FreestyleXtreme Magazine Issue 9 | Page 38

Welcome to our regular ‘Walkabout’
column with Australia’s pro FMX
rider Steve Sommerfeld. Steve
keeps himself busy as an athlete
manager, moto-journalist, FMX rider
and Night of the Jumps judge and
commentator - but now he’ll also
be travelling the world, bringing
you the best possible blend of
travel blog meets FMX feature.
He’ll be living out of a suitcase
for the foreseeable future with his
wife Rachael, and together they
have made their way to Europe
for 2014/15 to see how long they
can last. FreestyleXtreme will be
bringing you the low-down on their
FMX antics from all corners of the
globe!

Big shows and
little shows

The past couple of months have been
crazy. I’ve been lucky enough to ride
in some of the biggest shows I’ve ever
been part of. I have also been fortunate
enough to ride in some of the coolest
rider-run FMX jams around. Put on
by riders in their home towns, these
smaller, local events really let you take
in the unique cultures. I have now also
driven from Germany to the UK and
back three times in a month!

Masters of Dirt

While I was riding a show with Squibby
in Bournemouth, UK he had a phone
call out of the blue from the guys at
Masters of Dirt. Not long after this we
found ourselves driving full steam to
Klagenfurt in the south of Austria for
the biggest FMX Show MOD have
ever put on! MOD filled out the 28,000
seat stadium and after what felt like a
million jumps in 38 degree heat, I can
safely say it was one of the best shows
I’ve done. The sound coming from the
Austrian crowd was just incredible.

Goodwood FOS

Straight after that was my next big
show. It was another one with Squibby,
but this time back in England at the
Goodwood Festival of Speed. I rode
this show last year, so I knew what to
expect, however that didn’t make it
any less special. The huge motorsports
festival is plonked right in front of Lord
March’s castle. The English call it a
stately home, but when it has three

38 | FreestyleXtreme.com

turrets, I call it a castle! Along with the
fastest cars and drivers in the world,
Goodwood has the GAS arena! This is
where the best BMX and MTB riders in
the world, plus us clowns in the FMX
arena, put on three shows a day for
the 200,000 people that come rolling
through over the five days. It’s such an
awesome feeling when you’re finished
and have that last festival beer with all
the other riders and crew.
With those big shows, I find you are
really pushing yourself to do the best
you can. Hoping that somehow you
might even learn a new trick, to make
the experience even more worthwhile.
But then, there are the smaller shows,
and they also have their own special
sense of camaraderie.

Petr Pilat’s Pilníkov Jam

The relatively short four hour drive to
Prague filled me with almost as much
excitement as I had going to MOD
or Goodwood. You have to perform
at the big shows and that brings an
element of nervousness. For me, riding
the newly crowned NOTJ European
Champion’s event did the same thing.
There was also the anticipation of
checking out the Bohemian capital;
trying new foods and drinking real
Budweiser (yes, it’s actually Czech,
not American!) in deep dungeon bars
in the Old City. But how about this:
when Rach and I arrived in Pyšely, near
Prague, Petr informed us that there was
a change of hotel for us and Soeren
Sellmer. The new digs were only a 20+
room, two-storey presidential suite in
a castle!!! It was freaking huge! This

© MASTERS OF DIRT

© DAVID BLAŽEK

© DAVID BLAŽEK

Gone
Walkabout
with Steve Sommerfeld