED UP WITH T H E CO M M E N T T H AT W E S H O U L D ST E P U P TO T H E P L AT E A N D H O ST O U R OW N M I N I N AT I O N A L R AC E T H AT W E E K E N D. W E H A D D O N E T H E U N D E R G R O U N D R AC I N G F E AT U R E L A ST Y E A R A N D I T S E E M E D TO G O P R E T T Y W E L L . W H Y N OT TA K E I T TO A W H O L E N E W L E V E L A N D I N V I T E T H E CO U N T RY ’ S FA ST E ST R AC E R S TO AT T E N D? A N D S O W I T H T H AT, U.G R AC I N G I I WAS O N !
Caption. //
HILLENBRAND
TBS
NOLAN
Saturday night alright! //
NOLAN
HILLENBRAND
JAY COLLIER
TBS
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· SAM TOLHURST · WORDS & PICS
· ANDREW CRIMMINS·
· THOMAS CRIMMINS·
U/15 State Series Champion, U/15 State Champion, U/15 National Series Champion, U/15 National Champion, U/17 State Champion, U/17 National Series Runner Up, U/19 State Series Winner and U/19 State Champion. Tom is barely 15 years of age and already has a list of results people many years his senior would kill for. Take one look at him on a bike and you realize straight away exactly why he has these results on the board. Super fast, super fluid “like a gazelle” claims Nicho of Rouler Imports and sponsor of the boys. That’s right, there are two of them. Enter his much younger brother, Andrew Crimmins; U/15 National Series Champ, U/15 National Champ Third (and with a crash, too!), U/15 State Series Champ, U/15 State Champ (just two weeks after he turned 12!). Not bad for someone fresh into high school and just turned 13… The brothers Crimmins, Bredbo born and raised. A small town most people are familiar with as one of the last pieces of ‘civilization’ en route to Thredbo, boasting locals none too different to our 6 fingered cousins down Tassie way... “It’s not that bad, though at school camp someone did steal a pair of my Calvins and Hugo Bosses in the wash… that’s Bredbo for ya” laughs Thomas. Living in Bredbo has its benefits for the boys, namely that Bredbo’s proximity to Australia’s longest downhill run in Thredbo means that their school can run a mountain bike athlete program where the boys can head to Thredbo for some lift assisted goodness one day a week, though Andrew claims his training schedule is “too hectic to go to school bro” with a cheeky grin on his face. As for other hobbies “Does digging count? I’m a bit of a Facebook addict. I did play soccer and cricket back in the day, but bikes took over. Team sports are for fags!”
So, is it alright if you come up this weekend, or will you be busy with your school certificate?
“School certificate? I’m still in year nine…” THOMAS CRIMMINS
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Breaky or celebratory beers after a solid day of riding? You decide.. //
NATHAN MURPHY
Battle scars are inevitable!//
NATHAN MURPHY
S u n d a y
W o r d s N i c k
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Already our best laid plans had gone straight out the window. No more racing the You Yangs Cressy Descent, but a detour to Red Hill where Nato’s Wolf Pack team mates have planned a full day of shuttles. Plumber powerhouse Dave Leach from the Red Hill Riders is on a mission to destroy us on his home turf. It then goes and drizzles rain so the clean riding kits and the 5-10’s are already rooted. The best bit however is the traction at Red Hill. It’s a sandy, granitic soil that gets grippy when it’s wet. We had a choice of 3 tracks, the flow track, the pro flow track and the DH run. The day wore on and we started to dial the place in, and by the end we were happy riding smooth on the flow track. There are heaps of sweet jumps, hips and berms to hit up and we called the day after 11 runs. Time was spent in the car park explaining to suspension legend Armando from All4Bikes the benefits of the Power Balance wrist band and other believable bullshit mind/body games. Leachy took us back to his place to clean up then straight to the pub for pots and parmas. Back on the road at 10pm and we head to Ben and Mel Davies place at Point Cook on the other side of the city. Ben raced that day at the You Yangs and finished 3rd in Elite - nice. Hit the hay straight away when we got there.
By no means daunted by the idea of having anther 70 odd runs ahead NATHAN MURPHY of him that week, Nick goes out blazing on day one. //
M o n d a y Ben leaves super early for work as a self employed landscaper and leaves us to take Mel out for a killer breakfast. Slip by the pet shop afterwards to buy some toys for their dogs and then take them to the beach for some poochy play time. Apparently the beach we go to is a homosexual hangout and there are some dodgy looking people waiting around for something. We don’t wait around to find out. Two hours away we pull up at Maldon for some new found DH riding. I get that never been here before pre ride feeling – what are the tracks like? Where do they go? Is this place really as good as others have been telling me? Where’s the dunny? Maldon turns out to be sweet, easy to navigate, nice and fast, and not too hard. With a short, fast bitumen shuttle road the trail crew out here have a literal gold mine. After all this place was smack bang in the middle of the gold rush back in the 1850’s. A new type of gold now exists at Maldon. Nato doesn’t turn up at the bottom of one of his runs, so I start thinking that we should have talked about a buddy system for any injuries. I walk up the track yelling out his name thinking that he is lying unconscious on the side somewhere. Here he comes, walking the V-10 by his side with a loose rear axle. Smart, stay off it and make sure it gets down the hill – don’t want to stuff this week up. 3 different tracks, 20 runs and a chest cam run later, we feed some muffins to the magpies and head back to the city. Next stop mtbpicsonline HQ. Photographers Hux and Marni kindly open their door to us and lay on the hospitality; roast lamb, drinks, great conversation and comfy beds. T u e s d a y Killer breakfast round 2, we don’t want to leave the HQ. Round 1 of the VDHS is at Eildon and we want to scope out the track. Waving goodbye to the Huxley’s we fly down the highway to Eildon, stopping to stock up on some fruit and water at Alexandra. We walk the track first to suss it all out and find a massive tree down at Bay 13. We leg it and push the bikes to the top for the first run. Looking at the track it seems disused, eroded and wild, but riding it... nice... its dry and flowing fast. That’s one thing about Eildon, it’s deceptive and riders love it. The VDHS opener will be
mint. Nothing too hard on this track, Nato and I do a bit of filming. We punch out 10 runs on the only track that exists in the area and load up the Falcon and yet again head back towards the big smoke. We role into Mike ‘Import’ Doria’s neighbourhood with a “what’s up Guv, nice Land Rover – heard that it’s unboggable” quip. Laugh it up chuckles, Import had the beast mega bogged at Barjarg the other week. Downed a few VB longnecks in a way that Nathan Rennie would be proud and then head out on the town in the Range Rover. Little Creatures is a hidden beer hall behind a small shopfront in Brunswick, totally not what I was expecting, good vibe with a big choice of beers. Smashed a few pints down and settled in for a feed. End up hammered. Choice night.
