> SKATE TRIP IN SPAIN
20/10/05
> TRIP IN BASSIN D’ARCACHON
18/08/05
On Tuesday August 16, the crew was up in Cap Ferret for the sneak preview of Quiksilver€s latest video : Young Guns 2. A poster signing session followed at Cannibal surf shop where more than 300 screaming kids were waiting for us. When the session was over, we gave away 100s of goodies (bags, wallets, caps, tees,€) which made the kids really loud. Concerning the swell, things were not so great and no water action occured that day. However we learned by the locals that the sandbank at the entrance of the « Bassin d€Arcachon » could have a great potential for tow- ins during the winter swells.
We have to point out that Cap Ferret is full of lovely chicks and we are also starting to get great fans as 3 very charming girls have been following the bus for over 3 weeks (pics to come !!) !!
The next day Belly (surf team manager) woke up and went out for a little run. It ended up to be a long run because our Australian mate got lost and ran 15 km !! The swell is still elusive and we travelled down to Arcachon for another Young Guns 2 sneak preview and autograph session. Before we made our final in Arcachon, we all went for a little trek on the Dune du Pyla. This dune is known to be the highest in Europe with its summit culminating at 115 m above sea level and you can possibly ride it with a snowboard as the slopes are quite steep. When we arrived for the preview, we were again assaulted by my mad screaming kids in a very warm atmosphere.
Next stop :Hossegor for the Rip Curl Pro. See you there !!
'
We have to point out that Cap Ferret is full of lovely chicks and we are also starting to get great fans as 3 very charming girls have been following the bus for over 3 weeks (pics to come !!) !!
The next day Belly (surf team manager) woke up and went out for a little run. It ended up to be a long run because our Australian mate got lost and ran 15 km !! The swell is still elusive and we travelled down to Arcachon for another Young Guns 2 sneak preview and autograph session. Before we made our final in Arcachon, we all went for a little trek on the Dune du Pyla. This dune is known to be the highest in Europe with its summit culminating at 115 m above sea level and you can possibly ride it with a snowboard as the slopes are quite steep. When we arrived for the preview, we were again assaulted by my mad screaming kids in a very warm atmosphere.
Next stop :Hossegor for the Rip Curl Pro. See you there !!
'
> DA BUS CRUISES TO SURF CONTESTS
16/08/05
This summer, da Bus has been cruising along the Atlantic Coastline, following the European legs of Pro Juniors and WQS Series. After Portugal, the Bus moved to France to attend the King of the Groms and was present in Anglet for the Airshow and the WQS. The Bus has now travelled north to Lacanau to be used as a base camp for the riders attending the Lacanau Pro and the Pro Junior. It will then drive back down to Hossegor for the Hossegor Pro and make a last stop in Portugal for the last European 6* WQS event of the year. The Bus will then stop its surf tour and get back to the tarmack to the Golden Triangle Tour in Spain. The Quiksilver Skateboarders will come down to the San Sebastian, Madrid, Valencia and Malaga skateparks and show local riders how it€s done. So stay tuned for more action€'
> THE BUS IS AT THE KING OF THE GROMS!!
03/08/05
The bus has stopped for a week in the small town of Capbreton to be the base camp for some of the King of the Groms contestants. These under 16 World Series organised by Quiksilver have become a major event and attract more and more groms each year. For the first time this year all the final rounds will be webcasted live. So get a taste of what the next genration is capable, get on the website and check the action LIVE!!
'
'
> WQS IN PORTUGAL
22/07/05
AMADO PORTUGAL
15th to he 17th July
The Pro Junior Event in Amado led straight into a 3 star Wqs.
The waves were virtually non exsistant during the whole event which made some heats straight down to luck. They still managed to finish the event in the tiny conditions and it was our local boy Marlon LIPKE (Germany) who took the victory. After Marlon€s 3rd place in the World Juniors last January, it was fantastic to see him get his second senior win.
A great week for us all with wins in both events, just the right thing to start off the Surf leg of the QUIKRIDE BUS TOUR and the launching of YG2 at the same time
'
15th to he 17th July
The Pro Junior Event in Amado led straight into a 3 star Wqs.
The waves were virtually non exsistant during the whole event which made some heats straight down to luck. They still managed to finish the event in the tiny conditions and it was our local boy Marlon LIPKE (Germany) who took the victory. After Marlon€s 3rd place in the World Juniors last January, it was fantastic to see him get his second senior win.
A great week for us all with wins in both events, just the right thing to start off the Surf leg of the QUIKRIDE BUS TOUR and the launching of YG2 at the same time
'
> SURF PRO JUNIOR IN AMADO, PORTUGAL
22/07/05
AMADO PORTUGAL
11th to the 14th July
The European Pro Junior Tour started this past week in the Algarve region of Portugal.
We had 22 kids (7 different Counties) competing in a field of 112 entries.
The waves were not really up to standard (never getting over 50cm) although some of the little ones made it look a lot bigger. Maxime Huschenot from Reunion (13yrs) surfed the tiny waves fantasticly, progressed through 3 rounds and took home some pocket money.
In the final, 3 out the 4 kids were Quiksilver riders. All hopes were on Jeremy Flores who scored 19 points out of 20 in his 1/4 final and 18.6 points out of 20 in the Semis. Unfortunately his old hip injury came back to life late in the semis and left him no chance for the final, where he finished 4th.
Joan Duru won a brilliant third place with some mature surfing, 2 nd place was taken out bye one of Rip Curl groms (Romain Laulhe) but the 1st place was taken by Spanish rider Aritz Arumburu. Aritz is in great form this year with his wonderful WQS result recently obtained in the 6 star South African event. His attitude and commitment to the sport is something all the kids aspire to,
Next Stop Tapia Spain 21st July with the bus in tow
Bring it on!!'
11th to the 14th July
The European Pro Junior Tour started this past week in the Algarve region of Portugal.
We had 22 kids (7 different Counties) competing in a field of 112 entries.
The waves were not really up to standard (never getting over 50cm) although some of the little ones made it look a lot bigger. Maxime Huschenot from Reunion (13yrs) surfed the tiny waves fantasticly, progressed through 3 rounds and took home some pocket money.
In the final, 3 out the 4 kids were Quiksilver riders. All hopes were on Jeremy Flores who scored 19 points out of 20 in his 1/4 final and 18.6 points out of 20 in the Semis. Unfortunately his old hip injury came back to life late in the semis and left him no chance for the final, where he finished 4th.
Joan Duru won a brilliant third place with some mature surfing, 2 nd place was taken out bye one of Rip Curl groms (Romain Laulhe) but the 1st place was taken by Spanish rider Aritz Arumburu. Aritz is in great form this year with his wonderful WQS result recently obtained in the 6 star South African event. His attitude and commitment to the sport is something all the kids aspire to,
Next Stop Tapia Spain 21st July with the bus in tow
Bring it on!!'
> QUIKSILVER BOWLRIDERS 2005
24/06/05
The Bus has travelled down to Marseille to meet with the Quiksilver Bowlriders' team from June 22nd to 26th and has dressed up for the occasion (check the pics) . You can log on to bowlriders.com and follow the contest LIVE for the first time ever in skateboard contests' history. So don't lose your time, check the Quiksilver Bowlriders' website and follow the greatest European skateboard contest on your screen...'
> QUIKSILVER SKATE TOUR EUROPE
22/06/05
10th June
Ross€s bit€€
Bremgarden was a hell of a weekend ; skating, parties, swiss girls, there was lots of fun to be had. We turned up to a big empty freshly layed tarmack carpark with a little mini ramp in the middle. From the moment we got there we knew it would be memorable, we were treated very good from the locals and ended up skating a miniramp outside the bus for the first day.
11th June
Day two, the festival was coming together, the stage was being built, street course almost finished and there was more and more people coming to check out the bus and other attractions on the site. Me, Freddy and Josh went for a stroll around to get an eye full of some picturesque scenery, I got some photos standing on the dam wall looking down the river, it was some sick shit!!
That night things really started, the bar was up and serving drinks, people were gathering and ready to party swiss style. It was unbelievable how many people were in such a small town, we all got wasted and started talking to any one who would dare to come near us. Me and Freddy hooked up with some girls and Josh with Jelle were still going strong downing any free drink they could blag.
12th June
Day three, everyone had a bit of a sore head but you couldn€t tell because the session was on fire. Six quik riders entered and all made the finals for the following day. After skating we went for a good meal in a Mexican restaurant in preparation for much of the same animations as the night before. There were bands performing on stage, hundreds of swiss girls floating about and people still skating the mini. At one point of the night we were sitting on the bus and some dude climbed up the side of the bus, sat down and had a conversation with us. It was cool everyone was super friendly and intrigued by the bus.
13th June
Day four, everyone got up and probably needed a few more hours sleeping, nevertheless, we were all keen to check what time the finals was going to start. There was a misunderstanding with the time of finals and Alex and Micky ended up missing it, it didn€t matter Freddy won and quiksilver took the top four places. It was our contest hands down. That night they gave the prizes out on the main stage Freddy took the mike and said a few words to the crowd. When the organisers had finished talking and thanking everyone for turning out Freddy, Jelle and Josh began throwing everything off the stage and into the crowd in an excited and alcohol fuelled state. Once they ran out off things to throw they proceeded to hurl chairs and giant two meter long pillows into swarms off pissed swiss, they left the looted stage and we all carried on partying recklessly. It was a night to remember with out a doubt.
14th June
Day five, a lot of sleep and water was in dew, we were all getting ready to get in the bus and make the ride to the next stop on the tour but we were unexpectedly greeted by a group of young girls we had met over the weekend asking us to go with them to their school. So we did. When we got to the school we were met with yet more young girls, a classroom, ten questions a second and a teacher asking us to talk slowly. Not the ideal situation first thing in the morning when you€re hung over. Anyway, we left when lesson was over and drove to Hard, Austria.
15th June €" 17th June
Josh€s bit€..
Bus drive€€€€
So we€re on the bus ride, watching videos and just checking out the scenery and loving life!
Then we all arrive in Hard€€€€€.
(now, you need to know that a place called hard is going to get the piss taken out of cause of it€s name) so we did, about 30 minutes away from Hard we start making shit up like€€yeah, this parks HARD, chicks are so HARD(and they where).
But lets talk about the amazing park! This concrete bowl is no joke, it€s got hips, and anything you want also with a 9-10 foot figure 8 bowl that was a smooth ride after riding the asphalt on the Bremgarden course which don€t get me wrong was a fun little course but had nothing on the hard park. This had been the first proper park we had hit yet and I tell you I got to see these Quiksilver Europe boys rip it up good and proper. Highlights where Alex Geriaud ALMOST doing this massive gap and Alex again with the back slide tail over the channel€€.hold on, did I mention Ross€s kickflip melon from flat bank to transition? Everybody was ripping hard and Ross was ripping HARD into the girls (the only 2 girls in HARD) no joke! After Ross getting messed around with these girls cause they had to go home we calmed down, went to the bus and chilled till we woke up and we€re halfway to Brixlegg€€€.the cradle. Gnarly dude!
17th June
Then we all arrived Brixlegg, an amazing bowl and a lot of good skaters. The park was situated in a perfect position high in the hills surrounded by mountainous peeks, the perfect place for good parties.
18th June - 19th June
The contest, You should have been there€really sick contest€
20th June to 22th June
We left Austria for Italy to skate a new concrete Bowl in Bologna. Matéo and all the skate association worked on it for a year and everybody are so impatient to see the result.
For the story, we forgot Homar Hassan in a gaz station on the road. He got out without telling somebody and without phone, money, tee shirt€
Everybody was thinking he was sleeping in the bus but not€we realized that only in Bologna. 2 police guys saw him alone, gave him a shirt and drop him in the train to Bologna. We pick him up at the train station in the evening.
Those 3 days were what skateboarding is all about. Skate, barbecue, party, swimming pool and girls !
23th June
We left Italy with all the world cup crew and the riders to Marseille'
Ross€s bit€€
Bremgarden was a hell of a weekend ; skating, parties, swiss girls, there was lots of fun to be had. We turned up to a big empty freshly layed tarmack carpark with a little mini ramp in the middle. From the moment we got there we knew it would be memorable, we were treated very good from the locals and ended up skating a miniramp outside the bus for the first day.
11th June
Day two, the festival was coming together, the stage was being built, street course almost finished and there was more and more people coming to check out the bus and other attractions on the site. Me, Freddy and Josh went for a stroll around to get an eye full of some picturesque scenery, I got some photos standing on the dam wall looking down the river, it was some sick shit!!
That night things really started, the bar was up and serving drinks, people were gathering and ready to party swiss style. It was unbelievable how many people were in such a small town, we all got wasted and started talking to any one who would dare to come near us. Me and Freddy hooked up with some girls and Josh with Jelle were still going strong downing any free drink they could blag.
12th June
Day three, everyone had a bit of a sore head but you couldn€t tell because the session was on fire. Six quik riders entered and all made the finals for the following day. After skating we went for a good meal in a Mexican restaurant in preparation for much of the same animations as the night before. There were bands performing on stage, hundreds of swiss girls floating about and people still skating the mini. At one point of the night we were sitting on the bus and some dude climbed up the side of the bus, sat down and had a conversation with us. It was cool everyone was super friendly and intrigued by the bus.
13th June
Day four, everyone got up and probably needed a few more hours sleeping, nevertheless, we were all keen to check what time the finals was going to start. There was a misunderstanding with the time of finals and Alex and Micky ended up missing it, it didn€t matter Freddy won and quiksilver took the top four places. It was our contest hands down. That night they gave the prizes out on the main stage Freddy took the mike and said a few words to the crowd. When the organisers had finished talking and thanking everyone for turning out Freddy, Jelle and Josh began throwing everything off the stage and into the crowd in an excited and alcohol fuelled state. Once they ran out off things to throw they proceeded to hurl chairs and giant two meter long pillows into swarms off pissed swiss, they left the looted stage and we all carried on partying recklessly. It was a night to remember with out a doubt.
14th June
Day five, a lot of sleep and water was in dew, we were all getting ready to get in the bus and make the ride to the next stop on the tour but we were unexpectedly greeted by a group of young girls we had met over the weekend asking us to go with them to their school. So we did. When we got to the school we were met with yet more young girls, a classroom, ten questions a second and a teacher asking us to talk slowly. Not the ideal situation first thing in the morning when you€re hung over. Anyway, we left when lesson was over and drove to Hard, Austria.
15th June €" 17th June
Josh€s bit€..
Bus drive€€€€
So we€re on the bus ride, watching videos and just checking out the scenery and loving life!
Then we all arrive in Hard€€€€€.
(now, you need to know that a place called hard is going to get the piss taken out of cause of it€s name) so we did, about 30 minutes away from Hard we start making shit up like€€yeah, this parks HARD, chicks are so HARD(and they where).
But lets talk about the amazing park! This concrete bowl is no joke, it€s got hips, and anything you want also with a 9-10 foot figure 8 bowl that was a smooth ride after riding the asphalt on the Bremgarden course which don€t get me wrong was a fun little course but had nothing on the hard park. This had been the first proper park we had hit yet and I tell you I got to see these Quiksilver Europe boys rip it up good and proper. Highlights where Alex Geriaud ALMOST doing this massive gap and Alex again with the back slide tail over the channel€€.hold on, did I mention Ross€s kickflip melon from flat bank to transition? Everybody was ripping hard and Ross was ripping HARD into the girls (the only 2 girls in HARD) no joke! After Ross getting messed around with these girls cause they had to go home we calmed down, went to the bus and chilled till we woke up and we€re halfway to Brixlegg€€€.the cradle. Gnarly dude!
17th June
Then we all arrived Brixlegg, an amazing bowl and a lot of good skaters. The park was situated in a perfect position high in the hills surrounded by mountainous peeks, the perfect place for good parties.
18th June - 19th June
The contest, You should have been there€really sick contest€
20th June to 22th June
We left Austria for Italy to skate a new concrete Bowl in Bologna. Matéo and all the skate association worked on it for a year and everybody are so impatient to see the result.
