China - Suzhou Theme Park shows May 2007

Pete Anderson, Chris Thomson and myself (Steve Sommerfeld) had the opportunity to ride 7 days of shows at the Suzhou Theme Park which is roughly 2 hours from Shanghai. Each day we had 3 x 20 minute shows which would see thousands of Chinese supporters a pop.

The FMX shows were the main attraction for the week and as you walk into the theme park the first thing you can see is the dirt down ramp, in front of the 3 arches with lions a-top, a huge water feature behind and the backdrop of a massive hill that is used for the hang-glider ride in the park. The shows went well, and the scenery in the of where we were riding was unreal. The boys played it up to the crowd and everyone was happy with how they went, with only a few drama's with the bikes (long story). We also had to pour about 7 bottles of Coke on the run up and the run-off each day as the whole setup was on slippery tiles and red marble, and the Coke was the only way to get any grip at all. It was hard to tell whether the Chinese crowd liked the FMX, since they had never seen it before, most simply stood there with their jaws dropped. Usually half way through the show they'd pick up that cheering is what we like to see, and by the end of each show, it was a mad rush to try and get back to the change room with so many people wanting photo's, autographs or the Chinese girls wanting Pete's number (haha). Each night after the shows we would usually go to the same restaurant for Pizza or Pasta for a decent meal (something that would surely not give us 'tap-arse').

The trip was going along quite smooth until Chris and Dinny found a corner store that sold more fireworks than the Sydney 2000 celebrations. I was surprised the boys didn't go nuts in buying more, but Dinny insisted that he should buy the 'bucket' and a roll of 500 of the little crackers. For the rest of the trip, no one was safe when Chris was around with a pocket full of crackers. All in all it was definitely a trip to remember and a thanks to Dinny Spicer from X-Sports for getting us over, it was a great time and lots of memories.Taken from FreeriderMX Magazine 2007www.freeridermx.com.au

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