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WHEN SOMEONE THROWS UP THE PHRASE “KIWI FREERIDER” NINE TIMES OUT OF TEN, P E O P L E W I L L A S S U M E T H E Y ’ R E TA L K I N G A B O U T C R A Z Y N E L S O N G I A N T, K E L LY M C G A R R Y. B U T T H E R E ’ S A N O T H E R N E W Z E A L A N D E R – A L S O F R O M N E L S O N – W H O ’ S S TA R T I N G T O T H R O W H I S H AT I N T H E R I N G , N O T J U S T W I T H D I R T J U M P I N G , B U T W I T H D O W N H I L L AND EVEN A BIT OF 4X. HIS NAME IS KARL BENSEMANN. HE LIVES IN BRISBANE AND H E L O V E S N O T H I N G B E T T E R T H A N G O I N G B I G G E R T H A N A N Y O N E E L S E . AT T H E T I M E O F W R I T I N G H E ’ S T H E O N LY 2 6 I N C H R I D E R T O H AV E AT T E M P T E D U N I T ’ S B R E AT H -TA K I N G G I A N T S O F D I R T B M X J U M P S , A N D N O T O N LY H A S H E L I V E D T O T E L L T H E S T O R Y, B U T H E ’ S L I N I N G U P T H E T W O B I G G E S T H I T S ( 5 0 F T A N D 6 0 F T ) O F T H E E I G H T- P A C K L I N E . B E N S E M A N N , 2 5 , H A S N E V E R B E E N M O R E F I R E D U P A N D I S A L R E A DY P L A N N I N G A S E R I O U S A S S A U LT O N T H E N Z F A R M J A M I N F E B R U A R Y A N D T O S TA K E A C L A I M A S A N O T H E R K I W I F R E E R I D E R W H O H A S W H AT I T TA K E S T O R U N W I T H T H E B E S T O F ’ E M . W E C A U G H T U P W I T H K A R L F R E S H F R O M H I S S E C O N D AT T E M P T AT T H E G I A N T S O F D I R T T O F I N D O U T A B I T M O R E A B O U T T H I S R E L AT I V E LY U N K N O W N ( A N D G R O S S LY U N D E R - R AT E D ) C H A R G E R .
Mad flow through the trails.... //
SIMON MAKKER
112 LAST WORDS Short stuff....
Shorty 23 Campbelltown NSW Rhythm Imports, EnemyOne Clothing, Pushbike Factory
What’s been happening the past few years since you last popped up on our pages? I travelled overseas a bit, you know, get out and see the world. Partied a lot. Moved down the coast. Moved back up the coast. Got with my girlfriend and just been enjoying life by practicing making babies! Are you still 3 foot tall? Ha just over 3ft now! My bike is still a little taller than me though... Still live at Campbelltown? Unfortunately yeah, I’m back in C’town. Still riding the Campbelltown park a heap? Don’t people get shot there like every other day? Ha nah I’ve been riding there only once a month if that. Yeah, that place can get heavy. There was a shoot out in my street about a week ago. For real. Who you riding for now? Rhythm Imports, The Pushbike Factory still help me out and I picked up a deal with EnemyOne Clothing. What bike are you rolling on? Still riding that white NS Suburban IV that I’ve had since Rythm Imports hooked me up years back. You more into dirt or park these days? Dirt dude, love it.
What tunes do you listen to these days? Fair bit of Grinspoon, Blink 182’s earlier stuff, Damage Plan, Slip Knot. Pretty much anything like that... Who are some of the riders that you admire? Andreu Lacondeguy for sure and Darren Pokoj. Who’s got the sickest style you’ve ever seen? Josh Stead. He used to ride BMX at the C’town skatey a heap back in the day and had that whole oppo smooth style thing going on real good. Working on any tricks at the moment? I’ve been trying to get front flips happening in the pit so I can take them to dirt. Nice dipped 3 you’re pulling here. How long did it take you to dial them in that hard? Ha I hadn’t really ridden for like a good 6 months before that day and that shot was the second 3 I pulled all day! So yeah, it took just 2 attempts in about half an hour to get it that dialed. Pretty stoked on them. What does the future hold for Shorty? I just wanna ride more for a start and hopefully get more sponsors ‘coz I need a few new parts for my bike. I’m looking into moving in with my lovely girl and her daughter soonish which I can’t wait for. Beyond that I don’t know really. Hopefully the future brings me more good laughs and wicked memories to look back on.
The best thing about riding here at the Grove compared to back at Campbelltown where Shorty lives, is that every second CALLAN person isn’t packing a gun! //
D UN RO RG DE UN RACING NOVEMBER 6,7 2010
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CONRATULATIONS TO
BEN CORY PHOTO BY STEVE HILLENBRAND
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