You can now find Defgrip in their new temporary home at www.defgrip.net. Why the change, well it is a pretty involved story with plot twists. You can read it on thier site. So set that new book mark and get to reading.-ben
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Chase D. took off last night with Robbie to catch his early flight today. Jesse, Andrew and Eddie packed up all the bikes and gear and grabbed a Taxi this morning to catch the early train back to Portland. I think Andrew will split for the crew and head in to go back to Prineville for a bit. I know none of them were looking forward to being back in the cold wet weather. But that's home and that's why welove it. Safe travels.-ben
If you want to sope some pics from our last session of the trip, visit the Mosh Site.
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That seem to be the motto to our days festivities. After the hard to wake up session we had last night I honestly did not have any hope for today. Luckily, I was wrong. We started out the day after a few hours of sleep, by heading over to the Fullerton Park. There we shook hand and kissed babies for a while. After that we gathered enough cars to pack up the crew and set out to do some riding.
The crew consisted of Kevin from Premium, Skater Jay, Ben Hucke, Eddie, Jesse, Andrew, Chase D., Mike A., Robo, and Jeff Z. As I said, we needed some cars to get this crew moving. The original place we planned on going was good ol' Civic. Jeff has been shooting there a lot lately and really wanted to go somewhere else and maybe get some pics shot. We decided to go to a famous Castillo Spot called Parks. It is an elementary school in the Fullerton area.
I was real skeptical about going here since the last time was not very fun. But for the 2nd time in the day I was wrong. The session got going right away. It was soo dialed to be with all of the homies and seeing some great riding in the making. The stand out of the day had to be Eddie. He was not feeling it. Ed didn't think there was any chance he could get the day going.
I think the session got a hold of Eddie. He started out with some straight jumps over some rails up a stair set. Then it led to some 180's on the same gap. Eventually he let the bars go and cleaned the 180 bar first throw.
Jeff Z. wasn't sure if he had gotten the shot so he asked Ed if he would mind shooting it again. Ed said sure and that's when he let loose with the whip. First time kinda loose and foot down. Eddie noticed his tire was getting flat and was getting ready to blow off the rim. Eddie came heading back with a full head of steam let loose and...
the session was really good. We eventually grabbed some grub and went over to another hot spot. Eddie again shot a pic over another gap with Z. Cleaned first try, and again for like 4 more tries. Eddie is the boss. Enjoy the grainy SK3 pic above of Eddie, the gap, and the 180 bar.
I think the best part about today was actually riding a whole bunch and coming home and feeling like a million bucks not one bit sore. The guy's all head back to PDX in the morning. It was fun to be around some family. Thanks for the laughs guys. Today was a good day, I didn't even have to use my AK.-ben
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We started the day over at Civic. Damn, we were all soo beat. It was really hard to get started, even after some tall Redbulls. It was still a super fun session with the whole crew, to many to name.
After Civic we grabbed some lunch and headed out to the Santa Ana ditch spot. Can you say more loungin'? Some were killing it, some were acting killed. Some bottles were broken, some piss water was jumped and some moves were pulled. All in all a fun day.
The best move of the day was after we all went back to the cars and started to leave. I was driving by and made a quick U turn and pulled over on the side of the road just in time to grab the above pic. It is messed on purpose. You will have to wait and see the video to view this one. Chet doesn't mess around when on the road.-ben
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Today is Friday and that is not what I am thankful for. This Friday I have something else to be stoked about, Chester is in town for 10 days or so. Dean Dickenson picked him up from the airport and we met up at my house in the evening time. Then we got a whole crew together for dinner. It was as epic as the last supper, no Divinci.
Kurt Rasmussen, Dakota Roche, Dean, Chet and myself all headed over to Home Town Buffet for a serious session. Steak and skrimps!!! After dinner we all haded back to my place to meet up with Eddie, Jesse, Andrew and Chase. We has some beverages and talked some s, mark. Lets the good weekend session begin!
