Life on Two Wheels

Pittsburgh's Mark Potozny riding for And Fork in France

2012-01-02T15:30:00.000-08:00

Mark Potoczny at La Source from And Forks on Vimeo.

Bruce Crisman- Renaissance Man

2011-10-24T15:34:00.000-07:00

Bruce has won gold on street at the x games, has pioneered freecoster street riding and is an amazing musician and Lover of God. Very cool to see him riding and pursuing the art of music into his thirties.

Nike Tunnel

2011-10-03T18:32:00.000-07:00

Yet another example of the amazing influence companies like Red Bull, Etnies, and now Nike are playing in bringing BMX to new heights.

Nike Pool-Thank You

2011-10-03T18:12:00.000-07:00

Ruben and the Lost Pool

2011-10-03T03:39:00.000-07:00

At 37, the Spanish rider Ruben Alcantara remains a legend in BMX. The fluid style of his riding, the principled way in which he has chosen to build his career, and the sheer poetry of the way in which he lives life bring a great deal of dignity to BMX. This video is the stuff that bmx dreams are made of, not because Ruben does a triple tail flip whip air over snake canyon, but because it highlights the slow patient beauty that finding a hidden spot presents and the way in which a simple carve can add to life at its best. Enjoy:

Geoff Slatery- Unstoppable

2011-09-26T16:59:00.000-07:00

I could watch this NJ Kid forever and not get tired of his riding. He has it all and not a single tail whip in his whole section.

Helmets for Dorks

2011-07-03T20:20:00.000-07:00

Style has always been a major factor for people who ride bikes. So, who came up with the mountain bike helmet? Some dude in spandex shorts, I am certain.

Exhibit One:

Why? Why design something that makes it look like a UFO landed on my head or even worse like something I would wear to keep Aliens from getting into my head. Its sad really. It doesn't cost more to design things so that they are

stylish. These helmets are just dorky and ugly.

fifteen years ago I bought an ugly mount

ain bike he

lmet. I put a Troy Lee Design Visor on it and it looked less ugly. After smashing it in a bad fall 5 years ago, I was forced to buy a new one. The best one I could find was plain ugly. I am seriously sick of it.

So, I have been wearing my old pro-tec BMX helmet for a while now. But, it too is pretty trashed and is pushing ten y

ears of being dropped left out in extreme heat and sweated in profusely.

Exhibit Two:

So, I have been searching for a new helmet. I want one that I can wear at the Skatepark when I BMX and when I commute and when I ride my Mountain Bike. I want to be able to wear it in the Winter, Summer, Fall, etc. I do not want a space helmet or a dorky helmet or some million dollar helmet that can take 30 second of my time (huh?). I love simplicity. I love good design. I lov

e things that are well made and I hate to buy new things. I r

esent having my vans wear out or having to by new riding gloves. I wear t shirts till they fall apart. i always turn old je

ans in to cut off shorts. So, in the world of 2011, could it be even remotely possible that there might actually be a company that makes a helmet that I can wear without feeling like a fool.

Exhibit Three & Four:

So the above is an interesting choice. It works as a helmet I could wear at the skatepark and on the trail. Cover the sucker with the helmet cover that doubles as a hat and it is not commuter-urban friendly. And this sucker is built to last with word class strapping. However, it is a bit frumpy for serious mountain biking and the unit cost a whopping 175 dollars. The Yakkay is very cool. But, it is still not as versatile as I want and it is way too expensive.

So, here is the final verdict:

The Bern Watts helmet. Made by a co. that started out in Skate-Snowboarding and is making great bike helmets. This is versatile. It can be used to ride park, commute, mountain, and it also has the ability to have winter linings inserted so it will be good in every season. Finally, it costs 55 dollars and is available here in Pittsburgh at the local bike shop so I do not have to order it from Denmark or some hipster bike shop in NYC.

Hopefully, I will not have to do this agin for another ten or fifteen year. And, by that time. my hope is that all dorky space man helmets will be an embarrassing part of bike history.

Decades of Progression

2011-06-19T18:58:00.000-07:00

The Texas Toast Jam recently went down. When I saw it I grinned from ear to ear. It epitomizes BMX and reminded me of one of the first grass roots street jams that went down more than two decades ago- the 2 hip street jams of the mid eighties. Check out these two videos- what is amazing is that Dave "Lord Voelker" is in both of these videos. Dave recently turned 44 and is still riding street and is still an incredible BMXer.

Sparkys at the Texas Toast Jam from Sparkys Distribution on Vimeo.

Backflip to Triple Backflip on a BMX Bike

2011-05-28T10:57:00.000-07:00

In March of 1985, Hutch rider, Jose Yanez, from Phoenix, Arizona pulled the first back flip. I was a senior in High School and thought the whole thing was a bit of a joke. During this time, the New York crew that I rode with was pushing the limits of street riding. We were into riding pools, and banks and moving away from doing tricks in front of crowds wearing full leathers (you had to be there- it was so dorky). From everything we could see, Yanez was just a gymnist that got on the Hutch tour as a kind of side show act. Yeah, he was an amazing athlete. But, he wasn’t really into BMX. He was into gymnastics and circus stunts. After Yanez started doing backflips, I went way underground for a while because I thought BMX was becoming a bit of a freak show. By 1986, Yanez, in fact moved on to work for the Ringling Brothers Circus and BMX moved on to become massively dominated by corporations, eventually killing it. And, because of Yanez, never again will a BMXer be safe from having a kid on a scooter come up to him at a skatepark and ask the inevitable question, “Can you do a back flip?”

Over the past 25 years, we have seen BMX resurrect, riders take responsibility for the creation of new companies and new components and an amazing sport has emerged. Yesterday, Jed Mildon pulled the first ever triple back flip on a bmx bike. Jed is from New Zealand and is a part of the Unit crew. What seems so refreshing about Jed’s triple compared to the first back flip is how solidly committed Jed is to BMX and to seeing the sport progress rather than merely creating hype. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think there is anything wrong with circus performers or circus tricks. However, I would like to be able to ride a little kids bike without having little kids constantly asking if I can do a back flip. Although, now the question will be triple hard to avoid.

Volumes of Progression

2011-05-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

Volume-Demolition Bikes Founder Brian Castillo is a paradox. On one hand he is a grumpy 30 something set in his ways and his routine. He runs long distance as part of a weekly exercise routine and cleans up & exercises his dogs daily because it is the right thing to do. Sounds like a guy long past the days of pushing boundaries and being progressive. To think that would be to completely miss the genius of Castillo, or any entrepreneur that has figured out how to excel in life within a set of fixed boundaries. Outside of the grumpy routine of Brian Castillo is a very creative designer and a business man who is pushing the boundaries of Bike riding in impressive ways for the past decade. Just check out what Volume Bikes is doing these days in the BMX world and the World of Fixed Gear Freestyle. When lots of BMXers are whining about the illegitimacy of MTB and Plus Size BMX riding trails and parks or laughing at fixed gear riders the way non bmxers laugh at BMxers, Castillo and friends are forging new ground in a sport that is burgeoning the way BMX did 30 years ago.

Check Out the Progression

thrasher part from steven jensen on Vimeo.

Volume Bikes: Mike Mastroni from 180 Distribution on Vimeo.

Long Live BMX

2011-05-09T05:56:00.000-07:00

Being a lifer on a bmx bike is a tough business. We get the kids who literally live bmx in their early teens and then disappear the day they get a drivers license. Some return after realizing how expensive gas is, how big their rear ends have gotten driving to and from work, and when the sheer fun of riding ledges, banks, transitions, and random obstacles confronts them after a decade of abandonment.

Those who chose BMX as a life-style over simply riding a BMX bike can also become extinct. When the style changes, so does the life. One decade its pink checkered vans and matching pink pegs. The next decade it 40 pound bikes and baggy jeans. On and on until pink checkered vans are back, baggy jeans turn into skinny jeans, and the bmx fashion runway spits out another generation of dudes who care more about what they wear, how they sound, and who is watching then the simple fun of doing a bunny hop or a 180. WAH WAH WAH.

Perhaps the most difficult thing to endure these 30 years has been the demise of big and small companies; from industry giants like Hutch and Torker to Skateparks like Vans and B Cubed to seeing your local bike shop fold like All Stars United Square One, and Round Two BMX, here in Pittsburgh.

Depressing, but it is 70 degrees in Pittsburgh and the old man is going to go ride the Polish Hill Bowl on his day off. Long live BMX!

Ride Music

2011-04-11T19:04:00.000-07:00

Unicycle Freestyle

2011-02-06T09:51:00.000-08:00

It looks like UniCycle freestyle is beginning to evolve into a pretty amazing sport.

My 9 year old daughter begged for a Uni for Christmas and is now completely dominating her light blue Torker Unistar. Check out the future:

Freestyle Unicycling: Take Two from Matt Sindelar on Vimeo.

Fixed Gear Flow

2010-10-13T12:04:00.001-07:00

For decades circus performers have been using fixed gear bikes for freestyle. Back in the early 1980's a Circus freestyler named Pat Romano joined RL Osbourn and Mike Buff as part of the BMX Action Trick Team. Pat's bike was a fixie with curled bars but it was a 20 inch. Boomerangs came from Pat Romano's Freestyle. He lasted a few years in BMX and, I think, went back to join his family in the circus.

Today, there is a revival in fix gear freestyle. Although it is not a new sport, it is a new trend in biking that is combining BMX street, park, and flatland, just like back in the 80's.

In some instances, fixies make amazing flatland bikes that create a really amazing flow when the bikes are put to use. Albeit, f you weigh over 150 lbs, a fixie just can't withstand serious flatland abuse. When ridden like a BMX bike on street or in parks, they break like twigs. These mega expensive fix gear bikes evolved over time to be used as track and messenger bikes. They are designed to be durable road bikes that absorb little energy and offer lots of utility. Simple, clean, and fast, the fixie has been a staple in the bike world for almost a century.

