Geeze, has it really been a year since I updated this? I got distracted, with well, bike riding, among other things.
A lot has changed. I no longer work at a bike shop. As much as I loved it, pulling 20 to 25 hours a week at nine bucks an hour was not cutting the rent, much less giving me the opportunity to do other things I enjoy, like eat, and uh, drink alcohol.
However, with that being said, and with the simple fact remaining that I'm probably the only human who reads this, I'm going to give this whole thing another shot. At the moment though, I am bmx-less after a little frame cracking incident last month (do not try to do any sort of wall ride at nine thirty in the morning while running on gas station coffee and THC, it doesn't work). In all honesty I'm taking a little break from riding due to other commitments. Yes I'm in a band, yes I have a job, and I've been uh, playing a lot of soccer. Err...
Be that as it may, it does not mean that I do spend a fair bit of time still pondering the ever glorious world of bmx in all of its sublime and enlightening manifestations. A new park finally opened up in town, although the bike nights are the same nights as soccer practice, so I've only been able to ride it once. The scene in this city is pretty small anyway, but hopefully this will attract a foreigner or two to our little hole in the ground.
Anyway, here's hoping I don't forget about this for another year. Maybe I should just drink more coffee, that usually gets the old wheels turning...
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Sunday, February 10, 2008
The new Dakota Roche edit up on the fit website is really good. You should watch it. http://www.fitbikeco.com/MEDIA/dakvid2.html.
Street has gone in such a crazy direction in the past seven years. Its awesome, for lack of a better word. I am really excited by some of the tricks and lines that have been in videos lately. Since Edwin Delarosa's part in the first Animal video it has become apparent that street is probably one of the purer (I use that word lightly) disciplines of "freestyle bmx." While there have definitely been some new tricks thrown down lately, I'm also really digging the use of tried and true tricks like 180's and 360's, either when they're the stylish banger at the end of a part or utilized as a filler for a good line. There are a lot of good riders out right now who make all of those tricks look fantastic.
Some of my other favorite tricks at the moment...
-smith to hard 180 out (I never thought I'd see that one growing up).
-luckie (sp?) grinds across ledges. Dakota does a really good one to 180 out in that web edit posted above.
-short manuals to 180s. I've been catching a lot of clips of dudes just manualing concrete blocks no wider than their wheelbases to 180 out. I can't do it myself, and I imagine its somewhat difficult. And if it isn't, it still looks damn good.
There are others too, but those are the ones I've been thinking about mostly. Obviously I really like any trick to 180.
Street has gone in such a crazy direction in the past seven years. Its awesome, for lack of a better word. I am really excited by some of the tricks and lines that have been in videos lately. Since Edwin Delarosa's part in the first Animal video it has become apparent that street is probably one of the purer (I use that word lightly) disciplines of "freestyle bmx." While there have definitely been some new tricks thrown down lately, I'm also really digging the use of tried and true tricks like 180's and 360's, either when they're the stylish banger at the end of a part or utilized as a filler for a good line. There are a lot of good riders out right now who make all of those tricks look fantastic.
Some of my other favorite tricks at the moment...
-smith to hard 180 out (I never thought I'd see that one growing up).
-luckie (sp?) grinds across ledges. Dakota does a really good one to 180 out in that web edit posted above.
-short manuals to 180s. I've been catching a lot of clips of dudes just manualing concrete blocks no wider than their wheelbases to 180 out. I can't do it myself, and I imagine its somewhat difficult. And if it isn't, it still looks damn good.
There are others too, but those are the ones I've been thinking about mostly. Obviously I really like any trick to 180.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Welcome to bmx ref. This has been an idea that has been floating around in my head for years. Whether it be through zines, article submissions, short stories about bmx and bikes in general or whatever strikes my creative fancy at the moment I've always meant to document my thoughts and feelings about bmx. I feel that with the ubiquitous nature of the internet and particularly "blogs" (I have always fucking hated that word) at the moment, this would be the best outlet for my rants and raves. Also, I'm not one to steal ideas, so a nod and a little thank you goes out to bikesnobnyc for the inspiration to do this. The internet is a giant garbage heap, and he (or she, who knows?) shouldn't be the only person allowed to spew their literary diarrhea about bikes all over the internet. However, he (or she) can keep fixed gear "freestyle", cyclocross, and triathathalon critique all to their lonesome. BMX is an entirely different animal.
