Month comes to an end and so does...
Ryan Sher's involvement in Kink Bike Co. has come to an end. He had this to say:
"Well after almost 8 years of amazing teammates, trips and opportunities, I have decided to leave Kink Bikes. I can't begin to thank them for everything they've done for me, and I'm glad everything ended on good terms. I have nothing but good things to say about Kink, but it was just time for a change. I decided it was time to explore some other options. I wish them the best of luck, as they did for me, and thanks for everything!" - Ryan Sher
Read on.
Shad Johnson 8 Questions....
Well yesterday I mention that people may start popping up on
BMX Online and sure enough today there is dudes all over the joint.
Shad has an
8 Questions that is a real fun and real quick read.
There is also a
bike check with
Ryan Mills, who apparently now rides for
Failure Bikes. If you check in some of the Daily Staff Updates you can read about Fudger complaining about the NW weather. Get him for this one. That is it for today, holla.
Also anyone can comment again. If the stupid waste of time comments start showing up, well then, you dudes really need to get a life.-ben
Read on.
Fudger in town...
*image blatantly stolen from myspace*
I was reading
BMX Online and I guess Ryan Fudger is in town. He is there shooting pictures for the mag and doing a story on the condo and it's many inhabitants. I guess stuff will start popping up online real soon.
I also heard that Rob Dolecki was or is in town shooting pictures of Chester Blacksmith for an up coming interview featuring, well I would guess him. There was also rumors of super-pro Ryan Sher shooting multiple pictures with two photographers all in 1 run at West Linn, damn damn.
Well I guess there is no reason for you dudes not to get discovered right now. Get on it.
Read on.
What happened to Allen?
I received this picture with no explaination. When I asked around I got some half story about Allen riding around by the On/Off Ramp by the Ross Island Bridge and the sidewalk just ended. All I know is, ouch. Someone get me a good story on this one. Get well soon Allen, damn.
Read on.
St. Johns, Pier Park Update...
*click*
The guys stopped by St. Johns the other day to take a look at the progress. I know everyone is getting excited for this place to be done. I have not been able to find any info. on the expected completion date, but I am sure it will be before fall.
Don;t let the weather get you down, I have also info. on
www.pdxskaters.org that proposes putting a roof over the park to make is usable year round, sounds good to me. You can click on the pdx skaters link to see more pics of the construction in progress.
JUST ONE MORE STEP FOR A PIER PARK ROOF
On Monday, June 28 SPS presented to the St. Johns Neighborhood Association board three options for a roof to cover the redeveloped skatepark. In response the board voted unanimously to support a roof. To seek final support, SPS will present the roof option to the St. Johns Neighborhood Association general membership at their next meeting. If we secure a positive vote, the roof is a done deal. Free, world-class, public skatepark accessible all year.
Read on.
Happy Birthday Slo!!!
As you can see Slo has stepped into the big time and has signed with Def Jam Records. I am not sure if he will be producing or performing. What I do know is that he will be celebrating his Birthday. What is this, 24 now Slo? Damn dude is almost a quarter century and has almost stepped into verterans class. Happy Birthday Slo.
Read on.
Vancouver Park Fundraiser Comp TOMORROW!
*click to view flyer*
***JUST A REMINDER OF THE COMP IN THE COUV TOMORROW!!! DEAN HAS PRIZES SO SHOW UP!!!***
There is going to be a fundraiser contest at the old "Swift" Vancouver skatepark on August 26th.
Practice starts at 11 and entry is $5. All proceeds go toward the construction of the new Vancouver park. The contest will be run by Couv Native, Dean Dickinson so it'll be a no hassle day of fun in the sun. See you all there.
Check the flyer for all the info.
Read on.
GOODS x ETNIES BBQ pics
I just posted a grip of photos on the news page of the
GOODS website. Go check out the madness!!
Read on.
Wednesday is Shad day!!!
*click*
So a few days ago I mentioned that Shad gave an ass kickin' to the youngin's by hopping 44" in a Bunny Hop Contest. Here is the pic to prove it. I can officially now say that Shad is street.
