Åre Mountain Mayhem 2004: Over 500 riders from all over Scandinavia and Europe turning up to shred the trails of Åre and get some air. To all of you that made the journey to hang out and ride some of the best trails in Scandinavia - We Salut You. A full list of all those who registered, will be up on the site shortly.
Before the Mayhem week began, there was a crew of riders who got stuck in to building stunts to help make the mountain a whole lot more fun to ride. We would like to say a big thank you to Kalle and Jimmy for building the wall ride. Chridde, Mange, Pontus & Casi (Huckfest crew) and Henrik & Danne (VXT - Väsby Extreme Team ) for their work on the drops and Hip jump. Last but not least, Dave and myself for the alternate route out of the tobaggan run, that included kick to table, a couple of drops and a table top to finish.
Again this year, we were blessed with really good weather, and it remained dry and sunny for the week. Super conditions, meant super fast riding, and we saw so many riders really going for it, as they always do in Åre. This year, with so many riders, a crew from SVT2 came and did a 2 minute special on the festival which went out on national television for four days straight.
On the Saturday we saw one of the toughest and most demanding downhill races - "The Mega Downhill". The race is part of the 'Extreme Bike Series' and had over 70 riders taking on the challenge. It started from Åre Skutan and followed the 1000m trail down the mountain. On top of your DH skills, the race demanded heaps of endurance and stamina, as a stretch of the course was technical and cross country.
The winner was Herman Öhlund from Gimonås with an unbelievable time of 13.36. In the last remaining sections of the course, Herman blasted his way towards the finish line in true showmanship style, coming off a berm, hitting a jump and landing with a manual on the bridge, then continuing the manuel while waving at the crowd and steering it through some more turns. In second place was Stefan Persson from Sandviken with a time of 14.24. Stijn Deferm from Belgium and Axel Lehmkuhl from Germany shared joint third with a time of 15.02. Full race results, listed at the bottom.
On the festivities side, we had live bands Insilence and Ledgend rocking square for three nights, DJ Rasidoor spinning Hip Hop and raggae in Thaissons, roast wild boar and the Scandinavian premier of one of the best bike movies to date 'The Collective', plus an ongoing selection of bike movies on the big screen throughout the week.
One of the busiest areas at the event this year has to have been the Dr Spoke pro bike workshop, where they were working flat out to fix brakes, tru wheels, fix brakes, adjust gears, fix brakes etc. A word of advice from head wrench Phil McNaughton "Guy's, Åre eats bikes. Do yourself a favour and set aside some money for repairs, because you know you are going to need it". The Giant and Fox stand were also extremely busy, as they had all sorts of specials going on for the week.
Aplogoies to all those were looking forward to the premier of Scandinavias first freerider film 'Nordic Ride'. The film was late off the production line, and never got to us on time However it is now out on DVD and is available for just 200 SEK (€18). See 'Nordic Ride' on the menu bar for further details on where to purchase.
There was construction work on the mountain to build new ski slopes for the skiing World Championships in 2007. Because of the use of explosives (and biker safety) this meant that we had to ask riders not to go down one of our favourite tracks from Åre skutan, widely known as the Röda Rappet trail. The team from PEAB expressed their gratitude with riders avoiding this part of the mountain, and they should be finished with the area by the time next years event comes around.
We would like to say a big thank you to the Mayhem sponsors Siemens Mobile, Red Bull, Giant bikes, Magura, Fox, Huckfest.org, and Dr Spoke. One of the special elements about the event is that it is free, and this is because they provide the financial support that make Åre Mountain Mayham possible.
Would also like to thank Roger Hanson, Henrik Kjellman, Carl-Martin Glos for the use of their photographs from this years Mayhem. Check out the photo's in the 2004 galleries.
Finally, to all those who made it home safely, throw away all the components on your bike, as they are now worn, bent and useless. Book yourself in for the next available liver transfusion. See You Next Year!!
Cheers....John Roche & David Rimmel