Video: Life In The French Riviera

Because it's my first blog post, I think that an intro could be cool...

Who am I?

My name is Corentin, I'm a 22 years old frenchman living in Nice, France. I've moved from my native 'Normandy', up north in France to the French Riviera on September 2014 for studies purpose. So yeah, I'm still a student ! I'm now studying my master degree in Sports Management and Marketing.

I've been riding mountain-bikes for like 4 years, before biking was more just like 'a way to go around and cruise with your buddies' than just a sport...

I've always wanted to be creative and to have fun. And fun and passion for the sport, are the reasons that drives me at the moment.. And this passion is translated into my riding and on my approach to it.

So alright, I think it is all for the intro..

then, "Why do I write this"?

Lately, I've heard and seen a lot of stuff on the internet, mainly concerning debates for 26", 650B, 29" Wheels... and so about the 'So-Enduro' approach of biking these days... But, does it has changed the way we perceived our sport ?

There's no real answers ... depends on your point of view or maybe your Discipline !

I come from a Downhill background, and I enjoyed so much starting from that cause it has enhanced my 'ride' in a certain way...

Then comes the times when you want to ride something else, enjoy other disciplines and so on. But as a student, you can't afford the chance to have a bike for each disciplines, for monetary reasons, for 'logistics' reasons but mainly because you are running out of time. Finding a "Do it all bike", the perfect multi-tool, becomes maybe a priority or the best compromise.

That's why during summer, I've decided to sell my old bikes : a Cove Shocker, an old Chromag Stylus and my old T-1 Barcode bmx... and I get my hand on the bike that will replace all of them, and be the more capable : The Knolly Chilcotin.

With the Chilcotin, a lot of people just immediately started to say that I was riding an "enduro" bike.. But hey, it is not because your ride a 160mm trail bike that you immedialty are "Enduro". (I've nothing against Enduro... I prefer to be clear on that to stop any debates... It's not the point of this!)

From this comes an idea.
From the past few years, I've started to find a new way of becoming creative and having fun : Video making.
I've been making small videos or 'edits' if you prefer, for fun with no pretention, for my friends. And then, some guys started to care about my 'work' and gave me the opportunity to work on a project...

So here we are: The main goal of this project was to show that a 160mm trail bike can be more than an "enduro" bike or whatever.. but it can be just your multi-tool for your everyday ride.

I've first decided to make a "All-mountain" like video (yeah it may be 'enduro' but in this case I'm not racing... remember, Enduro is just a racing format... but no debates on this, we all have our own answers or approach on this!)



Even if it doesn't reach a 'real success',I've reached my goal : Having fun and sharing my thoughts... just enjoyed the process and not the outcomes..

From the feedback, I've realized that I have to work on some 'editing' stuff and that a downhill video could be worth it... Then I have decided to put together a video, with a full-face helmet on and a more aggressive style.. And this is it : Lot's of hours behind the lens, in front of it (Thanks to my boy Zsolt Lublovary for the help !) and also hours behind the screen...




So why do I just write a blog ?

It's not because I'm looking for some exposition or views on my videos... but to kind of like promote the french riviera as a riding paradise and maybe also to express my way of seeing things...
(I've been here since September, but I never ever had the opportunity to ride on such amazing trails and there are plenty of others that are just waiting for me to come ...)

Hopefully, I'll have time to put together new video or stories to had to this project...

I'm riding a trail bike but it not a trail bike, it's not an enduro bike nor a all-mountain bike, it's not one of those mini-DH bike... It's much more : It's a Mountain-Bike. It's the bike that you take to go out and ride, to escape sometimes from you daily life or just to enjoy riding, get stoked on the trails and have Fun! It doesn't matters what bike you are riding, are at which level you are biking... The ride only matters.

If you are around Nice, and are looking for someone to ride with or show around... It would be a pleasure for me to have you 'on-board' ;-)

Cheers from France,

And ride safe...

Corentin


(I would like to thanks everybody involved in this : from my family and friends... to the guys at Jaws Distribution (official French dealer for : Knolly bikes, Cove bikes and Evil bike ) for their support those past years and for letting me enjoy my passion and creates this project by passing me a camera and for being at the end : "Biking buddies".)

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