Life is pretty crazy right now. Life as we know it has changed. We are stuck at home wishing we could be out riding…
Before all of this craziness the crew took a trip to Ballarat. A two hour drive from where we live... It was well worth the trip. Dirt Art built these jumps a few years ago and they are still in great shape. On arrival we were very impressed with how they were riding. From the top to bottom, the trail weaves between trees and fits the landscape perfectly. The jumps are made from a red clay which makes the jumps super hard. This is great news for a Mountainboard because you can pump a lot of speed out of them. Personally my favorite jump is the first feature. A right hand hip that boosts you into the sky. You need the perfect amount of speed to hit this hip. Otherwise you fall short into the gap, but once hit correctly it sets you up for the rest of the line. As I mention in the video there is no better feeling than flowing through BMX jumps. Pumping every bit of transition to give you the right speed to set you up for the next jump. Sometimes you don’t need to do the gnarliest of tricks, but rather enjoy the ride and feel the flow of the trail.
We tend to ride the top part of this particular line because that is where the speed is best for Mountainboards. Although we did spend some time towards the bottom of the trail on the big hip. Eddy sent it. He took some big slams but rolled away with some sick grabs. It would be nice to go back in the summer when its super hard and try and flow through the entire trail top to bottom.
Aside from the jump line, Black Hill has more sick terrain to ride on a Mountainboard. As the whole place is obviously on a hill it makes for some great freeriding. There is plenty of lines you can take through the trees, finding the perfect line to the bottom. There is some epic little embankments and drops you can jump and some gravel fire trails to bomb down. There is a couple of sweet Mountainbike trails you can make it through too. Although unfortunately a lot of the single track is well… to single. Too narrow and tight to make it through to the bottom. As Mountainboarding is gaining popularity here in Australia it would be nice to see public Mountain bike trails be a bit more accommodating to Mountainboarders. We don’t need too much of a modification. If the trails were slightly wider and not as tight and it was a constant down hill with no flats spots and potentially a few more rollers or humps to pump speed it would make the trails great for both boards and bikes. These facilities would be used by more people and ultimately get more people outside.
Anyways rant over, moving on… We spent the afternoon riding this perfect grass hill around the corner. Maybe one of my favorite things to do on a Mountainboard. Probably the most similar thing to Snowboarding. Carving down the hill with mates is where its at. Going as fast as you can, doing big turns, jumping and jibbing. It’s so much fun. No matter your skill level everyone can go out and enjoy a grass hill. Ollie Dauncey captured some epic photos of the boys smashing it down the hill in the middle of golden hour.
This was a great day. This is the prime example of why I Mountainboard. Riding with my best mates, laughing, pushing each other and doing the thing we all love. I cant wait to be able to get back out there and ride in public places. Although in saying that I havn’t stopped riding…
I have built a tiny ramp system in my backyard. It’s a roll-in tower to a platform that sits off the ground. The platform ends with a nice little down rail to practice tricks on. Once you come off the rail you land on some nice gym matting that sets you up for a 1/4 pipe. I’ve been riding it most nights. Trying to work on tricks I can already do and make them better/ smoother and cement them into my memory. I purposely built the rail small so I can learn some new tricks. I am pretty much using this time to practice Mountainboarding. So when we are allowed back into the real world I will be confident in trying new tricks at new spots. After all I don’t know when we will get this time again. Completely to ourselves. A time to really get better at something. I am completely aware people may not have the room at their house to build a ramp. But just getting on your board for an hour a day is going to improve your riding a hell of a lot more then not. Even if its just practicing 180’s and 360’s in your garage. Or maybe your even stretching every day so you can do better grabs or even building a balance board to help with your balance. So when you get to head back to the trails you are much better then before. So how are you going to spend your time during this pandemic? Watching Netflix? Or using this time to get better at the thing you love.
Words: Dylan Warren (@radicalface)
Photos: Oliver Dauncey (@oliver_dauncey)
P.s there will be a backyard video coming soon… watch this space.
