Iran. For most of us this country stands for the axis of evil, religious fundamentalists and the fear of the nuclear program. But apropos of nothing in this often misjudged country there is much more. For example a fast developing gravity mountain bike scene that is worth discovering.
It all began two years ago, when I was employed to develop an extreme sport web series. My idea was to go beyond the mainstream and give an insight into the off the wall mountain bike scene of the Asian continent. Unfortunately the project ended up in the drawer. Nevertheless I already got in contact with some very passionate riders and the Iranian guys were the most ambitious ones. They sent me stunning pics from them flying in front of the Tehran skyline or flipping into a crystal-clear mountain lake - all of that in the middle of Iran!
A friend of mine, who is a cameraman was also fascinated and one evening after a few beers we just booked flights. Five weeks later, after a little Visa bickering we arrived in Tehran. Tehran is a fascinating city – 15 million people live there and contrary to what we were expecting, the city was surprisingly neat and tidy. But certainly there is the air pollution, which all Asian mega-cities suffer from. The car is status symbol number one and you barely see bikes in the heavy traffic. Hossein Zanjanian – Iran’s best downhill rider is an exception. He rides every free minute and due to his home and workplace in the south of Tehran he has to improvise.
“During the week there’s no possibility for him to get out of the city.” Sina, one of Hosseins best friends, told us. “But fortunately in the north of Tehran the big mountains are touching the city. So after work he’s grabbing hold of car after car to get there." The snow covered summits of the Alborz mountain range in the north of Theran are breathtaking: The mighty Tochal rises up to 3,964 meters.
The rest of the evening we enjoyed the fresh air and the breathtaking sunset view over the mega-city and saw firsthand that Hossein is not just a phenomenal urban rider, but also an incredibly fast downhill rider.
That talent is reflected in the UCI world ranking where Hossein is currently holding position 96 of 796 riders! His good performance in Iranian national downhill championships since age 16 and international races; Asian Championships Lebanon 2012 4th place, and China 2013 10th place attracted the attention of sponsors and in 2013 the Iranian Specialized importer supplied him with a Demo II and this year he’s riding for Giant. Coming from a relatively poor background (making 60 bucks a month in his father’s repair shop) it was the only possibility for him to get his hands on a good Downhill bike.
High prices for good bikes and parts are the main problem for Iranian riders. Due to the sanctions, imports are so expensive that good bike parts are not affordable for most, considering the average monthly income is $270. But they are masters in improvising and know how to have fun on the trails nevertheless.
The day ends in one of the many kebab restaurants with great food and non-alcoholic beer. There’s a wide flavour variety of this drink – some of them even advertise with German brewing technology. But all of them taste like lemonade. Drinking real alcohol is a serious crime in Iran. The penalty is up to 80 lashes. When they catch you more than twice there can also stand death penalty. But Mountain bikers in Iran and also tourists don’t have to fear the revolutionary guards or the religious police. If anything the mullah regime likes it when young people do sports – then they are away from drugs and dangerous ideas. This is the reason why we found one of the most modern skate parks we have ever seen in the middle of Tehran! The government owned bank sponsored it and every night it is crowded with skaters, roller-skaters and bmx riders. We have even seen a few girls with roller-skates. But the “extreme sports” like skateboarding, bmx and downhill riding are still male dominated sports.
The next day Hossein and his friends picked us up at 06:00 am for Kale Pache – a traditional Iranian breakfast. A few minutes later we sat in front of well-cooked parts of the sheep head – including the brain and the jelly legs all sprinkled with a dash of cinnamon. We managed the greasy brain and the tender tongue but we couldn't stand the legs. The dish did the job it’s famous for quite well: We didn’t get hungry for the rest of the day.
We had the perfect start to an amazing road trip, to some of the best mountain bike locations in northern Iran. During this trip, we delved even deeper into the Iranian mountain bike scene, shredded stunning trails, met incredible people and witnessed a national downhill race through a rain dripping, misty green jungle. But we can't do justice to those stories, by trying to include them in this article.
Our adventures, unexpected experiences and amazing mountain bike action captured on film is around 700 GB of well-organized footage waiting to be edited, to become a new kind of mountain bike film combining the best elements from documentary and bikeporn: “Mountain Bike out of the Box IRAN”. And that’s where we need your help!
We’re trying to fund the post production cost via crowd funding on Kickstarter: by supporting creative and independent projects you are offered tangible rewards and special experiences in exchange for your donation. It’s really fast and easy to make your pledge - you only need a credit card. There’s no risk at all - if we can't reach our goal all the pledges will be automatically refunded. You can support this film and be a part of our project starting from only 1,23 € (1£ or 1,67 $)! Please consider it, choose a reward, and help this extraordinary film become a reality!
Click this link for more information and to support a new kind of mountain bike film (the campaign is running only until the 19th of June!
.
Pledge Now
I think those are requirements for mountain biking (especially the beer).
Iran is an Islamic republic and Islam condemns alcohol. (Seriously guys, everyone knows it)
That said, you could drink alcohol-free beer, but you might as well drink dog piss
remember Every Gov Is Pure Evil...............In fact in my opinion Government is Evil....
And for those who said The iranian Scientists would maybe make some think that might be harmfull for us............
The fact is that the US Scientists have been doing and acting so throught out the history whole over the globe...............
At least we havnt done anything harmful for real....................
But the real fact here is that :
We dont believe in politics..................We believe in Bikes...................
