The Crosses – Part 1 from BasqueMTB on Vimeo.
“Probably the most important thing we’re gonna need, certainly a part of the day that I take very seriously is the debrief at the end of the day, when I like to go into a bar and drink some good beer and have a nice chat with the people about how it’s all gone.” – Ed Oxley, Great Rock
The above video is not nearly as nutty as say, Danny MaCaskill’s “Way Back Home” or even Chris Akrigg’s “A Hill In Spain.” Although it does have something in common with the latter: it is a video of a hill in Spain. It’s an 1100 foot rocky mess of a thing called “The Crosses” (for good reason) in the Basque country. We can’t always watch videos of people performing stunts that are so far beyond our reach that they don’t even begin to make us nervous. It’s sort of like how Godzilla never scared me, because he was huge, and obviously a guy in a rubber suit. But the wolfman…that dude could come right up inside your house while you were sleeping and eat you before you even woke up. That sh— was real. Sometimes we have to watch videos where we can say “Dude, I could totally do that.” Of course, in reality we might choke entirely or get horribly maimed or dead if we actually tried. All I know is that if I did ride “The Crosses” I would not bring my hardtail.
If you want to ride The Crosses in reality, you can get in touch with UK-based mountain bike tour company Great Rock, because they are planing a trip there in June. Ed Oxley the man behind Great Rock (and a huge beard) is planning the trip as we speak. Check out his thought process and see some much more green and mossy UK type riding after the break.