For the story, we forgot Homar Hassan in a gaz station on the road. He got out without telling somebody and without phone, money, tee shirt€
Everybody was thinking he was sleeping in the bus but not€we realized that only in Bologna. 2 police guys saw him alone, gave him a shirt and drop him in the train to Bologna. We pick him up at the train station in the evening.
Those 3 days were what skateboarding is all about. Skate, barbecue, party, swimming pool and girls !
23th June
We left Italy with all the world cup crew and the riders to Marseille'
> ON THE ROAD TO NEWQUAY
15/06/05
On the road to The Roxy Jam WCT :
After 15 hours cruise, we finally arrived in Newcastle.
Mervyn had found a very good deal on the web the week before: an old Jaguar for £400. We met the guy on the road but I thought something was wrong. I was stoked to see that I didn€t have any problems driving it back to Merv€s place.
We arrived in Cornwall really late in the evening but Mervyn has many good friends around. We plugged in the bus in front of David€s pub « The Fitzsimmon » in Helston. We had a really good time.
We took a good rest and spent 2 days to check up, fix, clean the bus and fill up the fridge€
Thanks to all Mervyn€s friends for the warm welcome.
We took the road to Newquay next morning (20mn!! easy) to meet with the Roxy girls.
'
After 15 hours cruise, we finally arrived in Newcastle.
Mervyn had found a very good deal on the web the week before: an old Jaguar for £400. We met the guy on the road but I thought something was wrong. I was stoked to see that I didn€t have any problems driving it back to Merv€s place.
We arrived in Cornwall really late in the evening but Mervyn has many good friends around. We plugged in the bus in front of David€s pub « The Fitzsimmon » in Helston. We had a really good time.
We took a good rest and spent 2 days to check up, fix, clean the bus and fill up the fridge€
Thanks to all Mervyn€s friends for the warm welcome.
We took the road to Newquay next morning (20mn!! easy) to meet with the Roxy girls.
'
> THE SCANDINAVIAN TOUR PART 5
24/05/05
(Told my Mone)
6th May
Tomi left the bus for 1-week break and I joined the crew in Riksgränsen. They arrived in the middle of the night and everybody was sleeping when I knocked on the door at 10 am. I was so happy to be back and see all the friends... The weather should be ok for tomorrow and we spent the day looking for a good spot, shaped a kicker and prepared the in-run. Good weather is really rare in this part of Sweden and we have to be ready to shoot when it happens.
All the crew ended the afternoon by a good Skate session on the mini ramp.
Martin arrived by train in the afternoon and I paid a bottle of vodka for my return back in the tour...we came back to the bus on the midnight sun. This light gives you a good but strange feeling€crazy
7th May
We were very lucky to have a sunny day because you can spend 2 weeks around and never have the chance to ride.
Road gap session: The Swedish crew killed the spot with Hans closing the session with an old school straight back flip.
The weather forecast was not good for the next day and therefore all the crew went out.
8th May
On the road to Stavanger.
We left Riksgransen at 1pm for 23 hours drive to Oslo. We crossed again the arctic circle and droped Kalle, Chris, Martin on the road.
9th May
We arrived in the middle of the afternoon in Oslo. Mervyn went to sleep and we cruised in town to find a hotel. After dinner, Maurino€s friend told us that the Turbo Negro were in town but we arrived too late, just at the end of the concert. Damned€..
Everybody went out to get even€
10th May
We had to go to Stavanger to take the ferry to England.
We left Oslo in the morning with Marie our new local guide.
This road is what Norway is all about: so nice€
11th May
We met the Bomb Squad crew and spent the day on the beach. The waves were too small but Olivier and Marie took a dip in the cold water. As for me, I took my snowskate and found a good spot to ride in the sand.
12 May
Thomas (Quiksilver Norway) joined us and we spend the day to skate all the spots and parks. I was so stoked to film some tricks in 16mm.
We went out after dinner with the Bomb Squads€
13 May
We all went back home as the bus took the ferry to England to go to the Roxy Jam in Cornwall€
'
6th May
Tomi left the bus for 1-week break and I joined the crew in Riksgränsen. They arrived in the middle of the night and everybody was sleeping when I knocked on the door at 10 am. I was so happy to be back and see all the friends... The weather should be ok for tomorrow and we spent the day looking for a good spot, shaped a kicker and prepared the in-run. Good weather is really rare in this part of Sweden and we have to be ready to shoot when it happens.
All the crew ended the afternoon by a good Skate session on the mini ramp.
Martin arrived by train in the afternoon and I paid a bottle of vodka for my return back in the tour...we came back to the bus on the midnight sun. This light gives you a good but strange feeling€crazy
7th May
We were very lucky to have a sunny day because you can spend 2 weeks around and never have the chance to ride.
Road gap session: The Swedish crew killed the spot with Hans closing the session with an old school straight back flip.
The weather forecast was not good for the next day and therefore all the crew went out.
8th May
On the road to Stavanger.
We left Riksgransen at 1pm for 23 hours drive to Oslo. We crossed again the arctic circle and droped Kalle, Chris, Martin on the road.
9th May
We arrived in the middle of the afternoon in Oslo. Mervyn went to sleep and we cruised in town to find a hotel. After dinner, Maurino€s friend told us that the Turbo Negro were in town but we arrived too late, just at the end of the concert. Damned€..
Everybody went out to get even€
10th May
We had to go to Stavanger to take the ferry to England.
We left Oslo in the morning with Marie our new local guide.
This road is what Norway is all about: so nice€
11th May
We met the Bomb Squad crew and spent the day on the beach. The waves were too small but Olivier and Marie took a dip in the cold water. As for me, I took my snowskate and found a good spot to ride in the sand.
12 May
Thomas (Quiksilver Norway) joined us and we spend the day to skate all the spots and parks. I was so stoked to film some tricks in 16mm.
We went out after dinner with the Bomb Squads€
13 May
We all went back home as the bus took the ferry to England to go to the Roxy Jam in Cornwall€
'
> THE SCANDINAVIAN TOUR PART 4
23/05/05
(Told by Andy Monsberger)
19- April
First thing of the day, a good ride in Taandalen. It was pretty icy and the park wasn€t as good as Hemsedal, but it suited the skaters perfectly. Everybody, skateboarders and snowboarders rode together. It was pretty funny!!! After a while we took the snowskates and went for a few runs. The resort had built one big jump. Hans Kristian killed it in the pink evening light. After the riding we went back to the house and Domink and Tommy were cooking for us. Then we took a sauna Finnish style, Tommy€s daily ritual.
20- April
After getting the stuff together and cleaning the house we left Taandalen and went to Kalle€s house. His mother welcomed us with open arms and a really good dinner. Straight after we arrived, we went to the mini ramp near by and had a nice session during the sunset.
21- April
We left Kalle€s house and went to Stockholm to catch the ferry to Helsinki. Kalle€s brothers came with us to Stockholm just to get a ride with the bus. They really liked it.
We arrived in Stockholm at 3 pm so we had to wait for 1 hour to get on the boat. Tommy told us that this boat is also called the partyboat or loveboat so everybody was really exited to go onboard. When we finally stept on the boat everybody was so impressed of how big it was. We spent the night drinking and dancing with the girls on the boat. Everybody had a lot of fun. The only unlucky guy was Mervin our driver, he could not drink because he had to drive the bus at 9 o clock in the morning. In the morning everybody was pretty hunged over. It was a really nice trip.
When we went out of the boat, the bus was already waiting for us. We then went to the hotel and went to sleep again. When we woke up, Jesus had a sms from a friend saying €happy birthday€. Jesus had forgotten that it was his birthday. So we had to go out again!! We had a sauna session and then went to Tommy€s friends in the city. We had a really good time.
22. April
The skaters had there day off and the snowboarders (Kalle, Hans the cat, Chris and me) went to the famous Finnish ski resort called Talma. It€s only 54 m high!! Ha Ha Ha,
The locals organized a BBQ. There wasn€t that much snow anymore but the shaper there had made a little jump so there was a little session going on. Chris, Kalle, and Hans where riding the jump, I went on my snowsk8 and did the little jump. Mervyn even had a go!! After that we went back to the hotel and went out again.
23. April
It was the day of the skate demo. The snowboarders went for the demo with the skaters. We went to that underground skatepark in Helsinki. We drove down with the bus. The park is 20 m under the ground. The kids were waiting already. A little warm up in the bowl and then we went to the street course. . The skaters where going of. Dominik was doing a few flips down the gap, fronside flips, backsideflips. He had so much control. Manuel was killing it and did so many nice tricks. The spanish guys where showing their curb skills . The snowboarders where pretty impressed. Mone was skating with Jesus trying to do that big spin flip up the step up. They had a good time.
After the session we gave some t-shirts and stickers to the kids. They where stoked. Jaime had 2 or 3 t-shirts left and the kids where screaming for them. So he told the kids to do a kickflip. For every kickflip they did they would get a shirt. It was really good. The kids loved it and we left the park. We went to the hotel and Tommy Brunner arrived for the freeride mission in the north of Finland. We had to celebrate Tommi€s return so we went out on sunday night again. It was a fun night.
24. April
We left Helsinki and spent the whole day in the bus on the way to Ruka. We arrived pretty late. Plugged in the bus and went to sleep.
25. April.
We woke up pretty late and we went riding. The park was really good there and the guys had a fun session. Sunny skies and soft snow, felt like a warm day at Mammoth rather than way up towards the Arctic Circle. In the evening Kalle, Chris and Hans went to the ski freestyle jump near by to do some handplants in the sunset. We had a good first day in Ruka.
26. April.
We went riding again. The weather was perfect and the guys had a good session. Chris and Kalle were doing tracking runs, following each other off the jumps, to get a cool angle.
27. April
The weather was really bad so we did nothing all day. Nice to get a day off to relax.
28 April €" 5th May
We left early to head up into the Arctic Cicrle to the top of Finland. To the heart of Lapland- Kilpisjärvi. Tommy€s friends Ode and Jakko new this place like the back of
their hands, they had 9 snowmobiles so we could head out from this sleepy little town to access the incredible backcountry. Being late season their wasn€t much new snow around, we had so much fun setting out each day speeding across the frozen lake in a big crew to cross over into Sweden and Norway. The three-way border was not far from our house. Therefore Kalle, Chris and Hans could briefly be in their home country! One day we actually rode 110km on the sleds, being really surprised at the steep terrain offered by the backcountry. With better snow this place would be really sick.
On the 5th we woke up to overcast skies, so we jumped in the bus and made our way to Riksgransen.
'
19- April
First thing of the day, a good ride in Taandalen. It was pretty icy and the park wasn€t as good as Hemsedal, but it suited the skaters perfectly. Everybody, skateboarders and snowboarders rode together. It was pretty funny!!! After a while we took the snowskates and went for a few runs. The resort had built one big jump. Hans Kristian killed it in the pink evening light. After the riding we went back to the house and Domink and Tommy were cooking for us. Then we took a sauna Finnish style, Tommy€s daily ritual.
20- April
After getting the stuff together and cleaning the house we left Taandalen and went to Kalle€s house. His mother welcomed us with open arms and a really good dinner. Straight after we arrived, we went to the mini ramp near by and had a nice session during the sunset.
21- April
We left Kalle€s house and went to Stockholm to catch the ferry to Helsinki. Kalle€s brothers came with us to Stockholm just to get a ride with the bus. They really liked it.
We arrived in Stockholm at 3 pm so we had to wait for 1 hour to get on the boat. Tommy told us that this boat is also called the partyboat or loveboat so everybody was really exited to go onboard. When we finally stept on the boat everybody was so impressed of how big it was. We spent the night drinking and dancing with the girls on the boat. Everybody had a lot of fun. The only unlucky guy was Mervin our driver, he could not drink because he had to drive the bus at 9 o clock in the morning. In the morning everybody was pretty hunged over. It was a really nice trip.
When we went out of the boat, the bus was already waiting for us. We then went to the hotel and went to sleep again. When we woke up, Jesus had a sms from a friend saying €happy birthday€. Jesus had forgotten that it was his birthday. So we had to go out again!! We had a sauna session and then went to Tommy€s friends in the city. We had a really good time.
22. April
The skaters had there day off and the snowboarders (Kalle, Hans the cat, Chris and me) went to the famous Finnish ski resort called Talma. It€s only 54 m high!! Ha Ha Ha,
The locals organized a BBQ. There wasn€t that much snow anymore but the shaper there had made a little jump so there was a little session going on. Chris, Kalle, and Hans where riding the jump, I went on my snowsk8 and did the little jump. Mervyn even had a go!! After that we went back to the hotel and went out again.
23. April
It was the day of the skate demo. The snowboarders went for the demo with the skaters. We went to that underground skatepark in Helsinki. We drove down with the bus. The park is 20 m under the ground. The kids were waiting already. A little warm up in the bowl and then we went to the street course. . The skaters where going of. Dominik was doing a few flips down the gap, fronside flips, backsideflips. He had so much control. Manuel was killing it and did so many nice tricks. The spanish guys where showing their curb skills . The snowboarders where pretty impressed. Mone was skating with Jesus trying to do that big spin flip up the step up. They had a good time.
After the session we gave some t-shirts and stickers to the kids. They where stoked. Jaime had 2 or 3 t-shirts left and the kids where screaming for them. So he told the kids to do a kickflip. For every kickflip they did they would get a shirt. It was really good. The kids loved it and we left the park. We went to the hotel and Tommy Brunner arrived for the freeride mission in the north of Finland. We had to celebrate Tommi€s return so we went out on sunday night again. It was a fun night.
24. April
We left Helsinki and spent the whole day in the bus on the way to Ruka. We arrived pretty late. Plugged in the bus and went to sleep.
25. April.
We woke up pretty late and we went riding. The park was really good there and the guys had a fun session. Sunny skies and soft snow, felt like a warm day at Mammoth rather than way up towards the Arctic Circle. In the evening Kalle, Chris and Hans went to the ski freestyle jump near by to do some handplants in the sunset. We had a good first day in Ruka.
26. April.
We went riding again. The weather was perfect and the guys had a good session. Chris and Kalle were doing tracking runs, following each other off the jumps, to get a cool angle.
27. April
The weather was really bad so we did nothing all day. Nice to get a day off to relax.
28 April €" 5th May
We left early to head up into the Arctic Cicrle to the top of Finland. To the heart of Lapland- Kilpisjärvi. Tommy€s friends Ode and Jakko new this place like the back of
their hands, they had 9 snowmobiles so we could head out from this sleepy little town to access the incredible backcountry. Being late season their wasn€t much new snow around, we had so much fun setting out each day speeding across the frozen lake in a big crew to cross over into Sweden and Norway. The three-way border was not far from our house. Therefore Kalle, Chris and Hans could briefly be in their home country! One day we actually rode 110km on the sleds, being really surprised at the steep terrain offered by the backcountry. With better snow this place would be really sick.
On the 5th we woke up to overcast skies, so we jumped in the bus and made our way to Riksgransen.
'
> FOLLOW THE ROXY JAM LIVE !!
20/05/05
The Bus has made a stop in Cornwall for a few days to attend the Roxy Jam which will take place in Perranporth, close to Newquay in England. You can already log on to roxyjam.com for all the latest news on the Championship and you will also be able to watch the event streaming live on your screen. So don't waste your time and check out the best female surfers in the world LIVE on your computer!!!!
'
'
WHERE IS DA BUS? VIDEO CLIPS...
11/05/05
![](javascript:popup("/upload/news/CAPTAIN//where.jpg",100,100);)
WHERE IS THE BUS? The first of the EUROSPORT SERIES 1 AVAILABLE HERE!
That's it the Quikride Tour is on Eurosport screen.
Download the video clips (quicktime) and follow the Quiksilver team throughout Europe! Click here >'
That's it the Quikride Tour is on Eurosport screen.
Download the video clips (quicktime) and follow the Quiksilver team throughout Europe! Click here >'
> THE SCANDINAVIAN TOUR PART 3
19/04/05
16 April
Mone :
€In the morning all the crew went riding. Both skaters and snowboarders had a good time in the snow. After that Chris, Kalle and me, we went for the kicker session. They built up a really nice jump, with a 22 m table. We had a super fun session. Dominik was there filming us, he really liked it. Then we headed up the mountain for a corner session with Chris, Kalle . Funny enough, us snowboarders we were just chilling while Dominik and Manuel where riding the corner session. After that we went to the house and had a nice sauna sessions. Finnish style.
