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Nick Clarke's African Adventure - Final Part
Earlier this spring, Nick Clarke spent a few months in South Africa riding bikes, filming his Welcome to The Rise video and helping out Matt Macduff with his Loop of Doop Project. As he signed up for this trip, little did he know that he was on board for the craziest journey of his life. His adventure was so inspiring that he had to put it down in words to share it with the world. Check out the Third Part below, and in case you missed them, check out Part 1, Part 2 Part 3.
Words by Nick Clarke
Photos by Thomas Sandell, Eric Palmer, Julien Grimard
The winter was moving in and we were battling between windy days and heavy rain. A few days after the second crash, a massive low pressure storm moved in flooding the trails as well as parts of the city. On the drive to the trails, the mountain roads were lined with fallen branches and up rooted trees. We knew there would be a lot of work ahead when we arrived. It seemed that this video wasn’t going to happen. We were fighting a never ending battle, but I wasn’t going to let it beat me! This was a way to prove my self worth to the country of South Africa and gain some shovel time. It was time to earn the time I had on the jumps. The crew wasn’t ready to end the riding season just yet either! With rain forecasted in the following week, we managed to rebuild the whole line in two days and proceeded to shred! The new layer made things run much slower but we could ride which meant the video would be back on track!
Many close trains, trails braii’s, and good times were shared with the crew! Just a few days ago we thought it could have been over, and now we were well on our way to making a banger edit. With days running out we began talking about ideas to make things more interesting! Due to poor wind conditions one day, we missed a full day of shooting so we thought about a full moon night run with lights! Thanks to Gini we got the lights and we got to work! Harley was the first to do the honour’s throwing no handers in the dark, windy, and rainy night skys. It was a gnarly idea to ride in this weather, but once I knew it worked and how much fun it looked, I wanted to drop in and play around as well! Crim got his drone and Eric got set up with some flashes and the outcome blew us all away!
All that was left was the intro…What could we do to make an intro that hasn’t been done before but also captures something native to Africa? I was given the nickname Captain Pugwash by Ryan from an old pirate cartoon he grew up watching as a kid on the trip, so I wanted to do something that blended in with the pirate theme. I sourced up a local pirate ship tour in the waterfront and lined up for the boys and I to do a free tour fully dressed up for us to shoot as promotion towards the tour. The plank was to sneak on while they were settings up for a kid’s birthday party, walk the plan out at sea, and do an introduction to everyone featured in the video. Unfortunately, things fell through last second so we had to scramble to find a new intro idea in a short time period. I was still into the idea of shark diving, but never got to dive, so I called up my friend Captain Kai and made a plan with the Two Oceans Aquarium to do a dive with their ragged toothed sharks! This is something the aquarium does regularly with the public, so I felt confident about challenging a deep fear swimming with one of the oceans greatest predators.
I only had a few days left to enjoy with my new found friends in the beautiful city of Cape Town, so that night we went to the aces of spades! I was rocking chops in honour of Lemmy from Motorhead passing away, so this bar was right up my alley. After a few tequila shots with Ryan, he turns to me with a dare. “You should wear my monster green mankini in the tank.” I didn’t think anything of it and the time of what it may look like, I had my intro and it had to happen! The next morning I got the shock of a lifetime when this green skimpy swimsuit hit me in face.
The fight wasn’t over however. This trip had some bad luck behind it from the moment the Night Harvest was over so I cracked a joke saying, “knowing my luck, there’s going to be a kid’s field trip going through the aquarium while I dive in that thing”.
Sure enough, a few days later after a scuba lesson with my dive instructor Iian Robertson at a local military base I was ready for my dive. We come back to the aquarium, go over the shots with Crim and Mr.shin, and get ready. As I’m walking through the aquarium towards the dive spot, in walks a school field trip. It was too good to be true hahah!
