Gaffer tape leather "decoration", done just before I left...
So the weather that weekend was awful. Truly horrendous, and unpredictable too. One minute it could be lashing down with rain, the next bright sunshine. And there was this little bit of tarmac just a few metres away from the "Vandem arrangement of sinister tents and vehicles", and that bit of tarmac would always accurately reflect the condition of the hill. It was like an Oracle in tarmac form. Amazing.
There was a point when we were travelling out, after we'd got the ferry to mainland europe. Me and Pete had just driven off the ferry, made it onto the roads of france, and the metal was cranked up loud. And I just had this stupid smile that kept coming back, I remembered something said to me before I left "people would give their right arm to be doing what you're doing." And I took in where I was, what I was doing, where I was going, who I was going with, and couldn't help but sit and smile and be so happy at my life at that exact moment in time.
Oh, none of this is in any order, just how things have came into my head today.
The surface in some of the corners. The surface on the left hand side of the road about three quarters of the way to the first corner. The noise of the road I recognise from the edit I watched. When it was wet I just couldn't turn in. Also at the time I couldnt slide toeside, or barely corner that way, so i'd go into anything going right, leant out all awkward. If it was wet I was fucked. In the dry I was still fucked. Watching me must have been hilarious.
"Good luck?! Get in the bus motherfucker!"
The questions posed by Don and Giovanni in the vandem... shall say no more.
Following said legendary idiots over the fence to get into the campsite.
Surprisingly recieving a wise few words from one of them as to why we were wandering around the whole campsite saying hello to every one of the european riders. Something like "Everybody comes out to these skates and doesnt come and meet the people".
Not learning the track, so always forgetting where I was on it and being surprised by one of the corners. And not remembering much about where the spray painted warnings on the track were, so getting surprised by some super sketchy road every now and then.
The pizza from the pizza place. It was incredible. So, so, so good. I'd almost travel out there just to have a pizza at the houyet pizza place. Right by the campsite, right by the track. Can almost taste how good that pizza was.
We stopped off at some service station in france or belgium (I dont know where we were), and the few seconds of peace were such a contrast from being in the back of the vandem for that stage of the journey. Another time when I realised what I was doing and was so happy about it.
When Rich rolled us into houyet, and the cheer and celebration. Without a map as well. I'd of made it all the way to Germany before I realised something was wrong.
Bohemian Rhapsody, LOUD in the vandem. That will always stand out for me, that was one of those amazing moments that i'll remember when other stuff fades.
Having Don and Giovanni's tent pitched DIRECTLY in front of my door. Was awoken with a start by hurried unzipping of that tent, shuffling of feet, and a quiet chunder dangerously close to my tent. Went back to sleep.
On the first day I woke up and walked around our half of the campsite about 10 times, thinking and taking everything in. Was 5 or 6 in the morning, the area was stunning, like a small valley with a river and endless trees.
Relating my last run with Oli to the dudes in the vandem after saturdays skating. In must have sounded like such a kid, but I was psyched.
“I was just fucking dalua tucking
at the end man, I got the henchest bump draft into the first corner, and was like...”
One run I overtook somebody. One run I didnt get overtaken by anybody. Cool moments. Oh and I overtook this drift trike, it was so surreal, I hadnt seen one before and was like "what the eff is THAT" whilst waving and tucking past.
When we were waiting for the ferry home, John was endlessly trying some trick on Pete's park board on this concrete thing. I thought any moment the tail of that proto was going to hell, and john with it.
The ferries smelled cheap. Like horrible, cheap, strange places to be. It added to the intrigue.
When we were on the return journey, some of us were on deck, and found this notice about dumping stuff at sea. When you're a certain distance out it's cool to dump crockery overboard.
When goodbyes had been said, driving away from the ferry, into the night in england and waving goodbye to the vandem. And then when me and Pete rocked up to meet my dad at some road somewhere, I got my stuff to the car, and then it was like over. That was that. I got home at some hour and didnt sleep, just sat there on my own wondering if anything had happened at all and I hadnt just imagined it like some amazing euro freeride dream. But it had happened, and I'd gone all the way to belgium and skated houyet, something i'd only heard about and seen before, with the vandem crew and the rest of the dudes. And I might not have shown just how happy and excited and pleased with my life in that moment I was.
And it's a bit sad that crash and burn didnt work out for me, and I skated badly and had stupid crashes with people. Before that event, I was so looking forward to it, I thought that was my moment, but I messed it up, I ruined it and thats why it sticks with me.
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