The Promised Dirt - Video

I started hearing about the riding in Bali a year and half ago. I randomly stumbled upon a van with bikes hatched behind it in the heart of the mountains in central Bali as I was moped-road tripping around the island.

I had to stop and ask since I knew nothing about mountain biking on Bali at the time. I then managed to ride for a day with the Chillhouse crew and could not believe how sick riding in that setting was.

That was before the Bali Bike Park even existed. Before Adidas did the sick 3 stripes video. Before Kurt Sorge rode the craziest lines down the volcano. Before Nick Pescetto moved to Bali and he and the bike park crew got the tropical thunder video out. Before everybody was itching to go.

The following year I saw everything unfolding from the other side of the globe in Quebec, Canada. I saw the birth of the Bali Bike Park. The footage from a lot of the best photographers and riders out there. All I could think about was going back to Bali with my bike. When I got invited to ride at the Bali Bike Park and shoot some content over the summer, my obsession became a reality.

It took me 40 hours traveling to get there. But then it all made sense. The delicious food. The wonderful people. You can really smell adventure in the air.


I spent countless hours riding the Bali Bike Park. The whole vibe there is unlike anything I've ever experienced. Hanging off the back of that FJ Cruiser Jeep going up the jungle through rural farm roads.

There are farmers working and kids running around waving and yelling hi as you're ducking to avoid hanging banana leaves. Then flowing through the jungle makes you feel so free. And man...that dirt is something else!


The best thing is to hang out with stoked people and sharing that vibe. I went on countless mountain bike adventures with so many great people! One of my best moments was hiking the Mount Batur volcano at night to see the sunrise and flowing down some of the best trails I've experienced. I once went on that adventure with Dylan Dunkerton and his wife Elsa, such nice people, we hit it off and shot some pictures.


After the hike and ride we went to Black Sand freeride side of the volcano, for more hiking and riding. It's such an unreal spot!

Here you can see Dylan Dunkerton and Matze Species slowly going up in the loose volcanic rocks.

The walk to the top is tough in the deep pumice with no trees and harsh sun. And it is super volcanic. There are tons of obsidian rocks around which is really cool too. The kid in me was so happy!


Riding back to the van rewarded us with an unbelievable natural pump track so we could race and pump back with huge smiles on our faces.

I spent some time with badass playboy Nick Pescetto for some partying and island life and Ray George to get some clips for the Tropical Thunder 2, which was such a sick experience.

But one of the most "wow" moments of my adventure was to shred the unique dirt of the bike park. Everything I had heard about the dirt was true! I decided to pay tribute to that slippery-yet-tacky, muddy-but-still-kinda-dusty unique dirt by self-shooting my favorite parts of the park. (see the video at the top)

Thanks to Alex and the whole crew for the good times at the Bali Bike Park and the hospitality at The Chillhouse. It was such an unforgettable experience!

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MENTIONS: @simondrouin / @BaliBikePark

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