The tow-in adventures continued, shattering Esperance's beautiful serenity
the following day with Rennie pushing the envelope a step further - launching
70 feet from a motocross jump at around 90kmh! Pre-season downhill training
obviously includes jumping busses. From the coastal beauty of WA`s south
coast to the Wild West gold mining town of Kalgoolie was the next stretch.
The gold for the Freight Train passengers being the huge 85-ton mining
trucks at their disposal at the HSE Jarvis mine. Moving mountains of dirt in
a surreal Tonka dream to build the biggest jumps possible. The end result,
another huge jumping session, all being towed in again by a motocross bike
at warp speed.
Pedalling to make the gaps was never going to be an option. Of course, the
chance to jump out of a huge dump truck into the open cut mine was not
passed up either.
Completely and utterly covered in dirt, the Freight Train aimed squarely for
the Nullarbor, stopping at Eucla for a quick swim in the southern ocean and
some sand boarding action. To ease the long drive across the Nullarbor, a
make shift session was instigated on the Bunda Cliffs overlooking the Great
Australian Bight. The cliffs being such a source for inspiration that Chase
instigated a support trailer riding session that was more at home in the
streets of a major city or skatepark. Adelaide was the final destination and
turned it on for the last days. Roaming the streets, dirt jumps and legal
MTB trail network had all riding their hearts out. Making their way to the
surrounding hills saw Rennie in his element, descending faster than physics
allow, the world championship jersey deservedly his.
Somewhat exhausted and still completely impregnated with dirt, the final
evening's last supper put into perspective all the km`s and events that
passed under the wheels of the Freight Train. It was a time to lock into
place the friendships made on the journey; the feeling of family that had
grown amongst all on the trip brought a hard lump in the throat to budge when
good bye`s came about. With the ante being upped everyday of the trip and
the way the riders and their individual styles all came together and bounced
off each other, the trip has ensured MTB is headed for bigger things, to say
the least. All elements of riding (bar lycra!) had come together in a fusion
that is freeride mountain biking. The whole tour an amazing insight into the
new direction of mountain biking that will take flight in the years to come,
leaving the question, just how big can mountain bikes go?