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Well not to oong ago I mentioned a rumor that Davey (Dwats) Watson. Well that rumor is no rumor and Davey is officially the newest member of Federal Bike Company. After the Coup that happened over there I was immediately interested to see what they were going to do to turn it around. Now looking at the new team line up, I can say they are well on the correct path. There is a quick interview with Davey over on the site, check it here. Good Luck to Davey, I know he doesn't need it, dude is a crusher.-ben
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As you may know Bruce Crisman is now riding for Federal. Well Federal has really been doing some great things on their site, one of which is uploading videos at random of their riders and trips. Well the clip below is the latest from Bruce. Check it.
First order of business is Jesse, Eddie, Chase D, and Andrew all got to my house today. They have been on the raod for a bit with their first stop being in the San Francisco Bay Area. They then spent a few days in Bel Air at Mike Ardeleans house and now they are sluming it at my crib here in Anaheim. The crew is just escaping their local area weather and just happen to have a camera to capture all of the spot destruction along the way. Holler!
In get well soon news we have Shad Johnson. He will be goin under the knife in the morning to have his ankle repaired. We wish Shad a quick and healthy recovery. If you want to know what happened to Shad take a look at out 1/13/07 post, or just click the linked date.-ben
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So after 2 lavish weeks of fun in the sun, Ryan Sher and Rich Hirsch have returned home to wet, cold Oregon. If you haven't been already, head over to the Subrosa site and check out the many trip updates to catch some of the action.
They made a little trip down to Tijuana one day, so I'm afraid to see what uncurable disease or bootleg purses they may have aquired. Speaking of picking up something new, Ryan's lil' lady Sara may be ready to whoop her man in the 1/4 mile by picking up a muscle car of her own. Think the Trans Am is up for it Ryan?? Let the betting begin!!
Also, good luck on a fast and healthy recovery to Gary Young, who I hear from Ben, has been quite badly injured while on the Odyssey trip. More info on that later on.
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If you can locate a copy of the newest Dig BMX Magazine (gary young cover), you can check out an interview by our very own killer of all things on a bike, Chester Blacksmith. All I can say is that the interview is fucking rad and it is the first time in a long time I have read an interview that gave me those timmy shivers. Good work Chet. I also here Chet is in town, I hope I get to hang out and shred.-ben
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Started the day off by waking up early to only go back to bed soon after. Essentially the morning consisted of nothng and just waiting for a phone call from Jim Bauer letting me know he was on his way to the office. See, today is the day a huge part of the team was supposed to be showing up for an Odyssey to kick off the video.
I went into the office close to 2:30 and walked in to Jim, Chase and Taj. I was stoked. I have not seen or talked to Taj in quite a while. After some pimping of rides Taj Chas and myself headed out to meet up with Robbie and go to the Anaheim stop of the AMA Supercross. We chilled at the FOX bus with some hotdogs and beverages and headed in just in time for the good stuff.
The Races were pretty crazy and the arena was like WWF meets the X-Games, insane. James Stewart was so insanely dominant, even with a bad start he usually crossed the first lap line in 1st place and 1st is ow he ended the night.
After the Supercross we jumped in the car, broke some driving laws and cut of a bunch of seriously lifted 909 rides to make a quicker exit, and headed into LA to meet back up with Jim and the rest of the crew. It was another friends birthday so it was a perfect enough time for a party. It was great to hang out and catch up with a bunch of our riders that are also friends. It's late and I have an early start tomorrow.
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Defgrip just released their Freestyle shirt. I think the plan is to release 1 shirt at a time, maybe every month. You can pick them up directly from Defgrip on their site or at your favorite Mailorder, like say, umm, GOODS.-ben
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Digging in the BMX Online Vault. If you go to BMX Online and click on Archives/Search in the left column, you can take a step back in time. While digging around I found this Oldie but goodie. Enjoy.-ben
Trapped indoors, snow covering your street, too damn cold to even think about going out side? I have an excuse for you to stay toasty and indoors. Vital BMX was helping Haro fill a 4th rider position. There have been at least a hundred entry's and I must say they are really good. Three of the good entry's just happen to be homies from our very own backyard.