Then it was time to go for dinner, we started drinking and celebrating my birthday during the dinner. We all got pretty hammered, and I didn€t make it back to the house anymore (funny laughs from rest of the team). There was a lovely Swedish girl taking care of me. It was a really good day. Love being 24. €
Tomi :
€It was Jesus first day riding ever. I€ve helped a few people to learn how to ride before, but he definitely learned the fastest. After two runs of tumbling down the slope, on the third one he was blazing down the hill. Maybe it had to do something with the beer I bet with him if he makes it down the hill without falling. He seemed to have pretty good time until he got lost in the end which he didn€t seem to mind at all. While I was sorting out the après ski activities I got the word that he never showed up at the cabin. So off we went to find the lost sheep. Luckily enough, he had been waiting by the ticket booth for three hours not remembering the way back to our place.€
Mic :
€ Tord the Quiksilver man for Norway had it all set up perfectly for us, sweet cabin on the mountain for al the boys to chill in. The sun came out when the crew hit the big jump, so I burnt some 16 film, Hans Kristian a Quik Norway team rider pulled a smooth switch backside 9. Hemsedal is an epic place to visit.€
17th April
Rainy day. Everyone was a bit slow getting out of bed after a good night out celebrating Mone€s birthday. When they finally got out in the afternoon, everyone had a fun snowskate session. Jaime kept on trying to hit the hip but it was not easy due to the soft snow. He finally managed to pull a magnificent backside earlygrab off the hip. Manuel was very close to land a sweeper from the wallride to the hip. Dominik was ripping, trying to make the jump by taking a lot of speed. He didn€t make it but he was trying hard. He also completely destroyed the kinkbox. Mic our oz filmer was filming everything.
Mic
€The snowskate session was hilarious, Manu trying to get speed for the wallride pointing it from way up the hill, then Dominik tried 6 times to clear the 30 foot table, nearly breaking himself €.
!8th April
Back on the road again and back to Sweden. Apparently the Wilhelmson Family has built up some very nice jumps in a small resort called Tanndalen. At their arrival, the crew was greeted by Jakob€s parents. They showed them where to park and their cabin. Dominik busted out his cooking skils and made us some excellent pastas. Everyone loved the scenery and is eager to ride next morning.'
Mone :
€In the morning all the crew went riding. Both skaters and snowboarders had a good time in the snow. After that Chris, Kalle and me, we went for the kicker session. They built up a really nice jump, with a 22 m table. We had a super fun session. Dominik was there filming us, he really liked it. Then we headed up the mountain for a corner session with Chris, Kalle . Funny enough, us snowboarders we were just chilling while Dominik and Manuel where riding the corner session. After that we went to the house and had a nice sauna sessions. Finnish style.
Then it was time to go for dinner, we started drinking and celebrating my birthday during the dinner. We all got pretty hammered, and I didn€t make it back to the house anymore (funny laughs from rest of the team). There was a lovely Swedish girl taking care of me. It was a really good day. Love being 24. €
Tomi :
€It was Jesus first day riding ever. I€ve helped a few people to learn how to ride before, but he definitely learned the fastest. After two runs of tumbling down the slope, on the third one he was blazing down the hill. Maybe it had to do something with the beer I bet with him if he makes it down the hill without falling. He seemed to have pretty good time until he got lost in the end which he didn€t seem to mind at all. While I was sorting out the après ski activities I got the word that he never showed up at the cabin. So off we went to find the lost sheep. Luckily enough, he had been waiting by the ticket booth for three hours not remembering the way back to our place.€
Mic :
€ Tord the Quiksilver man for Norway had it all set up perfectly for us, sweet cabin on the mountain for al the boys to chill in. The sun came out when the crew hit the big jump, so I burnt some 16 film, Hans Kristian a Quik Norway team rider pulled a smooth switch backside 9. Hemsedal is an epic place to visit.€
17th April
Rainy day. Everyone was a bit slow getting out of bed after a good night out celebrating Mone€s birthday. When they finally got out in the afternoon, everyone had a fun snowskate session. Jaime kept on trying to hit the hip but it was not easy due to the soft snow. He finally managed to pull a magnificent backside earlygrab off the hip. Manuel was very close to land a sweeper from the wallride to the hip. Dominik was ripping, trying to make the jump by taking a lot of speed. He didn€t make it but he was trying hard. He also completely destroyed the kinkbox. Mic our oz filmer was filming everything.
Mic
€The snowskate session was hilarious, Manu trying to get speed for the wallride pointing it from way up the hill, then Dominik tried 6 times to clear the 30 foot table, nearly breaking himself €.
!8th April
Back on the road again and back to Sweden. Apparently the Wilhelmson Family has built up some very nice jumps in a small resort called Tanndalen. At their arrival, the crew was greeted by Jakob€s parents. They showed them where to park and their cabin. Dominik busted out his cooking skils and made us some excellent pastas. Everyone loved the scenery and is eager to ride next morning.'
> THE SCANDINAVIAN TOUR PART 2
19/04/05
14th April
Off to Malmo Sweden.
The Bus left Copenhagen at about 12 o€clock after a nice swimming pool session in the hotel. Jesus had forgotten his boardshorts at home and gave some nice boxer short action to the girls.
When the crew finally arrived in Malmo, they parked the bus in front of the hotel where they got ready for the forthcoming demo. Dominik was playing some guitar vibes while a crazy Swedish woman was singing and giving super stoked applause for some flat tricks.
At about 3 o'clock, the team went down to the local indoor park where heaps of kids were already waiting to watch them. As soon as the session started, everybody was going off. Javier destroyed the massive wall ride with some nice FS lein to tail and proper Bs Airs. Everyone skated non-stop for 3 hours and signed a lot of autographs in between for the kids. At the end of the demo Jesus, Manuel and Jaime gave out some tour shirts, stickers and posters.
Mic
€ Another amazing indoor park, I hadn€t seen Dominik skate before, he was really consistent, skating sick he could have filmed a whole part that day. Javier pulled a lien to tail on the bigwall, the locals said it was the first time anyone had pulled a trick on it. Manuel was ripping trying some cool tech stuff and the Spanish lads were all smiles as well. It was a really good vibe and the kids went mad to get free products.€
15th April
The next day started early in the morning with a 13 hours drive up north to Norway.
Everyone slept for a while and then enjoyed the bus facilities like watching DVDs, playing videogames and poker games!
'
Off to Malmo Sweden.
The Bus left Copenhagen at about 12 o€clock after a nice swimming pool session in the hotel. Jesus had forgotten his boardshorts at home and gave some nice boxer short action to the girls.
When the crew finally arrived in Malmo, they parked the bus in front of the hotel where they got ready for the forthcoming demo. Dominik was playing some guitar vibes while a crazy Swedish woman was singing and giving super stoked applause for some flat tricks.
At about 3 o'clock, the team went down to the local indoor park where heaps of kids were already waiting to watch them. As soon as the session started, everybody was going off. Javier destroyed the massive wall ride with some nice FS lein to tail and proper Bs Airs. Everyone skated non-stop for 3 hours and signed a lot of autographs in between for the kids. At the end of the demo Jesus, Manuel and Jaime gave out some tour shirts, stickers and posters.
Mic
€ Another amazing indoor park, I hadn€t seen Dominik skate before, he was really consistent, skating sick he could have filmed a whole part that day. Javier pulled a lien to tail on the bigwall, the locals said it was the first time anyone had pulled a trick on it. Manuel was ripping trying some cool tech stuff and the Spanish lads were all smiles as well. It was a really good vibe and the kids went mad to get free products.€
15th April
The next day started early in the morning with a 13 hours drive up north to Norway.
Everyone slept for a while and then enjoyed the bus facilities like watching DVDs, playing videogames and poker games!
'
> THE SCANDINAVIAN TOUR PART 1
19/04/05
11th April
The Bus left St Moritz early in the morning and started a long journey up north.
12th April
The Bus reached Copenhagen, its first stop on its Scandinavian trip. Javier Mendizabal , Manuel Margreiter , Jaime Fontecilla and Jesus Fernandez were onboard for this first part of the trip along with Mic Simpson, our film maker from the land of kangaroos. As soon as they arrived, all the skaters headed to the Copenhagen skate park with a bunch of local Quiksilver team riders. The park manager was kind enough to close the skatepark to let the crew have a private session. All of them were stoked with the opportunity to have a session on their own. Mic ,who recorded the session, said:
€ It was a cool time, Javier was killing the kidney bowl just loving it, the park was awesome with something for everyone, the Danish skater Tobius was skating solid€
13th April
A dry and gray day. The team spent the morning doing some siteseeing and taking some location shots. They also were chased by armed guards in front of the Royal Palace because they got too close. I guess they were not too impressed by Mic€s camera. During the afternoon everyone spent some time in the old skate park of Felleparken. Javier showed up some of his hell man skills by doing a crazy transfer from the tarmac quaterpipe over the platform to another quarter. Manuel was also killing by doing huge BS 180 kick flips over the pyramid and 360 flips to fakie on the quarterpipe. Then they all went off to the Royal Copenhagen indoor skate park to have a demo. The demo turned out to be more of a session than demo. Nonetheless the crew had a good skate. In the evening, another crewmember joined the Bus : Dominik Dietrich made a 36 hour trek from down under to meet us in Copenhagen.
A special €thanks€ to Whahinee , Tim and rest of the Quik crew in Denmark for their help.'
The Bus left St Moritz early in the morning and started a long journey up north.
12th April
The Bus reached Copenhagen, its first stop on its Scandinavian trip. Javier Mendizabal , Manuel Margreiter , Jaime Fontecilla and Jesus Fernandez were onboard for this first part of the trip along with Mic Simpson, our film maker from the land of kangaroos. As soon as they arrived, all the skaters headed to the Copenhagen skate park with a bunch of local Quiksilver team riders. The park manager was kind enough to close the skatepark to let the crew have a private session. All of them were stoked with the opportunity to have a session on their own. Mic ,who recorded the session, said:
€ It was a cool time, Javier was killing the kidney bowl just loving it, the park was awesome with something for everyone, the Danish skater Tobius was skating solid€
13th April
A dry and gray day. The team spent the morning doing some siteseeing and taking some location shots. They also were chased by armed guards in front of the Royal Palace because they got too close. I guess they were not too impressed by Mic€s camera. During the afternoon everyone spent some time in the old skate park of Felleparken. Javier showed up some of his hell man skills by doing a crazy transfer from the tarmac quaterpipe over the platform to another quarter. Manuel was also killing by doing huge BS 180 kick flips over the pyramid and 360 flips to fakie on the quarterpipe. Then they all went off to the Royal Copenhagen indoor skate park to have a demo. The demo turned out to be more of a session than demo. Nonetheless the crew had a good skate. In the evening, another crewmember joined the Bus : Dominik Dietrich made a 36 hour trek from down under to meet us in Copenhagen.
A special €thanks€ to Whahinee , Tim and rest of the Quik crew in Denmark for their help.'
> SOME NEWS FROM THE ARCTIC CHALLENGE
19/04/05
![](javascript:popup("/upload/news/CAPTAIN//MAt_encart.jpg",100,92);)
Check the photos!!!
Some of the riders who came to compete in the Arctic Challenge enjoyed a few hours of the surfing (no joke!) in freezing waters. Although the snow conditions were quite bad (due to a stormy weather), some nice and clean conditions were waiting for the boys on a Norwegian reef ! Check Mathieu Crépel's pictures and have a look at the Arctic Challenge website to get more info...'
Some of the riders who came to compete in the Arctic Challenge enjoyed a few hours of the surfing (no joke!) in freezing waters. Although the snow conditions were quite bad (due to a stormy weather), some nice and clean conditions were waiting for the boys on a Norwegian reef ! Check Mathieu Crépel's pictures and have a look at the Arctic Challenge website to get more info...'
> CANDIDE INVITATIONAL
05/04/05
check the photos
The Candide Invitational demo-contest took place in La Clusaz (French Alps) on 2 and 3 April. The resort had set up a 2500m long slopestyle zone which quickly became the playground of many goggled worldclass riders.
Some outstanding tricks were performed by skiers and snowboarders : 360s, 540s, 720s , 900s , mistys, rodeos and 810s to rail, a trick discovered last year and performed by the French half-man half-alien rider : Candide Thovex.
When approaching the kickers, the guys were reaching speeds of nearly 80 mph and left the crowd shivering for hours. On Saturday evening a Jib Session and a Road gap demonstration above the Quikride tour bus was organised. The 5000 spectators still can€t believe what they saw that evening. 15 riders destroyed by throwing spinning tricks in all directions in normal and in switch. The guys pushed the difficulty by accomplishing tricks such as cab900s, all in their unique styles. Then the powerful music vibes filled the village until late at night. Temperature rose fast under the sunny reggae-ragga tune.
This contest has been taking place for three years now and it has been a full success every time. I bet it won€t be the last one€'
The Candide Invitational demo-contest took place in La Clusaz (French Alps) on 2 and 3 April. The resort had set up a 2500m long slopestyle zone which quickly became the playground of many goggled worldclass riders.
Some outstanding tricks were performed by skiers and snowboarders : 360s, 540s, 720s , 900s , mistys, rodeos and 810s to rail, a trick discovered last year and performed by the French half-man half-alien rider : Candide Thovex.
When approaching the kickers, the guys were reaching speeds of nearly 80 mph and left the crowd shivering for hours. On Saturday evening a Jib Session and a Road gap demonstration above the Quikride tour bus was organised. The 5000 spectators still can€t believe what they saw that evening. 15 riders destroyed by throwing spinning tricks in all directions in normal and in switch. The guys pushed the difficulty by accomplishing tricks such as cab900s, all in their unique styles. Then the powerful music vibes filled the village until late at night. Temperature rose fast under the sunny reggae-ragga tune.
This contest has been taking place for three years now and it has been a full success every time. I bet it won€t be the last one€'
> BACK IN AUSTRIA!
15/03/05
check the photos
Friday March 11th, a big snowfall was forecasted in Austria and we left La Mongie with Tommy and Martin. We picked up Florent Ducasse on the road, and James Stentiford in Geneva. Matus Hubka will join us Monday. The snow conditions were too dangerous to ride in the backcountry and we spent the day on the Snowpark tour final contest to have a look at the amateur riders. Andy €Mone€ Monsberger came up for the day too. (Thanks Bernd for his welcome)'
Friday March 11th, a big snowfall was forecasted in Austria and we left La Mongie with Tommy and Martin. We picked up Florent Ducasse on the road, and James Stentiford in Geneva. Matus Hubka will join us Monday. The snow conditions were too dangerous to ride in the backcountry and we spent the day on the Snowpark tour final contest to have a look at the amateur riders. Andy €Mone€ Monsberger came up for the day too. (Thanks Bernd for his welcome)'
> LA MONGIE, PIC DU MIDI, FRANCE
15/03/05
The incredibly white Pyrenees were awaiting the bus eagerly, and from Monday onwards, the sun was pouring in shining one of its rare lights to the pleasure of our photographers and cameramen, Florent Ducasse and Regis Leon.
After a quick stop in Montréjeau, home of our British driver, the bus headed for Baqueira, elected resort of the Spanish king. A helicopter was awaiting our freeriders Tommy Brunner from Austria, Martin Cernik from Czech republic and locals Manuel Palacios and Hugo Morales as conditions were truly remarkable. It€s the first time the bus used a helicopter in order to get top images in such a beautiful place and so much snow.
The evening was spent with our dear local Spanish customers, and then headed for the €Pic du Midi€ on the French side, loosing Martin Cernik on his way back to Prague but getting Mathieu Crepel onboard, who proudly welcomed the bus jumping an gigantic road gap that he had prepared and had been thinking about for some time, he€s at home! The whole resort€s activity slowed down while Mat was performing, as everyone was feeling that something special was going on. All the cars driving down from the Tourmalet area almost halted hoping to get a sight of flying Mat Crepel. The latter confessed he had been waiting for this moment for some time, as a lot of snow was necessary to accomplish the feat in reasonably safe conditions. The bus looks rather like a toy on the road as Mat is flying past at some 45 feet above the road!!! Just watching the photograph brings shivers down your spine, this was a real €BIG€ moment in cliff jumping and road gapping!
