With the amount of people getting hurt lately I think a helmet is a good idea, but I don't want to have to wear one. I think being able to choose to ride with a helmet is an important part of life as a rider. If you want to still be able to make up your own mind, go to these meetings!!!-ben
The Clark County Board of Commissioners (Betty Sue Morris, Marc Boldt and Steve Stuart) will be meeting with the Youth Commission (Y.C. Website) at an informal work session this Wednesday, November 28 to discuss bike helmets.
If you have an interest in whether or not the county changes the law to require bike helmets (they are not currently required for riders of any age), you might want to attend this work session. There won’t be a formal public comment period at the work session, but occasionally the County Commissioners will ask the audience to comment on the subject. You can e-mail the commissioners after the work session to express your opinion as well boardcom@clark.wa.gov.
No decisions will be made as a result of this work session, but the Youth Commission may make a recommendation to the County Commissioners about what they’d like to see happen. Note that any laws about bike helmets can easily be expanded to include requirements related to safety gear/helmets for all users of county-owned skate parks (including skateboarders).
Bike Helmet Work Session Date: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 Time: 3 p.m. Place: Public Service Center, 6th floor training room, 1300 Franklin Street in downtown Vancouver Map to meeting place.
Portland's very on DBZ has been quite effected by what has happened to Jimmy and has decided to step up and auction off his totally modern and kick ass T1 Barcode. All of the proceeds from the bikes sale will be donated to the EmpireHelp Jimmy Fund. Here is a bit from DBZ about his reasons for the sale and a general idea of what Jimmy means to a large part of the BMX Community. Stop by check the bike and bid. Where else can you pick up a near new $1400 bike and really help out one hell of a legend. Thanks DBZ. Guy's like you are why I made BMX my life. BMX is a family, people really need to figure that out again. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.-ben
Words by DBZ: If any of you keep up with the wild and whacky world of BMX, you've probably already heard that Jimmy Levan had a horrible crash in New Jersey whilst filming for the next Odyssey video. He's still in intensive care with a fractured skull, but is conscious after coming out of a medically-induced coma and seems to be doing better at this point.
I don't really know why, but for some reason the news really affected me in a big way. I've only met the guy once, briefly, at the Ritz in Austin a few years back, and I think we exchanged no more than a dozen words. Besides that, I've been a fan of his riding ever since I first saw pictures of him in magazines in the early nineties.
He's always been a total badass--one time, at some godawful MTV "extreme" clusterfuck in his hometown of Louisville, he was chastised for jumping his bike right out of the competition area, clear through to the street outside. Some security meathead tried to tell him what he was and wasn't allowed to do in the confines of the event, to which he replied, "This is my town and I'll do what the fuck I want!"
Over the years, he's come to symbolize a lot of why BMX is so important to me. It gets weird, growing older with a passion for what is supposed to be a child's pastime, and Jimmy and his company Metal Bikes have become ever more significant to me as a consequence. The same goes for the bike company Terrible One, but that's a whole other story.
Hearing of Jimmy getting fucked up like this had me pretty depressed for days, until I made some calls and found out he was doing okay. Reflecting on why, I think it's because of basic empathy. Relating to other people is difficult in this overpopulated and socially fragmented age, so I think we choose who we bother to invest our attention in. Often it's the people around us that we know, but just as often it's not.
There's something else, though. I can't remember the exact quote, but Hunter Thompson wrote in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas about one of the great failures of the sixties counter-culture being the mistaken belief that there would be some benevolent presence at the end of the trip, ready to pick up the pieces. It's the kind of misapprehension that I've never been under, having barely had the luxury of a family, and it has been brought home to me the most when I've woken up in a hospital for one reason or another. All I've had are my friends, and they've done as much as they can--which has always been way above and beyond what I ever would have expected.
Tom and Tina Williams have set up a fund for Jimmy's hospital bills and expenses through their bike shop, Empire BMX. I've put the URL below; they are going to match any donation. A few days ago, Odyssey (a BMX company that sponsors Jimmy) announced that they will match the total sum from Empire as well, so if you give ten bucks, Jimmy gets forty.
To that end, I've decided to sell my T-1 Barcode bike on eBay and donate the money. I never ride the damn thing, and it bugs me to have two BMX bikes. I don't want to be a "bike shop guy" with a bunch of cool yet unused stuff, and this just seems like the right thing to do. So, if you're in the market for a state-of-the-art BMX bike, built by the most anal-retentive obsessive mechanic on the west coast around a custom frame fabricated in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, do a search for T-1 Barcode JTML… Jimmy The Man Levan.
Click the above link of go here to view Auction. Read on.
A very close friend of mine and a Legend in the BMX Community, Jimmy Levan has suffered a serious head injury in a skateboarding accident.
