Traveling down to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was one of the most chaotic, but memorable experiences of our lives. We didn’t know what to expect from a place that isn’t well known for mountain biking; the only thing we were told was that it was considered a risky place to travel. We knew that if we were going to travel this far, we’d have to make it count. The decision to bring a high performance athlete like Stevie to Brazil was a no-brainer for all of us, and it shows in his segment.
Before we even left for our journey, hurdles popped up around every corner while we tried to plan for the unexpected. Before we knew it, the day had come, and we were 30 hours deep and half way around the world in a completely new environment.
Once we landed, it was time to figure out logistics. While planning, we got an unexpected Instagram message from a local Brazilian named Caio Suzarte. This ended up being one of the luckiest parts of our trip. Caio had caught wind through social media that we would be visiting his home city of Rio de Janeiro, and he enthusiastically offered to help us while in the area. After a few emails back and forth, we planned to meet up and see what he was all about.
The riding locations Caio took us to were incredible. Although the humidity made it feel like we were working in a sauna, we spent many hours digging and shaping new lines in the buttery dirt. The working conditions weren’t what we were used to, but the lines weren’t going to build themselves. When it came time to shoot, Stevie stepped up and showed what it means to be a professional athlete. It was hard enough just being in the heat, but riding and hiking lines to get the shots just showed how Stevie can perform in any condition. It was truly amazing to watch first hand.
After taking a crash that put the brakes on filming for a couple of days, we all took some time to explore one of the most amazing cities on Earth. The culture and lifestyle were eye opening to say the least, and made us feel very humbled about the way we live in North America. There was a lot to take in and it is impossible to put into words how Rio affected us.
Our next stop would take us inland to Ouro Preto, home of Bernardo Cruz. Bernardo won the first ‘Unofficial Whip Off Worlds’ in Whistler during Crankworx a few years ago, so we were excited to capture him getting sideways in the grassy hills of his hometown. Stay tuned for Episode 3 where we’ll take a behind the scenes look into this segment.
We would like to give a special thanks to Andre Sanches at Red Bull Brazil for all of the support he and Red Bull provided for us. Big thanks also to Caio Suzarte and Marcio Machado for all of their help during our trip.
Don't forget to check out the world premiere of Arrival on Friday, August 16th at 8:30pm in Olympic Plaza during
Crankworx Whistler. Priority seating tickets are $5 and are available at Guest Relations or by calling 1.800.766.0449. Free seating will also be available beyond the ticketed seating area.
The trails they rode were located at Praia do Perigoso and Vargem Grande.
I hope to wacth the entire movie soon !
If anyone want to check out Caio and Marcio's work, here's their youtube channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UC8rYd24-qXGy2lgRuKg_LBQ
They're filming a project called Ride in Rio, and there you can watch some "making of" kind of stuff...
Shame you didn't get the chance to ride some of our DH trails. Rio has the biggest urban forest in the world (competelly surrounded by urban area), Floresta da Tijuca, which is packed with amazing technical DH trails like the Vista Chinesa but bikes are banned from the trails... check it out: goo.gl/maps/r82yi & en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tijuca_Forest
Great spots!
Good advertisement for prelude.tv (Caio and marcio) hahaha
Cheers in advance