WHEELS & WAVES 2018

Last year when we wrote about our first experience with Wheels & Waves Festival, we described it as an event where 'you just know that if the heavens opened or even if hell reigned fire, the show would go on'. Well this year, just that happened. 2 days before the doors were set to open the area was hit with torrential rain and stormy conditions. But they weren't about to just cancel the whole thing; instead the Wheels & Waves village was uprooted and moved to La Halle Iraty, Biarritz.

When we first arrived we watched as competitors took part in the trials; scrambling over stacks of wet logs and other obstacles. Despite numerous slips and falls, every time the riders just got back up and back on the bike- sending the crowd wild and setting the relentless attitude and mood for the weekend.

This time around we were lucky enough to sponsor the guys from Anvil Motociclette (@anvilmotociclette), the same year as they released their Anvil X Indian collaboration build: 'The Shrimp'. During the Artride exhibition on Thursday they revealed the 2018 Indian Scout Sixty 'Shrimp' Flat Track that they had been working on for the past 6 months. The bike was named as a tribute to the late Albert 'Shrimp' Burns who was one of the earliest Indian racers, who lost his life in a racing accident aged just 23. It was his youthful outlook and great determination that inspired the creation of Anvil's latest build.

With the spirit of Albert burns fuelling the engine the 'Shrimp' with it's handmade custom steel fuel tank, race plates & fenders; was entered into the El Rollo Flat Track Race which took place on the legendary San Sebastian Track. Rode by Italian rider Emanuele Marzotto- the Anvil Brothers claim that was just the beginning.

Another of our friends Guillermo Val (@guille_v7) took bronze at the podium in the 'La Copita' category of the race. For Guille and many others who took part in the El Rollo, it was the highlight of the festival- with a number of famous participants, such as Dimitri Coste, Steve Caballero & Jean Michel Bayle, and the general support and atmosphere that came from the crowd.

Sunsets, rides & good times. Plus a hell load of mud. That was Wheels & Waves 2018.