Behind the Lens: Wheelie on the River

Behind the Lens : Wheelie on the River

Story and photos by James Lissimore

Hi everyone, I've been seriously slacking on doing my “Behind the Lens” column for the last few months but I'm going to try and keep this thing pretty regular from here on out. I thought I'd re-kick this thing back off with a shot that's always been one of my favs.... not to mention the rider in the photo is doing pretty decent these days.

Colton Facciotti wheelies along a sand bar in the middle of the Fraser river in Chilliwack, BC. This photo originally appeared in a feature titled, "Spring Thaw" in RacerXCanada.

Back in 2006 I was given my all time favorite assignment by RacerXCanada. My only mandate, “To take cool pictures that capture the beauty of riding in BC in springtime, when most other parts of Canada are still buried in snow.” So, I did just that, running around the province trying my best to take the coolest photos I could. Out of that assignment, a large percentage of my all time favorite photos came to fruition and this is one of those.

At this time, Colton Facciotti wasn't yet the dominate force that he has now become in the Canadian motocross world. He was insanely talented but hadn't yet put all the pieces together to become a Champion. Back in those Richmond Kawi days he spent a lot more time at home than he does now and for us in the Vancouver area there aren't any regularly open motocross tracks to practice on during the week so a lot of riding goes down on the sandy banks of the Fraser river. This spot in Chilliwack is a popular one for getting some riding in and though it might not have the most technical terrain it makes up for it in scenic vistas.

After putting in a moto, I had Colt start playing around on the side of the river, doing wheelies and sandy berm blasts. Eventually I noticed this small sand bar about 40 feet off shore and asked him if he thought he could ride out to it. Sure enough, he made it out to the sand outcropping and I had him do a couple wheelies towards me while I stood in the river. I love how this shot turned out, the reflection of the water and the mountains in the background really drive home what I love about living in British Columbia. I got completely soaked getting this photo but it was definitely worth it, it's one of my all time favorites.

Relaxing around the fire after a great day of riding and shooting.

Afterwards we sat around and roasted hot dogs over an open fire along side the river and relaxed after a great day, showing that you don't always have to have a track to have fun riding moto. Things have definitely changed now: Colt would switch to Blue bikes and the might Blackfoot Yamaha team the next year and the rest would be history but he'll always be that BC boy, riding at the river....