At the same time, BMX bikes, cruisers, mountain bikes, etc have evolved to be able to handle the demands of street and park. In the early eighties bike shop owners would literally scream at us bmx kids for riding our bikes on walls, ledges, and off roofs. They weren't "designed" for it. They were right. BMX bikes were designed to be jumped on tracks. Think flow and speed. They were light and fast and as long as you didn't case, the bike was fine. But, in the early days of BMX Street, park, and flatland, we destroyed so many frames, forks, wheels and bars.

Of course, over time, stronger bikes emerged. Today, BMX bikes have influenced all kinds of street riding and the technology of BMX has been applied to Mountain bikes.

So, what is the impulse behind using a fixie to ride park or street. Obviously, a new kind of riding is emerging. But, for now it look a bit silly to see fixies in skateparks and riding street, especially when they snap in half. I can hear the bike store owners yelling at the fixie kids, "They weren't designed for that." Yup. But, that will change. Hundreds of thousands of dollars will be spent and soon we will se a whole new kind of riding emerge. For now, we get to see kids using there Rolex's as hammers, s to speak.

To check out some amazing fixie flatland, check out:

YEAAAAH!

2010-10-11T20:49:00.001-07:00

k@nt!09HAMAbike from k@nt! on Vimeo.

BMX Scenes

2010-10-11T17:29:00.000-07:00

Every scene in BMX centers around a crew. Of course, big scenes have lots of crews. But essentially, a BMX scene is about a crew. And, in the center of every crew are dedicated riders who make big sacrifices to bring up new guys, to keep trails alive, to keep street spots secret and shake things up with contests, clips, and everything else that keeps a scene vital. In the 1980's, Dave Voelker and Pete Augustin made the San Diego street scene legendary. Ron Wilkerson and the 2 Hip crew practically invented street jams. Even earlier than that, Maurice Meyer and Vander were at the center of the Golden Gate Park flatland scene. Kevin Jones and company made the Plywood Hoods and York, PA infamous in the late 80 and early 1990's and Ralph Sinisi and the Animal dudes continue to make the New Jersey and NYC street scene epic. Whether it PUSH Trails, Aliquippa Ghetto Street, Kansas City Night Sessions, or Back Yard BBQ's at Nasty's House, a scene needs a crew and crews need dedicated riders. Mark Potoczny continues to help the Pittsburgh scene out tons these days.

Heres the latest from Mark's trials in my old stomping grounds of Hopewell, PA. it's the Welcome Jam:

Welcome Jam 09' from Bobby Valentine on Vimeo.

AMAZING Flatland

2010-02-12T07:02:00.001-08:00

In the late 1970’s a lot of us BMXers were doing flatland as a way to keep ourselves busy in between motos. Off the track, Bob Haro was paving the way with Rock Walks, Endos, Roll Outs and Fork Stands- evidence that something new was about to emerge. Of course, in and around America, Pat Romano and his family were doing some pretty advanced flatland in the circus and it wasn’t until the circus met the bmx bike that we started to see kids do boomerangs in parking lots across America.

Then, Bob Haro, RL Osborn, and Mike Buff, (& Pat Romano for a time) began to showcase Flatland on the pages of BMX Action Magazine (which became Freestylin and then Go) in the mid 80s which opened the doors for a lot of riders to invent new things (in 1985 Dave Vanderspek gave us the Vander Roll and Martin Aparijo the cherrypicker while RL Osborn did a Miami Hopper after seeing a kid named Hopper do one in Miami).

After that we saw tricks like the Decade, the Infinity Roll, the Bar Stand, Squeaks and the Fire Hydrant, emerge. It seemed like there everything that could be done on a bike was getting done. Until Kevin Jones and the Plywood Hoods. Jones and co. took freestyle to the next planet by doing everything and anything while rolling, scuffing, and flipping. We went from Decades and Fire Hydrants to Death Trucks, Back Packers, Elbow Glides, Hitchhikers, Hang Fives and Freak Squeaks.

Today, the evolution continues with Double Rollaids, Katrina’s and Time Machines.

To see all the synthesis of the madness called flatland, check out these clips:

Beautiful Losers

2009-12-12T08:14:00.000-08:00

There has always been a deep connection between skaters and BMXers and the world of Art. In fact, I believe that skateboarding and BMX have served as an explosive outlet that has allowed urban, suburban and rural males to become free from the massively constraining environment of both the art world and the culture at large. On the one hand, suburban and rural culture squelches the arts and constrain creativity in ways that are unfathomable. Many of us who either grew up in suburban or rural environments with incredible artistic impulses gravitated towards BMX and Skating (as well as Snowboarding and other alternative sports) as a way of satisfying the artist impulses that the dull culture of our home town or sub-division could not satiate. On the other hand urban environments have constrained art in ways that do not allow men to use their God-Given physical abilities to express themselves. Many of us who grew up wanting to express ourselves in masculine ways as artists found a neutered art world that was so fey that we could not find a way of expressing ourselves without getting our buts kicked by our peers. However, with the advent of street skating and BMX, that changed. Today, their are hundreds of young men who are finding ways of expressing themselves artistically both on canvas and on the landscape of the streets that they live. BMX and skating has allowed much of this to happen by providing an avenue where male artistic expression in not squelched by rural and suburban banality or urban sissy-fication.

Nke 6.0 Thanx!

2009-10-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

Nike 6.0 is the BMX brand for nike. Their recent release of Writing on the Wall is another example of the way in which they are adding to the quality of BMX for thousands of riders around the world. Check out the film for FREE at the writing on the wall website

Garret Reynolds- Unbeleivable!

2009-10-26T17:27:00.000-07:00

XGames Street Finals Complete

2009-10-26T17:19:00.000-07:00

The first XGames included Park and Dirt Jumping. The dirt jump was SO Sketchy. I remember TAJ killing it. Now, with X Games 14 in the past it is incredible to see where the new Generation of riders is taking it. DMC is on the mic which is so cool.

It's Simple

2009-07-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

I have been working on the Spiritual Discipline of Simplicity for the last few months. It has led me to make some pretty serious decisions about how I order my life and what I chose to do and chose not to do. One of the things I have become convinced of is the need to simplify the mediums that I use to communicate with friends and family. So, I am going to drastically reduce the amount of blogging that I do. Hence, I might not be posting on this blog for some time. At least, I have decided to do some work on my blogs to make them more unified

Fit!!!!

2009-01-10T16:59:00.000-08:00

The Fit Team have their own Youtube station and their stuff is rad. I suspect we will be seeing lots more videos being presented by teams through vimeo, youtube etc...

Remember Big Wheels!

2008-12-25T20:03:00.000-08:00

I grew up on the side of a mountain. And, one of the staples of existence for me, my brothers and all my friends was the big wheel. Power braking into powersildes and double 360's down impossibly steep Davis Hill Road, in Greenhaven NewYork was better than watching Evel jump twenty cars. Check out the amazing Big Wheel Action that is going down in the Land Down Under. Will Big Wheels Make a Come Back... for big boys?

Murray- Stay Strong

2008-12-14T19:12:00.000-08:00

Frestylin Generation F Flip Through!

2008-12-14T18:18:00.000-08:00

I still cannot find a freestylin generation F.

But, here is a flip through. It almost makes it worse. But, better than nothing.

Ben and Boards Like Oreos and Ice Cold Milk

2008-11-04T18:37:00.001-08:00

Ground On Down- Ben Harper and Skaters!

Freestylin Generation F Book Impossible to Acquire

2008-08-25T21:36:00.000-07:00

Mark Lewman and Spike Jones and Andy Jenkins recently got together with NIKE to launch a retrospective on the now defunct but once highly revered and obsessively read Freestylin'. Only 2,500 were made. Dan's Comp gave three away in a marketing thingy and one just got sold on eBay for 710 dollars. WOW.

BMX Olympics

2008-08-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

Somewhere in between the coverage of swimming, beach volleyball and gymnastics, bikes were ridden in the olympics. I never got to see the mountain race or any of the BMX, and had to catch it all online. But, I am still really just blown away that BMX is now an international sport that, in some ways is taking the place of baseball. As the Agrarian age ends and the tech age roars on, it is good to see wheels represented in the amazing games of the olympics.

(click HERE to see more)

REM King of Birds- Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

2008-08-25T18:12:00.001-07:00

Old School Meets New School

2008-08-25T18:01:00.000-07:00

There is something really painful about message boards and sites dedicated to "the way it was" in BMX because the arenas of nostalgia are usually clogged with dudes who have gone to seed and trying to recapture their "glory days." But, there is something really powerful and vibrant about BMX circa 2008 looking back on its roots and appreciating the giants upon whose shoulders they now stand. With that said, it was really refreshing to read the new issue of DIG BMX and to check out the Nike 6.0 Lightning Bolt Art show that features some of today's best riders while hnoring some of the giants of the 1980 freestyle scene. The art was impressive.

See More BMX Photos at VitalBMX.com

LIGHTNING BOLTS presented by Nike 6.0 and ARF from Glenn PP Milligan on Vimeo.

Closed

2008-06-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

I saw Todd Walkowiac the other day working at a place that was NOT Square One. The next day I drove by the shop and it was closed with some new owner renting the space. RIP to the Square One store.

The Name Has Changed

2008-04-24T09:38:00.000-07:00

I have changed the name of my Blog from Life on a Little Kids Bike to Life on Two Wheels. Here is why. For the past nine months I have chosen to share a car with my beautiful wife, leaving me the freedom to ride my city bike almost everywhere I need to go in the city of Pittsburgh. Additionally, after moving to Pittsburgh from Hilton Head Island (where it is dead flat), I have had the luxury of being 800 yard away from some of the best mountain biking in Western PA with frick Park at my back door and the steel gate trail constantly beckoning to me everyday when I ride past it on my way to work. With the addition of a new Haro Escape Comp in July, I again have the ability to do some serious mountain biking. On top of all that, I upgraded my four year old BMX with the money that I have saved from not having to waste money on a car. So, my life has shifted from riding street and park on my BMX to almost every area of my personal mobility being bike-centered. I could not be happier. Now, I ride to work, ride the mountain, ride BMX on the streets of the city, and I am able to visit all of the parks in and around Pittsburgh. Hence, the name change; life on two wheels. A minor note to BMX purists who think that road riders and commuters and fix gearers and free riders and mountain bikers are posers- open your eyes and enjoy riding your bike. Peace.