Read on.
Shad is Rad Day 2!!!
Here is one thing Shad can do well, BOOST!!! It is so rad to watch Shad blaze through a park and hit the biggest air at the end of the run. What's even better is the cackle Shad is known to let out when he is having a good time.
Read on.
Happy Birthday Shad!!!
Today is Shad Johnson's Birthday. Stop by Goods and bring him some Chipotle and a Dr. Pepper. If anything at least grab him some Chipotle dollars. To think, 30 years old, and just a few days ago he whooped that trick on some young bucks asses in a bunny-hop contest. 44 inches, damn son!!! Happy Birthday Shad!
Read on.
Who's in town?
Don't have much today. I really wish I was in Portland right now. Let me count the ways. Well there is a big one, or several, Mike Aitken, Chase Hawk, and Ian Schwartz to name a few. Really big things in PDX. All of these guy's along with other members of the Lotek family set off on their 2 week tour of Canada. Good luck guys and have a great time.
Read on.
Dude Tour Vert...
Yeah I really enjoyed my seat for the Dew Tour Vert Final. There is nothing better than sitting in a chair at your desk and watching vert. Well I guess there is one spot that is better, on the vert ramp surround by the homies. I spotted Slo Dizzle reppin' his block along with Caleb on the deck. They had a front row view of Kagy's Flatspin Double Whip. I am not sure how the top three ended up but I do know that Bestwick took the Numba 1 spot. I had a video of bestwicks last run, but I cannot get it uploaded, oh well.
Read on.
Goods X Etnies X BBQ Collabo.
*click*
We have a special guest picture today. It is one girl that every one has had their meat in at one time or another, she spends all her time on the porch of the Premium Condo, she is Brenda the grill.
Today was the Goods X Etnies X BBQ. It popped off around noon and I assume there were a lot of guys that ride for Etnies and a bunch of other Dew Tour Visiting Pro's. I imagine it was a pretty poppin' scene and I missed out.
I heard there was some sort of Dew Tour Bunny Hop Contest and Shad handed everyone including Jesse, Hucke, and Curtis their asses. I think that is a hydrolic storage tank up front. How else you thing Shad boosts those big airs. Nice once Shad, way show all the kids how the veterans take care of business. Aight I'm out, Dew Tour starts in 2 minutes and I need to keep an eye out for Slo kickin it LARGE on the Vert Ramp.-ben
Read on.
Vote VINCE!!!!!!
*click*
Go to the Dew Tour site and vote Vince for the Mountain Dew Sports Shorts winner. We all know Vince, we all love Vince, no homo. If he wins we can hit him up for the next year for Mt. Dew. I know I could use a years worth of AMP. I love that stuff. So go
here and vote for Vince
"they actually spelled my last name correct" Kroff. Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure you can vote as many times as you like, so hook a brotha up.
Read on.
Seven Ocular
*click*
What do you get when you put 12 years of your life into a project? In this case you get an album by Seven Ocular. Chris Cotsonas, driving force behind Odyssey since 1998, along with Link Cornelius have recently released their first body of work, Through the Knows. If you are a fan of Wu-tang - 36 Chambers or Company Flow - Funcrusher Plus, you will enjoy this album.
Stop by
www.sevenocular.com where you can read the history of this duo and their approach to this album along with being able to listen to and download the album for next to nothing. Believe me when I tell you this is a great album and very worth the listen.
Read on.
FALL
*click to cop that fall freshness*
The fall preview just dropped today on the lotek site...check it.
lotekkicks.com
Read on.
Etnies Tour @ GOODS
*click to view flyer*
A vanload of the Etnies posse should be galloping into GOODS around NOON, this Friday August 18th.
There will be a BBQ going and everyone just chilling out having a good time so be sure to drop by. The Dew Tour starts at 3 on Friday so we'll probably all be heading down there afterwards to watch the comp.
Check the flyer for all the info.
Read on.
Second Grenade
*click to view flyer*
Dakota and Tony have made a hot new sequal to their first video, and it's going to be premiering, Friday August 25th @ 8 PM @ GOODS BMX in Portland.