Caleb Quanbeck, Jesse Leske, and Tony Archibeque all have some worth watching entry's. Some other key entries you should take a look at are Matt Sparks and you def. have to take a look at Smoker Dave Shilling's part. If you really want to spend some time indoors you can watch all the vids, it should take at least 5 hours out of your day. Have fun and stay safe.-ben
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When I wrote yesterdays post I linked to the Peak Sports Mysapce page. They had a video trailer for something they are working on. I thought I would share that video with you. Oh yeah, BTW, Lotek started the BMX Video Mixtape.-ben
"Nick Kirkland and friends in a Range Rover came by for a little bit, didn't stay for long (hung over hehe), but they made an appearance. My buddy Ryan from Toledo came, everyone from Corvallis, Riley, and pretty much everyone from Albany. Shawn put on a show when he got there, 8 foot airs, smooth, stylish (check the pics). It almost started snowing a little bit. I think it was the best turnout the park has ever had, the bikers actually out-numbered the skaters. I think at one point there was 30 kids on bikes. Cops were driving by all day, they even stopped to watch a couple times! No trouble at all, Albany is officially a good spot to ride, skaters are chill, cops are chill. Maybe we can do one again this summer, with a jam format comp and Peak can throw in some goods, or Goods can throw in some goods, kuz dey got goods, lol. Thanks a lot for your help, us locals really appreciate it, and it makes us feel special kuz you guys are kinda famous in the bmx scene."- Albany Alan
All the thanks go to Alan and his crew. I am really stoked the first Jam of the year went off without a hitch, i really wish I could have been there. If they do another Jam I will def. do everything I can to see that it blows up huge. Thanks for the words Alan.-ben
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Well, it looks like Portland's biggest BMX hotdog has done it again.
Shad 'Boogie' Johnson may have broken his foot riding today. What you wouldn't expect is that he broke his foot doing a framestand on an '87 GT Performer in the street outside of GOODS...well now that I think about it, we all probably would expect that from Shad!!
Lets just say that framestands, the street, trying to impressing neighbor girls, Honda Civics, and Shad don't mix too well. Be careful in those streets kids.
Feel free to stop by and bring Shad some canadian bacon pizza and Mr. Pibb (light ice) to cheer the big guy up.
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Jam: Albany, Oregon on Saturday, January 13th. It starts and then it ends. I hear talks about lights till 11, so pack some warm clothes for that evening sesh.
You can click this link to go to the Skate Oregon Albany page to check out the park and to get directions.
You can also follow this link to www.weather.com to scope the weather for the day. All I have to say is D-R-Y!!!
I wish I could be there. The last time we were there, bike were not allowed and we decided to hit it on the way back from a Southern Oregon Trip. Skaters were jerks and Pizza had a gun. Luckily he didn't pull it, but were were surrounded by every cop in the town in no time flat. We ended up leaving peacefully. I drove by the place on so many trip hoping to catch a sneak sesh, but no luck. Have fun guy's, it is rad that we are allowed now.-ben
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So it cold outside, not just up there either. I thought I would compile a list of 5 things to do when you are seeking warm refuge indoors away from the cold. Here's my list.
1. Sleep In. I know this one sounds lazy, but there is nothing better than being toasty in the bed while it is cold out. So Good!
2. Check this site of course. That will only take a few minutes of you r long day to come.
3. Catch up on your Reading. Grab that pile of magazines you haven't had the change to go through. Grab a book you have always thought about. Hell pick a subject and go online and make yourself smarter. I really like this stuff, expecially the last one. I go through my everyday and anytime there is something that makes me say, "I wonder why it's like that." I make note of it and when I have some extra time, I figure out why it is like that.
4. Get an early start. Strip and Paint the Bike. Here are a key element to making this task a successful one, Space heater. You may be inside the garage, but stripper and paint will not work properly unless the area you are working in is a nice toasty temperature.
5. Holla at some friends, get some pizza's, beverages (if age allows) and play some video games. Get on Da Mic is a great one if you have your crew together.
Hell if you are really ambitious, maybe you can just do everything on this list. Talk about making time fly by. Oh yeah, here is a cool link to do some of that #3. A history of cold weather in Portland.
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So there was a rumor of snow in the Portland area today, how was it? That's all I've really got. Don't forget about that Albany Jam this Saturday. Have a great day.-ben
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Portlanders and half of Subrosa, Rich (Hirsch) and Ryan (Sher) showed up in my hood today. With them was the other half of their crew, Hoang Tran and Eli Platt. They are down here to shoot pictures and get filming underway for the first full length Subrosa Video. So far I am really hyped on what they are doing, here's to a great first full year.