"His insurance will not cover the rehabilitation he needs and a fund has been set up to help him. Jimmy is doing a lot better but is very confused and cannot recall alot of the last year. He is going to need to go to a rehabilitation centre for serious brain injuries, I was talking with his mom today and we are going to see if we can get him into a centre in jfk edison under some sort of charity or low earning fund, but this will cost $70.000 (for one month). $40,000 before and the rest after."-Tom Hooper
Empire BMX is going to match any donation given to the Help Jimmy Fund, so even if its $10 dollars it will all make a difference.
Odyssey will then match the total amount that Empire Raises. So that means your donation will be worth 4 times a much. $10 becomes $40. So please help out all you can. Have a great Thanksgiving.-ben
This past weekend was the Nike 6.0 Banksgiving Jam. They held one of these last month a Garret Reynolds house in Jersey and now it was time fo the West Coast stop in Santa Ana California at Ben Snowdens house. I guess Nate Wessell and Ron Kimler were both in town to build the ramp set up. I as talking to someone that was around helping with the build and said the two of them were machines and threw the ramps up in no time.
The event started at 12 and I showed up a little early after I received a call that the parking was already a mess. "Thanks for the heads up Lord of D! " As I was rolling into the event half od the Give D Crew drove up behind me at the light. They were on the horn hard and I knew this was going to be an interesting day. Boy was I right, haha. It is turning hot, that sucks.
I originally was going to skip this event but Vince had called and asked me to show up so we could hang out. I blame him for everything that fallows, haha. As Hoang, Kyle, Nick, Walker and I creeped into the event. We were greated by door people and a need to sign waivers.
We took the time to fill stuff out. There seemed to be a road block of familiar faces scribbling their info down as fast as possible. They were not messing around. Here you cen see 2 Nicks, a Hoang, and some permission slips.
This is Nick Benson. As far as I am concerned he runs shit over at S&M and Fit. Dude is legit. Nick, mean muggin. It was already starting to get hot out side.
Here you can see another Nick, Nick Corsiglia, wrestling with the Orange permission band we had to wear. Nick is the backwards coasting member of the Give D Crew, dude shreds. Nuno is a big fan and so am I.
Welcome to the Nike 6.No Circus. Crack open the veins and prepare for the energy drinks to flow.
Along the left you will see all of the sponsor booths. I am not sure if they were sponsors or just there to hype their shit up along side bmx. Extreme!
F-it! Robbie and the posse hiding out in the shade. See I told you it was getting hot.
United rider, Ryan Quinones talking to RAS CAT, Shawn Garrett in the Fit booth.
It was crazy how much crap Nike had to give out. Shirts, Bandannas, Rubber toys, Koozies, Multi-Tools the list goes on and on.
The host Ben Snowden and to the left in the black shirt, Catfish. Catfish blessed us all day long with his wonderful voice. I love how he talks shit on people and they are stoked he is talking about them, fuck that.
The ramps, I really had lost all interest at this point. the day started out nice, cool and overcast. I dressed hoping it would stay that way and you can see from the sky it didn't. Most were stoked, I wasn't.
Rooftop going up! Mike gave Vince a ride to the event since I guess Vince pretty much lives with his. What a stand up guy. Starts to make up for the cry baby he was on Road Fools 2 in Portland.
Albert with the final shot of this post. Dude was having a way better time than myself and I can appreciate that. Albert fucking rocks. Come back tomorrow for part 2 where we get to see Vince nose case a backflip!
Read on.
First off let me start off that this was not a typical evening at the office. In fact I think this was the most complete gathering of all our team guys ever....well in at least a long time. Check out my terrible photos that I took last Wednesday just to share with you guys. This was a late night, 1am and filming for Electronical wrapped!-ben
Nuno up front. Will, one of the dudes putting the Odyssey Video together and JC checking out the new copy of RideBMX.
Will, Nuno, groggy JC, Adam Banton and Chris Cotsonas creeping the way background.
Damn that new Ride must be good, it is. JC, Chase Hawk talking to Nuno. Blurry Adam and Will checking out the art, photos, magazine covers and posters in the lobby.
See, the issue is good. Matt Beringer hanging out on the couch, Mikey in the background.
Chase now with the mag, haha. Cam Wood, cast now removed, scratching head in the background.
Blurry Cam getting inappropriate and Mikey snooping around Jim Bauers office area.
Killa Cam flexin' on me. Is that a paint color book in Mikeys hand? Keep visiting the Odyssey site to find out.
Well I had been rolling out the posts and then I ran into some computer issues. I have had the photos for this thing waiting so here you go. The Forrest Berkey bike check!
