|
Reports from the Festival of Speed: #1 |
|
|
|
|
Written by Silverfish
|
|
Wednesday, 27 August 2008 |
Maryhill Festival of Speed Day One Reports
Over a thousand runs, four dead tents, stoked skaters from around the globe, Mex food parties and clowns in Nazi uniforms marked the conclusion of a wild and windy day on the slopes of Maryhill Loops Road. Almost everyone seems to be here, from about 180 of the racers to sponsors, to the Orangefiist film crew and gathering crowds of locals filling the highway overlook. The day started cool, wet and breezy – light rain on the course, but never really enough to get it truly wet. By mid-morning, that was over, the sun was out and mighty tailwinds arrived. Steady at maybe 20mph of wind, with gusts to 50mph, easily!
We’ve got a load of photos already queued up for you in the Galleries , and Jon Huey just finished uploading his to IGSA’s website, where you can also find Marcus Rietema’s daily report. Click on through for mo…
Did you notice that part about a thousand runs? Check this out: 165 racers, all taking seven or eight runs each. OVER a thousand runs on the hill, in conditions that have the Gravity Bikes swerving around, the lugers grinning and skaters getting the “turbo boost” effect of massive tailwinds on portions of the course (after fighting down the straightaway at the start where you just might be able to coast uphill from the strong winds)! With all that wind, we had only one mishap, but a bummer for Vancouver’s Anne Harding, who dislocated her shoulder in a tumble.
Scoot Smith, Martin Siegrist, K-Rimes, Erik Lundberg, Steve Daddow, Graham Buksa… the fast ones are all over the hill, and the freeride format has skaters finding others they haven’t seen in a while, or maybe never skated with, and jumping into 6-skater rolls down the 2.2 mile course. The Junior Class is Ripping! Twenty-one racers representing the future of the sport are killing it, starting with nine-year old Quinn DuBois who commented on a run where wind-blast rocketed him around the Never-Ender left, “(t)he wind is cool when it’s pushing!”
We’ve got Bricin “Striker” Lyons, sidelined this year with ankle injuries, keeping things stoked in the way only he does best. Team Green skaters are here with kool-aid neon hair that’s gone from the mark of the crazical underdog to the symbol of current IGSA World Cup Series point leader Scott Smith. The scene at a local Mexican restaurant was hopping after skating today: good food, cheap beer and various computers or video cameras used to show off riders’ onboard videos from today. More than one luger has onboard video and there are numerous cameras being toted down the course by the standup crowd.
It’s not all fun and games. Angry locals pointed out that kooks from Madrid vandalized and trashed portions of the county fairgrounds with spray paint and trash, while Mercado struts around the pits and town wearing an SS officer’s hat that’s part of a joke only he doesn’t seem to realize is mostly on him. Sometimes you just gotta laugh at how stuff can go sideways, but the general consensus seems to be that if the locals don’t calm down and the Fest isn’t welcomed back next year, you can send your thanks to the Madrid team. Way to go…
But that will all blow over before Friday, right? That’s when NBC’s film crew roll in, to bang elbows with Orangefiist’s camera pros while both groups capture video for upcoming movies and the October edition of Jeep World of Adventure Sports. The parties in the athlete’s village rage on as we write this, and we’re done until tomorrow night.
Go check out the photos , hit IGSA’s report right HERE , along with Huey’s shots, check the forums and then… get out there and skate!
|
|
Last Updated ( Thursday, 28 August 2008 )
|
IGSA Coverage 
