Kenny Belaey on the thrills of trail riding

The sport of biking has been here for a very long time, and through the years, it has evolved. Mountain biking came along, and now BMX has entered the mainstream since it is a regular part of the Olympics. But trust me, you haven’t seen biking like trail riding!
I was introduced to the sport during the PhilBike Expo press conference. It was truly a different experience, especially when one of the sport’s best, Kenny Belaey, decided to use me as part of his demonstration.
I got into the mind of Kenny after he hopped all over me.

THE PHILIPPINE STAR: How did you get into a sport such as this one?

KENNY BELAEY: My father was actually doing the same thing — motor tricycle bike. When I was born, he stopped. So all his stuff ended with me. Then he started again and then I joined him!  Eventually, he sold all his stuff again just to drive me and my brother around all over Europe to compete and to do shows.

What do you need to have to excel in a sport such as this?

You gotta be a little bit, let’s say a rebel! Hahaha...

Everybody went into soccer and I did it as well. But it didn’t feel right for me, I’m not just a team player and I needed a sport where I can do things myself. If it’s a mistake, it’s my mistake. There are no excuses, it’s just you and the bike. It’s also about creativity, I like it a lot, and it’s about expressing yourself. And every day, every time you do it, it’s hard. That’s what I like, I like to be challenged.

So, obviously you like the decision that you’ve had to make because you travel around the world, meet new people, and show them what you can do.

Yeah! I was good at soccer, too. So, maybe I would have been traveling as well. Maybe in a private jet even! Hahaha...
But I definitely love this lifestyle of traveling, it’s part of people showing discipline to other people and getting to ride in nice countries with nice climates. Yeah! It’s a dream come true.

I saw the video wherein you went from one peak to the next. How long does it take you to prepare for something like that and where did you come up with the idea?

Yeah! Actually, the idea was when rock climbing became popular and I said like, when you could do it on a bicycle. And then I started pitching the idea to my sponsors. And then there I was, all of a sudden, I found the budget to make the production happen and then we started practicing at home on a half meter up the floor, then between two trees 10 meters up, and then the next step was to bring it 120 meters up. I failed so many times, it was the hardest thing ever. Actually, back at it, there were points where I had no clue of what I was doing. Because no one did it before. It was all calculated, it wasn’t like irresponsible, but it was a risk. And I’m so happy that I managed to try it.

When you finally got through it, you must have been exhilarated.

I failed 80 times, in like six days so I couldn’t really believe I was there on the other side and I was in shock! And then the joy came, then the excitement, and then I couldn’t believe it. And I was like so happy because there were really days when I thought I had done something which was just impossible.

So, what’s next?

I mean to make it more crazy, I could remove my security harness, but that would mean suicide! So NO! I’m not gonna do that.  I don’t wanna push it like it becomes too dangerous, too crazy. So now, the biggest challenge is still to be fit to be at all championships at the podium. It’s my main objective now. And I’m still gonna make videos for sure and one will be crazier than the other. I wanna be crazy. I just go with the flow. Sometimes, I’m just watching National Geographic and I see, wow, that’s an amazing place. I would have the next project, but so far there’s nothing like that yet.

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