This project was a love affair. As someone who loves riding bikes and enjoys every second of rolling on two wheels, but also loves films and shooting photos, it took an immense amount of mental strength to settle down and simply film when
all I wanted to do was ride.

Words by Tanner Stephens

Our original plan was to get the bike and start filming right away, which is what I typically do with bike-centric films. However, this one was different because it was winter when I was finally able to get my hands on the bike, and all I wanted to do was ride. After spending months attempting to start filming at more local spots that just weren’t doing the bike justice, Kelly, who is my friend and filmer for the first two sections of this film, and I finally decided we needed to plan a trip to really get the ball rolling and not get caught in the cycle of having way too much fun riding.

So we decided to head north to the mountains and get started in the woods. There are quite a few gems of trails hidden deep in the woods of California. This particular one is in the top 10 for me. It’s far enough from any town or major metropolitan area that not many people ride it and you never really know if it’s going to be running. After a few hours of cleaning things up, the track was in great shape so we pulled out the cameras. Kelly pulled out Kodak 7207 film and I got to riding. Sinking tires into loamy soil after a wet winter was such a treat. The next couple days were special.

Keeping things going, we cruised out to some of our local trails in San Diego in the mid summer heat. Dry, dusty, and rocky. Three adjectives which describe riding in San Diego during the summer. But to much surprise, we actually had fun in those conditions and were able to roll away with a grip of clips.

From there, things just happened naturally with Drew Boxold, the filmer of the last section of the film, and I ending up in the middle of nowhere; high above the trees looking out to Mount Saint Helens, Mount Adams, and Mount Hood as we watched the setting sun fall to the coast. For this section of the film, we swapped out the Kodak 7207 film for the Kodak 7213 film, which changed the light sensitivity and color balance.

Luckily, unlike most sports, riding mountain bikes isn’t just a summer fling… and after the sun had set on summer, I’m still riding my Genius all the time.

Credits:

Filmed by Kelly Hammond and Drew Boxold
Edit by Tanner Stephens and Kelly Hammond
Photography by Sean Galusha and Drew Boxold
Shot on Kodak 7207 and Kodak 7213

Click here to watch Tanners's film