July 6, 2009; Conshohocken, PA, USA: Matt Gilman has better bike control than most pro racers. As an accomplished trials rider, he can jump onto obstacle as much as four feet high without a ramp and jump gaps without ever dropping his front wheel onto the ground. What he can’t do is see where he’s going to land. Matt Gilman is blind.

Gilman, The World’s Greatest Blind Trials Rider, will be performing exhibitions at the New Jersey State Fair SpectaCross on the opening two days of this year’s New Jersey State Fair, July 31 and August 1. The event has garnered international publicity and has already attracted entries from 10 states, including Minnesota, Illinois and Ohio. But Gilman, who recently picked up sponsorship from Chris King Precision Components and Endura Sportswear, probably has a more mind numbing and inspirational story than any other participant.

“I could see for 24 years of my life,” said Gilman in a recent interview with MtnBikeRiders.com. “I became blind due to diabetes in 2004. I had vision on and off for about a year and a half. I would have a surgery and would be able to see for about a month or so then I would have a hemorrhage with a blood vessel in my eye, then I wouldn’t be able to see anything. I had, I think 22 or so eye surgeries. My left retina is badly torn and I can’t see anything out of that eye. The right I can see a little bit. The doctor put a silicone oil in my eye to stop the bleeding, which worked but now I have to look through oil. Plus the retina was torn in that eye as well just not as badly. I also have replaced lenses in both eyes. The right has a fiber growth growing on the lens and a milkyness on the cornea. All of these things make it near to impossible to see. I can see light and some really contrasty things. The best way I can describe it is, take the foggiest day you can think of and hold a bottle of olive oil up to your eye and try and get around. Each month my vision gets worse and worse. The oil is good in the sense that it is keeping blood from blocking my vision but it also eats away at the eye over time. The doctor wants to do another surgery soon to clean up everything to keep it from getting worse. He said I may get a little vision back but not much if at all.”

In his sighted life, Gilman was a talented trials and BMX rider. But he had to completely re-learn how to ride his bike after he became blind. “I just had to learn how to do things in a different way than every other rider. The hardest thing is having to place your wheel in a tight spot, you know something narrow. I usually can’t do that so well. The one thing that I do more then ever is use my front wheel as kind of a hand. I will touch my wheel to things to see how far I am from the obstacles. I will also use my tire to mush over an edge so I know that I am on the corner. All other senses don’t really help. Sometimes they get in the way. When I ride rocks, everything looks the same to me. I will think I will see something off to my right that isn’t there. I will ask a friend what is that and they will say nothing is there. So my mind plays tricks on me. At this point I will close my eyes and just ride while my tires tell me what is around.”

Gilman won’t be the only trials rider participating at SpectaCross. In addition to the cyclocross races, SpectaCross will also have a “Speed Trials” event directed by U.S. World Championship Team member Vaughn Micciche. “We’re looking at 3 courses,” said Micciche recently, ”each one will get progressively harder. The first course will be mostly skinnies and log style crossings. The medium course will start to get more challenging with ups and gaps
that are easily spannable with both wheels. Riders may be over 3 feet off the ground on something 6 inches wide. The hardest will probably favor a trials specific bike, or a rider that is really, really good with a street machine. No gaps over a bike length, no ups over 3 feet. There might be a 7 foot drop for the hard course.”

Of course, by trials standards, even those obstacles are fairly run-of-the-mill. But the wild card in the competition will be time. Instead of counting dabs, speed trials is a pure time-trial through a trials course.

More information about the New Jersey State Fair SpectaCross can be found online at www.SpectaSport.com. For more information on the Speed Trials event, contact Vaughn Micciche at info@spectasport.com.

March 14th 2009 Maui, Hawaii
By Hans Rey

I just finished a fantastic week in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with the current UCI #1 ranked Trials rider in the world, Kenny Belaey from Belgium.

We were actually filming a 30 Min. TV show for Kenny’s TV series on the Extreme Sports Channel. Kenny had asked me to take him on some epic mountain bike rides - adventure style; while he planned on taking me trials riding and blowing my mind with some incredible moves. Well, let me just say, ‘he succeeded’.

Its amazing how trials has developed and evolved over the past two decades, not only the bikes, but the techniques and levels of difficulty are unbelievable, levels I would have never dreamt off, even 10 years ago. The level is so incredible that many of the lines and moves, cannot be done on foot, without a bike!!!!

Kenny used one of my GT Force bikes for the adventure rides, while he rode his Monty trials bike the rest of the time. I brought my GT Sanction freeride bike and my signature ‘Zaskar Trials’ bike.

The locals were stoked we visited their turf, the guys from Crater Cycles and Maui Cyclery were cool and very helpful in showing us the best spots. It was also good to visit suspension guru Paul Turner in his island home.

All the stills were taken by Erik Aeder, a renown Hawaiian surf and underwater photographer, while Stijn Lammertyn captured some sweet HD footage.

The Skyline trail starts at the very top of Haleakala Volcano at over 10,000ft/ 3000m elevation!!!!! It looks like you are on the moon, actually NASA astronauts prepare themselves there for moon trips. The clouds just added to the mystique, as we hammered through them. The top part is on super sharp volcanic rock, it feels like riding with flat tires. After 100 feet of riding I already had a bloody leg from a big rock that hit me: “Ahh, that’s why the locals wear sheen pads”. Half way down the mountain, it starts to get green and you leave the old 4×4 road for some sweet singletrail. We had lots of fun and
Kenny proved that he could hold his own on a proper mountain bike.

Another highlight was riding the ancient “Kings Highway” through the lava fields along the coast on the south side of Maui, that was the day when I accidently ruined the lens of the video camera by spaying it with the sharp lava rocks.

Personally I was super stoked to ride to Jaws beach, the legendary spot where tow-in surfers like Laird Hamilton have surfed some of the biggest waves ever, when the conditions are right waves get up to 70feet tall. By the way, for all the light weight cry babies out there; Laird trains with 50 pound weights on his mountain bike.

Other typical Hawaiian rides included jungle trails by exotic waterfalls and through lush forests, especially when one finds a vendor that sells fresh pressed sugar cane juice at the trail head.

Friday the 13th or Big Friday was a day I won’t forget soon and maybe one of the best locations I have ever shot at? We were heading to the “Blowhole” for some natural waterworks, but didn’t know that it was trials paradise, endless sections with rocks and a fun technical trail leading down to the water. From sunny skies to big waves, we found everything we could have wished for, with the exception of a Hula girl. As the day went on the waves got bigger and bigger, at one point huge ones were breaking on the cliffs and splashing water 25 feet high through the air, we were trenched wet and my bike wasn’t too fond about the salt water, but our cameramen were. It all seemed pretty safe, until you stand there enclosed by a curtain of white wash and the sea’s roaring at you. Well, let just say I’m glad none of us got swept into the water and shredded to pieces on the sharp volcanic rocks.

Kenny pulled some mind blowing moves on his trials bike, it is amazing how he combines pure power with finesse and precision. Many of his moves would have serious consequences and he makes it look like the easiest thing in the world.

Over the years many people have asked me who would or could be the next ‘Hans’, I never knew what to reply, well, let me just say, this kid is not just a 8 time World Champion, at the age of 26, but his talents go beyond his bike handling skills.

Aloha

Hans

www.hansrey.com
www.belaey-trials.be

All photos copyright by Erik Aeder (erik@erikaeder.com)

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