Spring Tune Up

2008-04-24T09:27:00.001-07:00

Square ONE!

2008-03-03T15:10:00.000-08:00

I have just gone from a scene where BMX was an odd intrusion into the life of Skaters (HHI) to Pittsburgh where the scene is SOLID. Take today, for instance. Tim and Todd from Square One issue a 50% off sale on all clothing at the Square One Store on the South Side (three miles from my house) and free beer for riders over 21! So, I went and rode street today because it was 605 degrees in Pittsburgh. There were about 30 BMXers on the streets messing around with curbs.

I found some good banks, some wood bank to ledges, a ghetto marble table top that worked well as a wall ride launch and a ton of curb cuts to mess with. Spring is close. It's all good in the Burgh. I bought a Steel City Square One T and got a free bottle of Lion's Head. Thanks again Square One.

Wednesday is B-Cubed Night

2008-02-11T19:40:00.000-08:00

It has been a little bit of a challenge this winter finding time to ride (a lot like summer in the south) due to the rain and snow keeping me both off the streets and out of the local cement parks.

In addition to biking to work everyday and riding my on the all mountain bike at the amazing Steel Grate Trail behind my house in Pittsburgh's Frick Park, I have been fighting back by riding bmx at my old stomping grounds about 15 miles away (B-Cubed) in order to keep sane.

I ever really expect stellar conditions at the places I ride since being a bmxer and being a dirt bag kind of go together as far as I am concerned. But, I will say that over the past ten years B-Cubed has turned into a pretty shady place. There is this growing layer of crud on the floors that is getting slipperier and slipprier, the music that once played is now gone, Elton's Union All Star Bike and Skate shop (I used to work there once a week) is closed, and the whole joint is just looking run-down. Despite the grayness of the attic space that makes B-cubed a skatepark, it is still crawling with skaters, booters and tons of little BMX kids who will comprise the next generation. But, Friday, Saturday and Sunday Evenning make for a pretty unruly session for someone use to the wide opened delight of free public parks and really good street all around me.

A couple weeks ago I stopped in at the Square One Shop and talked with "the trail bosss," Todd Walkowiak, who was running things that day. He said that Square one was hosting "BMX night at the Airport Ice Arena's B Cubed Skatepark. YEAH!!!! Wednesdays are now a whole different deal. I stopped by last week and it was like old times. The classic rock station was blasting, Doyle, Walkowiak, and the amazing Pittsburgh locals were having lots of fun, and the boys even spent some significant time cleaning up the crap that was piled up around all the ramps.

Since I just rebuilt my bike, I hung out mostly in one section working the same simple line for two hours. One of the things I love about BMX is that kids get to act like super heroes and grown men get to act like kids.

Wheel Building: Thanks George!

2008-02-03T20:14:00.000-08:00

Last week, I built my first wheel. Pitiful that after more the 30 years of hardcore riding I have never learned to build a wheel. It is amazing how easy it is. Actually George from G-SPort is "The Man." I went to his little on line classroom session and printed the pics that he offers and a couple hours later I had laced an Odyssey Hazard Lite that had been laced to a KHE Geisha onto my new Easter Pro 9t Rear Cassette Hub. Tonight, I pulled the wheel off my Gary Fisher Heap-City-Work-Bike after noticing that my rim was cracked and two spokes were broken and swapped out the rim for a Sun Big City rim that I had that could not be ridden because the Shimano Deaore LX hub was trashed. So, I now have a new wheel on my work bike and I just saved like 75.00 dollars. Thanks George!

Odyssey Electronical

2007-12-03T14:15:00.000-08:00

Odyssey has been making amazing parts for a couple decades and they have an amazing team. I am so looking forward to seeing their new film Electronical. It has a kind of old school skate-surf film quality to it that makes it look very cool and sweeping. Check it out:

"Odyssey has been working hard for a long time to produce an amazing video. You may have noticed a little electrical outlet on their ads recently. They also gave out t-shirts at Interbike with electric sockets on them. This was all alluding to their newest film, Electronical that is due out early in '08. They set up an entire site where you can watch the trailer in HD, see photos taken during the making of the video, and see a map of all the locations the Odyssey riders went to during the filming process. If you haven't already, click now!"

Help A Brother

2007-10-01T06:18:00.001-07:00

Ian Roussell

2007-09-18T18:42:00.000-07:00

When I was in college, this high school kid who lived in Ossening, New York used to come on campus with his skater friends. Me and Rob Clemens, my room mate, would hang out with Ian a lot. Ian and Rob skated and I road BMX. Ian was really into tatoo's at the time and he was also a VW bug fanatic. By the time Ian graduated, he was tweaking out his bug and getting tats. I really liked Ian. He was on the very high side of of the creative spectrum, wrote his own rules when it came to social conformity, and, well, as you will see from this interview, he has taken his love of cars, cartoon, and creativity, and designed a very cool life out of it. Check out Ian Roussell's work.

Boyce Park

2007-09-10T17:55:00.000-07:00

In the fall of 1991, I stopped riding BMX "seriously." See, I had ridden BMX for fun since 1980 and the fall of my senior year, it stopped being fun. It had become gross, horribly corporate (to the point that a lot of the bikes were unridable). And, I had lost the enjoyment. BMX seemed to die in the years between 1989-1991. Of course, Mat Hoffman and Dennis McCoy and Ron Wilkerson, and Taj and Joe Rich (and others) revived things. But, for me, it was just too serious. Dudes were doing back flips in the last issue of Go! (the last BMX mag of that era) and I was graduating college. I bought a mountain bike and started to get dirty in the back woods like I did when I was a kid. By 1994, I was back on my bike, riding underground street and flatland, but avoiding the industry, the products, the lifestyle, and the new BMX mag on the seen Ride BMX. Then, in 1998, about six months after my first daughter was born, a skatepark was built about 30 miles from our home in Fairfax VA (the Leesburg Skatepark). I began riding that park, some trails, and then started buying a magazine here and there. Then, in 1999, my wife and I gave up our careers, and at 32, I entered seminary (a School that teaches Christian Theology). The seminary was located in Western PA and there was an indoor skatepark 8 miles from my house (B-cubed in Moon, PA). From 1999 to 2003, I re-entered the BMX world with fervor. For me, it became fun again. Bikes were built to be bomb proff, kids would spend hours jumping curb cuts and loitering at the local 24 hour convenience store. I was 32, but the sport that I fell in love with in the early 80's was back, and so I could not help myself. For nearly 10 years now, I have been pretty hard core about BMX. I ride a lot of street, but I mostly hit the skateparks since tranny is a lot less hard on my 40 year old body than 3 foor ledges. Having just moved back to Pittsburgh, I am so psyched that there is now an amazing cement park 15 minutes from my home (Boyce Skatepark). In 30 years of riding, I only rode 1 cement park (Vans in Woodbridge, VA RIP). The set up at Boyce has tons of new stuff for me and I am looking forward to doing some filming there int he next couple of months. Here are pics via the www

The 2008 Haro Escape

2007-09-05T19:49:00.000-07:00

Legendary in BMX, Haro is now attempting to make a name for themselves in the Mountain Bike World. Though the Haro 08 catalog has not yet made it into many LBS's (Local Bike Shops) a PDF can be scrounged online. Below are the specs for the 08. If you have an 07, you will immediately see the differences. Very new is Shimano's 486 or whatever brakes. They look like Hone knock offs and are probably a production line answer to lowering overall cost of the bike, though the customer may pay. If anyone has any sense of Shimano's brakes, let me know. Haro ditched the Avid's and Hayes for this line.

Critical Mass

2007-08-29T20:06:00.000-07:00

Yet another reason to love Pittsburgh is because Pittsburghers love bikes and biking.

On Fri Aug 31 at 5:30pm, a whole bunch of people will meet at the Mr. Rogers Dionsaur on at the Dinosaur, Carnegie Library, 4400 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213 ( map ) and peacefully ride their bikes. The event is called Critical Mass. Critical Mass is a celebration of bicycling as a pollution-free mode of transportation. Critical Mass is not an organization nor it is affiliated with any organization, it's an unorganized coincidence. It's a movement ... of bicycles, in the streets.

From C.I.C.L.E

Bike Light on Critical Mass :: Pittsburgh
Critical Mass the celebratory and sometimes controversial monthly ride that takes place in over 300 cities worldwide, has many a story to tell.
Some are told in newspaper headlines, some in court battles, some by word of mouth. San Francisco, where it all began, has the most heard about and recorded history. New York CM is currently playing out their drama in a lawsuit filed by the city, and it may end up impacting other CMs as well (see Whose Streets Our Streets?). Portland is back on the streets and working it out with the police. But what of other CM's, what's their story?
We are reaching out to our CM friends all over and getting to know about their rides first hand. We want to have our common and uncommon experiences shared, so that we can see the connection between all of our CM’s. And maybe learn from other's experiences as well. It's also a place for little guys to say “Hey we’re here too!”

Pittsburgh's Critical Mass
By: Jessi Berkelhammer : C.I.C.L.E.

