Graeme Simpson: The rise of freeride mountain biking

The Moment, a story of the rise of freeride mountain biking. Photo / Darcy Hennessey Turenne

Crankworx is coming soon and the week is filling up with both official and unofficial events, making March 17 to 25 the New Zealand Mountain Bike Festival: crankworx.com/festival/rotorua.

A couple of events on the fringe I'm looking forward to are the screening of The Moment and MTB Quiz Night.

The Moment will be presented by Brett Cotter from The Big Bike Film Night. It's a rollicking yarn about the rise of freeride mountain biking — "the sport that nobody wanted".

"It was three separate groups of mountain bikers, filmmakers and photographers in British Columbia in Canada who rose up, challenged the status quo and turned the sport of cycling on its head: no rules, no sponsors, no claims," says Cotter.

"All they wanted was to feel free and ride their bikes down the unthinkable."

They succeeded, creating one of the biggest tourism industries in the Canadian Pacific North West and one of the fastest growing sports around the world.

The Moment premiered at the Whistler Film Festival in December and was directed by Darcy Hennessey Turenne, an award-winning filmmaker and former pro-mountain biker.
She created this exhilarating film from archival footage and interviews with leading bike and film personalities across Canada.

The names read like a who's who of freeride MTB: Brett Tippie, Wade Simmons, Richie Schley, Thomas Vanderham, Graham Agassiz, Sterling Lorence, Andrew Shandro and more: thisisthemomentmovie.com.

"I've stayed true to my original vision and the story really speaks for itself," says Hennessey Turenne. "I was lucky — I didn't have to create drama or entertainment value out of nothing. These guys are just legitimately entertaining."

The Moment is on a nationwide tour and screens at Tauranga Boys' College Theatre at 7pm this Tuesday and in Rotorua, same time, on Tuesday, March 20, at The Blue Baths.

With food available and a bar, this is a great place for the screening, as well as for a convivial catch up with friends from the mountain bike community, especially with so many people in town for Crankworx.

"The Moment is old-school cool, a little bit raucous, a little bit rowdy with loads of laughs," says Cotter. "This is a story that was never really documented, now being told by the people who lived it first-hand. It's got people pushing themselves and their bikes harder, steeper, and faster."

For Cotter, the screening is feeling like a homecoming. He launched The Big Bike Film Night as part of the Rotorua Bike Festival in February 2015.

"I can't believe it's been so long," he says.

Get your tickets from: www.bigbikefilmnight.nz/product/the-moment-screenings.
Be warned: screenings around New Zealand are selling out and fast.

The following evening, Wednesday, March 21 at 6.30-10pm, The Blue Baths will host another fringe festival event.

Local rider Karl Patterson is organising the Mountain Bike Quiz Night. Like film night, this'll be a great opportunity to socialise — and test your knowledge. The cost is $100 for a team of five, with all proceeds going to the Rotorua Trails Trust for trail maintenance and development.

Entry details to come. For more details search Mountain Bikers Quiz Night on Facebook.