DUST BROTHERS

is early February, and myself and five other northern hemisphere folk are gladly leaving the dark, short and cold days behind us for a bit of precious southern sun in South America. We’re headed to Chile, with a plan to journey through a tiny part of this lengthy, slim country before continuing on to race the Andes Pacifico enduro. All the best roadtrips have a crew, and in this case they’re a bunch of Santa Cruz riders and all-round good guys. Introducing Iago Garay, the instigator of the trip, our ‘dad’ for the week and king of the tweek. There are few riders who need something so tiny to boost off and throw it down for the camera with such ease. Next up, Josh ‘Loosedog’ Lewis. No one goes as hard as Josh. His humour, commitment to get a trick landed or a line linked, buzz to ride and drive to enjoy every moment of every day is truly infectious. Then there’s Mitch Ropelato: calm, collected and a master on two wheels. There are no second chances with Mitch – it’s as good as it