Pittsburgh Critical Mass got rolling in August 2001 after a hiatus of a few years. Five people rode in the August 2001 mass, and participation has been steadily growing since then.At that time, Pittsburgh did not have a strong cycling community. It had been ranked by "Bicycling Magazine" as one of the worst cities for biking in the US, presumably because of its hills, old narrow streets, and abundance of bridges. The public transportation isn't great, so most people who can afford cars choose to drive. The city, with its labor history and affordable cost of living, has a thriving counterculture, but the bike community is itself a recent addition.
Two young groups in particular have boosted the increasing energy of the biking community. FreeRide!, a collective bike-recycle project, provides access to bicycles for little (or no) money, and teaches bike maintenance. Bike Pittsburgh, a membership-based bike advocacy organization, helps increase bikers' rights and bike infrastructure. A big energizer for the community was June's BikeFest, a celebration of bikes modeled after BikeSummer. BikeFest is becoming a yearly phenomenon in Pittsburgh. For ten days, the calendar was filled with events to do with, on, or about the bicycle. The culmination was a 300-person Critical Mass, the largest in Pittsburgh history. Critical Mass has taken off as the momentum of Pittsburgh's cycling community increases.
For the past year, Pittsburgh Critical Mass (in decent weather) regularly tops 100 participants. There is some maintenance, such as posters, flyers on bikes, a bare-bones website, and a mailing-list. We have special festive masses, like Critical Masquerade for Halloween, and themed rides, such as a fountains ride in the summer. Sometimes a mass will end at a specific event, and other times not. Custom-built bikes, such as tall bikes and choppers, regularly join Critical Mass.
We used to take the same route often, but lately we have varied more. Flatter routes are easier for novices, and the group sticks together better. However, it is hard to find a flat route in such a hilly city. It's important that rides be slow enough for everybody to feel comfortable, but slower rides sometimes frustrate more experienced riders. It's a balance, and some months we strike it better than others. It's impossible to please everybody, but folks must be pretty happy with Critical Mass, since they keep coming back and bringing more friends.
As masses increase in size, families and senior riders are joining more. Unfortunately, like many progressive events, Pittsburgh's Critical Mass does not yet reflect the city's diversity.
During the April 2003 Critical Mass, four cyclists were arrested on nonsense charges which were later dropped. An anti-war action was planned for the following day, and maybe the cops wanted to practice making arrests. There was also police and media presence at the most recent
Critical Mass, in August 2005, again related to heightened tensions between law enforcement and the progressive community.
During a counter-recruitment action the previous weekend, police used tasers, pepper spray, and police dogs against peaceful demonstrators, and another counter-recruitment action was planned for the day following the mass. According to a fax the police sent to the media, they were on alert for Critical Mass, which they believed was an anti-war event. Approximately 10 cops on bikes rode with us, and corked the intersections. Their presence (combined with rain) gave the ride a somber tone.

They explicitly told me before the ride that we could ride through lights which had turned red while the group was in the middle of the intersection, and implied we could ride as a group (Pennsylvania law prohibits biking more then two abreast.) We rode as we typically do---violating traffic laws when it was important for the safety and coherence of the group. However, the police presence still put many riders on edge, particularly because of the recent police aggression; hopefully the cops will not be a regular addition to Pittsburgh Critical Mass.
Multiple factors have combined to strengthen Pittsburgh's cycling community. Critical Mass is one part of this, feeding and being fed by the growing momentum of bikers and bike advocates. Even with our city's hills, bridges, and narrow streets, improved attitudes and infrastructure is convincing more and more Pittsburghers that biking is the most reasonable mode of transport.

Square One Kill Yourself Jam

2007-08-23T22:06:00.001-07:00

I am Going! Mark lives outside the city, in Beaver County in a town called Hopewell. I used to live there and I am so looking forward to seeing who comes out of the woodwork for this.

BEAUTIFUL

2007-08-23T21:25:00.000-07:00

If you love old school BMX, it's beautiful. If you love a rigid fork, it is beautiful. If you love mountain bikes, it is beautiful. If you love single speed, It is beautiful. Check out Independant Fabrications. Wow!

Taliah Paints BMX

2007-08-10T20:06:00.000-07:00

Taliah Lempert, my favorite bike painter, has finally done a BMX bike. It is classic; and early 80's GT with a Dyno Brake protector on it.

The tech revolution never ends!

2007-08-10T19:45:00.001-07:00

City Bike Mountain Bike Little Kids Bike Bike Bike Bike

2007-08-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

Though this blog is dedicated to the "little kids bike" or BMX bike, it is well known, among my friends and those who take the time to read this blog, that I am no purist. I am and never have been a BMX snob. What is that? Well, a BMX purist is a person who thinks that BMX are the ONLY kind of bikes worth riding. There is an attraction to this, of course. When we become purists in matters of adiaphora (things that really do not ultimately matter) it makes us feel powerful and exclusive and special. I think deep down we all want to feel powerful and exclusive and special because we were made by God for such things as power and importance and a uniqueness that can only come from being loved exclusively. Ah, sorry. I digress into theology far too easily these days.

Back to the subject. I am not a purist in matters of bikes. I love all cycles. I love unicycles and bicycles and tricycles and tandems and recumbants. I love BMX bikes and trials bikes and touring bikes and city bikes and freeride bikes and enduro bikes and cruisers and race bikes and cross country bikes and cyclocross bikes and fixt wheeled bikes and single speeds and 21 speeds and beach bikes and... well, you see. I just love bikes. It is a concete that I cannot escape. I am pretty sure we will all ride bikes when Jesus returns to earth and restores things to their proper place.

This summer, I have been enjoying very greatly, the restoration of my old Gary Fisher Mt Tam. Let me tell you the story of this MTN bike of mine. In 1995, I saved and scraped for six months in order to replace my 1988 Trek 900 MTN Bike. The Mt Tam was a high end bike with a Rock Shock Judy Suspension Fork and a rigid frame. It was all polished aluminum. A sweet bike that served me very well as a Washington DC commuter (30 miles a day for 4 years, winter, spring summer and fall), regular trail bike, and a bike that could take all the single track that the east coast could dish out. While in seminary in Western PA, in 2002, my Mt Tam frame broke at the weld of the chain stay. It was under warranty as a defect, and Gary Fisher gladly sent me a new frame. The 26 inch "Mt Tam" was long gone, so they sent the equivlalent, The "Big Sur" with "genesis-geo-something-or-other." Again, a sweet ride. However, I was VERY poor in seminary (School that helps you master the knowledge of God and equips you to help people see the love and forgiveness of God). So, my friend at the local bike store pieced together a new ride for me with borrowed parts in order to update the bike from 1995 to 2002. Then, in 2003 I moved to the Hilton Head Island area of South Carolina, and my so so MTN Bike with the nice frame became a beach bike. There are no mountain in the low country. To my delight, this actually has been a benefit to me. The parts on my Gary Fish Mt Big Sur Tam bike were so shoddy, that they worked fine as a beach bike. However, take them back to the rigor of the mountains of Pittsburgh, where I now reside, and you have a nightmare on your hands. So what to do? I could spend 800 to barely make the bike mountain worthy again, but I just can't spend this kind of money on upgrades. Sorry.

So, what do I do? I could piece the bike out and craigslist it for parts. I could re-cycle the bike as a good citizen. Or, I could go in a whole different direction. Maybe, make is a city bike good for commuting. How? Put a rigid fork on the bike, replace the brake pads and get good clean cables for the brakes and derraileurs, and then put some cool road tires on it. Then, ride it to work. I just solved my cruddy mountain bike problem by turning my Gary Fisher into a very cool city bike that I will be using to commute back and forth to work everyday. I save on gas. The world saves on carbon, the ecosystem saves by seeing a man happily riding his bike daily for work, and my old MTN bike becomes a new creation.

How did I do it? Well, Surly, a cylocross company, makes a suspension corrected rigid fork. This replaced the "Kmart suspension fork" that my Manitou-blown-seals-ntry-level-fork offered and man does the Surly feel sweet. Next, I replaced my Mountain tires with some way cool GEAX Roadster tires that I found on sale at Jenson.com. They are fat Mountain bike specific road tires that make your bike look very cool and retro but also modern and fast (if that is possible). I also had to buy a new front wheel (the old one was trashed beyond repair with worn inner cones and rim walls worn wafer thin).

The Gary Fisher is back in action, I will be commuting and now I have a newish city bike to ride to work everyday. Mountain bike city bike, cruiser, bmx bike. It's all good. Go ride your bike!

40 feet+

2007-08-07T22:08:00.000-07:00

Jake Brown is an amazing skater. He is the first skater to pull a 720 on the big air ramp. Then... he falls 40+ feet (his shoes fly off) and then walks away. Unbelievable!

Pittsburgh- ALL THINGS BIKE

2007-06-22T12:43:00.000-07:00

You have to love a city that has bike lanes. You also have to love a city like Pittsburgh because of its mega city parks with tons of riding from citystreets to single track. One of the things that I am going to miss this year is Bike Fest. This is a week long bike festival that happens in early July. We will not be moving to Pittsburgh until July 10th so we will miss this amazing festival by a few days. To get a handle on the city and its penchant for bikes, check out bike-pgh.org.

The Pitttsburgh Scene

2007-06-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

McKinley

Imperial

The landscape is always changing in Pittsburgh. Two new concrete parks have opened in the Pittsburgh area. When I left Pittsburgh four years ago there were two parks: B-cubed and McKinley Park. B-cubed is now closed during the summer which makes complete sense since it was un-ridable during most of the summer; it is located in the second story loft above the Airport Ice Arena Skate Rink, but heat rises and there is no air conditioning. During the winter B-cubed will be a staple. I haven’t ridden there since the course was changed (same course that the road fools 12 crew hit a few years ago.
Anyway, I am so psyched that there are two concrete parks in the Pittsburgh area. The only concrete option in Pittsburgh right now is a small downtown public bowl located in a park close to the strip district.
The new parks are: the Imperial Skatepark off the Montour Trail in Robinson Township (about 18 miles from Oakland) and the new park in Monroeville (about 10 miles from Oakland).

Injury Report

2007-06-20T12:41:00.000-07:00

Dave Voelker is forty!

