My trip to France for the FISE!
May 19th, 2010
I just returned from France for the FISE contest. I must say this contest must be bigger then the X-Games & Dew Tour in the USA. The Crowd is so big and get so loud for the riders it is seriously one of the best contest in the world. My wife and I had the privilege of taking the journey to the south of France with my great friends Alex & Elodie Jumelin. It was honestly some of the best times of my life & I will never forget the parties, the jokes, and great stories. I have put together a collection of photos from the trip.
When we arrived in France I soon found out that Alex was working on a completely new style. After being being punk rock, gangsta, rapper, gay, and fashion model he has decided to be Wolverine. WOW!
This is his goal… Can he achieve it? I hope so.. keep going bro!
The first day I arrived Alex took me to his personal riding spot. Before he opened the door he reminded me that Tuesdays are flatland school. Wow .. How did I forget that Alex Jumelin has his very own flatland School. I was so stoked to ride with the students and watch their progression!
Th next day we started our 12 hour drive to the Montpellier. The wildest part of the trip is Alex has the only big American truck in France. People look at us like we are naked in this truck. Alex says it may be the only big truck in all of Europe.. wow.. It was memories I will never forget. One time Alex slammed the brakes on the truck & I flew across the seat while sleeping & cut my knee.. OWWWW.
This was the view out the window. It was the most beautiful land I had ever seen. Grassy mountain tops with Castles & stone houses for the entire drive!
When we arrived at the contest location of course it was raining and qualifications was postponed until the next day. It was ok for us because it meant more fun & partying for that night.
Every night Vanessa & Elodie dressed up and we headed to the parties. It was some super ghetto times with drinking in the streets and clubin till sunrise but it was super awesome.
The nights would start like this..
and end like this..
Every party night would end with a big Hug from Alex. Thanks for being the greatest friend in the world bro.. I cherish the long talks, endless practice sessions, and great parties we have had.
Finally the day of the contest arrived. I made the final with one of the best runs of my life. The finals had thousands of people watching & it was an honer to be in the top 8. Although Moto took me out in my first battle I was super stoked on how I rode with no touches and fist pumps to the crowd!
I was super stoked that my good friend Daniel Dhers stopped over to the flatland course to watch a little flatland. Its great to have someone like Daniel that supports all forms of BMX. Thanks homie for the respect of flatland and your roots of BMX. Keep tweet’in..
Daniel even got a little session on my bike and showed that he had some flat skill as well. Funky chicken..
Stoked to be on the flatland area.. Lovin’ BMX life.
After the comp we headed back to Paris & my last day was spent watching Alex’s two sons ride with him in front of his home. You can see that Gabon already has the skills from his dad. So cute..
Nathan is Alex’s oldest son. Already learning tricks, learning English, & loving the ladies..
I wanted to dedicate this blog update to Alex. Thanks for everything homie. You are the perfect family man and a rider I will always look up to. Honored to have you as a friend. Congrats to Matthias once again for killing the competition.. And thank you Uchiee for making me laugh until my stomach hurts.