Toby Cowley / Team InFocus: Sicily Leftovers

Dec 14, 2013
by Team InFocus  
It was crazy cold, a mix of rain and snow and no chance to have fun on a DH bike. Welcome to Germany in the winter. At the beginning of this season - May to be correct - we were pretty much over not riding and were looking for a warm place to recharge our batteries. Since we had the opportunity to film for the Red Bull Media House with our production company, spyze GmbH, we were looking for an exotic place that wouldn't be only fun to ride but also awesome to film. Remembering that our parents once visited the island of Sicily to shred their DH bikes, we dug out some old photos and instantly knew that we hit the mother lode.

After some weeks of planning, building bikes and getting stoked we finally packed our van and got on the road. 23 hours of straight driving later we arrived at the beautiful island of Sicily and ran straight into what we absolutely wished to witness. A volcanic outburst.

The trip started with a banger and got us crazy stoked to start discovering the region. After checking in at Guiseppe's condo, EtnaGloB&B, in Zafferana we met up with Vittorio Platania from Triride / Sicily Holiday who was our awesome guide for this trip. The last thing before we got started was to get our good friend and photo magician Toby Cowley rom the airport who teamed up with us on that trip.

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We took the first day to get an idea of the region so we could work out a shooting-plan for the next days. We started with our priority spot Mt. Etna. Having never ridden anything sandy and wide-open like this before we were pretty curious about this area. And again. Sicily did not disappoint. If you want to get close to actual powder riding, you better book your flights and go right to Mount Etna. Once you gained speed on the deep ash it was just like flying.

After that we went to the lower part of Mt Etna to ride some super flowy singeltrack. These tracks are double awesome as you can ride them 365 days a year as most of the spots on the Italian island. We got the shots, had great fun, got some pizza and crashed out in some coma-like sleep.

The last spot we visited dropped our jaws when we first saw it. This unnamed area really is a freeride wonderland. Unfortunately we did not have enough time to really play with the terrain and build proper obstacles. Still, this terrain was extremely fun to ride and filled our last two days of shooting easily.

It all sound like a fun holiday but it actually was one of the toughest shooting weeks we ever had. We didn't even have time to check out footage till we got home because our days were that stacked. But it definitely was worth all the effort next to the video Toby came out with dozens of sick shots. Enjoy!

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Italians usually are pretty laid-back people. So was Giuseppe the owner of the Etna GloB&B where we were staying during our trip. This cool condo offers comfy rooms, top notch breakfast and everything a biker needs (locker, tools, wash station ...) If you need anything else Giuseppe is the man to organize it.

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Building up our new Scott Gamblers. Straight out the box and never ridden before. This was about to change.

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First stop. Mt. Etna.

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Mt Etna recently became part of the UNESCO World-Heritage. You can guess why. It's just stunning. Riding is still allowed in designated areas though.

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You can take the gondola first but the hike up still is quite challenging when there is 80 km/h of wind, 0 degree and loads equipment to carry.

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Entrance to heaven.

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The deep ash is insanely fun to ride but a pain in the ass to hike back up.

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Groupies!

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Well,l bikes are fast on that terrain. Cameramen aren't. Waiting for Toni and Giuseppe at the bottom.

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Here he comes. Carrying a cam that's more valuable than your rich-ass neighbour's Mercedes doesn't make walking down that slope any easier.

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Back in Zafferana. Coma-like sleep.



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The next morning we went to shoot and ride some super flowy singletrack at the bottom of Mt. Etna.

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All the heavy equipment makes shooting a long and exhausting process. But damn, we love it!

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As we made it to the bottom we still had to manage how to get back to the car which was parked at the entrance of the trail. Toni was sick of walking all day long anyways so he decided to go for a little CC ride with one of our Gamblers. Well, it took a while...

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Told you it took a while. We had to fight the boredom.

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Coming back home it was already damn late. Pizza time!

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Another beautiful morning. Off to another beautiful spot.

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Andi was grumpy.

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A trip without a broken car isn't a trip.

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Giuseppe and Toni getting it done.



The next location was a sick hard-packed sandpit that used to be a battleground during World War II.
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We even found a couple of porcupine spikes in the area. That footprint showed us that they were watching the action.

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Bullets everywhere. We even found an intact bomb laying in one of our lines!


A very funny situation when we found the bomb. Language barrier at its finest.
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No dig no ride.

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The surface was pretty slippery and made it quite sketchy to ride. But it for sure was fun. Just look at the view.

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Everybody was happy at the end!

Shout-outs go to Vittorio Platania from Triride and James Renwick from the Red Bull Mediahouse who made this trip possible.
Also we would like to thank our awesome sponsors: Scott Sports, Acros, Alexrims, Schwalbe, Marzocchi, Five Ten, Leatt Protectives and Chromag for their support.

If you guys plan to visit Sicily just post your questions below and we are happy to help you out.

Words: Andi Tillmann | Team InFocus
Photos: Toby Cowley
Video: spyze

Author Info:
teaminfocus avatar

Member since Jul 31, 2010
22 articles

29 Comments
  • 21 2
 I'm going to Sicily for a uni field trip in April.. How can I persuade my lecturers to let me take my bike??? Haha
  • 1 0
 I've gotten good results with bribery.
  • 17 1
 Those photos are next level. You're the man Toby!
  • 6 0
 I smell some POD potential here.. Beautiful place!
  • 14 1
 Sponsored by Marzocchi....riding Fox. Have I missed something?
  • 6 0
 The trip happened before we partnered up with Marzocchi.
  • 3 0
 Yeah boys! Bangers from Toby and sick write up.
  • 3 0
 gli sbirri poi li chiamiamo, domani ahahahha big up! amazing footage!
  • 1 0
 Yeah... still rolling on the floor laughing!
  • 2 0
 eh poi dicono degli italiani...
  • 3 1
 Moguls on bikes.... Awesome!
  • 1 0
 Awesome write up here, and some even more awesome photos!
  • 2 0
 That a brand new kona?
  • 1 0
 Amazing! What camera is it?
  • 1 0
 The filming one is a Arri Alexa. Photo I think was a Canon 5d Mark II
  • 2 0
 HAHA, Domani!
  • 2 1
 4th to last photo is pretty amazing.
  • 1 0
 Amazing picture. Can't wait to see the Vid.
  • 1 0
 please don't go in sicily...NEVER
  • 1 0
 Why Not? it's dangerous?
  • 1 0
 Engine broken?! Nah...better film it...repair can wait
  • 1 0
 Who makes the rad green shorts that guy is riding in?
  • 1 0
 for ever scott
  • 1 1
 The article was a little wordy for me...great pictures though!
  • 1 1
 Juste Super Nice Big Grin
  • 1 1
 Fucking Awsome!







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