I will turn forty in two weeks. I have been riding BMX now for about thirty years! Needless to say, old injuries (tweaked ankles, wrists, and tailbone) have required some adaptation in riding style. I have begun to shift from pure twenty inch to riding the Shadow Conspiracy 24 inch Street Cruiser. It is great for trails and for blasting around the park. I have also shifted to a freecoaster hub on my twenty inch which has allowing me to develop a lot smoother rolling fakie style that puts a ton less stress on my body. I am really interested to see how the rest of the “old guys” make the transition out of their thirties and into their forties; Rick Moliterno is in his forties, Dave Voelker and Dennis McCoy just turned forty and Jay Miron and Mat Hoffman, are well on their way.

Checking Out Square One

2007-05-30T11:22:00.000-07:00

I will be in Pittsburgh this weekend on Business and plan to ride and check out the Square One Store on Carson Street Downtown.

To see local ripper (from Hopewell), Mark Potozny and his pervert friend, Shane, check out the Square One Video released on their website.

Let's all say Hoo Raa for all the BMX rider owned companies that have been smart enough to role with the video sharing and DVD rippin changes that have blown up with sites like Youtube and and programs like bit torrent. Instead of digging their heals in and whining about loss of money through selling DVD's (which will soon be BMX dinosaurs) these boys are posting short clips online to promote themselves and keep the sport progressing. Unless you can afford to produce the quality of video that Props in known for, I believe that more and more BMX companies will become open-ended and allow folks to share, or even add to what they create with their teams. BMX, from my perspective is a great example of what is in store for our culture as a whole. Let the creativity fly and lets see where it takes us.

Mixtape

2007-03-11T10:44:00.001-07:00

Freecoaster revolution

2007-02-21T18:40:00.000-08:00

Ian Schwartz is among the pioneers of the freecoaster revolution. We have been using freecoasters forever in BMX flatlad. Now, riders who are being influenced by skating are moving closer and closer to a brakeless, pegless, front wards backwards coasting style. It never ceases to amaze me how BMX is able to keep re-inventing itself. It just gets better and better year after year.

Ian Schwartz

Ian Schwartz - Chad Shackelford System Video Part

Ian Schwartz Lotek Mixtape Vol. 1.

The World's Fastest Indian

2007-02-21T06:58:00.000-08:00

The World's Fastest Indian (trailer) is a movie every BMXer should see. The need to overcome incredible odds, to invest in a single goal, to feel the rush of pushing past expected limits, and the enduring love of a sport, it's all there. This is an amazing movie. It tells

Free Animal Street Video

2007-02-20T19:47:00.000-08:00

The New Animal Road Trip Video is amazing and is free. Check it out HERE

Wheels DNA

2007-02-04T19:16:00.000-08:00

I found this old pic of my Grandfather circa 1937. He is riding a mid 30's Indian and is parked behind the old milking barn on our family farm. The pic has been rehabed a bunch and I have it hanging in my study now. What seems cool to me is that when I look into my grandfathers eyes, I see the same love for the wheels that sit under him as I have. Roots!

It's Going to be an Amzing Year!

2007-01-11T17:51:00.000-08:00

Seth Kimbrough FACAD

Bruce Crisman FACAD

Davey watson FACAD

Mike Hoder FACAD

Bike Trials, Uni's and BMX Street Merge

2006-12-07T17:43:00.000-08:00

Bike Trials and stright unicycling have been around forever. There is some cool stuff happening with bikes these days. Bmx purests are sure to poo poo this but I cannot wait to see what happens when all the wheeled disciplines merge to form the future. If you know your BMX historym just consider what Pat Romano did for BMX when he merged with Freestylin's RL Obourn and Mike Buff.

Old School

2006-12-07T14:20:00.000-08:00

I just came across a couple of old school pics from 1988. Classic street riding from the mid 80's including vision street wear high tops, a powell peralta bones t shirt a mullet hair cut and a haro master with pink and white components. Check out the candy bar endo and the super tweaked foot plant. I can just hear the violent femmes in the background.

Born Again But Never Dead!

2006-12-05T19:28:00.001-08:00

I am not sure that I have ever heard of Cory Martinez ever being on the injured list; no torn ACL's, no broken bones, no breaks or fractures, and no knock outs that I know of. And yet, everytime I watch this Born Again ride, I think, "Man he could have died so many times. Hey Corey, keep bowing the need to YAHWAH and keep killin' it on that bike.

Do You Want Answers?

2006-11-21T18:43:00.000-08:00

Man these guys are changed

Ouch: Don't Beat Yourself Up

2006-11-20T16:45:00.000-08:00

I should have brought my scooter!

I was at the Skateboard Park on Hilton Head Island riding with the Dropout Crew today. They all "tear it up." I love riding with them. They motivate everyone to skate or better. Today, one of the crew could not do this ollie 180 over a three foot gap (if this is foreign to you, then just imagine a guy in his mid 30's flying over a chasm on a skateboard, and attempting to land backwards). He must have tried it about 50 times. Every time he would fail, he would swear at himself. The funny thing was that he just got worse and worse. And the self imposed insults just got worse and worse. Finally, he let loose this line: "Man, I should have brought my scooter!" This is like the worse insult. The guy was in his mid thirties. He is part of a hardcore skate crew. Scooters equal children under 10; the guy was calling himself a scrawny little boy. I could see if this kind of insult helped him ride better, but it didn't. No matter what, I just do not see how berating ourselves is good for the soul. You are not a jerk, loser, fatso, idiot, whatever. Now, I am not one of these "think positive" and everything will be sunshine types. The world can be a real rathole sometimes. But, maybe we are too hard on ourselves. The late Francis Schaeffer said, the dilemma of man is not that he is a zero, it is that he is marvelous. It is not that we are nothing, it is that we can impregnate history with the choices that we make. As a race, we may be lost, but we are not nothing. We all fall down. Give yourself a break today. God loves you.

Bails

Potoczny on Hoffman

2006-11-13T16:16:00.000-08:00

I have been keeping tabs on this kid ever since he was fifteen. I met Mark when I was working as a youth minister in Aliquippa where Mark is from. The kid is super talented and was always way ahead of the pak in terms of charisma, and his ability to lead a crew. I rode a bunch with him and his very cool little brother Mike, and the whole Hopewell PA crew. Mark appears in Welcome to Pittsburgh, a trashy video with decent riding (Check out Josh P)that pretty much sums up the Steel City vibe. Mark is riding for Hoffman these days and it looks like he is hooked up with Cottle (OBMX team) and Bennet (from Square One). Watch out for this kid.

Here is His Bio from the Hoffman Bikes website:

Name: Mark Potoczny
Age:21
Hometown: Independence PA
Sponsors: Hoffman Bikes, Square One, OBMX
Years Riding: 10
Favorite place to ride: My yard and Finley Skate park
Favorite trick: table tops and ice pick variations
Best riding moment: any time at posh trails
Worst riding moment: cutting my ear in half and getting 22 stitches or any injury for that matter
Describe your riding style: It changes by the season flow in the summer tech in the winter. It all depends on where I am riding.
Next place to visit: Orlando Florida in the winter
Next Place not to visit: Every place has its pros and cons but I'd never regret going anywhere. Even if you have a bad time its still a good life experience.
Where do you see yourself in 2 years: In two years I'll be done with college and able to live more spontaneously and traveling a lot more and ride as much as possible.
Final thoughts: Live life to the fullest you never know when you'll go. And thanks for everyone who has helped me out.
Off to the factory!
Mark

Fitlife Premier

2006-11-06T19:59:00.000-08:00

Lotek Rocks

2006-11-06T19:23:00.000-08:00

Lotek Mixtape Vol.1

Buy this DVD because

Its 4.99
The music is great
The riding is sooo freestyle
Rich Hirsch

Lotek Preview

Lotek Chase Dehart

Lotek Ian Schwartz

Lotek Eddie Cleveland

Influence and Adaptation

2006-10-28T18:09:00.000-07:00

Adaptation is so central to BMX. I just love to see all the styles around the world and how, to some extent, they reflect and shape the environment. New York City Street is different from Bristol. Pennsylvania trail riders and Oregon trail riders differ somewhat. Park riders from Vancouver and Kansas City stand out from one another. It’s great. Four years ago I was living in Pittsburgh. My riding reflected the environment. I rode a lot of street, a lot of ditches, and a lot of ghetto industrial set ups as well as some indoor park. For the past three and a half years I have been riding park almost exclusively; due to the terrain, weather, opportunities afforded me, and my busy schedule. Also, since there is a very loose and unorganized BMX scene in the Southern SC Savannah Georgia area, I also spend a huge amount of my time riding with Skateboarders. What I have realized lately, is that I am beginning to see a bigger and bigger skate influence in the way I ride. It’s nothing big like you see with the stuff Bruce Crisman is doing, but it is definitely there. I just find myself always riding with skaters and now, like a shoe that wears a certain way due to the way your foot hits the street a thousand times, my riding is starting to take on a skate-influenced style. It’s kind of funny to me because I started out as a skater making ramps on my parents deck in the late seventies. My dad made me a rampage style half pipe that was 12 feet tall when I was in sixth grade. Then, BMX happened and I have never been the same. In the Eighties, everyone seemed to ride everything. Action Now Magazine and later GO! Helped to create renaissance men (or boys) who rode flat, vert, pools, trails, and street, as well as riding skateboards and maybe even roller blades on vert (see Fred Blood for instance). Anyway, I am grateful for all of the ways that the people around me have ended up affecting the way I live and the habits and styles that I have developed because of them. Props to Poughkeepsie, NY pools, Washington, DC trails, Pittsburgh, PA ditches, and South Carolina skaters.

