Paul Thoelen brings BMX to an undiscovered place in Slovenia.

Nov 05, 2015

Written by Bart de Jong

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16 years old Paul Thoelen from Viersen, Germany and his Dutch colleague Daniel Wedemeijer usually can be found riding skateparks with perfectly smooth transitions and flat bottoms, but that luxury wasn't around for the 'Riverbed Trails' project. However, riding a dried up wild water kayak course was a once in a lifetime opportunity for both of them. The concrete surface was unbelievably rough and looked more like a lunar landscape, but it challenged both of them to see what was possible on this unusual terrain. Paul Thoelen and Daniel Wedemeijer used the various steep concrete banks for their tricks in an area that is usually owned by fish and canoes.

The idea of 'Riverbed Trails' came from Paul Thoelen himself. When he came across a photo of a drained wild water kayak course last year, he started dreaming. The artificially constructed drainage showcased an interesting BMX playground because of the many differently shaped concrete transitions that normally develop necessary streams for canoes. After some research Paul ran into

the local course of multiple World- and European canoe-slalom champion and Red Bull colleague Peter Kauzer. The canal, that was built in Tacen near Ljubljana back in 1991, was the second of its kind in Europe and with a length of 180 meters and width of 30 meters it provided enough space for BMX action when dried up.

When Peter Kauzer heard about the abstract idea, he immediately offered help. "I simply liked the exciting idea and because I know the course manager really well, I could convince him to leave the place to the boys for three days."

Together with his longtime friend and trainings partner Daniel Wedemeijer from Amsterdam, Paul traveled to Tacen, Slovenia to realize his 'Riverbed Trails' project together with some BMX-locals from nearby Ljubljana. But before any riding could be done the riders had to get to work and remove wheelbarrows full of rocks and moss. Next to the already available concrete banks, two ramps were built inside the riverbed to enable Paul's crew to get even more airtime. The result was a demanding but exciting BMX park at the same time, that still has Paul daydreaming: "We did need some time to get used to the short run-ups, raw surface and bumpy transitions but then we had a lot of fun riding the place. I never thought we could alter the idea so well in Sovenia."

Peter Kauzer was present during the BMX-session and impressed by the temporary misuse of his training ground: "It's awesome what these guys are doing. I've been training here in Tacen for nearly 20 years and I've never thought that at some point BMX-ers would fly through the canal. It's really a marvelous idea and fantastic to watch!"