The day before the dive I ended up taking another pretty nasty slam that re-opened the cut on my hand once again. I was a little bit worried about the fact that I would be swimming with sharks with an open wound, and that if I said anything about it that the dive may be canceled, so I jumped in before I though about it too much. I had my instructor and another diver in the tank with me in case things went south so I wasn’t as nervous about what I had just signed up for. The only communication was hand signals, once you were in the tank you better remember what you were just taught. Before the dive I was told not to make any sudden movements because it will spook the sharks and things could get complicated, so I stayed to the bottom and watched as giant sea turtles, sting rays, and other fish swam beside me, as well as the sharks. At one point the biggest of the 4 sharks was right above me, and the other diver looked at me and made an ass slap gesture. I gave thumbs up to be sure I was a good idea, and went for it. I guess I did it a bit too fast because it spooked the big guy which proceeded to swim in circles quite quickly around the tank for a couple minutes! All that was running through my head was, I’ve got an open wound and I have now pissed this thing off, what have I done. On the other side of the glass stood a group of grandmothers who came with their kids for their trip. Unfortunately, they got a little bit more then they bargained for with my naked ass in the tank. Disgruntled and upset, they were making some pretty remarks disgusted about how pale and naked I was. They paid to see sharks, not a naked young Canadian pirate giving rock and roll signs. Everyone was giving me the thumbs up sign which signals time to go up, but I mistook it for them saying good job dude and stayed under a bit longer not knowing what I have caused outside the tank. The grannies weren’t stoked but I was! I climbed out fully satisfied at what I had just done, and to top it off, was given a certificate stating my achievement diving without a cage with sharks, as well as a photo with Maryke and Iian from the aquarium. These sharks have now since been released back into the wild to do repairs on the tank.
Without the help of friends and the locals in Cape Town, this trip wouldn’t have been the same! I owe so many thanks to everyone for the opportunities, the memories, and good times that happened here. A big shout out to Eric Palmer and Thomas Sandell for all their hard work and dedication towards this project, to Johnty and the Human family for allowing me to come and ride, dig, and hangout at the jumps almost daily, to Justin Novela and the trails crew for showing me everything I needed to experience and ride, Maryke Musson, Iain Robertson and everyone at the Two Oceans Aquarium for one of the coolest experiences of my life, to Tyler Murphy from Sins of Style Tattoo Shop for a unique tattoo that tells the story of my trip, and most importantly, a very special thank you to goes out to Brenda, Ryan, and Matt Franklin at the Lavender house B&B for welcoming me into their home and giving me a safe place to rest my head, not to mention going out of their way to make sure I had the best time possible! Thanks for all the good times everyone! See you next year for even crazier adventures! Rock and Roll!
-Tricky Nicky
In case you missed them, make sure to check out Part 1, Part 2 Part 3.
Nick Clarke's African Adventure - Part 3
Earlier this spring, Nick Clarke spent a few months in South Africa riding bikes, filming his Welcome to The Rise video and helping out Matt Macduff with his Loop of Doop Project. As he signed up for this trip, little did he know that he was on board for the craziest journey of his life. His adventure was so inspiring that he had to put it down in words to share it with the world. Check out the Third Part below, and in case you missed them, check out Part 1 and Part 2.
Words by Nick Clarke
Photos by Thomas Sandell, Eric Palmer, Julien Grimard
Since the Garden Route is known for having one of the largest collection of great white sharks, the team tried multiple times to organize a cage dive with the beasts out at sea. Eventually we got our opening on the day of the attempt at 11am. We were told it would be a 2 hour trip so we planned to be back by four for the attempt, but after driving for a couple hours we arrived to learn we were given false information over the phone. What was meant to be 2 hours was in reality 4. With the 2 hour drive each way, this would become a full day adventure which would make us miss Matt’s attempt and that wasn’t an option. We were forced to cancel….plus pay full price in a cancelation fee. Matt was originally supposed to come with us, but after I forgot my passport and we had to turn around, he decided later to sleep instead and get ready for his attempt. Since we booked for 5, we had to pay for 5 which totaled around $850 Canadian with taxes. We didn’t want to tell Matt that we didn’t dive to give him any mixed feelings, so we stalled for the original 2 hours. At least there was a big motorcycle rally going on in Mossel Bay at the time so we had something to do while passing time. After the long unsatisfied drive back we tell Matt “We’ll tell you later man, you won’t believe what happened!” We told him later in the hospital that we didn’t actually get to go and it cost a fortune to say we did.
