Day 1, Preparations

As we got in the transit van and headed for the track I remember thinking how my video camera would handle the cold. If the car engines didn´t start, what about a lithium battery and a tiny electronic ccd-chip? I was soon to find out. I had never seen a icespeedway track in my entire life and I must admit that the Krasnogorsk venue was impressive. The oval track was huge and the preparations had already begun as we arrived for the registration and examinination of the bikes. Posa told me that the Russian tracks are very hard and rough to handle. The Russians just sweep the track after every 4 heats as from the other European countries where they include plowing to make the track less bumpy. Posa promised me a good show. While he and his mechanics were preparing I went outside and shot some film awating the actual competition. I had to put me as well as my camera up for the test.

Preparations at Krasnogorsk, 2005.

Teaser no.1

To make the Scandinavian broadcasters curious about the idea on a Icespeedway documentary we had to try and try and try again. At times it felt hopeless and there were plenty of times when we dispared. When I edited the wanted the very first teaser I wanted it to be melancholic and visual. It is dated 2005 and the broadcasters had yet to be convinced.

The very first attempt to persuade the TV-networks..

Icy Riders archives

After the recording of the film ICY RIDERS ended we counted to nearly 200 hours of material. The film is 52 minutes and you don´t have to be an Einstein to realise the amount of left out scenes. We wish to give the readers some small and very short excerpts, no fancy stuff, from day one and forward. All with a complementary text. Picture it like a travel log. OK, so with that said I give you the very first pictures filmed on day one at Krasnogorsk in February 2005.

I was invited to the hotel by Posa. Lars Lönnberg, friend and initiator to the filmproject took me there. The room was cramped with battery chargers, tools and bike necessities. I had brought my sleeping bag, warm clothes and my videocam. I knew straight away this was gonna be a once in a lifetime-experience. Hotel Zenit is named after the classic camerabrand that is produced in Krasnogorsk. They hosted all the riders as it lies close to the track. Posa and his mechanics were sound asleep and outside it was freezing cold. At daybreak the Finnish, German, Dutch, Swedish and the Russian teams helped each other getting their vehicles started. This was my first encounter with what I later came to refer to as "the family-tradition". Everybody helping each other. As it was around -25 degrees Celsius (-13 degrees F) a lot of the engines were frozen solid. Posa and his fellow colleauges, Olsson and Ragge drew their straw to the stack when they helped the Finnish rider Antti Aakko. The Russians stuck to their own classic methods used to the cold as they are.