Watch South To Sian Now

Jul 15, 2016

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Deus Ex Machina and Director Dustin Humphrey present South To Sian. Harrison Roach and Zye Norris journeyed thousands of kilometres across the Indonesian archipelago to discover life beyond the boundaries. The still images have been thrilling us for many months and finally the wait is over. Read on for the full interview between Harrison and Garage Entertainment to hear about the ups, downs and everything in between of their remarkable adventure. There are few people in the world lucky enough to get this opportunity. How did South To Sian come about for yourself and Zye? HR: I think Dustin and I were a little surprised at the success of I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night and we were sitting around at the Temple Of Enthusiasm in Bali wondering how we should back it up. He had always dreamt of road tripping through Indonesia when he was younger, and I loved the idea of experiencing the country that way, so we decided to have a crack at it. We thought it would be interesting to bring Zye along because he was so green. I guess we wanted to throw him in the deep end and watch how well he swam. He’s the kind of guy who is always willing to have a go, so we knew it would be interesting to see him push himself. We called Zye up and he was just as keen as we were. Dustin Humphrey seems to have Indonesia dialled, how long had he been planning this epic road trip, did you give input or have full trust in Dustin? HR: Dustin has been in Indonesia for something like 18 years. It’s crazy. He travelled almost everywhere in the islands during his career as a photographer and his knowledge of the surf spots is solid. He’s got the archipelago tattooed on his arm, and I guess one day while he was staring at it he had the idea for us to drive from Sumbawa to Nias. In saying that, this was a new experience for everyone. Our planning only consisted of organising a good car, a couple of motorbikes, the surfboards and the camera gear. We had our start and end point and the rest we’d figure out as we went. What went into the planning of South To Sian? 6 months on the Indonesian road is a long time. Did you wing it or map out the best breaks and places to travel? HR: Like I said there wasn’t a lot of planning. With Dustin’s, Anthony Dodd’s and my knowledge of Indonesia we had a good idea of what we might come across. There are an innumerable amount of waves between East Nusa Tengerra and Nias and we hoped to surf some of the classic ones as well as the lesser known ones. And as for riding motorbikes, those opportunities came up as we were travelling. Tell us about your quiver, it seems you rode every board imaginable in all types of waves with multiple fin setups. HR: My quiver is the result of the shapers in residency program that the Deus Temple Of Enthusiasm runs. I get the opportunity to work with a crazy array of shapers. Guys like Bob Mctavish, Rich Pavel, Neal Purchase Jnr, Thomas Bexon… It’s one of the best things about working with Deus. I’ve got some weird complex too where I can’t ride the same boards all the time. Almost every time I surf I ride something different. It’s how I stay inspired. Longboards, thrusters, bonzers… it doesn’t matter. You ride just about anything that floats and all extremely well - is there a particular board and fin combination you prefer or favour? HR: No, I can’t stick to anything. The dream is to always have the right board for the conditions. Everything works in its own way. Luckily for this trip we had a huge roof rack on the car. I took almost every board I owned and really attempted to ride them all. The waves! I doubt I've seen such perfection in my life, you absolutely scored. Any particular sessions / breaks that stood out for you? HR: Yeah we did. Indonesia is the best country in the world to score waves, in my opinion. There are so many highlights, but a session we had in Java with no one around stands a little above the rest. Just because it was in the middle of nowhere and very few people have surfed it before. It was a short, punchy slab and I rode a standard shortboard. Lewie Buddons was there. We got tubed and we got slammed. It was everything we could have hoped for. Nias, that last section in the movie is ridiculous, not a drop of water out of place - best session of your life would you say? HR: I’m not sure whether it was the session of my life. It was definitely one I’ll never forget. Nias is probably my favourite wave and I’ve been lucky enough to score it a couple of times now. What was really special was that we’d made it to the end of the road. We sat in the lineup with this weird sense of pride that can only be felt after you’ve done what you’ve set out to do. Was it good to experience it with your buddy Zye? HR: It was epic sharing it with Zye and watching him freak out about the quality of the surf. He’s usually a pretty level and understated guy, but in Nias he was so animated and excited. Surely you're rich with incredible stories from this adventure, tell us your best experience and worst during your travels. HR: The best experience I had was at a kind of secret spot. We were with Lewie in the middle of nowhere. A long way from the nearest paved road, a long way from any well known surf breaks and even further from a surf camp. It was just the three of us in the water and the surf was absolutely pumping. I remember looking at the shore and realising that there was near to no chance of anyone with a surfboard appearing. That was a really special, memorable experience. The worst experience… I’ll tell it over campfires and beers for years to come. You’re living the dream Harrison - travelling and surfing perfect waves all year round, do you have to stop and pinch yourself sometimes? HR: If you had have told ten year old Harrison that he would be doing what I’m doing through his mid twenties he’d have freaked. You’ve been North To Noosa, Had Too Much To Dream Last Night and caught the last flight to Agadir - How does South To Sian compare to these trips and films for you? HR: South To Sian was on a much bigger scale. I found the moto scenes just as exciting and stunning as the surf scenes, you’ve got skills! How long have you been riding for? HR: I’ve ridden my whole life but never too seriously. I grew up spending holidays on properties and riding was always a part of it. Is this a passion you and Zye grew up doing or did Deus influence it? HR: I remember Zye on the day he got his first motorbike. He was probably seven or eight and went straight into the trees. We’ve always done it. What bike do you have in your Garage? HR: I’ve got a DR650. You surfed when there were waves and rode moto when it was flat (and needed a break from surfing) What else did you boys do to pass the time during this trip? HR: We drove and drove and drove and drove and played guitar and cards and squirted out our assholes and got staph and broke down on the sides of roads and in the middle of cites and got drunk and smoked Gudang Guram and other strong Indonesian cigarettes and of course, we ate Pop Mie and drank kopi hitam. The cinematography is a big star in South To Sian - Is it Dustin’s fine eye or the landscapes & backdrops of Indo? HR: It’s definitely both. Indonesia is an incredibly beautiful place but it takes a very fine eye to capture as beautifully as the guys did. What adventure's next for Harrison Roach? HR: Only time will tell…

