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This is Stevie Smith’s Japanese MTB adventure
Get the full story behind the downhiller's trip to Japan to film the Ring of Fire with Clay Porter.
7 min
Ring of Fire: Stevie Smith visits Japan
MTB Downhill rider Stevie Smith finds there is much to be admired on his first trip to Japan
Stevie Smith had never stepped foot in Japan prior to filming Ring of Fire. The trip would prove to be a real eye-opener for the Pro Canadian mountain bike downhill racer.
Filming for Ring of Fire was set to take place at Miyake Island, an island 180km due south of Japan's capital Tokyo. The objective of the trip was to capture Stevie riding a trail covered in lava and volcanic ash. Accompanying him to film the whole thing was renowned mountain bike and cycling filmmaker Clay Porter.
Steve Smith standing on the lava coast
© Hiroyuki Nakagawa/Red Bull Content Pool
The equipment we had prepared for this project could have filled up a cargo container. It of course included the bike that Stevie uses at the World Cup, bike spare parts, Clay’s filming gear including a drone, and digging equipment; a pick axe, rakes and shovels.
This was a real step into the unknown, no one had tried to ride this place before, and no one knew if the digging equipment was even going to be enough to break through the volcanic terrain on Miyake Island.
There's no uplift on a volcano...
© Hiroyuki Nakagawa/Red Bull Content Pool
It was late October that the team with our equipment travelling by sea and the team travelling by air met together on the island. On that first day, Stevie was restless at what was to come, so we made our move to the towering 775m-altitude mountain in the centre of Miyake Island, Oyama, where the crater of the active volcano lay.
The view that we saw that day from the top of the mountain was mind-blowing and beyond words. Everyone felt excited about the shoot that would take place the following day. What we didn't know then was that the mountain would turn out to be completely covered in fog until our last day on the island.
Dead tree trunks from years of volcanic activity
© Hiroyuki Nakagawa/Red Bull Content Pool
Stevie made the best of his time on Miyake Island even on the days we couldn’t shoot. He spent much of his time around the nature that makes this island, such as beautiful Lake Tairo and the forest that surrounds it. He also visited the shrines buried in old craters and learned of the history of past eruptions. One afternoon he went fishing and visited the village mayor where he was told about the history of Miyake Island.
The day after a decision was made to extend the stay on the island, finally Oyama showed itself the way it did upon the arrival of the team. Finally, Clay could get a clear stretch of filming in the can.
Layers of loose lava were mixed with rocks
© Hiroyuki Nakagawa/Red Bull Content Pool
Surprisingly the black lava ash was very light. Stevie was concentrating on how to control the natural drifts that occur in this unfamiliar terrain. He also found that under the light lava there were hidden clumps of large sturdy lava that were like rocks. Stevie knew he could potentially crash at any moment as he tried to maintain grip on such ground.
In the end I was totally immersed, my only concern was how far I could go
- Stevie Smith
When the camera stopped rolling and Clay gave an OK to all the takes, Stevie gave a nod in contentment. It was that moment he knew he had conquered the volcanic trails of Miyake Island.
Railing a dusty berm
© Hiroyuki Nakagawa/Red Bull Content Pool
Being the racer that Stevie is, the Canadian wanted to see what else Japan had to offer in terms of downhill tracks and trails. After returning to Tokyo from Miyake Island, the filming team headed out to Nagano that same night. The destination was Fujimi Panorama Resort, the most famous downhill course in Japan.
Stevie was in his element on the tight racing track. Clay set up his specialty, cable cams between the beautiful trees on the course and it was as if the warm autumn sun was welcoming us to film there.
There were many riders at Fujimi that Sunday. The sudden appearance of Stevie did not go unnoticed, and everyone spotted him right away. And with that we were at the end of our journey filming in Japan.