The €Pic du Midi€ could not have been a better place for the continuation of the Pyrenean campaign of the Quikride Tour. 6O kids and their teachers came to present an exhibition they had prepared to environmental associations such as Surfrider Foundation, Mountain Rider and a water agency. Their work nicely completed architects from C.Native€s exhibition in a room at the top of the €Pic€.
Just watching the children€s amazed eyes in front of so much beauty next to some of their heroes represented by Quiksilver teamriders Tommy Brunner and Mathieu Crepel, all this in front of the many camera and film camera lenses. The magic operated once more€
A massive thanks to Eurosima that has allowed the set up of the €snow flake to the wave€ film that will be screening all over France.
Following the sharing with the youth, it was back to action with the descent through the North East couloir of the €Pic€, one of the more engaged of the site. Of course a guide was present, cross-belt and mountain equipped riders, just in case they would meet heavy rock barriers!
Nicolas Marchioninni was telling us about this day as one of the most fabulous of his life, as the couloir can only rarely be descended.
We finished the day through the €Ours€ (Bear) couloir with over 2000m (6000 feet) of dropping. Tommy Brunner noted the fact that the Pyrenees do have a lot on offer, providing the conditions are there. The only fright on the couple of days was had by Beach Brother cameraman Ben, who had some difficulty in the couloir€
Amazing days€
'
After a quick stop in Montréjeau, home of our British driver, the bus headed for Baqueira, elected resort of the Spanish king. A helicopter was awaiting our freeriders Tommy Brunner from Austria, Martin Cernik from Czech republic and locals Manuel Palacios and Hugo Morales as conditions were truly remarkable. It€s the first time the bus used a helicopter in order to get top images in such a beautiful place and so much snow.
The evening was spent with our dear local Spanish customers, and then headed for the €Pic du Midi€ on the French side, loosing Martin Cernik on his way back to Prague but getting Mathieu Crepel onboard, who proudly welcomed the bus jumping an gigantic road gap that he had prepared and had been thinking about for some time, he€s at home! The whole resort€s activity slowed down while Mat was performing, as everyone was feeling that something special was going on. All the cars driving down from the Tourmalet area almost halted hoping to get a sight of flying Mat Crepel. The latter confessed he had been waiting for this moment for some time, as a lot of snow was necessary to accomplish the feat in reasonably safe conditions. The bus looks rather like a toy on the road as Mat is flying past at some 45 feet above the road!!! Just watching the photograph brings shivers down your spine, this was a real €BIG€ moment in cliff jumping and road gapping!
The €Pic du Midi€ could not have been a better place for the continuation of the Pyrenean campaign of the Quikride Tour. 6O kids and their teachers came to present an exhibition they had prepared to environmental associations such as Surfrider Foundation, Mountain Rider and a water agency. Their work nicely completed architects from C.Native€s exhibition in a room at the top of the €Pic€.
Just watching the children€s amazed eyes in front of so much beauty next to some of their heroes represented by Quiksilver teamriders Tommy Brunner and Mathieu Crepel, all this in front of the many camera and film camera lenses. The magic operated once more€
A massive thanks to Eurosima that has allowed the set up of the €snow flake to the wave€ film that will be screening all over France.
Following the sharing with the youth, it was back to action with the descent through the North East couloir of the €Pic€, one of the more engaged of the site. Of course a guide was present, cross-belt and mountain equipped riders, just in case they would meet heavy rock barriers!
Nicolas Marchioninni was telling us about this day as one of the most fabulous of his life, as the couloir can only rarely be descended.
We finished the day through the €Ours€ (Bear) couloir with over 2000m (6000 feet) of dropping. Tommy Brunner noted the fact that the Pyrenees do have a lot on offer, providing the conditions are there. The only fright on the couple of days was had by Beach Brother cameraman Ben, who had some difficulty in the couloir€
Amazing days€
'
> THE PYRENEES, BAQUEIRA, SPAIN
03/03/05
Mervyn (the bus driver) comes from England and has driven all the big music stars the last 20 years (The Stones, Michael Jackson, Tina
Turner, U2, James Brown...) He's got certainly the best coverage in the web site!!!!!! He lives in France since 1 year and by chance between Baqueira and La Mongie...The decision was easy to take: the head quarter will be his house.
Martin Cernik, Tommy Brunner, Hugo Morales, Manuel Palacios and all the Spanish crew joined us to the bus for 3 days freeriding.
Heliboarding is forbidden almost in all Europe but not in Spain and the Pyrenees have had very good snow conditions in the past 4 years. It was very dangerous everywhere but the crew found some good and safe north faces to ride.
'
Turner, U2, James Brown...) He's got certainly the best coverage in the web site!!!!!! He lives in France since 1 year and by chance between Baqueira and La Mongie...The decision was easy to take: the head quarter will be his house.
Martin Cernik, Tommy Brunner, Hugo Morales, Manuel Palacios and all the Spanish crew joined us to the bus for 3 days freeriding.
Heliboarding is forbidden almost in all Europe but not in Spain and the Pyrenees have had very good snow conditions in the past 4 years. It was very dangerous everywhere but the crew found some good and safe north faces to ride.
'
> “BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME”
03/03/05
![](javascript:popup("/upload/news/CAPTAIN//BDOut.jpg",100,100);)
The Big Day Out
Les Arcs was great with the kids. Now we€re ready for fun with the big guns.
Oh boy! It€s so cold up here.
Val D€Isere is famous for its fantastic snow conditions, not surprising it€s so f**__g cold!
The bus drove through the tunnels up to Val D€Isere with a police escort. First class, but to be honest we crossed our fingers as we pulled into the tunnels that gave clearance to 3.7m and our bus is 4.0m high! Tomi was on the top deck with the hatch open to make sure we weren€t going to scrape the roof on the rocks, radio in hand to keep in contact with Mervyn (our trusty driver). We made it up without a scratch!
Gumby (big chef of the contest and Quiksilver team rider) had organised a parking place behind the gigantic hip. Yep! We were parked on the snow at the foot of the Bellevarde. We had power so the bus was heated!! Good thing, it was €"21°C the first night!
The crew onboard; Jakob Wilhelmson, Markku Koski, Martin Cernik, Chris Sorman, Kalle Ohlson, Matus Hubka, Emeric Front, Jean Sylvain Amy, Douds Charlet, Fillipo Crudelli and our skier Candide Thovex and the infamous skater snowboarder Mike Ranquet.
The size and importance of the event in Val D€Isere also brought Bernard Crepel (our snow brand manager), François Latterade (our outerwear designer), Tomi Toiminen (skate and snow team manager), Manu Labadie (major marketing man), Geoff Sykes and Jasper Sanders. Let€s just say the dogs were in town!
Gumby and his crew had built a fantastic course. As follows; drop in to a small kicker with a flat rail option, then onto the big kicker which also had a rail option-flat to down-if you hit the kicker and landed clean you had the three options, the giant hip, the wall ride or the rainbow rail. A well-calculated course, the riders we€re into it. The show was on! Good job Gumby and Val D€Isere.
Wednesday after the quarterfinals, the bus rolled down to the Quiksilver boardrider, the team jumped out to eat and meet the local kids. The shop was packed, the boys ran out of ink signing posters for their fans! For some the night rocked on, in Val D€Isere they know how to party€other€s prepared for the final.
For the details of contest you€ll have to read it in the press or go to http://www.xboxbigdayout.com or watch it on TV! Skiers and snowboarders gave an insane display of modern freestyle. It was great to see both disciplines going off on the same course. The level of riding was so high; one can only wonder what it will be like in the future.
The night belonged to Finland; they took first place in ski and snowboard! Anti Tavanen took the honours on skis. Snowboarder Ville Votilla took the show landing perfectly his huge 900€s. Our man Jakob Wilhelmson took second place stomping a frontside 1080° and then a €cab€ 1080°! I guess that Ville went just a little bit bigger than Jakob. Whatever! It was difficult for the judges.
We owe a €big thank you€ to Gumby, Peta, Youbi and Val D€Isere for a super contest and a memorable week.
The bus left town late that night, Jakob and Mike had early flights and we had to get to the Pyrenees. We have been hearing stories of conditions never before seen, and more snow on the way. Manuel Palacios has all the hook ups in Spain he€ll be onboard with us next week.
If you don€t get any fresh news it means we€re having too much fun.
We hope it€s as good where you are!
Remember right place, right time.
'
Les Arcs was great with the kids. Now we€re ready for fun with the big guns.
Oh boy! It€s so cold up here.
Val D€Isere is famous for its fantastic snow conditions, not surprising it€s so f**__g cold!
The bus drove through the tunnels up to Val D€Isere with a police escort. First class, but to be honest we crossed our fingers as we pulled into the tunnels that gave clearance to 3.7m and our bus is 4.0m high! Tomi was on the top deck with the hatch open to make sure we weren€t going to scrape the roof on the rocks, radio in hand to keep in contact with Mervyn (our trusty driver). We made it up without a scratch!
Gumby (big chef of the contest and Quiksilver team rider) had organised a parking place behind the gigantic hip. Yep! We were parked on the snow at the foot of the Bellevarde. We had power so the bus was heated!! Good thing, it was €"21°C the first night!
The crew onboard; Jakob Wilhelmson, Markku Koski, Martin Cernik, Chris Sorman, Kalle Ohlson, Matus Hubka, Emeric Front, Jean Sylvain Amy, Douds Charlet, Fillipo Crudelli and our skier Candide Thovex and the infamous skater snowboarder Mike Ranquet.
The size and importance of the event in Val D€Isere also brought Bernard Crepel (our snow brand manager), François Latterade (our outerwear designer), Tomi Toiminen (skate and snow team manager), Manu Labadie (major marketing man), Geoff Sykes and Jasper Sanders. Let€s just say the dogs were in town!
Gumby and his crew had built a fantastic course. As follows; drop in to a small kicker with a flat rail option, then onto the big kicker which also had a rail option-flat to down-if you hit the kicker and landed clean you had the three options, the giant hip, the wall ride or the rainbow rail. A well-calculated course, the riders we€re into it. The show was on! Good job Gumby and Val D€Isere.
Wednesday after the quarterfinals, the bus rolled down to the Quiksilver boardrider, the team jumped out to eat and meet the local kids. The shop was packed, the boys ran out of ink signing posters for their fans! For some the night rocked on, in Val D€Isere they know how to party€other€s prepared for the final.
For the details of contest you€ll have to read it in the press or go to http://www.xboxbigdayout.com or watch it on TV! Skiers and snowboarders gave an insane display of modern freestyle. It was great to see both disciplines going off on the same course. The level of riding was so high; one can only wonder what it will be like in the future.
The night belonged to Finland; they took first place in ski and snowboard! Anti Tavanen took the honours on skis. Snowboarder Ville Votilla took the show landing perfectly his huge 900€s. Our man Jakob Wilhelmson took second place stomping a frontside 1080° and then a €cab€ 1080°! I guess that Ville went just a little bit bigger than Jakob. Whatever! It was difficult for the judges.
We owe a €big thank you€ to Gumby, Peta, Youbi and Val D€Isere for a super contest and a memorable week.
The bus left town late that night, Jakob and Mike had early flights and we had to get to the Pyrenees. We have been hearing stories of conditions never before seen, and more snow on the way. Manuel Palacios has all the hook ups in Spain he€ll be onboard with us next week.
If you don€t get any fresh news it means we€re having too much fun.
We hope it€s as good where you are!
Remember right place, right time.
'
![](javascript:popup("/upload/news/CAPTAIN//snowman.jpg",100,100);)
> KIDS WEEK - LES ARCS
03/03/05
Midnight, Saturday 19th February €" we€re finally getting to les Arcs 1800 where Olivier is awaiting us in freezing temperatures, opening sesame€s doors (da bus€ doors actually), transport and very coveted place by the kids.
Everyone€s taking position, but the first night will be short. After some laughs and whispers, the kids are fast asleep till morning.
Sunday 20 March
Coffee and French bread are welcome; the kids are smiling under their spiky €sleepy hair€ and are getting ready.
9 AM, Laurent Besse, the attentive and motivating coach arrives. He will be part of the crew during the week.
Everyone€s off for an area discovery ride: snowparks, slopes and possible rails€
3 PM, back to the bus where the infernal hot dog machine started spitting out its warm and hot (mustard) sandwiches.
The end of the day is nice and easy, watching a couple of DVDs to improve the kids English, and playing video games on the xbox. The last Frenchies arrived too with Emma Bernard, Johan Wagner, Mirabelle Thovex and Thomas Krief.
7 PM, the first of many raclettes of the week at les Arcs 1800!
Monday 21 March
The cold is still around, but the hot chocolate odour and the honey-crushed bananas, Anouk€s secret potion to avoid empty stomachs in mid-morning rides, warms everyone up. Albert Veleix, as director of ski lifts and of many resources in the resort is at our side for the week.
10 AM Coach Laurent Besse meets with the young guns. Kalle Ohlson, a 17-year-old rider from Sweden will be at his side throughout. He€s an expert in half pipe and jumps.
Everyone gets a stretching session at the end of the day and dinner in a mountain restaurant reached by a ½ hour trek just guided by the light of a lost chalet. Coming back down from it was the best laugh though.
At 11 PM, the bus is quiet and warm€ full of dreams for tomorrow.
Tuesday 22 March
8 AM we headed to the snowpark after breakfast.
It€s a €Check me Out€ day, the resorts€ kids have gathered around the park to get some media exposure by Bruno Debauché who has been following us or trying to follow the kids€) since the beginning of the week.
3 PM it€s the end of the runs, stretching takes place in some building€s entrance with Laurent and Kalle.
We then quickly hurried to the Boardrider€s to meet kids and parents that came over to the park during the day after a well-deserved shower.
The giant screen is on at the J.O. bar and the day€s film started. Every kid gets to see oneself passing the kicker and the hip, great atmosphere! Prizes are handed out to the best jumps and best wipeouts!
8 PM Dinner at the mountain café, we€re welcome and the kids went mad again at smurfing and dancing on the tables, using up the last remains of their energy. Thomas Krief, Johan Wagner and Lee Tarran are the dancing stars of the eve. There€s proof, as Vincent Rigler€s camera witnessed it all!
Wednesday 23 March
9 AM we get to La Plagne€s snowpark that has been shaped specially for us! We went for ski paradise with a cabin floating at 400 metres altitude (1200 feet).
A Half Pipe just for us awaits us up there and everyone€s going crazy. The first few runs were cautious, but after a few runs, it became the best toy around! With many tricks executed over the coping.
A sandwich on the slope for lunch and off they were again; the day€s only starting. Our private half pipe got used optimally plus getting the good advice of coach Laurent and park shaper Romuald Junqua.
4 PM, we have to think about not missing the last cabin down and we€re headed directly to les Arcs 1950, with the brilliant sight of the bus parked right in the middle of the resort. No cars, just the bus amongst a village of chalets. We€re due for an afternoon break in a Chalet 50 m (150 feet) up an icy slope where a welcoming blazing fireplace awaits us. The chocolate cakes and other patisseries are enough energy to get us back to the bus!
The kids are stocked and Jean Marc Silva, our dear resort director offers us the best remedy against cold: a Genepi. We€ve got 200 metres (600 feet) to go down, and that€s organised on some snake sledges or something, and what a great time we had, having the full moon for full vision.
Midnight, almost, bedtime€
Thursday 24 March
8 AM, a guide is awaiting us for a ride in les Arcs combs. A lot of walking, but untouched snow makes it worth it, and many nice photos will be shot. Florent, our sausage-eating photographer is stoked!
1 PM, lunch at the snowpark in Julien€s hut (he€s the park€s boss), smoked ham, French cheese and sausage, everyone€s starving!
3 PM, Check Me Out, all instructors bring their kids to this session in order to ride with the Quiksilver young guns, all under brotherhoods€ trained camera lens eye.
