Enduro World Series champ Jerome Clementz had an idea: Mix the music he uses to escape with the riding he escapes to, then put it all to video. With an assist from Gojira bassist (and fellow mountain biker) Jeam Michel Labadie, the band and rider created this video that’ll make you wanna get out there and shred the trails, even if they all seem to end too soon…
From Clementz: “I’m a big fan of music and I often ride with some sound in my ears. It could be anykind of music, dependingonmy mood or the weather. But Ihave to admit that some music transports me further than other, especially metal bands. Gojira band is one of them: when I am listeningto them, my mind escapes in a different world and I feel like I’m riding in another dimension.A world that will look like what you can see in these pictures, reflecting the power of nature. There is no sadness norchaos just the expression of strength of mother nature, its power to modify and shape the landscape.
This could happen in the blink of an eye, like a violent volcanic eruption, that burnseverything, that throwstons of stones in the air and create wide rivers of lava.Or this could take ages like the drifting of the continent, really tiny movements that constantly modify the world at a pace we can’t see but that is reminded constantly with earthquakes. Some people may see catastrophe, but it could also be a rebirth, the chance to create something new, stronger and more beautiful.
You’ll see hope, when trees are standing in the middle of an old lava river, colourful flowers growing in an ash pit; it’s also well-known that volcanic grounds are a fertile soil for agriculture.It’s a world for us riders, where you can ride steep slopes, drifting on thin rolling stones, slalom around grass bubbles or ride through a natural halfpipe.
This world is best represented in my mind at the end of fall, when all the leaves are on the ground and you‘re riding on an orange carpet. This is not the twilight of the riding season but a new era where you have the best vision in the forest, everything seems more open, the air is fresh and wakes up your senses.
You appreciate the moment at dawn or dusk, where the light has a meaning and is changing constantly. Some might say that there is nothing better than the bright light. I would disagree and find my happiness when it’s less neutral and you get the rising sun lighteningthe trail, when you enter the cloud and feel the chill of the humidity on your skin, when it gets dark and your imagination has to help to see what’s on the trail.
All these things make you feel alive, appreciate the singularity of the moment and the meaning of life. This moment when it starts raining and you feel a bit upset, but just after, there is a ray of light in the darkness which make this moment incredible, mind blowing, and you are stunned by the beauty of the instant.
This is life at its best; don’t try to control everything and be surprised by what the day could offer you. Even if it doesn’t look bright, you may be amazed if you keep seeing hope even in the darkness. Who said you ride only for the fitness or the fun aspect? Riding is also a time to escape from the daily routine, to dream and drift into another world and let your mind create a different reality. This is exactly where music and bike take me.”