I've been riding bmx for the past ten or eleven years of my life. With that being said, it should also be known that I am not talented at it in the least. Kids a third my age around my neighborhood are landing tailwhips to icepicks on sub-boxes with the greatest of ease while a good day for me is manualing the deck of the mini ramp. I've had a few moments worthy of props, but nothing to write home about. So this journal isn't going to be about the latest hot and sexy trick I just learned or the awesome lines I've been doing at the park (maybe just in the ladies bathroom). The point of the preceding is that I still ride as much as possible in between, gulp, trying to keep up with the other forms of bike riding I am also interested in. Not to mention on top of that I work as much as possible at a bike shop dealing with all shapes and forms of pathetic and neglected bikes and I try to keep up with other hobbies I have, so I have little time to progress anymore. And every so often I find myself wondering aloud why I still abuse the hell out of my rapidly aging body two to three times a week for the sake of some little trick that some fourteen year old kid in Australia can probably do with his eyes closed. The answer never really comes to me in some concrete form either. But if I stare at my bike for long enough, this primal impulse possesses me to get on out the door, get on it, and do the longest possible manual I can down the street on the way to my friends.. For anybody reading this who also rides bmx, I'm sure you're familiar with the feeling.
All of those halcyon days and feelings of childhood nostalgia aside, because Jesus knows that Ridebmx and Digmag and motherfucking Bmx Plus have had more than their fair share of articles about the subject, I also believe that bmx is heading in an interesting direction. You see, bmxers are a rare breed. If "Extreme" or "Alternative" sports were a great and vast landscape, they would be somewhere in between the land of skateboarders with learning disabilities and porn addicted, alcoholic mountain bikers. The boys club of bmx certainly knows how to party in strange and interesting ways. Some of the smartest as well as dumbest people I've ever met have been bmxers, and they're never your garden variety selection of geniuses and idiots. However, there are a few redeeming aspects to the culture of bmx that have popped up in the last six or seven years. The least of all not being their fashion sense. Ever since the whole bastardization of "emo" influenced hardcore began to take place in the early 2000's, bmxers went from the poorly dressed dudes wearing shinpads with cargo shorts to the uber-hip skinny 16 year old kid wearing black levis who has become a close personal friend with the razor cut (their girlfriend swears its hot). And I support it, I think. If there are those of you out there who believe that bmx has some funny trends going on it now as far as fashion is concerned, just watch a video from 1996 while trying not to vomit all over your Loteks. Sure, there are not so subtle hints of the direction riding was taking as far as the tricks were concerned, but DEAR FUCKING GOD bmxers dressed poorly. Give me that pimpled teenager with acne in a tight shirt any day over the xxl PLAY t shirts (RIP) and JINX shinpads underneath PRO DESIGN Knee pads. I for one am glad that bmx fashion, while resembling the mob scene at any bands show with the phrase "as...die...lay...day" in their name, has at least tapped into some sort of respectable vein. And while you wouldn't find my dead body in an Atreyu shirt (you couldn't pay me to listen to them consciously. Well maybe, but the price would be HIGH my friend), at least the pants haven't gotten baggier and the haircuts have gotten less bowled and more grown out. Let's not even mention Jeff Harrington here. Okay lets'. The reverse mohawk may be the worse haircut in the history of dead cells growing from mammal skin. That's millions of years of evolution down the drain. Thanks for that setback, Jeff.
I can do that!
None of this is to say that bmxers dress WELL per se. Only that they dress better now than they have in the past. There are, however, bmx related blogs that seem to keep a finger or two on a somewhat decent side of fashion and culture, like defgrip.net. And while I could live without the car ads and specs, I suppose if you live in that god forbidden, pre Blade Runner dystopia of L.A., you basically have to own a machine that spews out vile dust and cancer causing molecules into the air.
All of this is just pontification on one tiny aspect of bmx though. Most of the kids who fall into this category of fashion are annoying punk asses with short attention spans and red bull addictions anyway. They really bother me for the most part, but that's probably because I'm simply jealous of the over ice-pick to barspin to fakie they just landed. Sons of bitches.
