10/11/2008

Swedish Meatballs Hoots Jay in Sweden Brought to you by Hoots Jay Krantz

Recently I traveled to Sweden, where I was invited to hang out and rip at the Mayhem Bike festival in Åre. After that I was to head over to Stockholm for some riding with Sweden's top MTB street rider, Eric Wallberg. The goal for the trip was to get footage for a handful of killer segments that will comprise two solid Ride Guide episodes, which incidentally, are going to be off the hook when they debut this fall!

Hoots Jay writing the manual in Stockholm.  Click to enlarge.

My flight was to leave Vancouver and land in Heathrow, UK. Next I was going to catch a connection to Arlanda airport near Stockholm where I would meet up with Mike and Cory from Ride Guide, chill that evening, and then board another flight out early the next morning to Ostersund, followed by an hour drive to Are, the largest ski resort in Sweden. Whew!

I am not a stranger to traveling abroad, so I had both my bike and luggage conveniently condensed for air travel while still including all the important things, like my mobile office, in my carry on. The flights went smoothly enough, but it soon became evident in Arlanda that my bike and baggage were not going to be arriving any time soon. However, the airline assured me that everything would be flown in first thing in the morning in time for my connection.

New School in the old town. Rider ~ Eric Wallberg.  Photo ~ Hoots Jay.  Click to enlarge.

That evening I met up with the Ride Guide boys to share some local food, drink, and stories of how we all seemed to be missing luggage (they were using a different airline). Morning brought us no news of our lost luggage, but we decided to make our connecting flight into Ostersund anyways. While checking in, we bumped into Thomas Vanderham, who was also on his way to the Mayhem Festival (he apparently had all his gear), who informed us that Steve Romanuk was also going to be there.

Once we arrived at the resort, we met with Mayhem organizers, David and John, and quickly got set up in a condo complex where we bunked with three Norwegian massage therapists. *Wait just a second! Do not let your mind wander! It was a big condo and everyone was on their best behavior!*

Norwegian massage Therapists as bunkmates.  Could be worse.  Click to enlarge.

2006 was the first time in the four-year Mayhem Festival history that it rained, and boy did it ever let loose. While I sat on the phone trying to track down my gear, Thomas and Steve hosted ride clinics in the mud.

Despite the rain, the evening events were spectacular and included a party dedicated to a new tire that Thomas has been involved with developing, a premiere of Roam with Steve Romaniuk, and some good 'ol down to earth local given'r! After a couple days, Thomas left for Germany for a slopestyle event and strangely the sun came out! After having some down days I was itching to ride and word on the street was that the morning sun had already dried the two days of downpour. The mud was gone, it was 'go time' with or without luggage and bike.

The Mayhem festival for 2006 was co-sponsored by Norco and my friend from Norway Henrik (Norco distributor) lent me a Team DH, skid lid, and gloves from Thursday to Saturday so that I could at least get my ya'ya's out. My sanity was tapped, as well as my cell roaming charges, but still no gear. I bought clothing from the event booths to keep the smell down and rode hard but safe (no armour) while still in my travelling clothes.

Being shot at by an unmanned helicopter in the Åre Bike Park.  Click to enlarge.

During this time we managed to get some really great altitude riding in with the Ride Guide and met with some guys who use an RC style helicopter for filming. You really will want to see the Ride Guide Sweden issue, we got some incredible footage of Romaniuk and I tearing it across slickrock Sweden alpine.

The Mayhem festival included a variety of events including: 4X racing , the Wallberg street comp, dirt jumping, and a slopestyle event that demonstrated the talent level of the Scandanavian riders. Right now there are only a couple of riders from this area that kill it internationally (Trond Hansen and Niels Wiindfeldt are from Norway), but just wait another year or so. There is so much talent in Scandanavia it is crazy!

Riding the slickrock in the Åre Bike Park.  Click to enlarge.

One of the highlights of the Mayhem festival was the big gap jump. A long bank perpendicular to the hill was set up with different hits for the jump comps, but if you hit it from the side, there was a slight hip left with around a 30- 40' gap. Kiwi Steve proved the lines viability and soon Thomas, Romanuik, and myself were incorporating it into our regular downhill diet.

Hootie gapping over Romaniuk in the Red Bull truck.  Click to enlarge.

Once the festival wound down and I had my actual gear, it was time to head out for some serious filming. Sunday turned out to be a bro day, but Monday offered Kiwi Steve and me great weather to keep the camera rolling.

We got some great footage, until I got steamrolled by a 3' high jump. After several attempts at a manual-jump to crank flip, everyone wanted to go eat and refuel, but I was close and knew it, until I bobbled, got catapulted over the bars, and hit the ground in searing pain. Everything stopped and I immediately went to test out Sweden's world-renowned medical system. Even though I had the support of the Ride Guide crew and the care of a very cute Swedish nurse, my Radius, Scaffoid, ACL, MCL, and Pride, were all broken. After the part where they removed rocks from my back, losing my luggage didn't seem so bad!

We be broken!  Click to enlarge.

Kiwi Steve finished up filming for Ride Guide, while I took some time to rest and recover. The next day we left for Stockholm to meet up with Eric Wallberg, Sweden's premier street rider, to get some footage for his Ride Guide section. Tourism Sweden sent us all out with a guide to see the city, and she took us to all the hot spots, assuring us that street riding was acceptable everywhere. Stockholm is one seriously amazing city! Did you know the city is made up of 14 islands linked up by bridges. A third of the city is developed, a third is water, and the rest is greenbelt. We toured ancient Viking ruins, historic buildings and experienced, yes, no-hassle street riding everywhere, including the King's residence! This city ranks as my favourite so far and with great reason.

Eric had several days to get his section done and even though his shot locations were mainly based on historical landmarks, he still managed to come up with some good diversity and some really cool riding. I managed to talk Henrik back in Åre into lending me a 416 street bike and was stoked to scope spots without security chasing us out. In fact, there is even footage of me manualing past the armed guard posted in front of the King's back door. Now that's history! Mayhem Dave hooked up as our unofficial tour guide and we saw the wheel deal of the city both night and day. It was nothing short of amazing.

Trips always have an end and after out time in Stockhom, it was almost time for us to head home. The Ride Guide moved on to Switzerland and I had a day left in town to hit museums, wander about, and go for a sailing trip in and around the city on Dr Phil's 1947 mahogany boat.

Kiwi Steve.  Click to enlarge.

Sweden is off the Shlichter scale! Everyone speaks English, the people are simply rad, bikes are everywhere, and the history of the country is mesmerizing (think Vikings). Sweden has so much to offer from unrestricted street riding, to epic cross country and fantastic resort lift access.

Huge "up's" to John and David from the Mayhem festival. If you want a new bike experience and want to go to a smooth organized festival that is pure stoke, check out mayhemfestival.com. I also have to give monster thanks to The Ride Guide for having the dread on board for their filming segments; you boys work hard, thanks for being so patient. Super props as well, to the peeps that made this happen: Norco, Ride Guide, Mayhem Festival, Tourism Sweden, and Scandic Hotel Anglais. And of course, very special thanks to the international airline that provided me with an ample opportunity for self realization, exercises in patience, and never offered so much as an apology.

Keep the glass half full y'all!
Jay Hoots

Hootie rides for: Norco Factory Team, Hoots, Kenda, Alex Rims, Denny's, Jagwire, DT Swiss, Funn, Ryders, and Recovery Supplements.

If you'd like to comment on Hootie's dreaded trip or hear what others had to say click here.