5 PM, back to the resort for showers and stretching.
6 PM, signing at the Concept Board shop where Candide Thovex came around to meet the kids. The meeting is a great success and the shop becomes an extraordinary playground for everyone.
7 PM, a jump is prepared for tomorrow and a rat track helps along. 4 hours work for 7 people! Our beloved Anthony shapes his first hip and sets a rail.
In the meantime, the parents and the kids have gathered in the Luigi Bar to watch the latest Check Me Out images. Our official speaker, Bernard Crepel is setting the tune and kids and parents were receiving prizes almost in awe€
9 PM, Pro generation Jakob Wilhelmson, Mike Ranquet and Tomi Toiminen joined us for dinner.
Friday 25, 2005
9 AM, we€re off to the Arcs 1800 rails that Kalle Ohlson had discovered when he arrived. The Brotherhood team, Florent & Vincent followed to catch the best moments on film. The rails being in town, the set is good to produce nice images, but the crowd is profiting from the site too as it is gathering around the stairways and corridors€ We€ve also attracted the police, but it all ended up in good relation.
1 PM, back to 1950 for sandwiches and then off to the swimming pool for some exercise
A few feet away, shapers are working away at the park to make it perfect and welcoming for the kids a bit later.
6 PM, Bernard Crepel is seeking the crowd upheavals in the street using a powerful amp and microphone while the Djs are setting up, while the temperature drops to minus 25°C with Northerly winds€. The fire spitters are very welcome!
The evening finishes with a Fondue Savoyarde and a good time at Luigi€s. The kids just don€t get tired and their cultural differences only seem to draw them closer.
Saturday 26 March
6 AM, that€s it, we€re off to Lyon in the valley to drop the kids off into their various aeroplanes€ directions. But the roads are snowed in, filled with cars€ it is only towards 11 PM that the Quiksilver kids found their way back home to their €home sweet home€!
See you for more adventures ;-)'
Everyone€s taking position, but the first night will be short. After some laughs and whispers, the kids are fast asleep till morning.
Sunday 20 March
Coffee and French bread are welcome; the kids are smiling under their spiky €sleepy hair€ and are getting ready.
9 AM, Laurent Besse, the attentive and motivating coach arrives. He will be part of the crew during the week.
Everyone€s off for an area discovery ride: snowparks, slopes and possible rails€
3 PM, back to the bus where the infernal hot dog machine started spitting out its warm and hot (mustard) sandwiches.
The end of the day is nice and easy, watching a couple of DVDs to improve the kids English, and playing video games on the xbox. The last Frenchies arrived too with Emma Bernard, Johan Wagner, Mirabelle Thovex and Thomas Krief.
7 PM, the first of many raclettes of the week at les Arcs 1800!
Monday 21 March
The cold is still around, but the hot chocolate odour and the honey-crushed bananas, Anouk€s secret potion to avoid empty stomachs in mid-morning rides, warms everyone up. Albert Veleix, as director of ski lifts and of many resources in the resort is at our side for the week.
10 AM Coach Laurent Besse meets with the young guns. Kalle Ohlson, a 17-year-old rider from Sweden will be at his side throughout. He€s an expert in half pipe and jumps.
Everyone gets a stretching session at the end of the day and dinner in a mountain restaurant reached by a ½ hour trek just guided by the light of a lost chalet. Coming back down from it was the best laugh though.
At 11 PM, the bus is quiet and warm€ full of dreams for tomorrow.
Tuesday 22 March
8 AM we headed to the snowpark after breakfast.
It€s a €Check me Out€ day, the resorts€ kids have gathered around the park to get some media exposure by Bruno Debauché who has been following us or trying to follow the kids€) since the beginning of the week.
3 PM it€s the end of the runs, stretching takes place in some building€s entrance with Laurent and Kalle.
We then quickly hurried to the Boardrider€s to meet kids and parents that came over to the park during the day after a well-deserved shower.
The giant screen is on at the J.O. bar and the day€s film started. Every kid gets to see oneself passing the kicker and the hip, great atmosphere! Prizes are handed out to the best jumps and best wipeouts!
8 PM Dinner at the mountain café, we€re welcome and the kids went mad again at smurfing and dancing on the tables, using up the last remains of their energy. Thomas Krief, Johan Wagner and Lee Tarran are the dancing stars of the eve. There€s proof, as Vincent Rigler€s camera witnessed it all!
Wednesday 23 March
9 AM we get to La Plagne€s snowpark that has been shaped specially for us! We went for ski paradise with a cabin floating at 400 metres altitude (1200 feet).
A Half Pipe just for us awaits us up there and everyone€s going crazy. The first few runs were cautious, but after a few runs, it became the best toy around! With many tricks executed over the coping.
A sandwich on the slope for lunch and off they were again; the day€s only starting. Our private half pipe got used optimally plus getting the good advice of coach Laurent and park shaper Romuald Junqua.
4 PM, we have to think about not missing the last cabin down and we€re headed directly to les Arcs 1950, with the brilliant sight of the bus parked right in the middle of the resort. No cars, just the bus amongst a village of chalets. We€re due for an afternoon break in a Chalet 50 m (150 feet) up an icy slope where a welcoming blazing fireplace awaits us. The chocolate cakes and other patisseries are enough energy to get us back to the bus!
The kids are stocked and Jean Marc Silva, our dear resort director offers us the best remedy against cold: a Genepi. We€ve got 200 metres (600 feet) to go down, and that€s organised on some snake sledges or something, and what a great time we had, having the full moon for full vision.
Midnight, almost, bedtime€
Thursday 24 March
8 AM, a guide is awaiting us for a ride in les Arcs combs. A lot of walking, but untouched snow makes it worth it, and many nice photos will be shot. Florent, our sausage-eating photographer is stoked!
1 PM, lunch at the snowpark in Julien€s hut (he€s the park€s boss), smoked ham, French cheese and sausage, everyone€s starving!
3 PM, Check Me Out, all instructors bring their kids to this session in order to ride with the Quiksilver young guns, all under brotherhoods€ trained camera lens eye.
5 PM, back to the resort for showers and stretching.
6 PM, signing at the Concept Board shop where Candide Thovex came around to meet the kids. The meeting is a great success and the shop becomes an extraordinary playground for everyone.
7 PM, a jump is prepared for tomorrow and a rat track helps along. 4 hours work for 7 people! Our beloved Anthony shapes his first hip and sets a rail.
In the meantime, the parents and the kids have gathered in the Luigi Bar to watch the latest Check Me Out images. Our official speaker, Bernard Crepel is setting the tune and kids and parents were receiving prizes almost in awe€
9 PM, Pro generation Jakob Wilhelmson, Mike Ranquet and Tomi Toiminen joined us for dinner.
Friday 25, 2005
9 AM, we€re off to the Arcs 1800 rails that Kalle Ohlson had discovered when he arrived. The Brotherhood team, Florent & Vincent followed to catch the best moments on film. The rails being in town, the set is good to produce nice images, but the crowd is profiting from the site too as it is gathering around the stairways and corridors€ We€ve also attracted the police, but it all ended up in good relation.
1 PM, back to 1950 for sandwiches and then off to the swimming pool for some exercise
A few feet away, shapers are working away at the park to make it perfect and welcoming for the kids a bit later.
6 PM, Bernard Crepel is seeking the crowd upheavals in the street using a powerful amp and microphone while the Djs are setting up, while the temperature drops to minus 25°C with Northerly winds€. The fire spitters are very welcome!
The evening finishes with a Fondue Savoyarde and a good time at Luigi€s. The kids just don€t get tired and their cultural differences only seem to draw them closer.
Saturday 26 March
6 AM, that€s it, we€re off to Lyon in the valley to drop the kids off into their various aeroplanes€ directions. But the roads are snowed in, filled with cars€ it is only towards 11 PM that the Quiksilver kids found their way back home to their €home sweet home€!
See you for more adventures ;-)'
>THE POLAND TRIP!
16/02/05
check the photos > click here
SATURDAY 12th
We arrived around 11am for the skate contest. It was a really good day actually, with good skateboarding, good people, good vibe, and large crowds of kids. We will surely come back next summer to the Czech Republic for the Mystic Cup.
We should be in Italy Sunday afternoon and we left for Olomouc around Midnight. We dropped all the crew in Vienna (Austria).
FRIDAY 11th
Hard Wake up, breakfast and we quickly drove to €Blue city€, the indoor skate park. It was really good for everybody to sweat bullets at last. We left the park in the afternoon for a funny press conference and drive to the closest ski resort (1 ski lift but in town) for the night snow contest.
On the road again: we left Warsaw after the prize ceremony and drove all the night long to be in Czech Republic (Olomouc) before lunch.
THURSDAY 10 th
Krakow is a really nice town and we spent the day visiting some shops and the old town.
We drove to Warsaw later in the afternoon. Many people met in Krakow joined us for the trip. It was surely the best vodka bus party.
WEDNESDAY 9th
We pick up Doud€s at the hospital around 1 pm (6 people in 30 m2 room) and drove to the first ski resort for a snowboard session with all the kids.
We left Krynica to Krakow with MTV Poland.
A Quiksilver Vodka party took place again in Krakow.
THUESDAY 8th
After 18 hours drive, we arrived close to the Polish boarder but the Police stopped the bus for a stupid mirror problem. We lost 3 hours to deal with the guys and finally crossed the boarder and arrived to Krynica.
Snow skate session until 8pm, shower and the first Vodka Party.
At 3 in the morning we all came back to the hotel, Doud€s took the first cab but slammed on the icy ground; the blood pumped out from his chin. He didn€t realize what happened and walked to his room. We arrived in the next cab and the reception girl was crying alone behind the desk. It€ was crazy honestly; blood everywhere in the hotel. We found Doud€s and called the hospital €6 stitches
SATURDAY 5th
We dropped all the people in Bratislava except Martin Cernik, Emeric Front and two locals and headed for Prague: Martin€s girl friend is one of the most popular DJs in the Czech Republic and one day a month, she invites a DJ to play with her: Miss KITIN from France this Saturday.'
SATURDAY 12th
We arrived around 11am for the skate contest. It was a really good day actually, with good skateboarding, good people, good vibe, and large crowds of kids. We will surely come back next summer to the Czech Republic for the Mystic Cup.
We should be in Italy Sunday afternoon and we left for Olomouc around Midnight. We dropped all the crew in Vienna (Austria).
FRIDAY 11th
Hard Wake up, breakfast and we quickly drove to €Blue city€, the indoor skate park. It was really good for everybody to sweat bullets at last. We left the park in the afternoon for a funny press conference and drive to the closest ski resort (1 ski lift but in town) for the night snow contest.
On the road again: we left Warsaw after the prize ceremony and drove all the night long to be in Czech Republic (Olomouc) before lunch.
THURSDAY 10 th
Krakow is a really nice town and we spent the day visiting some shops and the old town.
We drove to Warsaw later in the afternoon. Many people met in Krakow joined us for the trip. It was surely the best vodka bus party.
WEDNESDAY 9th
We pick up Doud€s at the hospital around 1 pm (6 people in 30 m2 room) and drove to the first ski resort for a snowboard session with all the kids.
We left Krynica to Krakow with MTV Poland.
A Quiksilver Vodka party took place again in Krakow.
THUESDAY 8th
After 18 hours drive, we arrived close to the Polish boarder but the Police stopped the bus for a stupid mirror problem. We lost 3 hours to deal with the guys and finally crossed the boarder and arrived to Krynica.
Snow skate session until 8pm, shower and the first Vodka Party.
At 3 in the morning we all came back to the hotel, Doud€s took the first cab but slammed on the icy ground; the blood pumped out from his chin. He didn€t realize what happened and walked to his room. We arrived in the next cab and the reception girl was crying alone behind the desk. It€ was crazy honestly; blood everywhere in the hotel. We found Doud€s and called the hospital €6 stitches
SATURDAY 5th
We dropped all the people in Bratislava except Martin Cernik, Emeric Front and two locals and headed for Prague: Martin€s girl friend is one of the most popular DJs in the Czech Republic and one day a month, she invites a DJ to play with her: Miss KITIN from France this Saturday.'
>POLAND...
09/02/05
ISPO is over for the bus, and with a slight crew change it headed for Krynica in south Poland.
Check back soon for news and photos.'
Check back soon for news and photos.'
>SLOVAKIA, HELL YEAH!
07/02/05
check the Slovak Photo Gallery: click here
Saturday 05.02, the major Slovak commercial TV Markiza filmed the bus and made interviews with some of us. Right after the show the bus left to Munich to attend ISPO fair€
The sun was shining on Friday (04.02) morning, just a perfect day. Finally, every one of us was able to make some big lines in virgin powder in the unridden chutes. Chopok is really good for that - no hiking just riding. Everybody was totally motivated, so the day was a great finale to the Slovak stay. After riding we hit the road for Bratislava (a 290km trip), where Brano once again did an excellent job in organizing a goodbye party in one of the favourite local bars. Beer, chicks€All of us had a grand time, so we went to bed in the morning hours.
Thursday (03.02) looked just like Wednesday €" heavy snowing. We spent it in the backcountry shooting some freeriding again. In the afternoon Emeric found a concrete triple-king ledge. It was super big and had sketchy things around it that could hurt you in many possible ways. He nailed it 50\50 on the first try€respect to our superstar! That night there was a party with the local riders in the Espresso pub.
Wednesday (02.02) it was still snowing. We split up into groups to make it easier for us and the photographers and film makers. Martin, Matus, Emeric, Tommy and Mone were shooting with Ducasse and Robo from Marwin production. Czech and Slovak rookies spent the day with Mat from the Slovak mag Boardlife and Thomas from a French fashion magazine. During the day we shot powder, cliffs and rocks. In the evening we found a good bridge drop that ended in the woods. Matus and Emeric killed it twice. The day was long, but it€s been fun. Everybody was looking forward to the well-deserved dinner.
Brano booked a traditional meal in the folk-style restaurant/pub Peklo, which in English means €hell.€ The food was excellent and there was a live gypsy band playing. Everybody had to have the typical local drink Horec, beer was flowing€ hell of a night. Some of us made an early escape, others stayed to explore Horec into detail, and part of the crew went to check out the local striptease. In the middle of the party the new bus manager Olivier suddenly appeared in the pub (after a long journey from France), and quickly managed to fit in.
Tuesday (01.02) was an easy day. Since Chopok is Matus€s home resort, he showed us around. It has been snowing for the last couple of days, so everybody just went freeriding. Epic conditions totally approved the bus motto €Right place, Right time.€ After a day of driving from Innsbruck, Tommy Brunner and Andy Monsberger joined us in the evening. It was snowing that night, so everybody wanted to get up early.
We left Pec Pod Snezkou on Monday (31.01) evening. We€ve been travelling the whole night and arrived in the biggest Slovakian ski resort Jasna-Chopok (948-2024 m) in the morning. Jasna lies in the Lower Tatras, in central Slovakia. The Slovak distributor, Brano Bomba, has been waiting for us and he had everything organized already. We stayed in (and in front of) a hotel just 5 minutes from the lifts.
'
Saturday 05.02, the major Slovak commercial TV Markiza filmed the bus and made interviews with some of us. Right after the show the bus left to Munich to attend ISPO fair€
The sun was shining on Friday (04.02) morning, just a perfect day. Finally, every one of us was able to make some big lines in virgin powder in the unridden chutes. Chopok is really good for that - no hiking just riding. Everybody was totally motivated, so the day was a great finale to the Slovak stay. After riding we hit the road for Bratislava (a 290km trip), where Brano once again did an excellent job in organizing a goodbye party in one of the favourite local bars. Beer, chicks€All of us had a grand time, so we went to bed in the morning hours.
Thursday (03.02) looked just like Wednesday €" heavy snowing. We spent it in the backcountry shooting some freeriding again. In the afternoon Emeric found a concrete triple-king ledge. It was super big and had sketchy things around it that could hurt you in many possible ways. He nailed it 50\50 on the first try€respect to our superstar! That night there was a party with the local riders in the Espresso pub.
