Martyn Ashton's Road Bike Party 2 video caused a storm among the bike world when it was released last week, redefining what we all throught was possible on a road bike. And not for the first time.
It arrived less than three months since Ashton suffered severe spinal injuries after a fall during a trials demonstration.
Robin Kitchin, photographer, film-maker, Martyn's close friend and Animal WD40 Action Sports Tour manager,has been working with Martyn on this project from the beginning. It was clear that even though Martyn suffered an awful injury, it wouldn’t stop the pair producing their finest work to date.
We caught up with Robin Kitchin, who produced both Road Bike Party videos and found out about what went on behind the scenes…
Three awesome riders
Helping Martyn Ashton finish the film were Danny MacAskill and Chris Akrigg, both renowned for their almost unbelievable skills on a bike. "I know that the moment these guys plan to take something on, it's on," says Robin. " It may need a hefty dose of timing for all the elements to come together, but these guys all have amazing drive and I just had to be ready to catch it."
Six punctures
"The first one was the worse as it happened on the first scene [the last scene on the video] when Martyn dropped to the rail," says Robin. "See the credits in the video to witness the result!"
Two cameos
The eagle-eyed among you may have spotted Martin Hawyes and Blake Samson making an appearance. Have look back if you haven't…
91 centimetres
That's how high the tennis that Martyn side-hopped over was. Robin is convinced it's a world record – for a road bike at least!
12 days editing
“I think in total I spent 12 days editing," says Robin. "The best days were spent with Martyn at his bedside and in the canteen – watching our faces light up as we viewed the scenes was great rehab for us both”
This article was taken from MBUK magazine's blog post '10 things you didn’t know about Martyn Ashton’s Road Bike Party 2' – read the full piece here.