Come out and check it cause if you know how crazy Dakota is, you know it will be fire!!
Check the flyer for all the info.
Read on.
Stolen Bike Alert
Well it's never a good thing when a fellow rider loses a bike, let alone a good friend. "Alaskan" Devin Hurley had his bike stolen last night. He was parked between PGE Park and Lincoln High for the night and jerk off broke out the window of his new Suby wagon and jacked his bmx bike out of it.
He had a silver EBCo 21" with the single downtube, tube gusset. The front wheel was super rusted (from those harsh Alaskan winters). Other details include 2 pegs (on the left), back brakes, larger than average grey seat, super rusty Solid headset, 36 tooth Kink sprocket, and I believe a grey Primo wall tire. ***It also has a brand new Odyssey cassette huub that runs almost silent, no cassette clicking noise.
Keep your eyes peeled next time your out, specifically in the downtown crackhead areas. Thanks everybody.
Read on.
Lo
*click*
Lotek has dropped a hint of their fall line today, with more to come on August 15th. Click the pic to head over to Lotek site and peep that, son!
Read on.
EuJam on SATURDAY!!
One more reminder--The EuJam (Eugene Jam) is this weekend!! So be there! Come to chill, come to ride, come for whatever, just show up and kick it with the homies!!Saturday August 12th @ the Churchill Skatepark in Eugene, Oregon.
Saturday will be the big day that everyone will want to be there for. Churchill is always the spot with Bethel being an option later in the day for the evening session.
For those of you yet to ride these parks, this is a great introduction to them, so come on down and shred it!! It's always a good time with tons of friends old and new chilling out, riding bikes, and enjoying the day. Be there or be square brother!!!
Read on.
Mac Pro
*click*
For those of you out there who are nerds, or at least computer geeks, Apple dropped their latest cpu the other day. The G5 is now no more, and replacing it...drum roll please...the
Mac Pro.
This things pretty dialed. It's also pretty heavy, as I had to recieve 8 of em at work yesterday. But it's also damn fast so I guess it's worth a little heavy lifting. Now I just need to $2499 to buy one!
A frequent stop for my latest Apple news is
Mac Rumors.com. Check it out man. -slo
Read on.
Vancouver Park Fundraiser Comp
*click to view flyer*
There is going to be a fundraiser contest at the old "Swift" Vancouver skatepark on August 26th.
Practice starts at 11 and entry is $5. All proceeds go toward the construction of the new Vancouver park. The contest will be run by Couv Native, Dean Dickinson so it'll be a no hassle day of fun in the sun. See you all there.
Check the flyer for all the info.
Read on.
Where would we be?
It's crazy that 11 years ago in 1995 I was watching these events with complete amazement. It's now X-Games 12 and I have finally gotten the opportunity to go behind the scenes, behind the gates, and behind the action.
I have changed so much in these last 11 years. In 1995 I was sitting in an editing suite in my video productions class splicing footage that I recorded from that very first games. Back then it was called the Extreme Games and most of the riders were the most known unknown. BMX was going through an era of rediscovery and was building up for another rebirth. The years of the corporation and the money were on their way.
Now we have gone through the growth and we have even taken bmx back for the riders. Most companies now a days are both run and owned by riders and our "sport" is now accepted more than ever. Having ridden long enough, I have seen the bubble burst a few times and I hope this X-Games of new limits pushed, announced rider sponsors like FBM and Mutiny, and the underdogs getting their chance to shine, is a sign that our activity can participate in this crazy circus and keep it's identity.
In the end, BMX is my life, nothing can change that at this point. You can make a joke like X-Gaymes, but if you in anyway have benefited from bike riding, ie: a paycheck, freeparts, your local bike shop hooking you up, you have to thank events like the X-games. Because if it weren't for the exposure these events bring to the world, companies and shops would have continued to give up on bmx and who knows where we would be. Prolly a 40lb. bike that has a freewheel, 4pc bars, 4 pegs and a whole buncha brakes. No money = no advancements in technology = me not working the job of my dreams.