Evel Knieval

2006-09-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

Vacation 2

2006-08-11T05:17:00.000-07:00

2006-08-11T05:15:00.000-07:00

Tree Ride

Vacation

2006-08-10T06:26:00.000-07:00

Fun in Jersey

2006-08-01T18:46:00.000-07:00

Road Fools 14 Clip

After they get done with the park footage, these boys just "kill it" on a simple jersey barrier. What I love about BMX is that you can take some sketchy thing like a Jersey barrier and turn it into a playground. This is a clip that some dude nabbed from Road Fools 14. I do not know how Stu feels about free clips from Road Fools on Youtube, but I say it is free advertising. So, pay some respect to the folks at Props Visual and go BUY a copy of Road Fools 14.

Evel Levan

2006-07-20T17:30:00.000-07:00

Metal's Jimmy Levan will not stop even in his thirties. This Gap is the result of a lifetime of riding a littlekidsbike

2006-07-17T20:23:00.000-07:00

Wheatus - BMX Bandits

Wheatus and the BMX Bandits

2006-07-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

Wheatus' new video brings the imaginations of a generation of boys to the forefront of popular culture with BMX Bandits. Yes, the lyrics could be less explicit. But, what the band, the song, and the video offer is a rare blend of music, art, culture, and BMX that completely registers with anyone who rode a bmx bike in 1983 and anyone who loves BMX today. Why 1983? Well, that was the year the movie, "BMX Bandits" came out. It was the year that we got to see Nicole Kidman on a BMX Bike in movie theaters. It was a dorky movie; I was sixteen and into riding pools and flatland and quarter pipes, but the movie at least gave some legitamacy to BMX. The song is pretty hysterical. It mentions all these bikes from the 80's: diamond Back, JMC, PK Ripper, Skyway. I am no Old School crooner, but I did enjoy the tie-in to the eighties with this come of age song. Go Wheatus!

BMX BANDITS
Here are the Sketchy Lyrics with the Profanity #%$&!# out
Over and under we ride
In love with the suicide
Here we #%$&!# with disaster and
careful is something to hide
So come give this trick a try
push it faster you #%$&!# and
Over this mountain you glide
No you're not gonna last If you can't push it past
Nicole
What's that you got is that a black Turbo Diamond Back?
A JMC Racing Bike?
Man I wish I had one like that.
Nicole
You stole my soul with your cute little bunny hop, your radical table top
Girl I wished you would never stop.
Nicole
I was only ten years old
Please leave your cell phone at home
It's just a broken collar bone
walk it off you big #%$&!#
And get your #%$&!# back on the bike
It's time to go lay some pipe
Or just watch me get nice
I’ma school you on how to get high
Then go home tell your freinds how you bite all my style
Nicole
What's that you got is that a black Turbo Diamond Back?
A JMC Racing Bike?
Man I wish I had one like that.
Nicole
You stole my soul with your cute little bunny hop, Your radical table top
Girl I wished you would never stop.
Nicole
You got this moto licked the Hutch kids are off the list all the Skyway's are being fixed walky talkies and stolen #%$&!#.
Nicole
Quadangle, PK Ripper, Webco and Mongoose rip Redline Proline is winning it but Nomura I so the #%$&!#.
Nicole I was only ten years old.
Is there a love in your life
Cause I wanna be your wife
It's a bird it's a plane
It's a bicycle up in the sky
You didn't say you could fly
Now I know where I stand and I'm
Tired of life on the ground
Loose my soul when I'm down up your ramp I am Found
Nicole
You stole my soul with your cute little bunny hop, Your radical table top
Girl I wished you would never stop.
Nicole
You got this moto licked the Hutch kids are off the list all the Skyway's are being fixed walky talkies and stolen #%$&!#.
Nicole
Quadangle, PK Ripper, Webco and Mongoose rip Redline Proline is winning it but Nomura I so the #%$&!#.
Nicole I was only ten years old.

I Love My Sport!

2006-07-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you just have to laugh

Irresponsible?

2006-07-11T19:59:00.000-07:00

Going into an ice pick grind at speed!

Generic Person: "So, Pastor Jay, don't you think your getting too old to ride those little kids bikes. I mean, you have a family, you lead a congregation, you are respected as a leader in the community. Don't you think you are jeopardizing everything by risking your life on that bike just for a thrill? Me Responding: Well, first of all, let me just say that I am not risking my life just for a thrill. I have been riding a bike for twenty five years. I can do what I do with my eyes closed. So, for the most part, much of what I do on a bike is very rehearsed, very routine, and very much planned. Secondly, I do not think that we ever get too old to push our bodies physically. Part of my livelihood as a man is knowing that I can overcome physical challenges that I am presented with and that I present to myself. If I were doing Karate, or Traithalons, I doubt anyone would think I was being reckless. Third, I am only 39 years old. Man, let a guy live before you start feeding him Ensure! Finally, I resent the whole safety psycho-drama that our culture has fallen for. Our culture is so safe that it is ridiculous. My experience of folks is that we are getting so "safe" that we are becoming dangerous. Many folks seem to have forgotten how to pay attention, how to overcome challenges, and how to meet and overcome dangers because we avoid all things "unsafe." Rather than say, I am Irresponsible, I would say that I am alive!

Genuine- The Real Thing

2006-07-11T08:16:00.000-07:00

As Gas prices soar and people begin to look for alternative options for transportation, I beleive that the very cool looking retro Stella scooters from Genuine are going to be a BIG thing.

How It All Started

2006-07-04T11:01:00.000-07:00

On my ninth birthday (July 3, 1976), my mother loaded all six of us kids into our mid seventies station wagon; two in the front with mom, three in the middle, and me in the “way back” because it was my birthday. We drove three miles to my grandparent’s house and I laid on my back the whole way looking up through the moon roof, watching the trees fly by until we pulled into the driveway. Then my brothers and sisters rushed to the back of the car and handed me a string. “Follow the string,” they said. I ran with a string in my hand across the rough gravel driveway, up a fresh green grass hill, around the massive maple trees, over a stone fence, until I reached my Grad father’s tool shed, white with green trim. I approached the shed with the string in my hand and reached for the double doors where the string disappeared. When I opened the door, my whole family yelled HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I stood there staring at a brand new orange bike with 20 inch chrome rims, a black banana seat, and gorilla bars. This was my first new bike ever. And, I spent the rest of the day, after my mom tied the bike to the roof and we hauled it back home, riding around our newly seeded lawn. By the time my dad rolled in at six, covered in dirt and grease from working all day, me and Matt Davis, Mark Davis, and my brothers, had made a pretty well established dirt track around the lawn. When my dad drove up I jumped on him and thank him over and over for the bike. He just smiled. That was the beginning for me. Ever since that day, bikes had a magical quality and I have never since stopped making dirt tracks.

Broken-but not dismayed

2006-06-25T17:38:00.000-07:00

It will be three weeks this Wednesday since I last rode. On June 7th, I fell off a back rail nine feet onto my back. Besides not being able to sit, stand, or lay down properly for two weeks, I was also pretty concerned that "this time" I was going to have to cave and go to the hospital. There were a few days when I though maybe I had done some serious damage. In the end, it seems to have just been acute swelling. The one foot in circumference bruise is gone, the swelling is mostly gone, the pain is gone and now I am just waiting for my sprained wrist to heal enough so that I can tape it and hit the park again. Man, it stinks to be broken. It really makes me appreciate the freedom that I have 95% of the time to ride when I want and how I want on what I want.

Here is the injury list since the beginning of the third millennium.
2000- Lateral ankle sprain and stretched ligaments from a over-rotated 270 on a tranny. Time off the bike: Four weeks.
2001- Shin gauge from a nose bonk gone bad. Time off the bike: One week.
2002- Broken thumb from a smith grind gone soar. Time off the bike: Four weeks.
2003- Bruised tail bone from a gap to 180 double peg that slipped out. Time off the bike: Two weeks.
2004- Bruised shoulder from being cut off by a little skateboarder. Time off the bike: One week.
2005- Dislocated pointer finger from sliding on a wet ramp. Time off the bike: one week.
2005- Hyperextended right ankle when I missed my back peg on a feeble down a flat rail. I sat on my foot! I still have problems with it. Time of the bike: three weeks.
2006- Bruised back from a big rail stall gone sour. Time off the bike: Three weeks. I go riding tomorrow.
Total time off the bike in six years: four months and three weeks!

Princess on a two wheeler

2006-06-05T07:41:00.000-07:00

Lydia just learned to ride a "two wheeler." This was no "push and go" learning experience either. Instead, I started her out on a little twelve inch wheeled bmx bike with training wheels. Then I took off the training wheels and duck-taped a three foot length of PVC pipe-guide-thingy to the seat post (just behind the seat) so that I would not brake my back helping her balance; "Daddy, hold on to me!" Finally, we moved up to the 16 inch mongoose BMX bike. After a week of walking in circles while princess Lydia learned to feel comfortable with me shadowing her, she finally felt "good enough" to ride alone. Whther or not she turns out to ride as well as Nina Buitrago is yet to be determined. But, for now, I am just happy to see my beautiful little peanut riding in circles in front of the house.

You Got Pegs- Lucky!

2006-06-01T20:23:00.000-07:00

I rode with pegs at the skateparak yesterday on my new Sahdow Cruiser. It was sweet- Smith grinds, Feebles, Ice Picks, Double peg stalls off the back rail (felt a little wierd), double peg rail slides. I was a little worried about the 3/8 front axle, but so far so good.

Cruising

2006-05-29T17:24:00.000-07:00

I have been riding the Shadow Conspiracy X invisible:man cruiser back and forth to work, to the pool, and at some mellow street spots here in B-town. It feels great to be riding a cruiser and at the same time, a BMX bike. After twenty five years of riding BMX, I can’t believe I never rode a cruiser before now! It is great for cruising and street, but I also can’t believe how good the Shadow cruiser feels at the park. I was not ready for how great the bike felt. It seriously was as comfortable on the ramps as my Fit 20 inch. The bike is so roomy, spins great, and is just amazing. So far, everything I can pull on my 20 inch minus pegs, I can pull on the Shadow Cruiser. Granted, I am 6 foot fives inches tall- a giant compared to most BMXers- so maybe I am adjusting faster than most. But, my theory has always been that we get used to whatever we are riding. I just put a pair of Shadow lean pegs on the Shadow cruiser along with a G-Sport Gland (rear hub) and the shadow front hub guard. I am looking forward to seeing how the bike deals with coping and rails. I can’t wait!

