I’ve not long returned from the greatest FMX road trip I’ve ever been on. 5000Km on the road with Europe’s funny man of FMX, the great Busty Wolter, at the helm, and joined by Fuel TV’s M80 guru Adam Barker, and another classic character being Ryan Leyba, an old mate I’d previously met in 2003 while on another road trip taking in the action of the Warpt Big Gap Challenge in West Oz. Four of us rocked from Berlin, Germany, to Switzerland, then through the south of France to Spain laughing till our jaws hurt visiting seven of the best FMX parks Europe has to offer, and catching up with a total of 21 riders from seven countries. It was epic to say the least, and after six years spent dealing with FMX riders from all corners of the globe I have to say the Euro lads have to be some of the most professional, easy-to-work-with, got-their-shit-together, and highly talented riders I’ve had the pleasure to work with, and they love to ride when the camera’s come out, even long after the sun has disappeared. Euro freestyler’s kick arse man!!!

The Euro roadtripping crew from left: Adam Barker, Goba, Leyba and Busty!

I’ve not long returned from my recent adventure to Morocco and Spain, which was amazing to say the least. In Morocco I joined the Tuareg Rally (www.tuareg-rallye.com) thanks to the invitation from Holland Rally support team Memo Tours (www.memotours.nl). In Spain I rode with Redtread Tours (http://www.redtread.com), but more about this later.
It was back in January while standing on a hill next to the Dakar course in Portugal – to capture a good angle of the coming riders – where I met Bennie, the owner of Memo Tours, and in-between shots we got to know each well enough to talk further about me joining him and 40 or so other Dutch crew on the Tuareg Rally.
Two months later Bennie picked me up in his 4WD Ute from Paris towing one of the biggest trailers I’ve ever seen. 16 bikes in total it held, and with another two in the back of the Ute we motored south for 30 hours to the port of Almeria in Southern Spain, and yes, I was very happy to peal my butt off the seat on arrival and unload the bikes in preparation for my first off-road ride in Europe, and my first since leaving Australia in Nov 2006.

Props: Thanks to Mick and Ben from E-MotionDesign for getting my website back on track, great job fella’s, much appreciated!!

My Moroccan mate I met in the middle of somewhere on the trails, and he was on a bloody pushbike!

On my recent trip to Dakar I meet the guys promoting the Leatt Brace – helmet for your neck device, and at the time I was impressed with the design and feel of the lightweight unit. I noticed a few of the Dakar competitors trying them out and after talking to a few riders the general feeling was they thought it would definitely offer them good neck protection, especially when riding at speeds through the dunes where most crashes see the riders flung over the bars head first spearing towards the ground.

Since returning from Dakar I’ve noticed reviews by Racer X on the brace www.racerxcanada.com/news/3084/racer-x-canada-tested-leatt-brace

And also Transworld Motocross… www.transworldmotocross.com/mx/features/article/0,13190,1568085,00.html

But by far the most moving thing I’ve seen relating to the neck brace and the call for greater protection awareness is from David Bailey, one of the biggest legends of our sport. He talks for roughly 13 minutes on film and doesn’t hold back on making the call for the big guns of motocross/supercross to make a stand and support the need to spread awareness to the dirt biking community. It’s a must watch, check it out here …

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2540171359427789623

Take the time to check the links out and see for yourself the advantages of wearing such a device, whether you’re racing, trail or adventure riding, or even just play riding. It could save any one of us from serious injury…

The Leatt Brace

2006 Dakar moto winner Marc Coma blasts out of a cold river crossing during the first stage.