Pumpkingchallenge keeps khur cool

Dani aka Gummi Rietmann called me up early in the year for some video where they needed some female skate support. What he forgot to mention was that it was in a pumptrack. Some vert skating would have surely been helpful. So I was given 2 hours to figure things out…

The beginning of a wonderful love story!

Dani is doing it again. He brings to us the bestest of winter season funs in the banked slaloms and now he takes over the summer season with the Pumpkingchallenge. This is a series of little events in the freshly shaped pump tracks of the rad crew around Velosolutions. Goal was to bring together the people of shred, everybody was invited: the skateboarders, the longboarders, the bikers, the snowboarders, the young, the old, the expert & the beginner. And: THEY ALL  CAME! Simply to have a great time together. Easy as.

I really sucked at pump- tracking (fast). But I couldn’t care less. It brought me to new people, to new things I can do on my skateboard and to people who are interested in learning how to longboard. It worked and I would love to give a huge hug to Dani & Corinne, to the Konstanz crew for helping me with the first moves, to the Madrid crew for helping & shredding & all the friends of the skateboard Sunday fun for sharing the stoke.

I am a true fan and believer of the MGM.

For all who missed it, we’ll talk Dani into doing it bigger & better next year. You’ll get your chance, young Jedi.

 

Gummi Love „Pump-King Challange“

Sometimes it is the best thing to check out the other side of the fence. Ok, usually it works that way. It may just be a little bit uncomfortable, put in in unknown situations, give you the feeling that you really suck at some things… but also, and this is whee it becomes so much fun, the feeling to learn something new is worth all the pain! No, I didin’t lear how to save the world. I only got to play in a pump track. But it is so much fun!!!

This year, Gummi Love is organizing a pump track series, the Pump-King Challenge! There are four stops in Switzerland & suggest you find yourself some strong legs and join in!

Here the video of the first event in the BikePark Pfäffikon.

Virus Voyage – TV time

„Adrenalin – Junkie mit Hirn“ (adrenaline junkie with brain) is easily the nicest title I came across for interviews I gave. The TV crew of Virus Voyage accompanied me to this year’s Wolzen Bolzen free ride. Not a place where I can really shine with my riding as I still consider racing my pony… but the view was great, the event simply lovely, there was a chair lift, sun & a really long and very windy mountain road.

The footage and photos the Virus Team gathered makes me really happy!

A very big THANKS to:

Andi Rohrer, Anic Lautenschlager, Ivo Amarilli, Noëlle Guidon & Tobias Bühler from Virus Voyage as well to the Wolzen Bolzen Crew & the Burning Wheels Tour! And of course a kiss for my personal camera operator Patrick Switzer.

Take a look at the portrait here:

 

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Photos ©noëlleguidon

Chixxs get together – Longboarding

For the third year now, it is a pleasure to work with Tanja at Chixxs on Board.
The first „Chixxs get together“ beginner clinic this year we held in a local 20km/h spot, perfect for the first meters on a longboard.
The second edition is about to come up & I can’t wait to see the girls who are signed up for the intermediate clinic in September. Sign up here. That one will be happening in Luzern where Number One Skate Shop hosts the group.

My favorite quote for edition #1 of the girl who just came for the stoke of skating in a ladies group: „I’ll just try all the stuff switch now!“ she made me wanna hug her!

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Philippines, VLT 2014

End of March, Pat and I took off to be a part of the 5th Visayan Longboarding Trilogy. Three events in three different locations. A freeride, the Super Mango Skate Clinic hosted by Pat & myself with the help of countless hands & an IDF World Qualifying race at the end.
Patrick and I finally managed to double win an IDF race!
The Philippines were a whole new adventure! Traveling, the food, the people, the nature… literally everything was a new and exciting!
Morning wake up ritual: grab a mango & sit in the ocean to eat it! One gets used to that way to quickly!
Check out the rest of the photos and the full write up on the Loaded site!

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Mango mornings!

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Finally we won a race together! Photo by Colin Beck

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Siquijor Island

Gipsy feet

What a year!
My updates here get rare with a remarkable increase of my CO2 foot print… my gipsy feet took me to the Greener Pastures film trip, Japan, to North America twice and all around Europe again.