The Attempt was one of the gnarliest moments of my life. Seeing one of your best friends crash on that scale isn’t easy. It didn’t seem real. We were all fully confident he was going to make it around that loop and that there’s no way he could go too fast at a 40ft loop...boy were we ever wrong! The 70ft roll in with an added 10 ft deep slope into the loop, proved to be too much speed causing Matt to G out into a tidal wave of carnage. Fully committed to speed, Matt was already fully compressed before he got into the loop leaving no room for his body to handle the forces of gravity. This would ultimately be his downfall. Everyone ran over as fast as possible to find Matt laying on his back looking up, his phone in his jacket, and that same Metallica song from that morning playing out loud in his pocket. The lyrics of the song “look to the sky just before you die, it’s the last time you will” came through the speakers and Matt spoke up giving us all a sigh of relief that it was just his ankle and wrist it pain…it was a seriously heavy moment.
While Matt was in the hospital, I made repeated trips back and forth to Cape Town to the airport. The Clio rental was up, and Louis and I had to figure out a way to get Matt back from the hospital to CT. After searching online for the best deal, we found a 4 door Nissan buckkee, at least what we thought was a 4 door. This is where things took a crazy turn…Both Louis and I were running short on funds at this point and in order to get this buckkee, we maxxed out both of our visa cards. We actually had to raise the deposit to lower the cost of the truck to even it out, but we managed to make it happen and got a truck. Originally the plan was to hangout in town for the day with Ryan and the crew, then head back to get Matt, but this trip was freestyle so plans changed of course. Unfortunately Louis and I didn’t plan for this so all we had were the clothes on our backs. Cut off jean shorts, and a sleeveless vest was my choice for this trip, while Louis was smarter and brought a hoody. We had heard about these crazy music festivals called “Trance parties” from a bunch of locals, and that we had to experience one of these before we left. A seemingly innocent girl I was hanging out with there mentioned it one night, and after some convincing we went for it. It was on our way so why not right? We told Matt the idea and he was stoked that we were making it happen. She wanted to surprise her brother that she hasn’t seen in months, and this seemed to be the place to do it. After picking up a shipment of 36 bottles of fine wine from Chris’ mom as a favour outside of town, we hit the road for Vortex Parallel Universe.
Pulling into the venue after driving for a couple hours, we were greeted by a minimum 2 hour line. None of us wanted to sit in a hot car waiting for a long period of time, so I made a phone call from her phone to Justin Novela who was going as well. He rented a farm house down the street from the party so we decided to go have a few drinks there and go back when the line up cooled down a few hours later. This story is a bit to extreme to get right into so long story short, it ended up pouring rain on us while on the dance floor, we had very little clothing, no cell phones on us out of fear of loosing them, and the keys to the truck we needed to get Matt to the airport ended up being stolen by this very girl that I met up with while down there…we got the keys back, but it was one of the craziest adventures I’ve ever been on. Literally! That’s a completely other story though. After this insane night, we had a few hours of driving to get back. Stressed, tired, and looking forward to getting home to relax, we finally get to the house. Through the same sketchy broken window the monkeys broke in, people discovered they could fit through as well and walked away with our go pros, an Ipad, amongst other things. It was a hell of a weekend to say the least…
That same night Louis and I were sitting around the fire talking about how we could safely transport Matt with what we had. Since it was only a 2 seater truck, we had to improvise and lay him down in the bed of the truck under the cap. We took folding couches, all the pillows we could find in the house, and our luggage and stuffed it all in to make matt the most comfortable bed we could for the 6 hour journey to Cape Town. It was dialed, but it was missing a certain something, the disco ball! Since we were given this sweet disco ball we couldn’t let it go to waste, so we attached it right over his head to the roof of the cap on a gopro mount and dubbed it the freestyle ambulance!
