[DirtEveryDay]

So, the South Dakota Redbull marketing rep is on me about getting a pulse started in this state. If you've never been to South Dakota, there are some surprises you wouldn't expect to find here. And NO, to all you Cali-residents who've asked, we DO not still have Indians chasing cowboys with bows and arrows.
When we first started talking he said that the right place would make the event. I mentioned I had an "in" to a certain place that is untouchable: The Badlands of South Dakota. It's a national forest and placing anything other than a foot onto it is jail time via "intent to cause harm to a national monument."
So I've not only got a place that's out of Federal reach, it's also insanely cool and full of culture. Here's a broad image of what I'm talking about:

Look alittle closer and you get some of this:

Now here are a few pics from a while back, when a bud and I took the trucks out to go exploring in this "lost world." Oh, and not my busted Jeep Cherokee, and not my swollen muscles stuffed into the tiny Suzuki!
These pics show some detail, but you HAVE to have been here to know!

The "dirt" is the coolest ever. It's somewhat solid. You can walk on it and nothing happens, walk over it a few times and it starts to powder. Do the Happy Dance and it turns smooth as glass. Slightly wet it and let it dry and it's concrete. It also hurts a lot if you fall on it. Just a note. However, get it overly wet and it turns into mayonnaise. I had to walk 30' to a grass patch mid-sprinkle and I almost didn't make it, had 3" of sludge on the bottom of my shoes and was sliding all over.

What I want to do: Obviously, a biking event. But it's Redbull, so a friggin roadie tour on fatter tires is not on the menu. Slopestyle is being over done so much it's worse than meatloaf. A DH race...? Well, would still be cool out there if only because this terrain has never seen a bike tire before. There's land like it throughout the US, but each IS different, and I garantee it's never happened in SD! We are still bouncing a DH race idea off the back wall, but that's a last resort.
What I want to do is a STREET COMP in one of these bowls in the middle of nowhere. A typical low-level "bowl" has several layers, each layer drops 3-5 feet to the next with a totally natural, and totally perfect set up for rollin in on! My planned structures so far include a dozen picnic tables, Jersey barricades, two 30' long steel or concrete pipes about 2' in diameter burried in the ground at odd angles, some super rails ranging from 20 to 60 feet in length, large slabs of concrete to be positioned where convenient, a stair set, either wooden or concrete, for gapping, and along the back, also serving as the judges stand, a Semi truck and trailer. Under this would be a long, natural quater shaped wall. And I WANT to see someone railslide the top edge! Keep in mind all the natural elements as well, the area is packed full of "volcanos, transitions and bumps, and bowls. I wasn't really even into riding yet when I saw this place and it made want a bike. It's gorgeous.
I am pushing for a two-day event, day one for building. RIDERS will be build the area. It does have some natural flow, but we want to see some neat stuff. I'm more for the creativity portion of riding than just the sickest tricks or the biggest airs. That night, REDBULL PARTY. Ever been at a Rebull party???? I won't try to describe, let's just say GOOD!
Next day, ride. Compete. Call it what you want. We're thinking rider-judged right now, but considering bringing some pros/Redbull riders in as well. Nothing for sure yet, obviously.
What to ride? Anything you want. I want to open this up for your weapon of choice. Which would be cooler: A rail grind on an 8" travel bike or a 30' stepdown on a 20"? I'd LOVE to have to make that choice!
Separate classes for the different bikes? Riders judge or not? Other obstacles? These and many other things is what I need input on. What would YOU guys want to try?

 

[Bicyclist]

Definitely do a DJ/street style "open" comp. One problem is that if you decide to invite the 20" guys they'd tend to destroy the 26" guys, even on the harsh stuff, so maybe make it a MTB-only event?

Or, do a BMX and then a 24-26" wheel class.

I say do an elimination round, then have the losers judge along with some pre-determined judges to make it half rider/half judge scored.

 

[Cru Jones]

I've been there... they should have a slopestyle down Mount Rushmore... or that giant indian that's half finished. Or, a street contest in one of those caves.

 

[PatBranch]

That would be so cool. Would this be open to the public?

 

[ebrider510]

i've been there too, and ya it's amazing. sounds like a sick concept. seems far too crazy to come true, but if it works it would be awesome. i say basically find natural terrain that will serve "new skool" or whatever riding well and then add obsticles from the street like benchs, jersey barriers, etc into the mix like you said basically. i say do an open class if it is rider judged since they won't be judging just by crazy moves. if it isn't rider judged do a 20" and big wheel class(24/26). honestly this type of event seems like it would mainly attract MTB guys since the terrain would vary so much, but maybe BMX guys would be down as well.

 

[dexter]

south dakota what!! i go hunting there every winter for pheasy's. souix falls has some good street riding imagine that. def a street/dj contest in the bowls sounds awesome

 

[DirtEveryDay]

OK, not much time, but I'll dig into more later. RIGHT NOW, what I plan to do is an invitation type of deal. I'll open up a time frame for accepting apps, you send in pics, vids, info, and goals, blah, blah, blah and best trick in your bag and then we'll have to dig through and decide who's coming. That'll suck. BUT, that means we can assume more people will show if they went through the effort of applying and getting invited. Also, we haven't yet decided if this will be nation/world wide(peeps from Aus apparently tried to get into the Skyride in Minn!) or just midwestern peeps. That would make the feild of bikes a LITTLE more even as there's not a TON of rad BMXers around these parts, but there's even fewer Mtn bikers... so I dunno yet.
We'll have to have a chopper on standby for emergencies, as we'll be in Land of the Lost, and might need to bus spectaters out to the site, depending on where we have it. I'd LOVE to find an abondoned dino-dig site to hold this in as well, still looking...
OH...and just to compare what this place is like, the location I'm thinking of is 5 miles from the location they filmed Starship Troopers at!
More ideas for obstacles??

