The one feature that eluded my contribution to "Life Cycles" was an air shot, but not just another jump, rather a definitive move that would make a head or two turn.
---
Words by Mike Hopkins
“Life Cycles”: We have filmed and explored the vast variety of elements that this wonderful sport is built upon. They have taken the foundation of the sport and over the course of two years, slowly chipped away the layers exposing the unseen intricacies and dynamics that often go unnoticed. It’s been by all means a process and a learning experience. Throughout the project I worked to cover as many aspects of riding as possible…except one, but this was soon to be remedied.
Life Cycles assistant Andre Nutini lines up a shot for the "Making of Life Cycles"
The one feature that eluded my contribution to the project was an air shot, but not just another jump, rather a definitive move that would make a head or two turn. As the project wore on, the possibility of putting together this shoot was slowly beginning to deflate. We were well into August, schedules were becoming difficult to work around, and needless to say, land owners find it hard to smile at the prospect of having a stranger show up on their front porch requesting to uproot their yard. For reasons unknown to me, the potential beneficiaries couldn’t quite grasp this concept of hosting a cinematic venue.
Rick wheelies his way into a coveted spot in mountain bikers' good books.
After a brief negotiation, our eventual host Rick concluded that it would be nothing short of preposterous to have a shoot of this nature take place anywhere other than his natural playground of a backyard. Like any and all playgrounds, this huge sandbox would be useless and uneventful without the necessary tools needed to entertain. Naturally without hesitation, Rick worked not only his excavating expertise into the mix, but his personal machine as well. With the ingredients in place, the show was on.
The first tracks are laid in the future resting place of a conquered obstacle.
Four diesel combusting, hydraulic sifting, Monster induced, earth inverting, camera rolling, time-lapsing, pore expanding, lip tweaking, landing altering, crash testing days later, we felt we had successfully and harmoniously meshed projectile, trajectory, and transition angles. With the jump built, I was beginning to feel the pressure and expectations weighing heavily on my shoulders. It’s unusual committing to a project such as this; there was organizing of sponsor funding, scheduling film crews, securing a location, having on-site first aid, accommodations, managing machinery time, shaping, and the list continues. All these little details often get swept under the carpet and are rarely acknowledged. My simple conceptualization of an idea, had quickly manifested into a full scale cinematic operation. This “dish” of shoot now lacked only one focal detail, the looming task of putting this manicured mountain of dirt to use. The last night of the build Shirley and Rick, our hosts, had the crew basking in the salivating glow of the open flamed feast fit for fifteenth century King at court. Has there ever been a better way to finish four days of dirty work? Fatigued, but full, we hit the hotel.
Mike Hopkins with an industrial caliber gardening hose.
A jump, or similar abomination, is born.
The dimensions of the hip went as follows: lip height - 18 feet; transition height - 20 feet; transition length - 50 feet. The lip was gradual and as close to vertical as any jump I have ever hit (dirt jumping included). Granted, all precautions were taken into discussion and rectified, even the run-in delicately submarined six feet into this planet's lush outer crust to ensure the high velocity in-run could be managed.
Custom paint, custom jumps, very custom movie.
The three shooting days consisted of early mornings, double fisting Tim Hortons coffees to prime the nerves, getting ankles taped by friend and personal body mechanic Mark, and the always necessary run-in and warm-up rituals. The first two “action” days were a “write-off”. Like all jumps, minor adjustments had to be made which inherently ruined any kind of flow I was feeling. With bad weather on the way, day three would have to be all or nothing.
Preparation is equal parts mental and physical.
The golden morning light graced the phantasm of a feature at approximately 8:00. The jump looked as though it belonged in a Pharaoh's tomb, and I was feeling more confident than Kanye West at the MTV Awards. The word of our antics had spread around town, and before long a small group of locals had swelled into a crowd. Today was the day.
Hiking up for "the real deal".
My first jumps felt really comfortable as I went through the motions, and progressively pushed higher and higher. By my fourth jump I was consistently cresting the 18 foot measuring pole we had staked on the deck. At this point I had come to the odd realization that the higher I went the more comfortable and familiar I was feeling. As my nerves worked with the grain, I quickly concluded that if I was going to take this jump as big as it could go, there would be no better time. The pole was hastily taken down and the cameras waited anxiously. I have been in these situations before, but this one I experienced in a completely new light: I was having fun. Often when enduring these moments I am nerve ridden and overly excited, which is not exactly a recipe for enjoying yourself. This was different; I was relaxed, focused, and realistically “stoked”. I gave the signal to the cameras, stroked through a few pedals and playfully manualed and skipped down the fence-line single track, into the soil chasm (traveling noticeably faster than my previous jumps), compressed through the lip and, to tell you the truth, just went with it. I slowly bent into the tranny, flattened my body and bike out at apex, spotted my “LZ” (which I noticed to be questionably close to the very end of the deck), pulled my bike under me, and braced for impact. My suspension bottomed faster than a snitch wearing cement boots, arms crumpled, legs crinkled like an accordion belting the Polka, but I managed to hold on rocketing down the landing and into the field where I pulled the brakes to the bar. Knowing I had gone considerably higher than before I immediately turned to crew to gauge reactions. Gibb was yelling while giving me the thumbs up, Derek was down at the far end of the runway was waving his arms like a castaway who had just caught a glimpse of a plane, Dre (who needs a flat of Monster and a good looking girl to get his heart rate up) was even beaming with approval, and Nurmi (Juicy Studios - Behind the Scenes) redefined “amped”.
One of the warm-ups. Paul Rak photograph, Monster managers multitask!
We all reviewed the footage and it was nothing short of epic! I usually don’t get to excited 'til I know we got the shot, but when I saw the move in motion I was speechless; it all came together like clockwork. I concluded that that was the biggest I could have gone, given the unforgiving angles of the landing (which turned out to be a little too flat). I impacted with more force than I have ever experienced, flat spotted my rear wheel, compressed the bearings in my headset, and had used all but five feet of the transition. It was a wrap, my missing piece for the film was slated.
Haiku's and hips, it's all just poetry. Photo by Sam Moffat.
That night we went for dinner with all those involved and celebrated in true fashion. I have to say a few big “thank yous!!”: Mark Ledoux for being on hand everyday prepared for even the worst of predicaments; Ali Harwood at Fernie Tourism for providing the entire crew with a place to rest our heads; Sarah Windsor from RCR for pointing me in the right direction; Tara Mercier for introducing me to her Dad; Paul at Monster and PK for making the trek and supporting the cause; Adrian at Scott bikes; Dustin at Shimano; Barry and Karen at Titec; the Life Cycles crew; Nurmes and Dre for covering the behind the scenes; and lastly I cannot state enough, Rick your The Man! Thank you for everything, your's and Shirley’s hospitality made this the easiest shoot we have ever done, from building to dinners you two had us covered and we feel privileged to have met you two.
Sending the hip, photo by Sam Moffat
Keep an eye out for the the behind the scenes video that will be released shortly, as well as Frankowski’s photos of the big hit (not shown) coming to a magazine near you, and of course check it out in “Life Cycles” premiering Spring 2010.
Mike Hopkins signing off, this massive jump is in the books of history.
Let us know your opinions on Mike's creation below! And be sure to check out http://www.lifecyclesfilm.com/ for the latest and greatest news from the crew.
