A crew of about 50 riders from all over Europe descended upon the capital of The Czech Republic to mark Round 1 of the 2017 Streetjammin' Series. The first meet-up spot was the infamous Letna Park and with amazing views of the historic city, it’s a must-visit spot for anyone finding themselves here in Prague. The Saturday morning sunshine was already beating-down hard when the 11am meet-up time rolled around. Blue skies and not much wind; perfect riding conditions were in store for the day ahead. Waxed marble ledges, a Subrosa flat-bar and some breakfast beers was the first order of the day after everyone met at Letna...and when everyone was finally awake, some Czech Korunas got waved about signifying that the Jam was officially starting. The up-rail session saw some sweet moves followed by a few lucky-escapes when the long-jump craziness got underway. The term “long jump” was used lightly here. The normal convention is to use a small wooden ramp, the Prague crew however is too street for that, so they used two marble blocks as a kicker instead. It worked... sort-of. At least there was grass to crash into.
More cheers and more beers, and then the crew rolled over to Sparta to hit up the wallrides and the double-stair set-up. Some heavy moves went down here including some big 3s and bars down the double-set, and also Jacub, who sent the gap to wall. Rolling over to the next spot the cars and the traffic just had to wait whilst the crew mobbed the streets. This is always one of the best things about street jams; owning the roads for the day. The next couple of spots were handrail-orientated and lots of heavy moves went down on the street-furniture of Prague. A head injury, some stitches and a little visit from the cops were all trying their best to stop the rail action but it wasn't to be. BMX was having its day today.
Rolling towards the next spot took us through the rather lovely Stromovka park, and just when you start thinking “wouldn't it be a great time to stop and get a cold beer or an ice-cream” a Rohlik.cz van appears on the horizon giving away both of these luxuries for free as part of a give-away promotion. 50+ riders soon depleted their stocks; they didn't seem to mind though. Shout-out to those guys.
Underneath the Holesevice bridge, built into the concrete foundations, is perhaps one of the best transitioned mini-ramps that you might ever happen to stumble across. It's been so well constructed that it almost looks as if it was put there on purpose by the town-planners. Prague is one of those cities that continues to surprise you though so I wouldn't rule it out entirely. A fun session went down alongside the riverbank and of course it was nice to chill in the shade of the huge bridge for a brief moment. The 30c heat from the sun was no joke and the crowd's red necks and faces definitely paid testament to this fact. Who even knew that after a winter of heavy snow and minus double-digits, the Czech summer would be so crazy hot? (Not me, that's who).
Some more prize-giving and cash was handed-out to those who'd earned it, and then it was onto Holesevice station for the final session of the day – a steep, short flatbank to rail which needed a fairly high hop just to get onto. The grass banks formed the perfect amphitheatre for all the spectators who just wanted to chill, eat pizza and sip on Pilsners. The riders who grappled with the spot did so on asphalt so hot that you could barely sit on it for more than a few seconds without getting burnt. The final spot definitely saw the heaviest moves go down though, including a pegs to 270 over and also a 15yr old who sent a pegs hardway 180 down to flat. The wildest move of the day came from Jacub though who out of nowhere did a pegs to tyres to 180 bar off the rail. That man definitely earned his stripes that day.
To finish off the day Tomáš Tydlačka decided to step-up to the plate by taking on the nearby deadman's handrail. Needing several attempts to get past the weird kink, it was all going fairly well until 3 scantily-clad, tanned ladies walked over to Tomáš to get directions for the train station (the train station which was literally right infront of them). Walking past the cameras and spectators the girls giggled and cracked jokes. This situtaion must have all been too much for Tomáš, whose mind was now awash with tanned thighs and curves. Sadly his final attempt at the rail saw him going OTB and kissing the concrete...and that was that. BMX was now done for the day. There's probably a lesson to be learned in there somewhere.
The crew rolled back to Mystic for a final sun-down session but for most now the Pivos were flowing too much. Round 1 of the Streetjammin' Series was all done and dusted. A definite success. Prague had proven itself to be the perfect city for a street jam and many sunburnt riders would sleep well that night because of it.
Round 2 of the Streetjammin' Series will take place in Slovakia on July 22nd (BMX Day) so if you live in central Europe be sure to head down for this. Check out www.tbb-bike.cz and www.streetlifecrew.com for more info.
