The Fise: International Festival of Extreme Sports

Montpellier is the host every year to Fise--the Festival international des sports extrêmes--or the International Festival of Extreme Sports. It is pretty interesting. Elena and I first noticed that stages were being constructed on the banks of the River Lez. Over the next couple of weeks, they turned into a full blown extreme sports festival.

At the north end, waterboarders give demos over the dam. Then there is bicycling, skateboarding, rollerblading, and probably other forms of youth extreme sports. The banks of the river are sloped up and the spectators sit all along the banks oooh-ing and aaahhh-ing. There are competitions and some spectacular crashes. There are booths of vendors and pretty spokesmodels handing out free KitKats. The weather cooperated wonderfully. A bit hot for me, but heat+youth=eye candy. The crowds are so thick, you can barely move. They set up an extra footbridge, but it takes forever to get on, traverse, and leave the bridge. At least they have ample bathroom space--about 10 porta-potties.

I sketched this watercolor yesterday (just before heading over to the Shakespeare Pub) and just painted it in today. It's a part of a bike track that the non-acrophobic kids can ride around on.