Sam Reynolds is returning to South Africa to compete in The Night Harvest contest in Cape Town on 6th March. He also has plans to catch some footage on our trails. We caught up with Sam to find out what he has up his sleeve for the Town trip.
Sam we heard you are on your way back to South Africa. What’s bringing you back?
Well, I’m looking out of my window here in England and, not surprisingly, it’s raining and super cold. I even rode my jumps in the snow last week, if you guys in South Africa have ever seen or heard of such a thing… And after I visited for 10 days last year, I know the weather is much better down there especially in February.
Another reason is the Monster Energy Night Harvest contest which was one of my favourite events last year and I don’t really want to miss it, it’s rad. So in short, I’m visiting South Africa again because it’s the tits.
Apparently you’re bringing your friends this time. Can you tell us a bit more about who’s coming out with you and why they’re tagging along?
Yep, I just have to share the little known secret that Cape Town is the best place ever with all my friends, haven’t I. I’m bringing Matt Macduff from Canada, Danny Pace from UK and token UK ex-Africans Blake Samson and Dylan Stone. Heavy hitters and we are here to ride the comp and film the ‘Pure Darkness 2’ edit. Should be awesome!
What about the local MTB industry encourages you and others to make the trip out to ride in South Africa?
Super friendly local guys keen to ride and have a good time and show you about. The spots I visited last year were amazing and I can’t wait to hit them again. It’s not just the MTB attractions that we are coming to enjoy though, it would be rude not to try to surf at the beach at some point right?
What are the expected highlights of your 2015 trip?
The Night Harvest of course and we will be building something pretty special, we hope, but you’ll find out more when we do it. I wanna go on the rum Pirate ship that I kept seeing in the Cape Town harbour this year too hahaha.
The Night Harvest is the main feature on your trip. Is this event growing? Can you see it becoming a well-recognised event on the MTB calendar in years to come?
Definitely! I guess last year I was the only rider to travel from overseas to ride and this year I’m bringing the boys, so already its growing to an international crowd. It’s still got the raw charm of a local jam though, which for me makes it so fun. It’s all about just riding hard with your mates. Having a braai on the go and thousands of people watching just makes it one of the best nights ever. And South African parties are pretty dark from what I remember!
It’s a year since we last spoke with you. What’s been good? What’s been bad? And what’s been rad for you since we last spoke?
All is good! I’m riding my bike, enjoying it more than ever. I have been building S4P bike park near my house, so have a new place to play when it’s not raining here, which is keeping me busy. I got 8th in the World Tour last year which was great to continue on a high from winning Night Harvest.
Tell us some more about the project you’re planning on filming out here?
So Danny, Matt and I filmed an edit last year called Pure Darkness, with the idea being to make a video like we used to when we were kids, with heavy metal, crashes, huge tricks, no boring intros or interviews and low-fi editing. It went down so well we just have to make another one and what better place to film it than South Africa.
http://www.pinkbike.com/video/383010/
What are your major goals and focuses for this year?
I have a video project at S4P bike park which I’m trying to make happen at the moment but also I would love to come top 10 in the World Tour again. If I’m honest, I don’t really plan stuff, I just do what seems fun and it has worked out so far, so I’m going to keep it that way!
Thanks for chatting to us, Sam. We are really looking forward seeing you back in South Africa. Any words for your local fans?
Can’t wait to shred with you all at the Night Harvest!
