“Stuffed in the back of a mini van with bikes, backpacks and sleeping bags, Bobbie Altiser, Justin Sexauer and I endured the stench of Tree Bicycle owner Sam Schulte’s raw chicken dinner — and the equally vile aroma of salesman Joe Montgomery’s lower intestine — as we raced across the Midwest en route to Interbike. The plan was to camp in the mountains and ride some of Colorado’s finest skateparks before making it to the trade show, but our lackadaisical demeanor left us without a minute to spare, so we set up camp in a cheap motel and made plans for the return trip. But we would not return to Colorado.
After the mind-numbing monotony of Interbike, we headed North seeking some much needed riding time, but as we awoke to the dull roar of a rumble strip, mountains of beige rose behind a sign marked “Provo.” Sam had driven us in the wrong direction — all the way to Salt Lake City. Fortunately, we soon located a skatepark, met up with some locals and spent the next day riding and filming. After the session, we packed up and headed to Cheyenne, Wyo. to ride the skatepark, before returning to the Tree headquarters in the middle of nowhere, Missouri. The trip didn’t pan out as we anticipated. We didn’t camp, let alone sleep much at all, and we never made it to the glorious skateparks of Colorado, but we still rode good terrain and enjoyed the tiring experience.” – ESPN
Filmed and edited by Bink Seavey
