To say the last few months have been a little intense is a slight understatement. Setting up a living space on my block of land in Northern NSW has definitely had its challenges.
Trying to work at the same time without a phone or internet hasn’t been easy either, but hey, with what’s been going on south in Victoria with the bushfires my life is pretty sweet in comparison.
During this period I’ve managed to publish articles overseas in Canada, Germany, Italy and France, which is awesome for me. Most of these contacts I made while travelling overseas and it’s cool to know I can contribute to these mags from the other side of the globe.
After two years on
the road traveling overseas it feels so good to be back in Oz. The saying,
‘There’s no place like home’, rings true when you visit family and old friends
and catch up on all the news you’ve missed out on being away, but what you soon
realise is that you haven’t really missed out on much at all, and that you’ve
experienced so much more by getting away from your comfort zone and embarking
on adventure after adventure.
It’s the simple
things I missed most about Oz. The laid-back attitude, white sandy beaches with
crystal clear salt water and rolling waves, hitting the road north from Sydney
at the crack of dawn and finding minimal traffic for 10 hours after leaving the
big city, and then driving through the lush green Tweed Valley back to our
overgrow 5 acres of land that needed a week of clearing Lantana and weeds just
so we could comfortably walk on it again.
My 4-stroke brush
cutter is the closest thing to a bike I’ve played with since returning. And hey, don't pay out the sunnies, better than crap in the eyes!
The recent
Motocross Of Nations held at DoningtonPark was one of my highlight events
since being in Europe. I was there to cover it
for Aussie mag Dirt Action www.dirtaction.com.au,
and to see riders like Bubba, Villopoto, Pourcel, Searle, Coppins, to name a
few, and the Aussie boys Reed, Burner and Metty, battle it out was epic. Of
course I would have liked to see our guys finish higher, but against such a
competitive field they gave it their best and came away with a solid sixth
place, which is still pretty good out of 35 countries entered.
Chad
Reed laying it flat over the finish line jump
These photos should
have been put up ages ago, but when you’re living out of a van and rarely have
access to the internet it’s kind off hard. What usually happens is I go to an
event like X-Fighters, which is usually a pretty full-on event, then I arrive back
in the UK and to my van that is full of crap and I can’t find my head from my
tail, and then try to figure out where the hell I’m going to find a quiet place
to write my article, browse through a stack of photos all in time for a looming
deadline, which is at most times only a few days away.
Stroll into the
tranquil town of Belluno
any normal Thursday night and you’ll find the locals relaxing at sidewalk
café’s enjoying a glass of wine or beer after a day at work while the town slows
down in readiness for a quite evening once the people filter back reasonably
early to their comfy homes. On Thursday 10th of July the atmosphere
in the centre square of Belluno changed somewhat, and instead of the usual
small crowds going about their business, thousands filled every available space to
take in one of the most spectacular shows they’re ever likely to see, well
especially in the town of Belluno.
Why you ask? Local hero Alvaro Dal Farra invited his friends Andre Villa, Busty
Wolter, the Page Bros Charles and Thomas, who joined the Daboot crew in putting
on a Freestyle motocross show that blew the minds of those fortunate enough to
witness it.
Capt: Alvaro was
out injured, but his show was a huge success nonetheless and the thousands that
attended went home with big grins on their faces.
I spent the two
days leading up to Alvaro’s special invitation night, in his home town of
Belluno, at his park on the outskirts of town shooting some of the Daboot crew,
and Andre Villa, which was a real bonus for me as he is riding off the hook
right now and is easily one of the world’s top riders circulating the globe.
Villa has just been invited to X Games to compete in Freestyle, as well as
competing at several X-Fighters events. I look forward to seeing how he rumbles
against the high quality field at X, and I just hope the judges call it fairly
and not just go with the riders’ they know well, which has happened many times
before. Villa has worked incredibly hard to get back on top after the knee
injury he sustained back in 2006. He has learned big lessons on how important
it is to stay fit and healthy, and now the guy is like a machine, and his
tricks flow effortlessly, which makes my job as a photographer much easier. Keep
an eye on Villa’s progress here www.andrevilla.com
Capt: Villa showing
his style pointing over at me while he lays it flat.