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ENGLISH TEXT BELOW

Sabtu pagi, 17 Juni 2023, menjadi hari yang ditunggu-tunggu oleh 250 peserta reli sepeda motor dan 80 kontestan flat track race di Bali. Itu merupakan acara Rally & Camp Tasik Adventure keempat yang diselenggarakan oleh komunitas pecinta motor trail vintage yang lebih dari sekadar menggemari motor dual purpose era 80-90-an. Dikenal sebagai Trail Asik Adventurer, AKA… Tasik Adventure yang telah menunggu setahun untuk merencanakan dan mengerjakan nya demi tidak mengecewakan siapapun yang ikut berpartisipasi.

Coba kamu bayangkan , ada dua sisi koin berbeda pada event kali ini. Yang pertama adalah Reli. Mereka memberi nama Challenge "Tantangan", menjadikan setiap peserta sebagai "Penantang" Challenger. Jadi, di tempat parkir Sangeh Monkey Forest, sambil menikmati keteduhan pohon jati raksasa yang awet muda, 250 Penantang parkir untuk menerima kode QR untuk etape pertama rute reli. Seluruh perjalanan adalah 3 etape dengan 3 titik pemberhentian. 4 jika Anda menghitung tujuan.

Ada beberapa motor keren di sana, Honda XR, Yamaha DT, Suzuki TS, Suzuki DR, dan beberapa custom modern, motocross dan scrambler. Sekitar sepuluh atau lebih, mereka berbaris di titik start dan memulai rally dari sana. Misi setiap orang adalah menyelesaikan setiap tahap dan berhenti di 3 titik pemberhentian untuk mendapatkan kode QR untuk bagian berikutnya. Keindahan Bali selalu menjadi pendamping, saat kami terbang di sepanjang kombinasi jalan aspal, jalan pedesaan, dan jalan tanah di daerah Tabanan. Kami perlahan-lahan terbang tinggi dan semakin tinggi ke perbukitan dan pemandangan sawah dan hutan akhirnya habis, sebenarnya lebih seperti perlahan menjadi satu ketika kami sampai di tujuan. Bali Outbound Farmstay (BOF) yang juga menjadi tempat berkemah semalam. Jika Anda mengumpulkan semua kode QR Anda, Anda mendapat medali Rally sebagai bentuk penghargaan.

