T
hehillsidecity of Las
Palmas, GranCanaria, is as
notable for its brightly
colouredhouses as for its
320 yearly days of
sunshine. Clustered tightly together, the
buildings’ flat roofsmake aperfect
destination for street trials (akaurban
freestylebiking), as top Scottishpro-rider
DannyMacAskill foundoutwhile shooting
his latest short film,
Cascadia
.
In it,MacAskill shows off his skills in
anepicpoint-of-view journey across the
capital, shot on aGoPro. “I’dbeenwanting
todo a rooftop video for awhile,” he
says. “I wanted to give viewers a tasteof
adrenaline and fear.”Before shooting, his
team spent fivedays knockingondoors,
asking to see rooftops for potential
locations, andplotting thedownhill
course. “At first, people thoughtwewere
jokingor abitmad, butwehad a fixerwith
the gift of the gab,” he says.
Thefilm took 10days to shoot – a
dangerous undertaking given the locations
haddrops of up to30m.While some
stunts tookover 50 takes to get right, the
finale– a vertigo-inducingbackflip from a
20m-high scaffold into theocean–was so
risky it couldonly be attemptedonce.
“I wanted abanger tofinish the video,”
saysMacAskill. He gotmore thanhe’d
bargained forwhen it took25minutes
to get him andhis bikeout of thewater,
owing to the strongoceancurrents, but
says itwasworth it: “It’s got great shock
value.”
dannymacaskill.co.uk, gopro.com
Norwegianflies toGranCanaria from25
destinations.Bookflights,ahotelanda
rental caratnorwegian.com
Bikingaround
theCanaries
Gran Canaria
Since theUCIWorldCup
Marathonwasheldhere
in2007,GranCanaria
hasbecome amust-visit
destination formountain
bikers. There’splenty
of unexplored terrain
for serious riders, as
well as excursionsout
to trails such as the
“Devil’s Staircase”, “Cliff
Richard” and the “Hill
thatCan’t beClimbed”.
cyclegrancanaria.com
Lanzarote
The surreal volcanic
landscapeof Lanzarote
makes it the ideal
location for cross-
countrymountain
biking,with trails to suit
bothexperiencedand
beginner riders.
lanzarote-cycling.com
Tenerife
EveryWednesday
morning, Tenerife’s
highest peak,Mount
Teide, playshost to the
“Descent of Angels”
– a guided35.4km, 2.5-
hour downhill descent
with stops to admire
the volcanicwilderness,
elevated vineyards and
subtropical rainforest.
raftingbike.com
Left
⁄
The video’s
finalewasfilmed
at El Roque
This page
⁄
Ramps and
scaffoldingmade
the stuntspossible
n
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