Photo Story: Behind the Scenes of Tyler McCaul's Handbuilt II - The Story
THE BUILD
 | Me and Dillon spent about a month and a half living down there, digging most days but with a few riding breaks here and there. A lot of the builds the whole crew teamed up on, T Mac, Peter, Calvin and Dillon, and it was amazing being part of such a hardworking and dedicated group of guys. It was super motivating for me to be around a crew like that, and to see what was possible to build in such a short amount of time inspired me a lot for my own projects in the future. It’s hard to pick a favorite feature but I’d have to say the ender drop was the sickest thing to see come together. |
| It helps to have a crew like this because it doesn’t feel like I’m on my own when I’m testing these features out. They help a lot with speed checks and help me to make sure I’m taking what we think is close enough to the correct speed on the first hits. |
THE RIDING
First hit wonders. Perfect lip, perfect light. Photographer Peter Jamison pulling all the stops in capturing the moment.
The tools of the trade. Calvin Huth's filming implements ready for another day of battling the dust and wind of Utah.
TMAC back up for another lap.
I was not worried as much about tricks or trying to do the most progressive stuff... - Tyler after an extended superman.
THE LANDSCAPES
THE BIG DROP
The last feature on the boulder was the scariest thing Tyler has ever ridden. It is hard to convey how steep and off camber that boulder was, and we had to do a lot just to make it work. They chose to build a bridge and lay it on top of the boulder to smooth the surface out and get it cambered in the right direction.
| I’ve never really built anything out of wood but luckily Cole and Dillon had. Cole had a good game plan for the build so we took his lead, got the materials and tools together, carried them all the way up the hill and got started. |
| The hardest feature to build was by far the Big Water rock drop. The rock was about 500 meters away from where you park and up a steep sandy slope which was very difficult to walk up. We carried about 15 2x4 's up there along with tools to build the wood structure. Once we got all the supplies up there, we had to drill brackets into the rock to secure the wood to the rock, then screw all the pieces together. All while on the side of a massive house sized boulder with 15 foot drops on either side! As sketchy as the build may have been, it was still 1000 times less scary riding the feature itself! |
The team measured from the take off to the landing at a 46’ diagonal with a 53° angle, which equates to a 37’ vertical drop and a 28’ gap. Whenever the ratio of drop vs gap weighs heavier on the drop, things are a little weird....
| Once I got a glance at the landing I thought I was f’d so I took a half crank at the last second and popped as hard as I could. That drop looks a lot different in real life, that’s for sure! |
In case you missed it, you can watch all the action of T-Mac's Handbuilt II: The Story here:
Must Watch: Tyler McCaul Flows Though Utah Freeride Lines in "The Story"
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8 Comments
- 34 11
skullmere
(Jul 15, 2022 at 9:43)
I'm a disappointed about the decision-making process that riders use to decide where to build features and ride. The shot where he backflips down onto the crazy purple anthill-looking dirt is the most disappointing. I've been camping at that location with my family for years and we always marvel at the uniqueness of that formation. I only know of one other place in southern Utah with similar-looking dirt formations of that color and magnitude. And it's now ruined, probably forever. I doubt it will ever go back to what it was before. Disappointing that riders think one shot in an edit is worth destroying something so special and unique. Riding and filming are great, but sometimes the cost is too high and riders should walk away. I can point out plenty of places down in Virgin that same jump could've been built that doesn't destroy something so unique.
- 10 10
conair
(Jul 15, 2022 at 10:11)
Well said! Many riders need to become better naturalists.
- 5 3
scott-townes
(Jul 16, 2022 at 18:35)
Dang, I guess you should have petitioned the town to protect the area so its not used recreationally as its designated for camping, moto, MTBing, etc.
To be fair, I bet there are plenty of geo folk out there pissed that people like you are camping there, putting in tread marks and ruining the area in their eyes. This holier than thou attitude is a bit absurd.
- 4 1
weebleswobbles
(Jul 16, 2022 at 14:41)
At the point where they had to drill brackets into the feature does ruin it for me. Much rather see people ride natural features than destroy shit. Whatever did happen to leave no trace, and leaving things alone
- 5 2
scott-townes
(Jul 15, 2022 at 3:17)
That drop is so Morbin'
- 1 0
dkendy1
FL (Jul 15, 2022 at 12:53)
Not a word bud
- 1 1
EvoRidge
(Jul 15, 2022 at 0:35)
The gasp of all gasps
- 1 1
mrwynnewillson
(Jul 15, 2022 at 4:53)
Triple Crowns
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