 

[corey_freerider]

im for sure down with a "street" comp in the bad lands. aside from having certain structures being brought into the area like the semi trailer, i would just like to see a fat natural wall ride of some sort. and you'll def still need some natural jumps. not necissarily a pack set or anything but more laid out like a skatepark, even though they will be dirt (clay) or whatever. think we could integrate some cool berms and still keep it street? one thing i like about this idea is we can kinda mix the whole DJ and street styles together. keep it unique, and i know red bull likes things unique. i dont want it to defeat the purpose of a "street" comp though. if you want riders to find lines, you'll have to talk to the red bull guys so they know where to lay out the red bull arches and what not, cause i assume they will? remember the semi load of **** i had to clear out of the sky way? that will all have to be trucked in there through that terrain. i know red bull can make it happen though. another thing im sure red bull will take care of is the technology of energy. need a couple of generators. on that note... what about having the comp at night? dont know how i exactly feel about having mixed comp between bmx and mtb yet. although it would be cool on build day, if people could do a little freeriding and mess around that way too cause i know i would want to have the banshee out there along with the stp.
oh yeah... dont forget we will need volunteers to help out too. so whenever you get around to signing riders up dont forget to ask for volunteers also.

 

[PatBranch]

I think the more natural stuff, the better/cooler it would be.

 

[DirtEveryDay]

I'm hoping to crush this childish bullsh*t between the 20s and the two6s. It's time. How to run them together and AGAINST each other though, might not be possible. Of course, it's kind of a comp of your weapon of choice. If you choose a fully it's because you assume it will give you an edge on a certain line you see possible. Switching bikes half way through the comp prob won't be allowed though. Pick a ride and roll wit it. I'm stuck with the Riot fer sure, cuz the fully just don't feel right no mo!

Also, doubles, etc are going to be difficult if not impossible to do in the fact that they will have to be TOTALLY natural and already in place. Once you break this stuff down, it's dust in the wind. You won't be able to really scoop it into a neat little pile and pack it in. I may be wrong on that, but everything I've seen suggests dust. Road trip time, need to find that bowl.
By the way, for anyone interested, the rep is already on it, he's ready to go and wants to do it yet THIS SEASON. This first comp might be sketchy, so if it flies at all, then expect a bigger, better version next year!
Railings: Square tubed or round? Both? Was thinking about a Super Rail about 60 feet long and "S" shaped. Use it to get through/over any REALLY burly areas so you'll have to bring the A game...

 

[DirtEveryDay]

I think the more natural stuff, the better/cooler it would be.

I want to see a compromise. I want to see how clever you can make a line with natural terrain without totally transforming it. NOTHING feels or looks better than an all-natural hit.

 

[PatBranch]

Well, yeah...there's always overkill. I was thinking less stuff brought in and less random dirt jumps in the flat parts, but more use of the natural terrain, while still building lips and landing would be good. Maybe that's too much like a slopestlye rampage though. haha

 

[corey_freerider]

what if a rider wants a certain structure in a specific place? you couldnt really just bring a bunch of crap in there unless its in a good place for an already designated line. that is if you want to have lines... or if you want it more park style? if you go park style, the whole build day is kinda out. when you say lines i naturally think of freeride comp just cause its on natural terrain. not sure, its gonna be tricky figuring how to lay this out. you have the main idea of how you want it though. give me the blue print and ill help from there. like you said though it should be easier when we actually find THE spot where it will be.

 

[DirtEveryDay]

Think of it more as a concrete park, that's formable(word?). Riders will work together in forming this thing, I have no doubts. Any park has lines. Nearly all parks also have a line that no one's seen before. Now imagine a park that you could MAKE new lines in??! I predict the winner as being an experienced street and park rider, and maybe not so much DJ. MAYBE. I feel the street aspect is vital as street riders have to be WAY more creative with the terrain they're given. Park riders also have an edge as they have to pick their line every second. That will be a good skill to have here. And then again some hairbrained downhiller in a fullface on 10 inches of travel could just throw down some sick shizzit and we'll all be scratching our heads! That's what's so cool about this thing to me!
BTW, Corey, props for your 180 today for a Redbull. Might have to keep doing that to push us along! How about a Tallcan if I can hit the fence? Hey...I just rambled off two Transplants songs... now I gotta find the CD...

 

[PatBranch]

I really want to go.

 

[corey_freerider]

i suppose a good park does have lines. i remember watching the old x-games when they had the street comps in the huge parks. thats waaaaay diff when you think about a yankton skatepark. hmm im ready to see some sick sh!t get thrown down. call red bull guy.... red bull even sounds native american when you think about it. badlands will be sweet.