I knew the boys were up to something with the Partymaster for a while, and knew that once it got out it was going to be a game changer. The crew had been friends for years, but after everything we had just been through together, it felt more like a family. At the time most of the guys on the team were hurt and couldn’t produce anything to market the frame, so I brought up taking Matt’s frame to Louis. He starts laughing saying “You know it’s supposed to be me telling people when we sponsor them, not the other way around”. After talking it through with the crew back in Montreal, it was official; I would be a new addition to The Rise family! The Rise is a tight family of friends sharing the passion of bike riding with the world, and to be welcomed into their new phase of the brand meant more to me then any of my past sponsorships in my career. I grabbed a can of white spray paint and customized my Partymaster to look like the Canadian winter we were missing here in paradise!
It was a long drive back to CT. We took things slow to make sure Matt had the smoothest ride possible so we made it to Cape Town late in the evening. Halfway through the trip a freak tooth ache kicked in that started driving me crazy. Might have had something to do with all the milkshakes I went through every time we ate lol. I’m not ashamed to say that easily 50 shakes were cleared on this trip. They were simply too good to say no too, and I wasn’t the only one that fell for their allure. I’m sure that I speak for a lot of people when I say the dentist is never a fun experience. Since I’ve built a few offices for dentists with my father for a few years, I know what they charge and was expecting to pay a fortune! Thankfully Brenda set me up with a great local dentist with a “student deal” to quickly address this pain. After a quick check up it turned out I needed a root canal and a specialist. Normally this procedure would cost well over $1500 Canadian, but I got in contact with a specialist and got the procedure done for just $200. I was dancing when I saw the invoice!! It’s safe to say that I’ll be taking care of my teeth in Cape Town from now on. Even working for dentists here in Canada, they’ll let you work for free to make their office look beautiful, but don’t expect them to cut you a deal on that filling…
Now that my tooth was fixed and my new Partymaster was built up, it was time to get to business! We had to wait till a certain time of the day to ride the Potato trails, so Thomas (Crim), Eric (Mr.Shin), Justin, Damion, and I got together at Crim’s local spot “Yabos”. Normally I ride with two shoulder braces due to gnarly dislocation issues, but today I felt like easing into things and that maybe I wouldn’t need them. This would turn out to be a bad decision later on...After getting creative and collecting some solid clips, we moved on to the potatoes! The light was incredible, the wind was down, and the motivation was high! While warming up on the line a few runs in, my bike got away from me on an un-turndown. I went down hard popping out my right shoulder, and tearing off a good chunk of my palm from the razor sharp rocks hidden in the dirt. A nasty scar I’ve named Australia due to its shape. I have been used to my shoulders popping out for a while so I tried everything in my power to get it to go back in, but it wasn’t going easy. After ten minutes of painful failed attempts, I felt it was time to go to the hospital. I grabbed a bottle of water, took a sip, and plunk…it popped in. Life has a funny way of reminding you why you should always wear protection if you have it. Unfortunately we would only get a few clips before the crash putting a wrap on day one of shooting.
Normally I would give my shoulder a minimum two weeks to recover after a dislocation and chill out for a while, but there was too much to do in Cape Town for me to sit on the couch and chill out. I took this as an opportunity to see more of the tourist stuff I neglected while I couldn’t ride. Drift racers Steve “Bagsy” Biagioni, and Jason Webb were in town for the Monster Drift city event, and everyone I have been hanging out was working the event, so I threw on a shirt and went to work with the crew at the event! Large crowds, hot weather, beautiful women and drift cars made for a great recovery. It was cool to see the behind the scenes to an event outside mountain biking and get a feel for an entirely different world! Let’s just say the SA fans love their energy drinks. Things got pretty crazy during product samples as people crowded around the truck pushing it and grabbing at us to get a free can. It was something out of a zombie apocalypse movie. Gnarly!
