Words by Paloma Acha: Once again, the efficient team of Ridersfly got together to handle a proper farewell-event before the start of the 2015 season. A hundred registered riders from different parts of Spain, came all the way to Sant Mateu (Castellón) in order to enjoy sloppy and very funny track set in the local hills.
It’s been probably one of the latest freerides ever celebrated in Spain, however the weather helped perfectly during the whole weekend for daring and adventurous riders, who either set their tents on the ground or prepared very comfortable mattresses at the back of their vans, as they normally do in a reserved camping area. And all participants were free to use showers at the local sport club, handed over by the City Council.
Sant Mateu town
For those cold-natured participants who did not want to stand the dew of the early morning, a large list of rental apartments were available downtown for very reasonable prices. Surrounded by friendly and warm environment that the small village of Sant Mateu offers, those who like that extra comfort were not disappointed! Local shops and restaurants were perfectly accommodated to everybody’s liking. Huge yummy breakfasts charged our batteries to confront the loss of energy during the day, while large beers were waiting on us to start the night party. Lunch was included with the inscription with the possibility of having a regular sandwich or a vegetarian one - both options were impressively good!
The special thing about this course is that everyone’s able to ride it, whether you are a high-level experience rider or not. The track is mainly freeride-focused as it is not very long and not very wide. Hairpins are very tight here, so you are basically forced to reduce speed very quickly - a controlling skill of 180’s stand-up & checks at high-speed are ideal for this road. On the other hand, there are plenty of people who prefer to combine both freeride and downhill skills with the use of gloves or footbrake.
This is what makes a freeride event perfect; the chance of mixing both disciplines and being able to make the perfect fuse in one run.
Lately, those types of runs are becoming very popular. The reason 'why' resides in one word: FUN.
The consequent fusion of disciplines allow riders to go down the road doing what they call ‘pack runs’, in which a group of more than 4 riders go down side by side, touching, pushing and fooling around while performing all the different slides all the way down.
Because the enthusiasm of riding keeps growing and developing each year, Sergio and Maria from Ridersfly accepted the proposal from Alfredo Bipo & Adrià Arquimbau (both Ridersfly riders) of organizing the first official freeride race - a participation of 60 riders with a disqualification of 56. Runs of 4 riders at the time, classifying just the first 2 riders, with no prize at the end, but the only and the most important purpose - having fun!
This begs a question. Is such racing a beautiful beginning of a new race format? We can only say that Sergio and Maria are working really hard and giving their best at everything they do. So keep updated because 2015 is full of new surprises. Ride hard & ride safe!
Photos: © Ridersfly
Source: http://www.ridersfly.com