Sisi lain dari koin yang disebutkan sebelumnya, atau event kedua, adalah balap jalur datar (flat track). Atau dalam hal ini jalur dengan landasan yang tidak rata karena tempat mereka membangun jalur itu berada di atas tempat yang dulunya terdapat dua sawah terasering. Jadi titik start finish lebih tinggi dari jalur lurus pertama dengan penurunan pada tikungan pertama dan sedikit menanjak pada tikungan kedua. Saat kami masuk ke BOF, kami sudah bisa mendengar suara motor flat track dan sorakan penonton yang berkumpul. Kami parkir dan membuat jalur jalur seperti lebah.

Keseruan seutuhnya pada acara, disaat tingkat kesulitan tambahan dimasukkan ke dalam jadwal sore hari menarik perhatian yang sangat luar biasa. Mereka berhasil menarik sekitar delapan puluh peserta, terbagi dalam 4 kelas: Kelas Mesin Horizontal, Kelas FFA 4T Max 250cc, Kelas FFA 2T Max 250cc Flat Track, dan Kelas FFA Big Bore.

Antusiasme untuk balapan flat track sangat terasa. Kegembiraan tumbuh saat kami melewati babak penyisihan dan membangun sesuatu yang luar biasa untuk final setiap kelas. Tidak ada kata menahan, mereka hadir untuk memenangkannya. Pembalap dari setiap komunitas bersaing sengit di setiap kelas. Nama-nama seperti Maulana Sandi, Dewa Dimas, Harris Manasi Ride, Nova Rider Sing Mebekel, Ferry Rider Sing Mebekel, Bontok Giga MX, dan lain-lain tak main-main, sebagian besar dari memamerkan skill mereka tanpa mengesampingkan sportifitas dan keselamatan.

Trek dengan permukaan tanah liat merah keras yang kering memberikan tantangan. Di awal, para pembalap disuguhkan dengan bagian menurun pada tikungan pertama, setelah itu mereka memeras gas di bagian trek lurus sebelum berputar ke kiri lagi tapi kali ini menjadi bagian menanjak pada tikungan kedua. Itu memaksa mereka untuk menggabungkan keterampilan balap trek datar mereka dengan banyak teknik motocross. Pada akhirnya, semua pembalap bersenang-senang dengan debu tanah liat merah yang menutupi segalanya dan semua orang.

Saat matahari terbenam ke arah cakrawala, saudara dan sahabat motoran kami meraih pecahan cahaya terakhir untuk mendirikan tenda mereka dan dalam persiapan untuk berkemah malam. Matahari menghilang di balik Gunung Batukaru memberi semua orang pemandangan yang menakjubkan, tetapi segera menyelimuti kami dengan udara yang jauh lebih sejuk dari dataran tinggi di Baturiti Tabanan ini.

Percakapan tentang rute reli dan balapan flat track mengalir dari pintu tenda semua orang yang berkemah, yang lain membaringkan tubuh mereka yang lelah untuk mengantisipasi perjalanan keesokan harinya, perjalanan yang relatif santai ke Pantai Pasut.

Dengan begitu, acara Rally & Camp Tasik Adventure 2023 pun berakhir. Sampai bertemu lagi tahun depan, salam untuk semua penantang, pengalaman yang luar biasa.

Berikut daftar pemenang Kelas Flat Track:

Flat Rack Horizontal Engine Class Winners:
1. Chiko GTT Bali
2. Panduk Pisaga Delodan
3. Andika Monkey Brothers

Flat Rack FFA 4T Max 250cc Class Winners:
1. Nova Rider Sing Mebekel
2. Ferry Rider Sing Mebekel
3. Bontok Giga MX

Flat Rack FFA 2T Max 250cc Class Winners:
1. Sandi Maulana
2. Dewa Dita
3. Eponk Road Country

Flat Rack FFA Big Bore Class Winners:
1. Dewa Dimas
2. Haris Manasi Ride
3. Sandi Maulana

Saturday morning, June 17, 2023, was a highly anticipated day for 250 motorcycle rally participants and 80 flat track race contestants in Bali. It was the Fourth Rally & Camp Tasik Adventure event organized by a community of vintage trail motorcycle enthusiasts who love more than fanging about on their dual-purpose motorcycles from the 80s and 90s. Known as the Trail Asik Adventure Community, AKA… Tasik Adventure people had waited a year for the follow up and none were disappointed.

