What the 2009 biking year brought me

Feb 9, 2010

A retrospective view back on the 2009 biking year, what it brought to me, what it didn't and other stuff.

My name is Ivan, I live in Estonia. I wrote this first line much to myself, just to realize better, what sort of "mountainbiking" I am actually going to talk about. I mean, there are certain complications in doing a mountain-based activity, when you live in a country, where there are no mountains. This is on the one hand. On the other hand - the beautiful, untouched nature, so inviting to be explored, cozy small towns full of nice people, the pleasure of tripping within a country, that is so small, that its every corner is accessible within a half-a-day car drive - all this is just the right combination to wake up the spirit of adventurer in the most passive soul.

Story and pics inside,

I am not a ripper, and I have never been. I have also not become one in the past year. What I have been doing for the whole 2009 was keeping up the flow of your average trail rider, the kind of a do-it-all guy on an almost-do-it-all bike.

The word "bike" marks the start of the year. Since I have made my decision to stick to the AM/Enduro thing after a long period of hesitation and doubts following my nastiest crash a few years ago, the bike, that I put together, represented that change in my mind and perfectly showed that the winds are blowing to the direction of liter riding now.

Test riding the new Merida 150 Trail in March was a pleasure. I got the only frame in the Baltics for a very good price, and this kind of frame was just what I had been looking for. One to be the base of a fast, versatile all-rounder, that would drive me up the hill and then take some technical (and less technical) abuse on the way down.

So that was the initial outcome, the Merida 150 Trail, Estonian AM/FR edition by me:


I was not able to really ride it for a very long time though, because of the stupid crash leading to death of my rear mech, so I had to wait for the brand new X9 and kill my time shooting other guys.


Shooting the sport is another thing that I like to do a lot. I really can't call myself a photographer, but I know for sure, that if I were to be one, I would shoot action sports. And probably the nature. I feel, that 2009 was a good year in terms of photography. Somehow, I have a lot of good shots. I enjoyed shooting the new upcoming guys. It feels like you are witnessing the birth of new talents. One of them for sure is Fil.


Finally, I got the new mech, and a chance to ride with a big bunch of good people in the Pirita forest, with the local photo-girl Külli Tedre shooting for us. These were some sick shots.



Next stop on the road of becoming real friends with my bike was going to "the mountains". By saying these, an Estonian MTB rider most usually refers to the region of Southern Estonia, where there are at least some slopes, some trails and some action. This particular occasion was riding at the hill of Vooremägi in May, checking out the possibilities of an AM suspension. The Vooremägi trail is smooth and lacks serious obstacles or any very tough sections, so it allows for fast, real fast riding and a lot of fun.



A week later, the same track hosted a kind of Mini-DH event, that was a grand fun for the relaxed guys like me, who don't have to think about overall standings and Baltic Cup stages. I was just trying to go fast on a non-dh bike riding a not-really-dh trail.


While spending time back in my home town of Tallinn, the AM baby was tested on many local pop places for riding bikes, such as Nõmme Forest, Pirita Forest and Kadriorg trails. The performance of my fresh bike was so far so good.


Merida was however built for a slightly different kind of use, and it was the enduro ride at the trail of Vääna-Jõesuu, where its performance had been truly enjoyable. It rolls soft and clean, the suspension is almost not affected by pedaling in the seated position, and while standing for climbs I lock the rear end up anyway. Great frame.



The vibe of the place was so irresistible, that a week later I caught up with a few good friends to go there again for a grill party and some AM riding.



Sometimes the appetite for jumping comes and you just can't resist. There is a spot at the foot of the Tabasalu cliff, which is good for such occasions, at least in the summer. I am not much of a dirt-jumper though, but I enjoy the flow of the trail and also shooting somebody on it.




The Fail of the Year was the trip to the second-largest city of Tartu. The 4 of us went to ride the local bmx-track, but Alex went down so hard on one of the first attempts, that we had to pack up and go to the local hospital. And as soon, as Alex got his hand more or less fixed, it started raining cats and dogs, so even our alternative hang-out at Rahinge dirt jumps were doomed. That is the common thing here, however. Englishmen say they have no climate, only weather. Well, that also applies to Estonia.



Probably, one real big revelation for the Estonian MTB world of the last few years is Dmitri aka Demz. Not riding himself, he is the biggest MTB enthusiast that I know. Passionate about the development of the sport and especially documenting it in video form - he is the one, who will probably bring the Estonian MTB scene to the world one day. Check out his profile demz.pinkbike.com for some kick ass footage. He is the one who has brought several street riding VODs to the PB community, and he will continue doing this great job.



Probably, the best thing about biking is the possibility to share great emotions with friends - without really having to do too much for it. You can just ride with your long term buddy or girlfriend and just chill. Fun comes regardless on the style of riding, experience, bike model, trail preferences, age, sex or whatever. It just comes. Sometimes, just shooting your friend going higher and further is the pleasure. Sometimes it is just about the view. Or the unusual experience.




For sure the big adventure is when you get to travel to a bigger, better and tougher riding location and give yourself a shake on a kind of trail, that you have never ridden before. I took the baby to Calpis Bike Park in Finland for a true freeride adventure. That one was probably just a little too much for Merida, and on my way back I was counting the cost of all replacement parts for the poor bike, trying to forget about the fact that I myself was bruised, broken and scarred, but happy to have ridden new trails and new stunts.



The last summer adventure was the fine arts camp of my College, that was taking place in the South. It was a perfect chance to stay in a very riding-suited area for a long time, so I grabbed my bike with me, and the photographer Külli Tedre was there to make some epic shots.



With the first smell of autumn it was again the time to check out home trails with old buddies. Tabasalu trees were starting to yellow up, but the jumps were in just perfect condition for Roman to do some work on. Roman is my biggest riding buddy. We have been through a lot of stuff together, and it's really nice to see, how this guy progresses, moves forward - and enjoys it.



It was late October 2009, that our last biking adventure took place. At this time it is getting dark at 5 o clock and earlier with each day, the countdown to the long winter has already started. We knew we were probably riding the last ride of the year. To make it a bit more special, we went to the small town of Keila to ride the local jumps and trails. The weather was cold, but the atmosphere of traveling with good friends is what warmed things up. We were up to gather some positive MTB energy to make it through the long winter.



The winter, for sure, has its own fun. I am a total fan of winter time with all the freeskiing and snowbattle stuff. The trouble is, lately we have not been getting any good winters. I don't know if we messed up the climate so much, or is it just the way it should be, but the last few winters have only been rain-like crap falling from grey sky every day for 5 months. To be just, I have to point out, that this winter is extraordinary nice. We have over a meter of snow and the temperature right now is -21C. I am sitting at home, writing this blog after a week long vacation of sick skiing. But that's a whole different story for a different forum. What matters for PB - I sit here, writing about biking - and I feel how much I miss it.

Spring will be in April. We will ride again.