Read on.
X-Games Day 4
*click*
Today was the 4th and final day of the X-Games. I hung out around the house in the early morning and watched the Skateboard Big Air on TV, I was in no hurry this morning. I am sooo sore after the last 3 days of these events. I can only imagine what you would feel like if you were competing everyday. On to Big Air.
BMX Big AirThis event was nuts. I have a few pics from it and I actually remembered my digi camera. Honorable mention goes to Morgan Wade for doing a Sheep Hills 360 over the jump. He landed kicked out and pulled it. It was wild. The finishings were:
3rd - Allan Cooke - X-up Flip and an air. He crashed trying to double whip the jump on his next 2 tries.
2nd - Chad Kagy - Flip Double whip to sketchy seat landing. He was able to get his feet back on in time to air the giant quarter and do a double whip air.
1st - Kevin Robinson - Tuck No-hand Flip, Tuck No-hand Flair at about 15 feet. On Kevins last run he did the same main jump and tried to double flair the huge quarter it was nuts.
After all was said and done, K-Rob and Kagy went back to the top of the jump and rolled in for double teamed flips. K-Rob over the 50 footer, Kagy over the 70 footer.
Go to
BMX Online to view videos and photos.
Read on.
X-Games Day 3
*click*
Headed into the Home Depot Center just in time to see BMX Street Start at 11:30. I had heard that this course was insane and they were not lieing. There was a multi-story rollin to a 8 foot hip and 14 foot landing. It was nuts. It also claimed Mirra on one of the first days practices. Another person that was claimed by the park was Ryan Nyquist. I got squirrelly jumping a hip and tweaked his knee pretty good. The only good thing to come from Ryan's injury was the fact that Chase Hawk was the next alternate in line to take his place.
I will keep it real short, here are the top 3:
3rd - Daniel Dhers - The main thing I can remember from Daniel was his truck to whip. That's right a 360 barspin to late tailwhip, not bad. He also had good flow and dialed double whips.
2nd - Morgan Wade - When you see this name you know something is going to jumped and it will be insane. Morgan did not disappoint, he did two of the biggest pocket air transfers I have ever seen. Those two transfers along with all his bug tricks left him in the Silver Medal position.
1st - Scotty Cranmer - Whip into the gnarly roll in, double whip over the insane hip, front flip turndown, flow, more tricks than can be typed. Welcome to $50,000 club.
After the Street Contest we headed over to the arena to watch some Rally Racing. It was so much fun. Travis Pastrana ended up with the Gold Medal after Multi-World Champion Colin McRae hit a jump to car roll to wheels to a not a stepped missed finish. It was nuts and def., in my opinion, hooked a lot of new fans to rally.
After the Rally we headed over to watch BMX Big Air Practice. There are some pics from that. Stay tuned for tomorrows coverage of that contest.
Go to
BMX Online to view videos and photos.
Read on.
X-Games Day 2
Camera Phone Pics, Sorry Lo Quality.*click*
I headed to the Staples Center about 4:00 in the afternoon. Suprisingly enough the traffic was not that bad and I breezed right through, damn, maybe I will move downtown, ehh, nevermind. BMX Vert started at 5:30 followed by an evening of Best Trick Contests: Moto-X, BMX Vert and Skate Vert.
BMX Vert ws no let down. DMC is one of my favorite riders. He has been doing it for so long and he is still killing it. His first run went really well, huge 540 combos and even some old school flair thrown in for good measure. Dennis split is eye open on a 900 to hard landing in his 2nd run. That left him in 6th. The rest of the finishings looked something like this:
9 - Koji Kraft
8 - Jay Eggleston
7 - Tom Haugen
6 - Dennis McCoy
5 - Jimmy Walker
4 - Kevin Robinson
3rd - Simon Tabron - What can I say, Simon is another rider I always look foward to watching. He has great flow, dialed tricks and he can doo a 900 on command. He did do one of these in both of his runs and it left him in 3rd place.
