Finding New Lines

Because things rarely go as planned.

Shooting mountain biking has mostly been a hobby for me, a way to augment my actual career by mixing it with my other passion of riding. It's a great opportunity to test new equipment and develop techniques. Unfortunately, that means that some of my best laid plans often go awry, mostly due to a lack of time and commitment on my own part. Real work creeps in and pushes these hobby projects to the side... and footage sits on hard drives for months or years, lonely and abandoned.




(For the 4k version, see this link: https://youtu.be/v0nmjmkt3dI?list=PLsNCQJAS_IsbETsP_X3nh5QPt7lQ9M4XS)



Such was the case with this shoot. Once we had very different plans than what you see in this video. But, perhaps that's somewhat fitting to the content and message I wanted to convey. The original idea was to communicate that sense of discovery when exploring a new zone or location. Finding lines that you have never ridden before. The plans you make in your mind.... and how those plans rarely turn out how you expect them to. Your tires hook up differently than you thought, there's a rock you didn't notice, or perhaps you just get lost in the moment, and your line changes in the process. Sometimes it ends tragically, sometimes it turns out better than your plan would have, but most the time it's just different.

Shooting anything tends to go the same way. You can spend months in development and pre-production, create a great plan for the line you want your film to take, and something always changes your plans. Hopefully, the film turns out anyway. Sometimes it's an utter failure, other times it's better than you had thought it could be, but most the time it's just... different.

Jared broke his carbon fiber bars in that crash.

Adam picks his way down the steep and loose hillside. The weight of the Red doesn't make it any easier.

Sterling spending a little time in the air.