Wednesday (02.02) it was still snowing. We split up into groups to make it easier for us and the photographers and film makers. Martin, Matus, Emeric, Tommy and Mone were shooting with Ducasse and Robo from Marwin production. Czech and Slovak rookies spent the day with Mat from the Slovak mag Boardlife and Thomas from a French fashion magazine. During the day we shot powder, cliffs and rocks. In the evening we found a good bridge drop that ended in the woods. Matus and Emeric killed it twice. The day was long, but it€s been fun. Everybody was looking forward to the well-deserved dinner.
Brano booked a traditional meal in the folk-style restaurant/pub Peklo, which in English means €hell.€ The food was excellent and there was a live gypsy band playing. Everybody had to have the typical local drink Horec, beer was flowing€ hell of a night. Some of us made an early escape, others stayed to explore Horec into detail, and part of the crew went to check out the local striptease. In the middle of the party the new bus manager Olivier suddenly appeared in the pub (after a long journey from France), and quickly managed to fit in.
Tuesday (01.02) was an easy day. Since Chopok is Matus€s home resort, he showed us around. It has been snowing for the last couple of days, so everybody just went freeriding. Epic conditions totally approved the bus motto €Right place, Right time.€ After a day of driving from Innsbruck, Tommy Brunner and Andy Monsberger joined us in the evening. It was snowing that night, so everybody wanted to get up early.
We left Pec Pod Snezkou on Monday (31.01) evening. We€ve been travelling the whole night and arrived in the biggest Slovakian ski resort Jasna-Chopok (948-2024 m) in the morning. Jasna lies in the Lower Tatras, in central Slovakia. The Slovak distributor, Brano Bomba, has been waiting for us and he had everything organized already. We stayed in (and in front of) a hotel just 5 minutes from the lifts.
'
>KIDS WEEK - LES ARCS, PROGRAM
07/02/05
![](javascript:popup("/upload/news/CAPTAIN//lesarcs_logo.jpg",100,100);){kind=logo}
-> http://lesarcs.com/
Saturday, February 19
The bus arrives at "les Arcs" 1800 with the Quiksilver team kids on the Charvet parking.
Sunday, February 20
- Freeride session & filming in the resort
Monday, February 21
- Snowpark session, filming & training
Tuesday, February 22
- Check me Out!
The young riders, judge the local snowboarders and skiers in the snowpark under the media eye.
- Johan Wagner (Luz Ardiden, France )
- Mirabelle Thovex ( La Clusaz, France )
- Elena Crepel ( Pyrénées, France )
- Petteri Turunen ( Finlande )
- Lee Terran ( UK )
- Oscar Ohlson ( Sweden)
- Thomas Krief ( Deux Alpes, France )
- Emma Bernard (Val Thorens, France )
+ 6.00 PM: meeting at the Quiksilver Boardriders Club
+ 7.30 PM: cocktail at the 1800 J.O. bar for the days footage screening.
Wednesday, February 23
- 9.00 AM Halfpipe training
- Bus moves to "les Arcs" 1950
Thursday, February 24
- The kids attempt Speed Skiing at Arc 2000
- Meeting with the pros at the snowpark in the afternoon for another Check me Out! along with ski schools
- 6.00 PM: meeting at the Concept Board Shop for a signing session with the team's international riders
- 7.30 PM: meeting at Luigi's chalet bar for the days footage screening.
Friday, February 25
- riding with the Quiksilver team's champions, learn tricks/manoeuvres. Intensive snowboard, ski, physical training and stretching
+ Warm up for the freestyle demos at the "Arcs 1950"
+ 6.00 PM: Freestyle demo, DJ, win Quiksilver gear, party at the "Bachal" club with Quiksilver vids screening.
Saturday, February 26
- Bus leaves for Val d'Isère for the Xbox Big Day Out (February 28 - March 4)
'
Saturday, February 19
The bus arrives at "les Arcs" 1800 with the Quiksilver team kids on the Charvet parking.
Sunday, February 20
- Freeride session & filming in the resort
Monday, February 21
- Snowpark session, filming & training
Tuesday, February 22
- Check me Out!
The young riders, judge the local snowboarders and skiers in the snowpark under the media eye.
- Johan Wagner (Luz Ardiden, France )
- Mirabelle Thovex ( La Clusaz, France )
- Elena Crepel ( Pyrénées, France )
- Petteri Turunen ( Finlande )
- Lee Terran ( UK )
- Oscar Ohlson ( Sweden)
- Thomas Krief ( Deux Alpes, France )
- Emma Bernard (Val Thorens, France )
+ 6.00 PM: meeting at the Quiksilver Boardriders Club
+ 7.30 PM: cocktail at the 1800 J.O. bar for the days footage screening.
Wednesday, February 23
- 9.00 AM Halfpipe training
- Bus moves to "les Arcs" 1950
Thursday, February 24
- The kids attempt Speed Skiing at Arc 2000
- Meeting with the pros at the snowpark in the afternoon for another Check me Out! along with ski schools
- 6.00 PM: meeting at the Concept Board Shop for a signing session with the team's international riders
- 7.30 PM: meeting at Luigi's chalet bar for the days footage screening.
Friday, February 25
- riding with the Quiksilver team's champions, learn tricks/manoeuvres. Intensive snowboard, ski, physical training and stretching
+ Warm up for the freestyle demos at the "Arcs 1950"
+ 6.00 PM: Freestyle demo, DJ, win Quiksilver gear, party at the "Bachal" club with Quiksilver vids screening.
Saturday, February 26
- Bus leaves for Val d'Isère for the Xbox Big Day Out (February 28 - March 4)
'
>HAPPY IN PRAGUE
01/02/05
We arrived in Prague, Czech Republic at night, the city revealing itself the next day. From our window, we could see the old town€s rooftops covered with snow with the castle dominating €" leaving us to imagine a marvellous land€ And actually, everything tends to prove this.
First of all, Jan Mestek, Quiksilver€s local man and his team including Katia and Thomas, have achieved an incredible and well appreciated work of welcoming us with everything prepared €" like nowhere else.
We then met up with martin Cernik and Linda his girlfriend (http://ladida.tv), the waiters from the €Cantina€, the first Czech-Mex in the world, and finally the barmaids of the €Blue Light€ in the old town. Shanti, Shanti, easy going, all smiles and welcoming, what can we say, brilliant.
Tuesday morning, Manu Portet and Simon W. have arrived for a photoshoot with photographer Florent Ducasse at which Emeric Front, Martin Cernik and Mathus Hubka also took part. The evening was spent at the €Blue Light€. We went for a night visit to the Strahovki Stadium, near which the bus was parked. It€s the grandest stadium in the world with 8 football pitches! It€s a ruin of the communist era. The grass is growing in the tribunes and rabbit footsteps can be seen in the snow. It€s freezing!
Wednesday morning at 7 AM Martin, Emeric and the others headed towards the Pilsen Boardriders Club 85km to the South of Prague where they spent the day. The road is covered in snow and as things turned out it got worse for a 3-hour drive to come back. Meanwhile, Simon and Florent took Manu for photos in town for next winter. We all met up for dinner in a traditional Czech pub where dish sizes are out of proportion and the beer excellent. The evening finishes at the Blue Light where we took our habits.
Thursday, the bus did get a service and the rest of the team went photoshooting again and getting ready to go again. We left at 2 AM for Spinleruv Mlyn. We dined at the Cantina and finished up with the whole crew at the Blue Light€ history repeating. Boarding was quick, everyone excited by the trip, once more heading for the hills and the snow and the coming days of fun, riding.
The bus parked right in front of the slopes (almost on).
Friday morning, it is under a bright sunshine that the team went to discover the resort.Although the Czech mountains are not very high (Spinleruv Mlyn is just over 1200m high), but the resort is modern and the riding domain is comfortable. Everyone enjoyed the day and was brought back to the bus by a healthy fatigue in the evening.
Saturday the weather remained great. A Burton contest took place with a double kicker, a rail and a table. The first three positions were taken by Quik riders!!! Martin Cernik took 2nd. Thanks Burton. It was a good reason to party at the €Silver Rock€ organised by Jan. Unlimited beer, giant buffet€ What a marvellous country!
Sunday, we got up a bit late and the most eager are using the time for a bit of riding before leaving to Pec Pod Snezkou, 20km from Spinleruv Mlyn.
Monday evening, the bus took the Slovakia direction, for more adventures.
'
First of all, Jan Mestek, Quiksilver€s local man and his team including Katia and Thomas, have achieved an incredible and well appreciated work of welcoming us with everything prepared €" like nowhere else.
We then met up with martin Cernik and Linda his girlfriend (http://ladida.tv), the waiters from the €Cantina€, the first Czech-Mex in the world, and finally the barmaids of the €Blue Light€ in the old town. Shanti, Shanti, easy going, all smiles and welcoming, what can we say, brilliant.
Tuesday morning, Manu Portet and Simon W. have arrived for a photoshoot with photographer Florent Ducasse at which Emeric Front, Martin Cernik and Mathus Hubka also took part. The evening was spent at the €Blue Light€. We went for a night visit to the Strahovki Stadium, near which the bus was parked. It€s the grandest stadium in the world with 8 football pitches! It€s a ruin of the communist era. The grass is growing in the tribunes and rabbit footsteps can be seen in the snow. It€s freezing!
Wednesday morning at 7 AM Martin, Emeric and the others headed towards the Pilsen Boardriders Club 85km to the South of Prague where they spent the day. The road is covered in snow and as things turned out it got worse for a 3-hour drive to come back. Meanwhile, Simon and Florent took Manu for photos in town for next winter. We all met up for dinner in a traditional Czech pub where dish sizes are out of proportion and the beer excellent. The evening finishes at the Blue Light where we took our habits.
Thursday, the bus did get a service and the rest of the team went photoshooting again and getting ready to go again. We left at 2 AM for Spinleruv Mlyn. We dined at the Cantina and finished up with the whole crew at the Blue Light€ history repeating. Boarding was quick, everyone excited by the trip, once more heading for the hills and the snow and the coming days of fun, riding.
The bus parked right in front of the slopes (almost on).
Friday morning, it is under a bright sunshine that the team went to discover the resort.Although the Czech mountains are not very high (Spinleruv Mlyn is just over 1200m high), but the resort is modern and the riding domain is comfortable. Everyone enjoyed the day and was brought back to the bus by a healthy fatigue in the evening.
Saturday the weather remained great. A Burton contest took place with a double kicker, a rail and a table. The first three positions were taken by Quik riders!!! Martin Cernik took 2nd. Thanks Burton. It was a good reason to party at the €Silver Rock€ organised by Jan. Unlimited beer, giant buffet€ What a marvellous country!
Sunday, we got up a bit late and the most eager are using the time for a bit of riding before leaving to Pec Pod Snezkou, 20km from Spinleruv Mlyn.
Monday evening, the bus took the Slovakia direction, for more adventures.
'
>LEAVE THESE KIDS ALONE !!
28/01/05
January 19-26 2005
Laax, Sarah and the lift personnel from the €Laax Bergbahnen€ had reserved the most brilliant parking space at the foot of the hill and lifts, the perfect place for the riders when back from the slopes. When the snow finally arrived, it came with hard conditions and the contest got postponed. Yet, Chris Sorman won the Slopestyle event.
In Berlin, Ross McGouran (UK), Daniel Cardone (ITA) and Jelle Deschouts (BEL) had come on a skateboard mission while Quiksilver employees were assisting one of the largest professional fairs in Europe at the Bread and Butter in Berlin (BBB).
Friday 21st, the stand was ready to welcome its first customers while Ross, Daniel and Jelle discovered the various skate spots around Berlin. A happy meeting occurred just before the rain had hit us. About 50 youths brought them down into an underground parking lot that turned out to be a very nice playground.
The evening was spent at the Check Point Charlie€s hotel€s bar where we also spent the weekend. Saturday morning we were off to the Bread and Butter fair. At 1 PM we met up with a couple of journalists that stayed with us the afternoon. We hit the rest of the Berlin wall for some €wall rides€ that only lasted till the police came over when Daniel was attempting a wall grind. Then we hit Mellow park, an outdoor skatepark in east Berlin€s suburb. It was freezing. The parked was essentially filled with kids on BMXs. The welcoming of the parks managers was as cold as the outside temperature (near 0°C)€ Anyhow, the boys had fun till nightfall.
After we hit the Bread and Butter party that was held at the €Café Moscow€ on the famous €Karl Marx Allee€. The Quiksilver reps met us around midnight.
The bus left everyone in awe as it was parked just outside all night long.
After a slow and easy wake up Sunday morning, we strolled around Check Point Charlie and Mervyn found a fitting fur hat.
In the afternoon, we headed for Basdau in the north of Berlin where we discovered the €Skate halle€, a small indoor park with a bowl, a vert and a few rails. There were mostly inline skaters around, but they quickly made space for the Quik riders. Daniel was wearing out the vert and his jeans while Ross was using the rails. We were warmly welcome and the public very curious as they hadn€t seen such a show since Tony Hawk€s secret visit. Thanks Norbert and his wife!!!
We spent the evening in an irish pub awaiting midnight and the 24th January for Mervyn€s birthday. At 2 AM we headed for a rave jet-set party from the BBB. We met up with Sebastian Hanecke who helped us during the fair.
The next day we headed for Prague in the Czech republic where we were joined by Simon W. Florent D., Manu Portet and Martin Cernik for the Eastern bloc tour!
'
Laax, Sarah and the lift personnel from the €Laax Bergbahnen€ had reserved the most brilliant parking space at the foot of the hill and lifts, the perfect place for the riders when back from the slopes. When the snow finally arrived, it came with hard conditions and the contest got postponed. Yet, Chris Sorman won the Slopestyle event.
In Berlin, Ross McGouran (UK), Daniel Cardone (ITA) and Jelle Deschouts (BEL) had come on a skateboard mission while Quiksilver employees were assisting one of the largest professional fairs in Europe at the Bread and Butter in Berlin (BBB).
Friday 21st, the stand was ready to welcome its first customers while Ross, Daniel and Jelle discovered the various skate spots around Berlin. A happy meeting occurred just before the rain had hit us. About 50 youths brought them down into an underground parking lot that turned out to be a very nice playground.
The evening was spent at the Check Point Charlie€s hotel€s bar where we also spent the weekend. Saturday morning we were off to the Bread and Butter fair. At 1 PM we met up with a couple of journalists that stayed with us the afternoon. We hit the rest of the Berlin wall for some €wall rides€ that only lasted till the police came over when Daniel was attempting a wall grind. Then we hit Mellow park, an outdoor skatepark in east Berlin€s suburb. It was freezing. The parked was essentially filled with kids on BMXs. The welcoming of the parks managers was as cold as the outside temperature (near 0°C)€ Anyhow, the boys had fun till nightfall.
After we hit the Bread and Butter party that was held at the €Café Moscow€ on the famous €Karl Marx Allee€. The Quiksilver reps met us around midnight.
The bus left everyone in awe as it was parked just outside all night long.
After a slow and easy wake up Sunday morning, we strolled around Check Point Charlie and Mervyn found a fitting fur hat.
In the afternoon, we headed for Basdau in the north of Berlin where we discovered the €Skate halle€, a small indoor park with a bowl, a vert and a few rails. There were mostly inline skaters around, but they quickly made space for the Quik riders. Daniel was wearing out the vert and his jeans while Ross was using the rails. We were warmly welcome and the public very curious as they hadn€t seen such a show since Tony Hawk€s secret visit. Thanks Norbert and his wife!!!
We spent the evening in an irish pub awaiting midnight and the 24th January for Mervyn€s birthday. At 2 AM we headed for a rave jet-set party from the BBB. We met up with Sebastian Hanecke who helped us during the fair.
The next day we headed for Prague in the Czech republic where we were joined by Simon W. Florent D., Manu Portet and Martin Cernik for the Eastern bloc tour!
'
>QUIK RIDER COMES OUT 1ST
24/01/05
>UPDATE FROM BERLIN
21/01/05
The news from Laax are :
-> that Darius Heritschian has qualified for the final contest day.
-> that he contest is on hold since Wednesday as stormy conditions are around. It could start again Saturday 22nd or Sunday 23rd.
The bus is now light with three riders onboard, skating around Berlin.
Journalists are also checking it out right now.'