2nd - Jamie Bestwick - I know what your saying, "Jamie got 2nd?" Jamie put together a good first run that left him 2nd behind Kagy. In his 2nd run Jamie was killing it he did his flairwhip, then another big airtrick right back into the falir double whip. He got a little squirlly on the last trick and that ended his run a little early. He hung it out and it was amazing, but not good enough for 1st.
1st - Chad Kagy - Can you say excitement? Kagy took first after his first run. It is hard to imagine what would have had to be pulled out of the bag in order to take the first place position away from this guy. Peep this combo, flat spin whip to big air trick to flat spin barspin. I must say that the falt spin bar spin is way crazier looking than the whip variation. Those tricks along with a huge superman barspin and huge superman indian air left Chad securely in first.
Moto-X Best TrickThe only thing that can be said is Travis Pastrana DOUBLE BACKFLIP!!!! IT was in-fucking-sane! I was right there underneath the jump and you could feel the energy in the air. Peep the pics, the place went nuts.
BMX Best Trick1 - Kevin Robinson - Double flair
2 - Chad Kagy - Flatspin double tailwhip
3 - Simon Tabron - Alley-oop no-handed 540 to turndown
Go to
BMX Online to view videos.
Read on.
X-Games Day 1
1. Insane Drop-in 2. X-Games Dirt 3. Crazy Vert Ramp
*click*Left work a little early today to drive downtown to the Staples Center and watch BMX Dirt. What can I say, big jumps, big names, big logos.
All I know is that Mike Aitken is really dialed. He was totally ripped off by the judges, don't know how he finished. I do know that he 180 Lookbacked the last jump in the line that was 20 feet and even cleaned the roll out with a fakie up the turnaround ramp, dialed.
Placing goes like so:
3rd - Anthony Nepolotain - standard double tire grab front flip
2nd - Ryan Nyquist - he did another 720 barspin, nuts.
1st - Mr 3pete himself, Corey Bohan. Cory went to first with his first run and never looked back. That run went a little something like this: No hand 1 foot to whip, 360 1 foot flattie to look back??? Not sure, barspin to whip. Cleaned them all with tons of styleee thrown in.
Other honerable mentions are Cameron Wood with triple whip after triple over the first set. He kept trying to front flip tranfer the second set and it never worked out for him.
I was excited to see Nasty ride, he messed up in run 1 and hurt his messed up knee on a practice run. Can you say out? He finished up the contest with a strip tease as he threw everything off his back to the crowed. I do believe he kept his chones on.
That's all I got. Skate Vert was insane, mainly because of the ramp. Go to expn.com and poke around, there are some cools things to be found.-ben
Read on.
Designer Picked For Coos Bay SkatePark
Coos Bay, Oregon -- 08/02/2006
To the grinders and airwalkers of the Bay Area, the skateboarders and their spectators, the Citizens for Bay Area Youth has a simple message: Help is on the way.
Grindline Skateparks Inc., a respected designer and builder of skateparks based in Seattle, Wash., has been tapped by CBAY to design and build a proposed 35,000-square-foot skatepark in Coos Bay's Mingus Park. Though Mark Hildebrand, general manager of Grindline, said “nothing has been signed yet,” representatives of the company plan to appear at a meeting at 7 p.m. Friday in the Council Chambers at Coos Bay City Hall.
“The meeting will mainly be an info-gathering session for us,” said Hildebrand. “We're sending representatives to look at the (Mingus Park) site and to meet with people, to see what every one's hopes and expectations are for the park, and see what kind of budget they're working with.”
This past March, the Coos Bay City Council approved CBAY's proposal to expand the current skateboarding facility in Mingus Park. The enlistment of Grindline marked the latest step toward constructing what Hildebrand said could be the largest skatepark in Oregon, and one of the top 10 largest in the country. Hildebrand said rough plans for the park could be drafted as early as the end of the month.
However, CBAY still is in the process of gathering the necessary money to pay Grindline for its design plans, making the company's involvement with the project far from a done deal. According to Nancy Kramer, chairwoman of CBAY's design
subcommittee, the plans will cost about $17,000, of which only about half has been raised. Kramer said she hopes to raise the other $9,000 in the next few weeks through a letter-writing campaign to local businesses.