Great Bike Art by Taliah Lempert

2006-05-27T16:52:00.000-07:00

I have been enjoying Taliah Lempert’s art for a few years now. She paints bikes and if you love bikes, whether BMX or not, you should check out her work, order some post cards, or consider having your own steed painted by Taliah (she does commissions).

BMX and a Band of Brothers

2006-05-19T17:05:00.000-07:00

Last month I mentioned in a sermon that love always proves itself by giving others what they need, instead of what we think they need. I mentioned that even though I really wanted the new Shadow Conspiracy x invisible:man: 24" Street Cruiser, I knew that my wife Catherine needs to receive before me. So, any extra money that comes into my house ends up with her. I have learned to love giving away to Catherine and others. Last night, at least in my mind, I said good bye to the idea of pursuing the invisible:man cruiser. I called Dan's comp and asked, "How many Shadow Cruisers do you have left?" Seconds later, the guy on the other end of the phone said, "Only 15." It was over and it felt good to let it go, even though I have been waiting for someone to make a high end cruiser like this for years.

At around 2:30 this afternoon, I walked into the office and found my door locked. I unlocked it and sitting there, like right on my chair, was a Shadow Conspiracy x invisible:man: 24" Street Cruiser. How did this happen. Well, there was a note on it. It was an anonymous gift, from the men of BOB (the Band of Brothers), a group of men that I lead at my church. These guys took it upon themselves to take up a collection, and ordered this dream bike as an amazing expression of their love for me. I am blown away. Sometimes people mock Christians, call them narrown or legalistic. I am sure that this breed exists, But, my experience is that there are amazing men (and women) who follow Jesus and act like Jesus that are willing to make huge sacrifices for others. These are men that I would die for, would invite into the trench with me, and want to walk beside through thick and thin. Funny thing is, even though the bike is amazing, the men who gave it to me are about ten times more important to me then the bike.

180 gap

2006-05-08T16:11:00.000-07:00

Matismusic

2006-04-17T08:09:00.000-07:00

Intelligent reggae Rap from Brooklyn Hasidic Jew Matisyahu. Well worth your time to hear this. Thanks to Joe and David for the link.

Keeping It Punk

2006-04-03T17:22:00.000-07:00

Check out the buckleshop. Pewter buckles for firemen, hunters, tradesman, rodeo riders, and bmxers if you know how to think out of the box. Here are some rally cool buckles.

Calvin Klein’s No Friend of Mine

2006-03-31T08:13:00.000-08:00

I don’t know when it happened. At some point I just said, NO MORE. At some point I realized it really didn’t make any sense to pay companies to carry their advertisements on my body and my other posessions. So, I said, "NO MORE." I am with Run DMC who said, "Calvin Klein’s no friend of mine, don’t want nobodies name on my behind.” Yeah, so who cares what the marketers say. Who cares that we are supposed to be all impressed with some companies name and the image they project that is supposed to somehow gives us class status and power and make us better riders or better people or more hip then the rest of the world.Go shop at XYZ and keep your soul. It is so thin. I am not a better rider because I wear the same shoes as Van Homan. I do not bunny hop higher because I have Edwin bars. I am not able to do floating flairs ten feet out like Jamie Bestwick because I ride a GT (or did ride one). I guess it was 1991 when I banned stickers from my bike. I have a no stickers policy, generally. Once in a while I will put a bike shop sticker on if I know the owner and he gives me a discount on stuff (Props to Snitgers in Beaver PA, Bill at Spokes in Fairfax, VA, and to Elton from All Stars in Moon PA, RIP). So, where do all the stickers go? I have a fifteen year collection on my tool boxes that goes from Vision Skatewear to Lotek, but I keep most labels off my bike and off my body.

Of course it is my prerogative to grant permission to a name so here is what I will display, not out of a false need for status, power, or class, but for the love:

I wear vans and do not black out to label- they have earned a place after 27 years of faithful service.
I wear a Dig BMX T-Shirt. Words are important to me. I want others to read words that truly represent BMX.
I wear a salvation T-Shirt, though Rich Hisrch seems to have gone a bit soft on Jesus in a few interviews, I still beleive his heart is in it for God. Anyway, I wear Salvation because I want to represent God on my body.
I keep a fit logo on the seat tube and have two fit hats. The sticker is one ince by one inch with no words, just a logo, and the hats are three years old. That is pretty much it.

Calvin Klein’s no friend of mine…

What's On the New Music to Ride-To Playlist

2006-03-30T12:22:00.000-08:00

I support INDIE artists because they are not constrained by major labels. They can create music outside of the constraints of corporate expectations. INDIE is PUNK! All of the below music can either be had for free or can be sampled for free. This gives listeners the power to choose music before it gets unrapped. It also allows unknowns to get exposure outside of the strangle hold of pop culture. Support INDIE labels and ride on!

Want Choices? Of Course you do! If you click on the links below (left side will take you to the band Ox-Carolina and right side to the song). Or, right click on the band or song and click open link in a new tab to be able to stay in the sight and hear a song while you browse.

Aveo-Dust that Dreams of Brooms

Drive by Truckers-Feb 14

Mates of State-Fraud in the 80’s

Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins -Happy

Ox-LA City

The Blood Brothers-Love Rhymes W/ Hideous Car Wreck

Veda-Lovers Lie

Claps Your Hands Say Yeah Yeah-Over and Over Again

Rocky Votolato-Portland is Leaving

Jets to Brazil-Resistance is Futile

Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins-Run Devil Run

Lucero-Sixteen

Death Cab for Cutie-Song for Kelly Huckaby

Rocky Votolato-The City is Calling

Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter-The Dreaming Dead

Aveo-The Idiot on a Bike

Micah P. Hinson-The Leading Guy

Rocky Votolato-The Light and the Sound

The Long Winters-Ultimatum

The International Noise Conspiracy-Up for Sale

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Yeah-Upon this Tidal Wave of Young Blood

Onelinedrawing-We Had a Deal

Rocky Votolato-White Daisy Passing

Bavu Blakes -Who Knows

2006-03-22T14:12:00.000-08:00

I work at this church. It is called The Church of the Cross in Bluffton SC. Some people think it is odd that I am a BMXer and a Pastor of a church. Whatever. I have been riding the same number of years that I have been a Christian. To me, the two are not inseperable. Oh, and no the picture is not real. My friend, Daivid Sadd, who is our worship leader, and who is also a nut, photo shopped me into this pic. Ride On!

Origins & Imitations

2006-03-14T10:22:00.000-08:00

I have been reflecting on originality and imitation. Here are some thoughts.
o·rig·i·nal (ə-rĭj'ə-nəl)

Preceding all others in time; first.

Not derived from something else; fresh and unusual: an original play, not an adaptation.
. Showing a marked departure from previous practice; new: a truly original approach.
Being the source from which a copy, reproduction, or translation is made.

JAY'S VOTE FOR TOP FIVE MOST ORIGINAL THINGS

God makes dirt.
Man and woman make love.
Man makes letters.
Man rides a horse.
Man rides a wave.

im·i·ta·tive (ĭm'ĭ-tā'tĭv)

Of or involving imitation.
Not original; derivative.
Onomatopoeic.

JAY'S VOTE FOR TOP FIVE MOST ORIGINAL IMITATIONS

A man makes a machine that imitates the raw forces of energy in God's created order. He call it the steam engine.
A man makes a machine that imitates a the brain's capacity to store and reproduce information. He calls the machine a personal comupter.
A man makes a machine that will allow him to imitate riding a horse. He calls the machine a bike.
A man makes a machine that will allow him to imitate riding cement "waves" just like surfers do in the water. He calls the machine a skateboard. He calls the cement wave a skatepark.
A man makes a bike that will allow him to imitate riding a cement skatepark like a skateboard. He calls it a BMX bike.

Joe Kid: Know Your Roots!

2006-03-02T15:30:00.000-08:00

I am watching two videos right now: Joe Kid on a Stingray and Punk-Attitude. It feels good to see something like BMX and punk rock get a little bit of recognition, even if it is somewhat underground, after years of it really being misunderstood. It is incredible to see what kids are doing on bike today-living on bikes day in and day out has made a whole generation of kids able to really kill it. But, it is also really cool to see the progression and the absolute heroic attitudes of the guys who have paved the way in order to make BMX what it is today. I am totally impressed with guys like Tinker Juerez, Dave "Lord" Voelker, and Mat Hoffman. Tinker Juarez is 44 and is still a world class bike rider (he competes on a Mountain bike). Dave Voelker, 38, basically gave up twenty years touring the united states to bring BMX to little towns around the country where there was no scene (no Austin, no Greenville, no Pittsburgh). Who knows how many kids ride today because of him. Mat Hoffman! Man, that guy gave everything to make BMX what it is today. And, all these guys still love to ride their bikes. They aren't fat has beens and they never will be. I guess the only thing that kinda made me feel a bit morose was seeing what happened to some of the guys who just stopped riding. They got fat and bloated. Don't get me wrong. I am not criticizing them. They made choices. It just bums me out.

Don't Know What You Have Until...

2006-02-27T15:38:00.000-08:00

When I was in college, life got a little redundant. I mean, here I was this 21 year old bursting with ideas and strength, only to be buried in ideas. Not that I didn’t enjoy being exposed to new ideas- I loved it. But, it just got predictable.