Forrest had been enjoying the Austin life lately. So much in fact that he spread the good word and got Allen to move down with him. If anyone has ever ridden with Forrest, you know the dude kills it. 8 Foot crete q-pipe airs both ways as high as the condors soar. But anyway. Forrest recently was dialing in his ride and I asked if he would be down to bike check. Here you dudes go! Remember as always: *click to go big*
Frame- Fit S3 Aitken, 20.75" Flat Green Fork- Sunday Morning 2 White Bars- Fly Bikes Pantera Black Headset- Kink Integrated Stem- S&M Redneck LT Black Front Wheel- Chris King 36H, Sun Big City Lite Front Tire- Odyssey Path 2.10 Pegs- Animal Lite Seat- Odyssey Black Denim Veteran Post- Thomson Elite Black Clamp- Single Clamp Black Grips- ODI Longneck White Bar Ends- Fly Bikes Nylon Rear Wheel- Odyssey Hazard Lite LHD 36H Driver- Kink 9T Rear Tire- Odyssey Path Plyte 1.85 Cranks- Profile 175mm w/ Ti Spindle Black Pedals- Odyssey JC Sealed Blue Sprocket- Odyssey Vermont 25T Black Chain- Shadow Chrome Brakes- Dia Comp Hombre Black Cable- Odyssey Linear White Lever- Odyssey Monolever Medium Black
This month's Ride BMX Magazine is a total redesign featuring 2 different cover, one for News Stand the other for Subscription. They have a new Art Director and there is way more emphasis put into every story. The new mag looks great and to me one of the best parts is the Insight Advertisement that features Portland's own, Chester Blacksmith. If you see the new issue, pick it up and enjoy.-bdubbs was here.
Don't forget about the Skatepark Meeting today. Look Below!!!Read on.
There is a Skatepark meeting tomorrow Nov. 15th. Please make the meeting if you can. You know how important this is to do. Ed Benedict Street Plaza Park Meeting November 15th 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm Early Boyles Elementary School Cafeteria (10822 SE Bush St.; 1 block south of SE Powell Blvd.)
In other Skatepark Related news. There is an great interview with Dean Dickinson over at themindseye.squarespace.com. In the Interview he talks about how it is important for riders to get involved in these park projects to make sure we are included and out voice is heard.
Read on.
I set out yesterday to meet up with Ryan Navazio, Your Boy Dwatts, and Mike Nickleback Brennan to hang out ride and maybe catch the last clips to be filmed for the upcoming Ride BMX Video Insight. If you haven't seen Navaz's last video, Left/Right, you must live under a rock or share a cave with Usama. Left/ Right was amazing and this video should be equally as good, most likely even better. The line up for the new video is, Mike Brennan, Jerad Washington, Davey Watson, Chester Blacksmith, Darryl Tocco, and Dakota Roche.
I met up with the guys at Civic Center and after a bit we headed out to meet up with Ryan Fudger at In and Out and then head over to El Toro. El Toro is that crazy 20 stair Josh Heino and very few others have messed with. If your trip is going here, someone is going to get pretty serious. When we got to the school Dakota Roche was there waiting for us, that was a dialed suprise.
I can't really comment of what went down, but Mike Brennan give his clip 4 attempts and he was beaten quite badly when all was said and done. Dwatts spent some time at the top of the set preparing for his go and when he finally did what he was there to do, we were all fucking amazed. Dude cleaned it totally perfect first go. I apologize for all the secrecy, but get the video and watch it to see what went down. I wan't to see Ryan make more videos, so buy this, don't download it.
Davey Watson, Civic Center.
Ryan Navazio, Mike Brennan, OD! at Civic Center.
Fudger and crew at In and Out.
Dakota in the house outside the school.
Haha, normal Cali. day. Camera's check.
Dakota dialing things in.
No pictures please!
Dakota getting rad! He's totally going backwards.
I said no pictures! The setup.
Fudger only has so many hands, he asked me to run this camera for him.
This is what I saw in the view finder. Davey getting mentally prepared.
Davey and his victory shot. This is a lot like a fisherman with his catch.
Packed up and heading home. Holy shit what a session.
Check out the Insight Trailer below.
Go here to see all of the Ad's for the video up to date.
As you can tell from the amount of posts lately I need help. It is hard to post on a place I don;t live in. I randomly know what is going on, but my job demands a lot from me and weeks can go by before I know it. There have been plenty of people that have offered to help out and they never did. So here is your chance to lend a hand. If you have anything to post or would like to get involved with updating the site hit me up. We can start out with emails that I can post as I show you how to get up on this thing. Trust me, after a little bit, it is way easy.
In other news, I hate posting on myself, but I have an Interview over at BMX Union, go here to check it out.
I also hope to find some time to put up a bunch of photos that Forrest Berkey sent me from his new home in Austin, Tx. They are pretty cool, so keep checking back.
Read on.