“I think that's an extremely reasonable goal,” Kramer said. “Even if people are only donating $100 at a time, if we get about 100 of those people we're there. A lot of this is going on faith right now.”
Kramer said getting a plan was an important step toward attracting grant money for the park.
“You need to have a plan drawn up if you're going to apply for grants,” said Kramer. “Otherwise, they don't know you're serious, that there's something concrete going on.”
Kramer said once the plan are ready, she wants to apply for grants from the Coquille Indian Tribe, the Ford Family Foundation and the Tony Hawk Foundation, as well as smaller organizations.
Hildebrand said that CBAY's funding process is not the norm, but isn't excessively unusual either.
“Usually we're dealing directly with cities, and in that case they always have their funds ready,” said Hildebrand. “But we've worked with grassroots groups before, and it's not completely unusual for them to not have their money together. It seems a bit like the cart is in front of the horse, but getting plans ready is important for grant money.”
Kramer said the park, as currently proposed, would cost more than $1 million dollars to build. She hopes half of the price tag will be covered by grants, and the rest by donations from local businesses and individuals. Kramer said CBAY is asking not only for money, but also donations of building materials and motel rooms for the builders to stay in when construction commences, which Kramer said she hopes will happen in about 12 months.
“In terms of raising money locally, once we get one company to say they'll give us a ton of donations, then other business will be quick to follow suit,” she said. “It'll be a snowball effect.
I have to be confident. We can't go halfway on this.”
However, according to AnnaLynne “Twinkie” Goorhius, who was almost single-handedly responsible for getting the Reedsport skatepark built and who is helping CBAY with their grant applications, plans tend to change when funding issues are hashed out.
“The people funding these parks, they want you to bring them something do-able,” said Goorhius. “I had to cut the Reedsport park's cost down from about $300,000 to about
$225,000. ... That's really going to be a factor for Coos Bay as well, whether or not the people with grant money think (CBAY) can actually follow through on building a park so big.”
Whatever happens in the far future, Kramer said, she hopes that the upcoming meeting will stir enthusiasm for the project within the community, and hope within the hearts of local skaters.
“The skaters I've talked to, they're excited we've got Grindline signed up, and they're excited on the details. But more than anything, they're excited it's actually happening,” Kramer said.
“They've been promised skateparks so many times in the past, and they haven't happened yet. We're hoping, after this week, it will seem more real to them.”
MeetingCitizens for Bay Area Youth, a local nonprofit organization currently spearheading the construction of a state-of-the-art skatepark facility in the Bay Area, is has selected Grindline Skateparks Inc. of Seattle to design the park.
Grindeline representatives will meet with Coos Bay city officials at 7 p.m. on Friday, in the council chambers at City Hall, 500 Central Ave., in Coos Bay.
Grindline Skateparks Inc. was selected from more than a dozen firms to design and build the proposed 35,000-square-foot park.
If there are any riders in the Coos Bay Area that will want to ride this park, NOW, is the time to get involved in the process. Having the BMX Community at the beginning of a project allows for the process to go smoother. This does not necessarily mean bike WILL be let in. But it increases your chances compared to waiting until the park is open.-ben
Read on.
Fresh back from my adventure....
Shot this pic with my phone my first day in town. That scene never gets old.Here it is, tuesday Morning and I am back in Socal with no sleep and 1 really hurtng knee. I must say I had a great time seeing everyone that I was able to see and riding with everyone that showed up where ever.
Sunday's session swere dialed. About 30 people taking over Hillsboro and then a hard session at Forest Grove. Towards the end of the FG sesh is when my knee finally decided to give out on me. Oh well, stuff happens.
Back to work today and I have no idea what is in store for me. Hopefully I can get my computer running again so I can get some stuff crossed off my to do list. Just wanted to say thanks for the fun. See everyone in PDX in another 3 mos or so. See anyone going to Interbike a lot sooner.-ben
Read on.
