Colin's Road Report - With Fabien In Nice, France

Maribor was great. It was good to smell the dust and hear the symphony of a rider charging full bore down the hill amidst the din of an appreciative crowd. Even half way up the course, the sound of fast racer crossing the finish line was an audible roar. Music to my mountain biking soul.

Faded glory, now, though; that race is history. Onto the next leg of the Europa tour: Maribor to Lisbon for the Downtown Race.

Only one problem, catching a ride from Maribor to Lisbon was NOT happening. In a normal year, most of the team trucks pin it from whatever World Cup event occurs prior to the Downtown to reach Lisbon for the event, and hitching a ride as I did with Specialized would be a piece of cake. However, this year, Manitou had the only rig I could find heading all the way there, and It’d have been three in a vehicle that definitely seats only two... No way to even ghetto load me in on that truck like I did with Specialized.

But Axle from New World Disorder was heading to Nice, which is a hell of a lot closer to Lisbon than Maribor, so I hitched my wagon to his loaner diesel turbo Nissan Pathfinder and I now find myself shooting stills in Nice with Fabien Barel for Disorder. Cool. But holy crap! Driving with that cat on the twisty narrow roads on the hillsides surrounding Nice requires every bit of concentration I have, not to be constantly stabbing the floor for the brake that doesn’t exist on the passenger side of the vehicle.

What’s next from here, I’m not sure. Internet access is limited. Consequently, finding a flight to Lisbon is proving to be difficult—if not downright impossible—no internet, no way to sniff out a deal on Easyjet or Ryan air.

Additionally, media housing for the Lisbon downtown race in the past has traditionally been paid for by the promoter, but that’s no longer the case, so heading to Lisbon—NOT a cheap town by any stretch of the imagination—may be out of my price range what with having to pony up for both a full boat airfare and pricey housing. Plan B has evolved into staying on board with NWD and shooting with either Cedric Gracia or Andreau. I need to shoot with CG at somepoint on this trip anyway. One way or another, things will work out.