-> that Darius Heritschian has qualified for the final contest day.
-> that he contest is on hold since Wednesday as stormy conditions are around. It could start again Saturday 22nd or Sunday 23rd.
The bus is now light with three riders onboard, skating around Berlin.
Journalists are also checking it out right now.'
>NOKIA SNOWPARK TOUR
18/01/05
And the winner is ..... Sandro Walker
We were in tears (hum!) when we left St Anton, Austria (www.hotelgabl.com ), where we were warmly welcomed by the Gabl family during the week long photoshoot. Next we headed to St Moritz in Switzerland with Markku Koski, Kalle Ohlson, Chris Sorman and a friend, Viktor. Tommy Brunner and Andy Monsberger (Mone) joined us in the evenings. We're waiting to take part in the Nokia Snowpark tour (www.snowparktour.com ). Bernt and Mathias from Mellow Constructions have prepared a smooth landing for us on Celerina-St.Moritz parking lot, next to the Bar Finale that was elected to be our headquarters throughout the weekend. Thanks as well to Dani Bauer from the Celerina Bergbahnen for his help. That night with ate out at the Misani hotel enjoying some Thai and other exotic dishes. Everyone was in bed early for an early start, as they predicted a beautiful day to follow.
Saturday, the training started at 10AM in the snowpark with around a hundred riders registered for the contest. The boys are getting ready and providing advice to the eager beginners. Unfortunately, the wind picked up and the organizers decided to put the training on hold after lunch for security reasons. At 4PM the contest riders were to meet at the bus for a massive Hot Dog party and a signing session. A small group gathered around the hot dog machine while Chris and Kalle performed a skateboard demo on the parking lot.
Before diner, we headed to the ice skating rink for a friendly game of hockey. The Swedes are very comfortable on skates, and it's no surprise that they beat the rest of Europe... We then headed to the hotel Misani's bodega for a "tapas" diner. Plenty of dishes land on our table, the atmosphere is excellent, spirits were high. A few red peppers were heating everything up, especially the Swedes who had never had them before. We finished the evening at the Diamond's club for a friendly chat with the snowpark team. We met up with one of Mone's local friends, Michi Albin, who introduced us to half the club... The party was full-on around 1.30AM.
The next day sees the start of the contest with a difficult rise out of bed, but the nice weather and good memories help a lot. We were right back to the Bar Finale for a hefty breakfast prepared by the sweet Susie before heading to the snowpark at 9000 feet altitude. The conditions were ideal and there's a lot of people around the kicker. The contest is due to start at 12PM and Mone, Tommy, Kalle, Markku and Chris are making the show with the younger participants. Tommy Bause is taking photos (www.bause.com), Maurus Stobel is interviewing the boys (maurus.strobel@fafag.ch). The winner is Sandro Walker, a 17 year old Swiss rider from the Quiksilver team.
The bus is due to leave at 4PM and headed to Laax where the Burton European Open started on Saturday. The bus cruised through the Julierpass, a pass at more than 6500 feet altitude. The setting is incredible, the valley beautiful, the turns uncountable...
Sandro's with us, his well deserved victory will be toasted upon arrival in Laax where we arrived at the parking lot at 6.30pm. Darius, Xavier and a bunch of Spanish riders were there waiting for us in the flat where we were going to stay for the week. The fridge is full, the house brilliant. Things are looking good for the coming days. The forecast looks good up until Thursday, we hope for snowfalls after... everyone's in bed early as training will start soon after wake up at 7am.'
We were in tears (hum!) when we left St Anton, Austria (www.hotelgabl.com ), where we were warmly welcomed by the Gabl family during the week long photoshoot. Next we headed to St Moritz in Switzerland with Markku Koski, Kalle Ohlson, Chris Sorman and a friend, Viktor. Tommy Brunner and Andy Monsberger (Mone) joined us in the evenings. We're waiting to take part in the Nokia Snowpark tour (www.snowparktour.com ). Bernt and Mathias from Mellow Constructions have prepared a smooth landing for us on Celerina-St.Moritz parking lot, next to the Bar Finale that was elected to be our headquarters throughout the weekend. Thanks as well to Dani Bauer from the Celerina Bergbahnen for his help. That night with ate out at the Misani hotel enjoying some Thai and other exotic dishes. Everyone was in bed early for an early start, as they predicted a beautiful day to follow.
Saturday, the training started at 10AM in the snowpark with around a hundred riders registered for the contest. The boys are getting ready and providing advice to the eager beginners. Unfortunately, the wind picked up and the organizers decided to put the training on hold after lunch for security reasons. At 4PM the contest riders were to meet at the bus for a massive Hot Dog party and a signing session. A small group gathered around the hot dog machine while Chris and Kalle performed a skateboard demo on the parking lot.
Before diner, we headed to the ice skating rink for a friendly game of hockey. The Swedes are very comfortable on skates, and it's no surprise that they beat the rest of Europe... We then headed to the hotel Misani's bodega for a "tapas" diner. Plenty of dishes land on our table, the atmosphere is excellent, spirits were high. A few red peppers were heating everything up, especially the Swedes who had never had them before. We finished the evening at the Diamond's club for a friendly chat with the snowpark team. We met up with one of Mone's local friends, Michi Albin, who introduced us to half the club... The party was full-on around 1.30AM.
The next day sees the start of the contest with a difficult rise out of bed, but the nice weather and good memories help a lot. We were right back to the Bar Finale for a hefty breakfast prepared by the sweet Susie before heading to the snowpark at 9000 feet altitude. The conditions were ideal and there's a lot of people around the kicker. The contest is due to start at 12PM and Mone, Tommy, Kalle, Markku and Chris are making the show with the younger participants. Tommy Bause is taking photos (www.bause.com), Maurus Stobel is interviewing the boys (maurus.strobel@fafag.ch). The winner is Sandro Walker, a 17 year old Swiss rider from the Quiksilver team.
The bus is due to leave at 4PM and headed to Laax where the Burton European Open started on Saturday. The bus cruised through the Julierpass, a pass at more than 6500 feet altitude. The setting is incredible, the valley beautiful, the turns uncountable...
Sandro's with us, his well deserved victory will be toasted upon arrival in Laax where we arrived at the parking lot at 6.30pm. Darius, Xavier and a bunch of Spanish riders were there waiting for us in the flat where we were going to stay for the week. The fridge is full, the house brilliant. Things are looking good for the coming days. The forecast looks good up until Thursday, we hope for snowfalls after... everyone's in bed early as training will start soon after wake up at 7am.'
>JANUARY 13, 2005
13/01/05
We left Wednesday January 5th heading for Cervinia, Italy, at the "Matterhorn's" foot for 2 days riding the snowpark at Gigi's and Daniel's. On board: Hampus, Jakob, Chris, Kalle, Markku, Frederic and Manuel Palacios, welcomed by Alessandro Dini, Italy's marketing and team manager, Stefano and another Italian rider. Thursday January 6 saw the most hurrendous wind take the little snow there was off the slopes. The boys are making good use of the snowpark, but the conditions are not very nice and every one goes back down into the valley early. The next day though, conditions are ideal for the snowpark, and everyone's full on. The local riders loved the show! It's the last holiday week in Italy and the slopes are packed.
We headed for Austria Saturday 8th where we've met up with Regis, Affif and Florent who came for next week's photoshoot.The trip is long and the road stuck with all Italians returning home after their x-mas holidays. We arrived early evening in "St Anton am Arlberg" where we found our bunks at Pepi's, a brilliant pension next to the slopes and right next to the lifts. Tommy Brunner also gave us the warmest welcome. Jasper Sanders and Simon Wooton have also arrived to coordinate the photoshoot. Room n°7 immediately became the cloakroom, and next year's range is unpacked.... for the boys its still christmas!!!
Sunday and Monday were spent for the urban shots in St Anton's and landeck's town centre and in the snowpark. One group was with Affif, and another with Regis.
Tuesday we were headed to Lech for a days action photoshoot in the park and around the slopes. The evenings are spent at the Funky Chicken and especially at the Picadilly... The most sobre guys are in bed early, the others very late! The conditions here were real good despite the lack of snowfall. Everyone is using their time as best as they can. The boys are wearing their new wardrobes and are testing the already mystical Magne-Traction from Mervin Manufacturing and sounds to be a bomb on the slopes...
Friday, we'll be heading to Celerina, near St Moritz, Switzerland for a snowpark contest. Sunday evening we'll be already gone to Laax (Switzerland ) for the Burton European Open.'
We headed for Austria Saturday 8th where we've met up with Regis, Affif and Florent who came for next week's photoshoot.The trip is long and the road stuck with all Italians returning home after their x-mas holidays. We arrived early evening in "St Anton am Arlberg" where we found our bunks at Pepi's, a brilliant pension next to the slopes and right next to the lifts. Tommy Brunner also gave us the warmest welcome. Jasper Sanders and Simon Wooton have also arrived to coordinate the photoshoot. Room n°7 immediately became the cloakroom, and next year's range is unpacked.... for the boys its still christmas!!!
Sunday and Monday were spent for the urban shots in St Anton's and landeck's town centre and in the snowpark. One group was with Affif, and another with Regis.
Tuesday we were headed to Lech for a days action photoshoot in the park and around the slopes. The evenings are spent at the Funky Chicken and especially at the Picadilly... The most sobre guys are in bed early, the others very late! The conditions here were real good despite the lack of snowfall. Everyone is using their time as best as they can. The boys are wearing their new wardrobes and are testing the already mystical Magne-Traction from Mervin Manufacturing and sounds to be a bomb on the slopes...
Friday, we'll be heading to Celerina, near St Moritz, Switzerland for a snowpark contest. Sunday evening we'll be already gone to Laax (Switzerland ) for the Burton European Open.'
>JANUARY 6, 2005
06/01/05
Bye bye La Plagne, till next year !
We€re now heading to Meribel and first of all to the Club Med€s Spa for its stimulating properties. We then headed to the local boardriders club for a signings session along with Candide Thovex, Mathieu Crepel, Emeric Front, Arthur and Adrien. The evening that is preparing sounds good with a large dinner at €La fromagerie€ (The cheese dairy) and a Quiksilver range presentation.
We€ve spent the last days of the year on meribel€s slopes, the weather€s excellent, the hot-dog machine has come out and immediately attracts peoples€ attention. Everyone€s making the best out of this last day together as Candide is recording the 8 o€clock (pm) news feed with one of the French national channels. Everyone has returned to their homes for new years eve and we will be leaving for Courchevel for an Air Guitar Contest at the Milk club.
The party is just great at the Milk club, the girls are going off, the boys are drinking mad and 2005 appears under DJ Xavier heavy rock selection. Happy new year!!!
The champagne is flowing, the club€s full €" it took us two days to get our heads straight.
We€ve been heading to Milano on Monday 3rd January where we welcomed the northern riders onboard with Chris Sorman, Jakob Wilhelmson, Fredrik Autsbo, Kalle Ohlson, Markku Koski, Hampus Mosesson and Team captain Manuel Palacios. We€ve been heading to Cervinia, Italy on Wednesday to check Quiksilver€s snowpark before making our way back to Austria for a photoshoot as the European Open at Laax, Switzerland will kick off between January 16 and 22nd. Then its going to be Berlin, Bratislava, €'
We€re now heading to Meribel and first of all to the Club Med€s Spa for its stimulating properties. We then headed to the local boardriders club for a signings session along with Candide Thovex, Mathieu Crepel, Emeric Front, Arthur and Adrien. The evening that is preparing sounds good with a large dinner at €La fromagerie€ (The cheese dairy) and a Quiksilver range presentation.
We€ve spent the last days of the year on meribel€s slopes, the weather€s excellent, the hot-dog machine has come out and immediately attracts peoples€ attention. Everyone€s making the best out of this last day together as Candide is recording the 8 o€clock (pm) news feed with one of the French national channels. Everyone has returned to their homes for new years eve and we will be leaving for Courchevel for an Air Guitar Contest at the Milk club.
The party is just great at the Milk club, the girls are going off, the boys are drinking mad and 2005 appears under DJ Xavier heavy rock selection. Happy new year!!!
The champagne is flowing, the club€s full €" it took us two days to get our heads straight.
We€ve been heading to Milano on Monday 3rd January where we welcomed the northern riders onboard with Chris Sorman, Jakob Wilhelmson, Fredrik Autsbo, Kalle Ohlson, Markku Koski, Hampus Mosesson and Team captain Manuel Palacios. We€ve been heading to Cervinia, Italy on Wednesday to check Quiksilver€s snowpark before making our way back to Austria for a photoshoot as the European Open at Laax, Switzerland will kick off between January 16 and 22nd. Then its going to be Berlin, Bratislava, €'
>METHOD MADNESS
08/12/04
26th November
On the road again. This time the tour was heading to Disney land Paris for a TTR QE event and to start our two weeks with method mag.
27th November
because of snow issues and constructions the contest finally got under way at 19.00. Be cause of the conditions it turned out to be the best show man contest with Heppu Pentti taknig it home.
28th November
Enjoying the hospitality of Micky and the rest of the characters.
29th November
Off again for a long haul to Hintertux, Austria. Our bus had some quest on top of our own riders Jakob Wilhelmson and Chris Sorman. These including some of the cream of Finnish snowboarding stars like Paavo Tikkanen , Eero Niemela , Iikka Backstrom and also to give some Norwegian flavour Marius Otterstad decided to hop on board as well. On top of this Mike Ranquet arrived to join us on our two-week mission. We ended up to stopping in Strasburg for the night.
30th November
More dvd€s and video games as we do the rest of the long drive to Hintertux were we arrive at 7 in the evening.
1st December
We woke up to a snowy scenery of Hintertux. It was still snowing on top of what we got over night. The crew was up early to catch the first lift up. Unfortunately when we arrived to get our lift passes we were hit with some bad news. The glacier was closed due to high winds. No matter the boys were still amping to get some riding done even it was just the couple runs from the mid station. Jakob and chris enjoyed a fun jib session with Maurino and Anders from the method crew. Whilst the goat was nowhere to be found. In the evening our crew got their asses whooped by no other than Drew in Fifa soccer. The young Finns disappeared to the night of Mayerhof in search of the nude Beauty.
2nd December
The storm had eased of a bit and the boys hit the slopes with sun making a appearance every now and again. The park was in good shape and the team was having a blast. Then it was time to pack the bus and get on the road towards wienna and red bull off rails contest. After a serious crushing defeats inflected by Drew on fifa we arrived to the beautiful city of Vienna. After sorting everybody to their lodgings we took off to the city to check out the local night life.
3rd December
After a morning of sightseeing the method crew with Iikka , Eero , Max , and Alex left for a evening city rail session. Unfortunately the session came to abrubt stop with Max kissing the stairs and breaking his hand. The evening was hosted by red bull and the crew Nina , Sylvie and Felix in a traditional Viennese restaurant .
4th December
Contest Day. The practice got on the way around 2 o€clock. After couple hours of training the boys seemed to get the place wire. The set up was good but scary with a kink box down double set of twenty, a long straight rail and another kink rail that you could gap. The contest kicked of at seven o€clock. The format consisted of an hour open session on all the rails and a 20-minute best trick session on each of the rails. Chris , Eero and Joni Malmi were owning the rails . Eeero taking the overall, Joni and Chri splitting the straight rail , Eero and Chris splitting the kink rail , Joni and one of the only Ladies shredding Cheryl Mass split the win on the kink box. Contest was a sucses and wery entertaining with drew commentating in a Santa clause suit.
Naturally after the comp it was time to once again hit the parties. Chris kept being on fire even at the party.
5th December
Groggy morning wake up and we were ones again on the road towards Hintertux and the unofficial warm up for Air & Style with the Aesthetiker crew. More Fifa and more defeats by drew. We arrive to Hintertux around seven.
6th December
Waking up 07.00 to catch the couple of hours of sun in the park. It was a nice day a little windy especially in the morning. It got better during the day and the session got started on the double kicker line. Got down at 15.00 after a nice day of snowboarding to have some rest and relaxing in the spa at the Hotel. Later that night we had a nice rider dinner with snaps and meat, Austrian style. We also got to enjoy some very good acoustic music by Scott Sullivan.
