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Alongside the Global Cycling Network, Martyn Ashton has brought about a little Christmas Joy with the release of Road Bike Party 3, this time starring dirt jump phenomenom Sam Pilgrim.
It is the first complete film in the series to be shot after Ashton’s 2013 accident, which left him paralysed from the waist down. Both of the previous Road Bike Party films were global phenomenons, going viral and racking up over 23.5 million YouTube views.
Moving behind the camera, Ashton captures the off-road action, with Pilgrim putting a Ridley Noah through the wringer on the varied terrain of San Diego, California.
“Cali was great, but the main change is moving away from the trials riding of the first two. That’s down to one reason,” says Ashton. “Dirt jumping is more extreme. We wanted to see just how much punishment the Ridley Noah could take… turns out it was a lot!”
Despite 10 days of brutal filming, with countless jumps, drops and crashes, including a back flip at 15+ feet above ground, and a 7-foot drop onto concrete following an aborted flip, the only new parts required on the bike were two inner tubes.
It proved a baptism of fire for Pilgrim, who won the Freeride Mountain Bike World Tour in 2013, but had never ridden a road bike before. “It was scary at times, especially using dropped bars,” says Pilgrim. “There’s a scene where I ride across a tree. I’m not a trials rider and the second attempt saw me face-plant [it]. I almost lost another tooth.”