Governments + Politics are to control the mainstream.................We are not mainstream we are bikers............................
we cant be controlled by Gov.s and politics....................
We Are all United whole over the globe....................we are bikers.............................And politics isnt any force to motivate us.................instead Gravity & adrenaline Does.........................
The middle east was the center of the science and math world for hundreds of years while Europe was in the "dark ages", and then the crushing grip of theocracy pretty much put a stop to progress. (Just as the Catholic church tried to stop Newton, Galileo, Copernicus, etc.)
Props to the dedication of those mtber's in Iran.
Iran has the same want and the same need for a peaceful Country as anyone else.
It ain't easy.
Short answer, religion/power hunger is the single biggest barrier to progress. Either that or it's damn near neck & neck with corporate greed.
Good on these Iranians. Not just Iran, but the world, needs more dudes like this. Hopefully someday girls will be allowed to ride too.
short answer, extremeism and power hunger is the *TWO* barriers to success.
and yes, f*ckfaces are in power there. islam is not in power. extremeism is in power. extremeism != islam
but as for some of the comments, it's a shame there is so much ignorance in the world...
look up Operation Ajax
before you leap to conclusions about the evils of Iran, ask yourself who is telling you that;
Then ask why... the CIA and MI6 organized a coup to remove the democratically elected government in the 1950s and continue to fund and arm opposition movements to ensure sufficient power over the oil market.
Guess it's a lot easier to justify that kind of activity when you have the general public believing that there is evil bogeymen.
Shame the official story falls apart when you take into account the last time Iran invaded another country...
Compare that with the last time your own country (wherever that may be) invaded another country (and check the invaded countries status in the oil market, or indeed position on a map relevant to Iran (ever played Risk?))
(*note sarcasm)
Recently our media coverage has been more about sensationalism and making money than real current events, but at least it isn't state run, heavily censored, propaganda.
Iranian govt may be full of religious freaks but I wouldn't take anything I see on the news at the face value, do your own research folks, it's the only way we will have a better, safer world where people can ride bikes instead of droning one another.
When we were there we´d love to have them in front of the Camera...but they had no time...-.really..
And the most people there, are the friendliest people i ever met...because they are fare away of kapitalism, tourism, stupid religion (normal Humans)..And out of the cities in the desserts, away from religion Police,they celebrate real Freeness...i guess more than we often could do....They know what its about in life: Friendship!
"...... but at least it isn't state run, heavily censored, propaganda."
You are deluded. You get shown the "news" exactly the way the same people that are in control of your "elected" leaders want you to see. Thinking to the contrary is a fools choosing.
Most of what ignorant North Americans will say about Iranians can just as easily be said about the US Gov't and many of it's citizens. Radical religious nuts and greed driven leaders hiding behind the veil of miss information they feed the dumb via their wealthy owners.
Let the rain of minus' begin!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP7L8bw5QF4
Does that sound like I trust the news?
You Canadians (and most European nations) are included in the "West" along with us Americans by the way.
Thanks to all those that made my month in Iran so incredible.
Peace
but as for some of the comments, it's a shame there is so much ignorance in the world...
look up Operation Ajax
before you leap to conclusions about the evils of Iran, ask yourself who is telling you that;
Then ask why... the CIA and MI6 organized a coup to remove the democratically elected government in the 1950s and continue to fund and arm opposition movements to ensure sufficient power over the oil market.
Guess it's a lot easier to justify that kind of activity when you have the general public believing that there is evil bogeymen.
Shame the official story falls apart when you take into account the last time Iran invaded another country...
Compare that with the last time your own country (wherever that may be) invaded another country (and check the invaded countries status in the oil market, or indeed position on a map relevant to Iran (ever played Risk?))
www.pinkbike.com/photo/10061247
www.pinkbike.com/photo/10061227
www.pinkbike.com/photo/9498090
hossein zanjanian our rider
DH and 4X racing treated me well and I was lucky enough to compete on the world cup and raced for the USA at world champs for multiple years. But there was always a part of me that thought there has to be some fast guys living in Iran who could race on the world cup given the right support. I went to Iran in 2006 and accidentally stumbled on a DH race with gondola lift access, it was one of the coolest things I ever saw cause it was so unexpected. The race was more legit than some of the regional races I grew up racing. High five to these guys for trying to show the world that it's not all doom and gloom over there in Iran. Rad country with some hidden talent for sure.
BTW, for anyone thinking about visiting Iran... definitely go. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Believe it or not most of the people getting hassled are guys like me who are dual citizens (Iranian/American) and hold two passports. American, European, Canadian, etc citizens who have no Iranian lineage are at extremely low risk.
Great to see, well done for stepping out of your comfort zone. I wonder if there's any MTB in North Korea?
Is Hossein permitted to compete in the west? The middle east is a biiig market, an Iranian competitor could open some eyes and perhaps expand the sport.
Funny, we already thought anyhow about North Korea for: Montain Bike out of the Box: Part two...
north korea is indeed very interesting but you have to bootlick kim jung un first - and I don't think I could stand that. but there're alreardy good locations planed for part II.
Always wanted to see some stuff from Russia, and I read an absolutely fantastic article about some snowboarders going to Afghanistan.
It seems thay made a film about it; www.whitesilkroad.com/info.html
If these guys got some sick tracks with chair lift or shuttle service, as an atheist and someone who doesn't support the practices that Islam uses, I'll smash out runs all day long with these guys.
vg
medi
& very very very niceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
also, everyone knows that real men aren't scared by weird food, only little bitches with little bitch palates >