Just so you can get it straight in your head, there’s two very different sides to this coin. The first one was the Rally. They hung it under the banner of “Challenge”, making each partaker a “Challenger”. So, in the carpark of Sangeh Monkey Forest, which enjoys the shade of giant ageless teak trees, 250 Challengers parked up to receive the QR code for the first leg of the rally route. The entire ride was 3 stages with 3 stop points. 4 if you count the destination.

There were some amazing bikes there, Honda XR’s, Yamaha DT’s, Suzuki TS’s, Suzuki DR’s, and some custom modern motocross and scrambler bikes. In lots of ten or so, they lined up at the starting point then let them out for the event. Everyone’s mission was to complete each stage and stop at the 3 stop points to get the QR code for the next bit. Bali’s beauty was the constant companion, as we flew along a combination of asphalt roads, rural roads and dirt tracks in the Tabanan area. We slowly winded up high and higher into the hills and the views of rice fields and forests finally ran out, actually, it was more like blurred into one when we reached our destination. Bali Outbound Farmstay (BOF), which was also to be the overnight camping spot. If you collected all your QR codes you got a Rally medal as a form of appreciation.

The other side of the aforementioned coin, or second event, was the flat track. Or in this case staggered track because where they had built the track it was over a spot that had once held two rice terraces. So the Start finish straight sat higher than the return straight with a drop on the first turn and an uphill bit on the second. As we were pulling into BOF we could already hear the flat track bikes and the assembled crowd cheering. We parked up and made a bee line track side.

What an absolute corker of an event, the added degree of difficulty jammed into the afternoons schedule made for the most marvelous distraction. They’d managed to attract around eighty participants, split over 4 classes: Horizontal Engine Class, FFA 4T Max 250cc Class, Flat Track FFA 2T Max 250cc Class, and FFA Big Bore Class.

The enthusiasm for the flat track races was palpable. The excitement growing as we whittled down through the heats and building to something of a crescendo for the finals of each class. There was no holding back, they were in it to win it. Racers from each community fiercely competed in each class. Names like Maulana Sandi, Dewa Dimas, Harris Manasi Ride, Nova Rider Sing Mebekel, Ferry Rider Sing Mebekel, Bontok Giga MX, and others were letting nothing slip, flaunting their skills without compromising sportsmanship and safety. Mostly.

The track, with its dry hard red clay surface, presented challenges. Off the start, the racers were presented with a downhill section on the first turn, they hit the gas on the bottom straight before spinning left again but this time into an uphill section on the second turn. It forced them to combine their flat track racing skills with a slew of motocross techniques. In the end, all the racers had fun with the red clay dust lay across everything and everyone.

As the sun dipped towards the horizon, our compadres and accomplices grabbed the last shards of light to set up their tents in readiness for a night of camping. The sun disappeared behind Mount Batukaru affording everyone a magnificent view, but immediately enveloping us in the much cooler air of these high grounds here in Baturiti Tabanan.

Conversations about the rally route and the flat track race flowed out of the tent flaps of all those who camped others bedded their weary bodies down in anticipation for the next day's ride, a comparatively leisurely meander down to Pasut Beach.

With that, the Rally & Camp Tasik Adventure 2023 event came to an end. Until we meet again next year, greetings to all challengers, what an amazing time.

Here is the list of the days winners:

Flat Rack Horizontal Engine Class Winners:
1. Chiko GTT Bali
2. Panduk Pisaga Delodan
3. Andika Monkey Brothers

Flat Rack FFA 4T Max 250cc Class Winners:
1. Nova Rider Sing Mebekel
2. Ferry Rider Sing Mebekel
3. Bontok Giga MX

Flat Rack FFA 2T Max 250cc Class Winners:
1. Sandi Maulana
2. Dewa Dita
3. Eponk Road Country

Flat Rack FFA Big Bore Class Winners:
1. Dewa Dimas
2. Haris Manasi Ride
3. Sandi Maulana