New people became friends, old friends were visited.
The mountains and the ocean filled my heart with impressions. Never was the mood between the ladies racing so positive and motivating as this year.

Life goes away from the rhythm of the gipsy for a little bit now.
Sleeping on wonderful memories, preparing the next adventure.

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Photos by tamara prader & patrick switzer

 

Chixxs Get Together

Oh, oh, it’s been way too exciting this year! … I never even got to update this here. Sometimes, focussing on living makes more sense than letting the world know what you do 😉
More to come about an awesome trip to Japan & cowboys on the West Coast.

I’ll get ready for the first Chixxs Get Together in Zürich now! A longboard workshop on our city spot, initiated by Tanja at Chixxs On Board, a platform for ladies in board sports based in Zürich.

Embrace the sun!

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South Africa – Hot Heels 2012

Novermber in Zurich was as grey as usual. Makes me work more & live less… which technically isn’t a disaster… but when December comes and South Africa is on the travel list: Life tends to be that tiny bit better.

We had everything this year.
To start with the good part… I got two podiums! A second at Hot Heels Africa, last IGSA World Cup race of the season, and I got second as well at High Rising.
We saw spiders, snakes, baboons, chameleons, penguins, camels…
We ate big animals, and generally ate well and a lot, we went geo caching and go carting, hiking and swimming, we drove on the left side of the road and we had the best host we could wish for!

Have a look at the rest of the pictures on my flickr!

In the semi finals of Hot Heels, Felipe Malaga, our friend from Peru had a horrifying crash resulting severe head injury. He is today, 28th of December, still in the hospital in South Africa where he recovers slowly.

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Photo by Brittany Fine

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Hot Heels 2012

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Photos by Tamara Prader

EuroTang

The Euro Tour is already over. I can’t believe how fast those four weeks flew by!
I am happy to bring home one podium! My results over all could have been better, I finished with a 5th in Kozakov, a 3rd in Teolo and a 6th quali time in Péyragudes.

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Graphic by Tamara Prader

The crew this year was Patrick Switzer, Maxim Garant Rousseau, Alex Tongue, Mauritz Armfelt, Josh Torres, John Barnet, Caio Cezar, Luke Melo, Thiago Lessa, myself and Olivier Séguin- Leduc our photographer and videographer.
After talking to a few travel crews that had issues here and there or even split the group half way through the tour, I felt lucky to have such an incredible team. Little fights were fought quickly and out of the way before they could become a bigger issue. It is not always easy to travel in a group of ten to twelve people basically spending 24/7 for a month. Our trip took us from Paris to Switzerland for some freeriding. Then to Kozakov, CZ for the first race, to Prague, to the most beautiful mountains, the Dolomites, further down south to the race in Teolo and then for a day to Venice. After that to the Pyrénées, south to Barcelona for a week of relaxation and scooter racing through the city and finally back to Switzerland before everybody had to fly home again.
A very big thank you to Orangatang the guys I traveled with!

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San Be, Photo by Tamara Prader

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See my arms?

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What to do with so many roads?, Photo by Tamara Prader

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Péyragudes before the fog rolled in

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Waves on our Gaudi tour

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Sion

Mary- f*ing- hill

Maryhill! How long was I waiting to skate this hill! …and it turns out, I’ll wait a little longer.
I tried to take a run on the first day of the 5 day event, following Patricks lines down, slower than I ever skated. I figured I wouldn’t be able to go for it with my cast on and decided to sell my ticket.

But it was a five day event… I had to keep myself busy somehow?!
So I started a little „Inlaw“ race during the freerides after the first round of qualifying.
5$ entry fee, the winner takes all!
…and my list of riders was GOLDEN!

James, Budro, Dalua, Switzer… hell yeah.
My afternoon flew by!
There were some unexpected early drop outs and some rather going for a swim not even show ups. But other than that, it seemed to be quite a success. The riders were happy with some race practice and in the finals I had Dustin Hampton, Jose Guzman, Dalua and James Kelly.

The winner who took the 100$ had as well just broken the track- record:
DALUA!

Thanks for participating guys!

Dalua

Dollares