In case you missed them, check out Part 1 and Part 2.
Stay tuned for the Final Part dropping on Friday!
Bikecheck: Nick Clarke's Partymaster
Since we introduced Nick Clarke with his Welcome to The Rise video last week, let's have a look at what kind of setup he uses on his Partymaster. After riding brakeless for a long time, Nick now uses brakes, and a Gyro on a custom painted white Partymaster. Nick's setup is super dialed and judging by his welcome video and his recent 2nd place at The Brosefarm Jam, looks like he managed to build the perfect Dirt Jumping Bike. Keep on reading to see what Nick has to say about his whip, and check out the full bikecheck below!
"When I first heard about The Rise and the Partymaster I was so stoked! The boys have always had a big reputation in the Park\Street\Dirt field, and I knew that this was going to turn some heads! I have been a friend of the crew for years, but after going through so much together in South Africa for the super loop project, it felt like more of a family and I'm pumped to grow with them! I hopped on Matt's Partymaster, gave it a personal paint job and the rest is History! This is the bike for me! Between the name, the feel of the bike, and the beautiful welding and fab work by Gabo, this frame is a winner and I'm super pumped for what the future holds! From the first ride, you could feel that this bike is made by riders for riders! The long top tube and short chainstays are a perfect combination for barspins and combo tricks, not to mention spins! From the streets to the Dirt Jumps, the Partymaster keeps you in full control and leaves you feeling no limitations to the tricks you've been dreaming up! The ladies love the partymaster as well! At least the South African ladies!"
Specs
Frame: The Rise Partymaster
Fork: Fox 34 831
Handlebar: Chromag fu40
Stem: Deity Cavity 35mm
Grips: ODI Longneck soft ED
Bar ends: Deity LifesaversAvid BB7 Road
Lever: Odyssey Trigger
Seat post: Deity pivotal
Seat: Macneil Fat Cap
Pedals: Deity Bladerunner
Cranks: Profile Racing race cranks 19mm
Sprocket: Profile Racing spline drive 28T
Chain: KMC Kool chain
Rims: Mavic 729 36H
Hubs: Profile Elite 36H
Tires: Bontrager G-Zero for dirt, KHE Mac2 park for Park/Street
Riding Shoe: Five10 Freerider High top
Modifications:
Running a dual pull shifter cable system top to bottom for a perfect gyro set up! Thanks Spoke-O-Motion! Custom the rise/Fox/Tricky Nicky fork decals thanks to Roland Timleck! A rubber crank stopper called a "Ball Cock Shank washer" No joke, costs 2 bucks and your cranks don't move!! Custom white South African spray can paint job!
Nick Clarke - Welcome to The Rise !
Today, we're super stoked to welcome the homie Nick Clarke to the team! Nick is a good friend of ours that kills it on the bike and shares our vision of the sport, so it was only a matter of time before we put him on board. In case you're not too familiar with Nick Clarke yet, the dude is from the Toronto area, and he can often be found shredding Joyride, fixing his backyard ramps, drinking beers and enjoying life. For his welcome video, he spent some time in South Africa riding his freshly built Partymaster and came back with a killer dirt jump video! Wait no longer and hit play to watch Nick as he dives with sharks, wins contests and destroys some jumps!
Make sure to check out his Team Profile Page and stay tuned for Nick Clarke's Partymaster bikecheck, and a serie of articles about his insane time in South Africa Coming soon. Welcome to the team Nick!
Nick Clarke @ Joyride
Heres a video of Nick Clarke doing his thing at his local park. Good stuff.
Nick Clarke at joyride
Mostly resi stuff but good tricks!