I worked my way through college by doing night shifts and weekends at a group home for the severely mentally retarded and mentally ill. Yeah, that seems interesting and it was for a while, but even that became redundant after a while. There where two things that helped break the redundancy. First, there was this club. It would change names every six months or so; I remember it being called Kryptons at one point. Anyway, me and friends would go there on Saturday nights and dance from 11:30 to 4:00 in the morning. That really helped funnel my 21 year old angst. The other thing is this- self imposed asceticism. Yeah! I would consciously keep myself from things I loved for extended periods of time; like not putting cream and sugar in my coffee, not eating with a knife and fork (using chopstix), hitch hiking places instead of using my car. Sound weird? Well, it was great. It helped me appreciate what I had. I guess the maxim is “You do not know what you have until it’s gone.” Most people have this maxim applied without choice. Well, it’s a lot better to realize what you have by choosing to lose it for a period of time. Coffee with cream and two sugars tastes amazing when you haven’t had it for a month because you said no to a simple pleasure.

What does this have to do with BMX. Well, BMX can get redundant. I do not care how creative you are. I have been riding for a long time. And, when it starts to feel like I am a hamster on a treadmill, I stop. I stop and I change my circumstances. I chose to limit myself and it does wonders for my state of mind and my riding. Sometimes I take off my brakes, or my pegs, or, I ride one obscure part of the park that I never go to. Sometimes I build ghetto rigs and only ride those. I choose not to have it all.

Today, I rode. I haven’t ridden in a week because I got taken out last Saturday. I completely scoured my left hand pouring boiling water into a coffee pot. My hand looks like an old slice of pepperoni pizza. Despite the pain, it has been really good. Imposed asceticism, but without the free choice. Riding felt good today- a privilege. I am so grateful for being able to ride a bike. I know my days are numbered. I am 38. But, I am going to soak all the joy out of that little-kids-bike. And, when I cannot ride it anymore, I will buy a cruiser, and ride trails until retirement age.

Tatoo Tatoo Tatoo

2006-02-25T15:44:00.000-08:00

Alright, so when your eighty years old, what is the tatoo going to look like? That is the question for me. And, because it is the question I guess I am disqualified from the whole tatoo world. I mean, how hip is it to care about what you are going to look like when your eighty- only the good die young. If I was really hip I would just get the tatoo of a fox chasing a rabbit into my belly button or maybe even one of the looney toon characters on my forearm (why do that?).

I have seriously considered a very large celtic cross on my back. One with panels that I could fill in as events unfold in my life. Also, who cares what your back looks like at eighty- you never really look at your own back, right?. Then I remember that Catherine and I are one flesh and what is mine is hers. And, since she says "No way!" to a tatoo- it is like trailer trash in her mind- I am not even going to attempt to go there. The above tatoo is way cool no matter what.

So, what do you think about tatoos?

Jay's Bike Check

2006-02-13T07:22:00.000-08:00

Frame: (Born On 3-03) Fit Series One with a 21in top tube, blue.
Fork: (BO 11-05) Odyssey dirt 990 with 14mm drop outs, black.
Bars: (BO 12-02) Primo Mustache, black.
Grips: (BO 10-02) ATI piston in blue/black. My bud had a box of these and gave me three sets. They date to early turn of the millennium.
Headset: (BO 4-01) FSA Pig unsealed, chrome. The beast is just starting to get pitted after almost 5 years.
Seat Post Clamp: (BO 11-05) Fit, black.
Seat Post: (BO 11-05)Odyssey Intac light, black.
Seat: Odyssey (BO 11-05) Junior, black and blue.
Cranks: (BO 3-03) Profile Race 180 American bottom bracket, black.
Sprocket: (BO 3-03) Tree 39 unbreakable, black
Sprocket Guard: (BO 3-03) Tree unstoppable, black.
Chain: (BO 10-04) KMC Cool, black.
Front and Back Brakes: (BO 11-05)
Tektro FX 30, black. Cables: (BO 11-05) Animal illegal, black.
Brake Lever: (BO 9-05) DiaComp Tech 77, black.
Brake Pads: (BO 11-02) Odyssey 2x4’s front and back, black.
Front Tire: (BO 11-02) Primo Pro Taj, black.
Back Tire: (BO 11-02) Primo Wall, black.
Front Wheel: (BO 4-04) Odyssey Hazard 48H, black, laced to a hazard 14mm hub, black.
Rear Wheel: (BO 4-04) Odyssey Hazard 48H, black, laced to a hazard 14mm flip flop hub, black. Pegs: (BO 9-05) Primo Taj Ramp Pegs, 14mm, black.
Pedals: (BO 9-05) Wellgo Magnesium unsealed, black.
Stem: (BO 9-05) Odyssey Elementary, black.

Ode to Fear

2006-02-12T12:17:00.000-08:00

Fear is my friend. It tells me things that I would not know without it. It tells me that me body could be broken if I am not careful. It tells me that I could lose the investment of 20 years of education if I do not progress in a way that will not crush my skull.

I recall times when I have fought with fear, trying to overcome it. How foolish of me. Fear has always been kind to me. It says things like, "You are not ready to wall tap that 14 foot wall. Here, start with that seven foot wall. You can walk away from that wall." I usually listen because fear is a wise teacher. There IS a fourteen foot wall that I AM going to wall tap. I have wall tapped a seven foot wall. I am looking for a ten foot wall to tap next. Then, when fear and I are ready, we will do it.We will wall tap that 14 foot wall.

I said, "I usually listen to fear. Sometimes, I get cocky and ignore fear. I have paid because of it. In fact, I have to stretch my ankles every morning because they are ruined from not listenning to fear. Fear told me not to feeble that rail one more time. Fear said, you are tired, the boys are pressuring you. Even though the session is getting loud and you are into it, you are going to get hurt if you hit that rail one more time. You are not in the zone." I did not listen to my friend. I listened to the crowd. The crowd does not have to deal with hyper-extended ankles. I should have listened and now I will pay, even use a cane some day because I failed to listen.

I am 38. I have been working with my friend fear since I could walk:

When I was seven, fear helped me do back flips off the rope swing in our back yard, over a ravine and onto the roof of our shed. My mother could not look. My father cheered. Fear was silent because he was confident that I could do it.
When I was eight, fear helped me to jump two stories from the roof of our house into a little snow bank.
When I was nine, fear helped me navigate fence posts while sledding down a massive hill toward a huge jump.
When I was eleven, fear helped me make it through a forest of trees while doing 30 miles an hour on a snurfer snow board.
Fear helped me learn to ride a half-pipe on my skatebaord at age 12, to conquer a bmx track when I was 13, to ride pools when I was sixteen, and to do huge gaps on street when I was 18.
When I was 19, fear helped me climp a 200 foot water tower and a 300 foot radar tower.
When I was 21, fear helped me and my friends jump off a 100 foot railroad bridge in the dark into a resevoir.
When I was 22, fear helped me destroy a dozen cars in fields playing demolition derby with my red neck friends.
For the past 25 years, fear has allowed me to have what it takes in coutless sessions on a littel kids bike.

Without fear, it would not have been possible. Thanks friend. Keep up the good work.

The Ehtics of BMX

2006-02-09T14:04:00.000-08:00

I was talking to my friend David today (he shot this photo) about the ethics of BMX. It's a challenge for a Christian to be seriously involved in a lifestyle the regularly includes riding on objects that our society deems either "private" or "public" or not designated for that purpose.
Like the spot we were at today at the Tanger 2 Outlet in Hilton Head Island SC. The sign says, no skateboards, rollerblades or rolloerskates allowed. They said nothing about bikes. Yes, that is the letter of the law. But, the spirit of the law is, do not ride on my tree. So, why ride on the tree. well, it is really hard. I am involved in a sport that society has no category of acceptance for yet. I read about early baseball players. Kids were always getting kicked out of fields because they were disturbing the piece. Then, as a society, we made room for baseball. Now, there is a ball field every five miles in America even thogh it has been years since the sport has been the "american past-time. Instead, today, kids are skating, blading, climbing, repelling, surfing, and riding there bikes everywhere. The response to an agricultural landscape was play ball (in a field, with a dug out, and an out field, and a pitcher). The response to urabn and suburban landscapes is, ride those structures. Hence, there is this tree and this bike and they make a perfect match.
Granted, there is an ethical responsibility. I am not going to destroy the ledges at the library in Bluffton SC or the rails at the high school. I am not going to scratch them or grind them. I may jump off them or 360 out of them, but I will not damage "virgin" property because our culture has such a hyper and individualistic sense of ownership. This is not true everywhere. Take Spain. In Spain, the cops will applaud you when you ride art, ledges, walls, stairs, and other pieces of architecture. They have different sensibilities and different core values- they see things much more communally then we do. So, it is not seen as "wrong" to ride public space. Now, do not get me wrong. I believe in moral absolutes. I beleive it is wrong to hurt your neighbor, to lie, to steal. I believe God made us to worship Him. I believe inmoral absolutes. But, I also know that some laws are arbitrary, and not all laws fit all situations. Sometimes, it makes sense to do 75 in a 55. Sometimes, the law do not fit the world. Sometimes it is more loving to break a rule (never a moral absolute). Anyway, it is complex for a Christian who loves God and loves riding a little kids bike to reconcile some things. But, at the end of the day, it sure is fun to think back on that tree and the way it was interpreted in a moment of fun.

Jesus BMXers

2006-02-05T11:40:00.000-08:00

None of them are beating people over the head with their Bibles but you definitely can see that guys like, Morgan Wade, Cory Martinez, Seth Kimbrough, and Vic Murphy follow Jesus.
What I respect in these guys is the plainess of their faith. Kimbrough excuses himself from all night drinking when on road trips to either to go to bed early or ride street till 5 am. Vic wears this T in Road Fools 10 that says, Jesus rules (Also, check him out in Livin It) and quips about "JC" in the Old School Video Ride One by fellow Christian Eddie Roman.

It's pretty cool to me that BMX is open enough to allow the biggest minority group (we aren't allowed to pray in schools???) in Western civilization room in the family.