7th December
Beautiful crispy morning at the mountains. The crew once again had an early wake up to get to the park before loosing light at 10.30. Good riding went down left, right and centre and on the fun double kicker line set up by the Aesthetiker€s and Hintertux glacier. After riding it was time to pack the bus an hit the road towards Innsbruck and the Method mag offices were we would park the bus for the next 2 nights.
'
On the road again. This time the tour was heading to Disney land Paris for a TTR QE event and to start our two weeks with method mag.
27th November
because of snow issues and constructions the contest finally got under way at 19.00. Be cause of the conditions it turned out to be the best show man contest with Heppu Pentti taknig it home.
28th November
Enjoying the hospitality of Micky and the rest of the characters.
29th November
Off again for a long haul to Hintertux, Austria. Our bus had some quest on top of our own riders Jakob Wilhelmson and Chris Sorman. These including some of the cream of Finnish snowboarding stars like Paavo Tikkanen , Eero Niemela , Iikka Backstrom and also to give some Norwegian flavour Marius Otterstad decided to hop on board as well. On top of this Mike Ranquet arrived to join us on our two-week mission. We ended up to stopping in Strasburg for the night.
30th November
More dvd€s and video games as we do the rest of the long drive to Hintertux were we arrive at 7 in the evening.
1st December
We woke up to a snowy scenery of Hintertux. It was still snowing on top of what we got over night. The crew was up early to catch the first lift up. Unfortunately when we arrived to get our lift passes we were hit with some bad news. The glacier was closed due to high winds. No matter the boys were still amping to get some riding done even it was just the couple runs from the mid station. Jakob and chris enjoyed a fun jib session with Maurino and Anders from the method crew. Whilst the goat was nowhere to be found. In the evening our crew got their asses whooped by no other than Drew in Fifa soccer. The young Finns disappeared to the night of Mayerhof in search of the nude Beauty.
2nd December
The storm had eased of a bit and the boys hit the slopes with sun making a appearance every now and again. The park was in good shape and the team was having a blast. Then it was time to pack the bus and get on the road towards wienna and red bull off rails contest. After a serious crushing defeats inflected by Drew on fifa we arrived to the beautiful city of Vienna. After sorting everybody to their lodgings we took off to the city to check out the local night life.
3rd December
After a morning of sightseeing the method crew with Iikka , Eero , Max , and Alex left for a evening city rail session. Unfortunately the session came to abrubt stop with Max kissing the stairs and breaking his hand. The evening was hosted by red bull and the crew Nina , Sylvie and Felix in a traditional Viennese restaurant .
4th December
Contest Day. The practice got on the way around 2 o€clock. After couple hours of training the boys seemed to get the place wire. The set up was good but scary with a kink box down double set of twenty, a long straight rail and another kink rail that you could gap. The contest kicked of at seven o€clock. The format consisted of an hour open session on all the rails and a 20-minute best trick session on each of the rails. Chris , Eero and Joni Malmi were owning the rails . Eeero taking the overall, Joni and Chri splitting the straight rail , Eero and Chris splitting the kink rail , Joni and one of the only Ladies shredding Cheryl Mass split the win on the kink box. Contest was a sucses and wery entertaining with drew commentating in a Santa clause suit.
Naturally after the comp it was time to once again hit the parties. Chris kept being on fire even at the party.
5th December
Groggy morning wake up and we were ones again on the road towards Hintertux and the unofficial warm up for Air & Style with the Aesthetiker crew. More Fifa and more defeats by drew. We arrive to Hintertux around seven.
6th December
Waking up 07.00 to catch the couple of hours of sun in the park. It was a nice day a little windy especially in the morning. It got better during the day and the session got started on the double kicker line. Got down at 15.00 after a nice day of snowboarding to have some rest and relaxing in the spa at the Hotel. Later that night we had a nice rider dinner with snaps and meat, Austrian style. We also got to enjoy some very good acoustic music by Scott Sullivan.
7th December
Beautiful crispy morning at the mountains. The crew once again had an early wake up to get to the park before loosing light at 10.30. Good riding went down left, right and centre and on the fun double kicker line set up by the Aesthetiker€s and Hintertux glacier. After riding it was time to pack the bus an hit the road towards Innsbruck and the Method mag offices were we would park the bus for the next 2 nights.
'
>IRELAND
17/11/04
15th November
After a night of driving thru England we finally arrived to limerick Ireland. Arriving early morning with a broken night sleep we hit the hotel first. After a fressing up we headed to the opening of Tubes surf and skate shop. We were greeted with a crowd of Irish skaters. After an hour of signing autographs and handing out bunch of kit and sticker it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready for our final nigh out on the tour.
16th November
After a night of Guiness drinking we left for London for the team to catch their flights back home.'
After a night of driving thru England we finally arrived to limerick Ireland. Arriving early morning with a broken night sleep we hit the hotel first. After a fressing up we headed to the opening of Tubes surf and skate shop. We were greeted with a crowd of Irish skaters. After an hour of signing autographs and handing out bunch of kit and sticker it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready for our final nigh out on the tour.
16th November
After a night of Guiness drinking we left for London for the team to catch their flights back home.'
>GREAT BRITAIN TOUR
15/11/04
08/11 After a Sunday off, the bus started its UK Tour leg driving from London to Plymouth. We flew in a new crew for this part; a good mix of skateboarders, Snowboarders and also a couple of surfers, to kee it real. The Team that was for this leg consisted of Ross McGouran, Pete King, James Stentiford, Jakob Wilhelmson, Matus Hubka, Jamie Fontecilla, Javier Mendizabal, Conhuir Lynn, Nathan Philips, Timo Jarrvinen (for some photos) and our beloved UK Marketing manager Geoff Sykes.
09/11 Plymouth. We started our day with a visit to Plymouth University, where we were greet by a lecture theatre as full as a doctors wallet, brimming with enthusiastic students. The team answered some questions and handed out some goodies after giving a brief presentation on the Bus tour, our top international athletes and highlights of the last Quiksilver Pro France. A big up goes to Dr Malcom Findlay, of the University Surf Science class, as he helped make this possible.
After the uni, it was straight around the corner to the Domain Skatepark, in Saltash, where the team got to fuck shit up. The local boys were out in force and a big thanks to the Jay and his friends for introducing us to the area. After a couple of hours the bus was off to Newquay, The Boarding House, were they were greeted with hot curry and cold beers to finish the day off.
10/11 Waking up to a stormy morning our tour was off to London, with 20 cases of Fosters onboard and the GPS set to Bay 66 skatepark. After a long haul to London, nightmare parking situations and a 50 quid fine, it was clear that we had to get the bus out of the city ASAP. The boys were hanging for a skate, after the morning travel chaos, so Ross, Pete, James, Jaime, Javier, and Connor stayed and shredded the park until closing time. Once the park was hammered and the local boys were stoked, the team headed out to the pub for some well-deserved food and a couple of cold ones, as you do.
11th Nov
Off to Milton Keynes to do some street skating and visit the first of the snow domes on the UK leg. As usual in England this time of the year the weather was not favoring our skaters so we headed directly to the dome. Even the skater were stoked on getting some snow under their feet. Jakob and Matus were riping the small the small kicker set up with a couple of rails. Even our Irish skater Conhuir lynn learned how to snowboard with the help from the shop manager of the Boardriders club. After a fun session and diner we headed out for some pints and bit of dancing.
12th Nov
The team pulled up a little rough after celebrating with the QBRC of Milton Keynes the night before and headed in the direction for Leeds University.
The QBRC of Leeds will be sponsoring the Leeds Students Surf Club, so we decided to arrive and give an update on €The Quiksilver World€. The bus was positioned in the centre of the campus, parked directly outside the student union, café etc. The presentation was held at 12.30 so the student café/ parking location was brimming with students. Again, we showed the highlights of the Quiksilver Pro France 04€, various other rider/ event footage and held a question and answer session with our Team. This presentation only lasted 45 mins, then the bus was off to The Works Skatepark to meet up with Will, the photographer from Sidewalk.
The boys were once again ripping it up in The Works, giving out some goodies to the kids and helping them with their tricks. Javier Mendizibal did a sick €on the wall?
Once we had had enough of Skateboarding it was off to the Xscape snow dome, in Castleford. The team arrived had some tucker and hit the slopes.
After 20 mins it was deemed too stale and basic, so we abandoned the Dome and headed directly for the Hotel.
Throughout the whole day Gabe Davies was receiving regular weather updates, keeping a keen eye on the developments in the far eastern coast of England. If the surf was going to be on, with film crews and photographers, we would need more surfers€.so Andrew Griffin was given the standby call.
13th November
Its pumping! Its pumping! This was how James Stentiford was woken up by Gabe and Geoff bouncing around the bus amped on the morning€s surf report from the east. Thus we were faced by a difficult situation; we had committed to Ireland for the next three days, but the real surf was coming in on the opposite side of the UK€? What does one do? Right time, right place€so we had to change the agenda!
Within a couple of phone calls we had decided on a temporary team split. Jacob Wilhelmson and Matus Haupka would hail a cab and headed for the airport, as they were going home now that we had completed the final dome event. The bus would stick to the plan and hit Burnley, with our skateboard team, while the mini van would hit Scarborough and have a wave (with Gabe, Stenti and Geoff aboard). Andrew Griffin was called upon to meet the Bus in Burnley, after the skate session with Sidewalk, to cruise over to Scarborough in luxury. Constantly during this program amend; Gabe is on the phone organising film crews and photographers for the early session.
Scarborough is a fickle wave, but when it works IT WORKS!
Basically our mini van arrived and surfed a local point that was check the conditions and wait for the Bus to arrive. After seeing the North Sea so big, we were sure that all we needed to pray for, was the SW wind direction. As with the correct wind direction, our minds would be blown by this amazing waves set up down the reef. Mean while our skate team hit the new skatepark in Burnley and it€s massive wooden bowl. Once again our young ripper Ross showed his skills in the bowl by blowing everybody a way just with his first run, by hitting all the transfer lines of the bat. This bowl is one of the funnest and smoothest bowls ever. Javier was ruling it with his smooth speed lines And enjoying every bit of it.
14th November
0630 wake up call, The wind was all good. Gabe, Stenti and Geoff slammed some food then hit the road to pick up Tomi before chasing this infamous reef break.
After 45 mins in the car we were all well amped for this surf, and we got it. Big left hand brown barrels€the locals assured me that it was silt and not shit€so we were in!
Gabe had the photographer from Carve down on the reef and another Filmer capturing the session. Gabe dropped in to his first wave of the session and pulled in to the grinding brown monster. Not only did he come out after a little snap he got another pit on the same wave. James beeing so stoked on what he saw forgot to film it. It was unbelievable To see surf like this in east coast of England. The two hours that I watched the session people were getting sick barrels after another. Andrew ended up snapping both of his boards in the first half an hour. Gabe and his brother did the probably the longest session in cold water staying out for 4 hours.
'
09/11 Plymouth. We started our day with a visit to Plymouth University, where we were greet by a lecture theatre as full as a doctors wallet, brimming with enthusiastic students. The team answered some questions and handed out some goodies after giving a brief presentation on the Bus tour, our top international athletes and highlights of the last Quiksilver Pro France. A big up goes to Dr Malcom Findlay, of the University Surf Science class, as he helped make this possible.
After the uni, it was straight around the corner to the Domain Skatepark, in Saltash, where the team got to fuck shit up. The local boys were out in force and a big thanks to the Jay and his friends for introducing us to the area. After a couple of hours the bus was off to Newquay, The Boarding House, were they were greeted with hot curry and cold beers to finish the day off.
10/11 Waking up to a stormy morning our tour was off to London, with 20 cases of Fosters onboard and the GPS set to Bay 66 skatepark. After a long haul to London, nightmare parking situations and a 50 quid fine, it was clear that we had to get the bus out of the city ASAP. The boys were hanging for a skate, after the morning travel chaos, so Ross, Pete, James, Jaime, Javier, and Connor stayed and shredded the park until closing time. Once the park was hammered and the local boys were stoked, the team headed out to the pub for some well-deserved food and a couple of cold ones, as you do.
11th Nov
Off to Milton Keynes to do some street skating and visit the first of the snow domes on the UK leg. As usual in England this time of the year the weather was not favoring our skaters so we headed directly to the dome. Even the skater were stoked on getting some snow under their feet. Jakob and Matus were riping the small the small kicker set up with a couple of rails. Even our Irish skater Conhuir lynn learned how to snowboard with the help from the shop manager of the Boardriders club. After a fun session and diner we headed out for some pints and bit of dancing.
12th Nov
The team pulled up a little rough after celebrating with the QBRC of Milton Keynes the night before and headed in the direction for Leeds University.
The QBRC of Leeds will be sponsoring the Leeds Students Surf Club, so we decided to arrive and give an update on €The Quiksilver World€. The bus was positioned in the centre of the campus, parked directly outside the student union, café etc. The presentation was held at 12.30 so the student café/ parking location was brimming with students. Again, we showed the highlights of the Quiksilver Pro France 04€, various other rider/ event footage and held a question and answer session with our Team. This presentation only lasted 45 mins, then the bus was off to The Works Skatepark to meet up with Will, the photographer from Sidewalk.
The boys were once again ripping it up in The Works, giving out some goodies to the kids and helping them with their tricks. Javier Mendizibal did a sick €on the wall?
Once we had had enough of Skateboarding it was off to the Xscape snow dome, in Castleford. The team arrived had some tucker and hit the slopes.
After 20 mins it was deemed too stale and basic, so we abandoned the Dome and headed directly for the Hotel.
Throughout the whole day Gabe Davies was receiving regular weather updates, keeping a keen eye on the developments in the far eastern coast of England. If the surf was going to be on, with film crews and photographers, we would need more surfers€.so Andrew Griffin was given the standby call.
13th November
Its pumping! Its pumping! This was how James Stentiford was woken up by Gabe and Geoff bouncing around the bus amped on the morning€s surf report from the east. Thus we were faced by a difficult situation; we had committed to Ireland for the next three days, but the real surf was coming in on the opposite side of the UK€? What does one do? Right time, right place€so we had to change the agenda!
Within a couple of phone calls we had decided on a temporary team split. Jacob Wilhelmson and Matus Haupka would hail a cab and headed for the airport, as they were going home now that we had completed the final dome event. The bus would stick to the plan and hit Burnley, with our skateboard team, while the mini van would hit Scarborough and have a wave (with Gabe, Stenti and Geoff aboard). Andrew Griffin was called upon to meet the Bus in Burnley, after the skate session with Sidewalk, to cruise over to Scarborough in luxury. Constantly during this program amend; Gabe is on the phone organising film crews and photographers for the early session.
Scarborough is a fickle wave, but when it works IT WORKS!
Basically our mini van arrived and surfed a local point that was check the conditions and wait for the Bus to arrive. After seeing the North Sea so big, we were sure that all we needed to pray for, was the SW wind direction. As with the correct wind direction, our minds would be blown by this amazing waves set up down the reef. Mean while our skate team hit the new skatepark in Burnley and it€s massive wooden bowl. Once again our young ripper Ross showed his skills in the bowl by blowing everybody a way just with his first run, by hitting all the transfer lines of the bat. This bowl is one of the funnest and smoothest bowls ever. Javier was ruling it with his smooth speed lines And enjoying every bit of it.
14th November
0630 wake up call, The wind was all good. Gabe, Stenti and Geoff slammed some food then hit the road to pick up Tomi before chasing this infamous reef break.
After 45 mins in the car we were all well amped for this surf, and we got it. Big left hand brown barrels€the locals assured me that it was silt and not shit€so we were in!
Gabe had the photographer from Carve down on the reef and another Filmer capturing the session. Gabe dropped in to his first wave of the session and pulled in to the grinding brown monster. Not only did he come out after a little snap he got another pit on the same wave. James beeing so stoked on what he saw forgot to film it. It was unbelievable To see surf like this in east coast of England. The two hours that I watched the session people were getting sick barrels after another. Andrew ended up snapping both of his boards in the first half an hour. Gabe and his brother did the probably the longest session in cold water staying out for 4 hours.
'