I've been riding bmx for the past ten or eleven years of my life. With that being said, it should also be known that I am not talented at it in the least. Kids a third my age around my neighborhood are landing tailwhips to icepicks on sub-boxes with the greatest of ease while a good day for me is manualing the deck of the mini ramp. I've had a few moments worthy of props, but nothing to write home about. So this journal isn't going to be about the latest hot and sexy trick I just learned or the awesome lines I've been doing at the park (maybe just in the ladies bathroom). The point of the preceding is that I still ride as much as possible in between, gulp, trying to keep up with the other forms of bike riding I am also interested in. Not to mention on top of that I work as much as possible at a bike shop dealing with all shapes and forms of pathetic and neglected bikes and I try to keep up with other hobbies I have, so I have little time to progress anymore. And every so often I find myself wondering aloud why I still abuse the hell out of my rapidly aging body two to three times a week for the sake of some little trick that some fourteen year old kid in Australia can probably do with his eyes closed. The answer never really comes to me in some concrete form either. But if I stare at my bike for long enough, this primal impulse possesses me to get on out the door, get on it, and do the longest possible manual I can down the street on the way to my friends.. For anybody reading this who also rides bmx, I'm sure you're familiar with the feeling.
All of those halcyon days and feelings of childhood nostalgia aside, because Jesus knows that Ridebmx and Digmag and motherfucking Bmx Plus have had more than their fair share of articles about the subject, I also believe that bmx is heading in an interesting direction. You see, bmxers are a rare breed. If "Extreme" or "Alternative" sports were a great and vast landscape, they would be somewhere in between the land of skateboarders with learning disabilities and porn addicted, alcoholic mountain bikers. The boys club of bmx certainly knows how to party in strange and interesting ways. Some of the smartest as well as dumbest people I've ever met have been bmxers, and they're never your garden variety selection of geniuses and idiots. However, there are a few redeeming aspects to the culture of bmx that have popped up in the last six or seven years. The least of all not being their fashion sense. Ever since the whole bastardization of "emo" influenced hardcore began to take place in the early 2000's, bmxers went from the poorly dressed dudes wearing shinpads with cargo shorts to the uber-hip skinny 16 year old kid wearing black levis who has become a close personal friend with the razor cut (their girlfriend swears its hot). And I support it, I think. If there are those of you out there who believe that bmx has some funny trends going on it now as far as fashion is concerned, just watch a video from 1996 while trying not to vomit all over your Loteks. Sure, there are not so subtle hints of the direction riding was taking as far as the tricks were concerned, but DEAR FUCKING GOD bmxers dressed poorly. Give me that pimpled teenager with acne in a tight shirt any day over the xxl PLAY t shirts (RIP) and JINX shinpads underneath PRO DESIGN Knee pads. I for one am glad that bmx fashion, while resembling the mob scene at any bands show with the phrase "as...die...lay...day" in their name, has at least tapped into some sort of respectable vein. And while you wouldn't find my dead body in an Atreyu shirt (you couldn't pay me to listen to them consciously. Well maybe, but the price would be HIGH my friend), at least the pants haven't gotten baggier and the haircuts have gotten less bowled and more grown out. Let's not even mention Jeff Harrington here. Okay lets'. The reverse mohawk may be the worse haircut in the history of dead cells growing from mammal skin. That's millions of years of evolution down the drain. Thanks for that setback, Jeff.
I can do that!
None of this is to say that bmxers dress WELL per se. Only that they dress better now than they have in the past. There are, however, bmx related blogs that seem to keep a finger or two on a somewhat decent side of fashion and culture, like defgrip.net. And while I could live without the car ads and specs, I suppose if you live in that god forbidden, pre Blade Runner dystopia of L.A., you basically have to own a machine that spews out vile dust and cancer causing molecules into the air.
All of this is just pontification on one tiny aspect of bmx though. Most of the kids who fall into this category of fashion are annoying punk asses with short attention spans and red bull addictions anyway. They really bother me for the most part, but that's probably because I'm simply jealous of the over ice-pick to barspin to fakie they just landed. Sons of bitches.
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