Well the above picture means one of two things. One, Ben picked up a new sponser. Two, Ben kept a sponser and picked up a new job full of benefits and all that stuff that comes with a full time gig. Well the answer is, two.
Ben is now a full time Joe working for the Corporate Giant Haro. He is now the warantee guy and looking at the product line-up, Ben could be really busy, haha. I had to take a stab. I guess this also means Ben is now officially a California Resident, the Governator Welcomes you! Congrats on the new job Ben.
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Dean Dikinson has been moved out of the Northwest for quite sometime now. He has been down here in Southern California going to film school and trying to stay out of trouble, I can't say he does the same when he heads home on his breaks, haha. If you know Dean you know he loves to creep out and what else, umm. Oh yeah, he loves to spend all of his extra time trying to track down that one unridden pool. I think he is up to somewhere around 67 different pools now.
Well, Dean is wrapping up his Holiday trip home and fly's back to not-so-sunny California tomorrow. He then will be heading into probably the toughest part of school yet. If you are in town and see Dean, say what's up. If you are into pools, see if you can bribe him into showing you some of his secret gems. If you want to see what this whole pool thing about, you can read this article that Dean was a big part of.
Today I was lucky enough to get a copy of the new Animal Road Trip DVD. I saw the vid about a month or so ago on the net, but the crappy quality did it no justice. Besides, there is nothing better than watching some good bmx in the comfort of you home on the TV with a bit of surround sound. I mention surround sound because a large portion of the music on the DVD is done by none other than the Angry Russian, Will Taubin. If you don;t know who Will is, you should first hit yourself in the face and then continue reading.
Will is one of the original guys to come from the NYC/NJ Scene and the dude kills it something real. He still rides a bit, but the guy has school and his music to attend to. Check out this Interview he had on the Defgrip Website. Back to the video.
Like I was saying the video is dope, music is really good and the best part is the video is free. Animal skipped the whole Interbike Vegas Show in order to take this trip and put out a nice little edit for their fans. Most mailorders should have the video any day now. I think you should call Shad over at our favorite local Shop/Mailorder Goods and harass him until the video shows. Tell him Bdubbs sent ya, haha. Oh yeah, I think they are also having a pretty decent sale through the 7th, so you better get on it.-ben
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That is the title of an article featured in the RideBMX. "Darin Read and friend's basement cement bowl. Yes, you read that right." Exactly as the magazine said it. It is a pretty good article with some dialed photos. Grab that new Issue when it surfaces.
In other Upper Northwest News, there is a Diamondback add in the back of the mag featuring Davey Watson. That is pretty funny. I more current DWats news, he is rumored to be riding for Federal. I must say that is a very good move on the regrowing companies part. Congrats Davey. Also if you haven't seen the Facad Ad featuring Davey, find that shit. It is really good. Maybe I will find it for tomorrows post.-ben
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Over at BMX Online you can check out some old photos of a couple of old Portland guys, haha. Yeah there are two pictures, one of Shad, the other of Bristol and they are both riding street. I guess those pegs on Shad bike aren't just for ramps. Hmmm, who would have thunk it.-ben
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A lot of people think with a new year comes a clean slate. We all start with a 0 or a 100. We can either build on that 0 or work to keep that 100. I think I like starting with the 0. I rather work towards some goals for the year. Being given a 100 and then working to keep it seems like it will not let me do what I want to acheive a succuessful year. With all of that said and done make the best of this next year.
There are talks and plans to change the way this site is done, it all takes time and planning. All we really have now is an idea, we just have to work on getting it done. Please start emailing in if you have anything you want to see on the site. If you have a scene site that pertains to the Northwest, let us know. I just came back from Portland and things seem a little disorganized now. This site once was the place that everyone from the city and the region came to find out what was going on.
With all that said, have a great New Year!
If you have some time today stop by and chck out this site, Two Wheels BMX. They have been long time visitors to the site and they have a pretty good thing going on. Again if you want something you have done featured on the site, email us at the address to the top right of this story.-ben
