an x-mas to remember

Jimmy Röstlund in Trollhätan. Photos and Text by Trond Husø

So what would riders not from

Scandinavia want to know about the jams in Sweden and Denmark? Well, one thing

that comes to mind, is written in one word: Riding.

And so we

start in Sweden, since that jam went down first. Martin Fredrikson and Johan

Fahlnaes put it all together, and information on the jam got spread in forums

and guestbooks around Europe. Not one website was left untouched by the Swedes.

And a lot of riders came to. Mostly from Sweden, but a group of riders took the

long road from Norway too. Normally the Danes are the ones that puts together the best party of the

year. But after last years X-mass jam, the Aalborg-crew decided not to held

another jam. The jam in Denmark has always been a party to look forward to.

Lots and lots of riders come from all over just for that jam. And I guess a lot

hoped until the end that it would go down. But it didn’t happen. Hopefully

it’ll come back next year.

At the

Swedish jam, there was no Danes nor Germans present, but those who came to the

town that is most famous for holding the Saab-factory, made up for those who

wasn’t there. The Norwegian crew got to Trollhätan where the jam was to be held

at 2pm, some even got earlier, but the park didn’t open before 2pm. The locals

was there first and soon a group of riders came from Gothenburg, Stockholm and

other parts of the country.

Someones to remember

If I

remember correctly Michael Gäske was one of the first to arrive. And he was

also the last one to pack up his bike, which means that he held up for some six

hours. The old Swede is all about riding. You can see in his face that riding

the 20″ is his life. Michael has style and has managed to progress with the

sport. He doesn’t do any of the circus-tricks, but a Vic Murphy-style flat tabletops

and the cleanest tailwhip-fooplants and wallplants makes up for it. All done

with a smile that only R.L Osborn can compete with.

Another

rider that is always a pleasure to watch is Jimmy Röstlund.

He got style and makes techtricks look easy. The Stockholmer drove

all the way from Stockholm just to take part in the X-mass jam. He to rode most

of the time and also found some good lines in the park. Fakies and transfers

was all done at height and with variations.

Jimmy Norström from Gothenburg which is only 80 kilometers from Trollhätan and has the

whole park dialed. Jimmy does everything at high speed and therefor goes either

very high or very far. In Trollhätan he did both. One of the things he did was

to pull the biggest wallride ever. There is a transition that goes straight to

vert. On top of it, some 14ft above ground, there is a little cable-rail, Jimmy

toothbonked that one. Jimmy also did a 360-whip from the transition to the bank

on the bank-to-wall setup in the park.

Wherever

Jimmy Norström is, Jonas Malmberg is to be found

too. The pair pushes each other and progresses their riding, even though their

style is totally different. When Jimmy started doing 360-whips, Jonas joined,

and pulled it of first. Jonas also went high on the wall, but didn’t bonk the

rail. He did, however, hit a lamp and smashed it (if I remember correctly).

Somethings tend to be forgotten

Like on my

last trip, I tend to forget a few things. At the Fittja-Jam (that was printed

in Ride UK) I forgot my bike(!?) and had to turn back. In Trollhätan I first

forgot my batteryrecharger, but remembered and turned back. But I forgot my

tripods…

Text: Trond Husø

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