I've got to be up in 7 1/2 hours for work, so this is going to be rapido.
FBM have joined in the "Check out our 2011 completes!" game with their latest selection. Click the big shiny FBM link back there to check 'em out.
This is 2 weeks old but I must've missed it first time round - not second time round thanks to Tunney.
Fair play.
Ben Hittle can do no wrong. Even when he rides park he makes park look awesome.
...and with that, I'm gone. Click the 'Ben Hittle' tag below to check out other stuff he's been in - style for miles and creativity for... something that sort of rhymes with creativity and implies a lot.
Dedicated BMX only shop based in Southampton in the sunny South of England!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
How refreshing!
Certainly a "Love or hate" kinda person, Tom "Dang Dang" Dugan's Props bio is pretty cool. This is from #72 so not really that fresh, but got uploaded by Props a few days ago. Nice to see someone cranking at stuff, doing some different things and just plain sending it. Edit's pretty interesting too, and actually features some form of biographical information too which is a definite bonus. Refreshing change to the editing-by-numbers schtick everyone else pumps out these days.
Go to PropsBMX.tv for more videos.
Saw that over on LeastMost.
I didn't see this there though, this was on the Mutiny site. Safe Nath is abroad at the moment, and here's a couple of not-much-fun looking crashes and a couple of cool lines from over there.
Go to PropsBMX.tv for more videos.
Saw that over on LeastMost.
I didn't see this there though, this was on the Mutiny site. Safe Nath is abroad at the moment, and here's a couple of not-much-fun looking crashes and a couple of cool lines from over there.
Friday, August 27, 2010
More cool things...
Think I saw this on United's website, but essentially it was a link to a cool ESPN gallery. There's a rad photo of Geoff Slattery laying a table, and also a pretty cool motocross pic in there as well. Definitely worth looking through, go here for that!
Also on ESPN is a little interview with Shawn Garrett. Has some interesting stuff in there, might get some people thinking more along their lines. Clickity.
The Set seem to be picking up riders, this time it's Travis Sexsmith.
Lastly, a new frame from Proper, the BSH. More info on it here. Sounds like a bit of a beast...
Also on ESPN is a little interview with Shawn Garrett. Has some interesting stuff in there, might get some people thinking more along their lines. Clickity.
The Set seem to be picking up riders, this time it's Travis Sexsmith.
Lastly, a new frame from Proper, the BSH. More info on it here. Sounds like a bit of a beast...
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Confusing
Saw this on Mutiny's video page and wondered how I hadn't seen it before in that it was 4 days old, but then a quick look at the viewing figures suggests that it's only actually gone 'live' today. Thought I was slipping...
Goes without saying that it's pretty awesome though, Rich Forne's done a pretty decent job on that!
Bit more local-based, but there are more photos of Pijin's trip to the Nike Tunnel here by the official photographer Ben Mark. They're up on John's Flickr, so get amongst it. If you went there, you've pretty much been gifted a new Facebook profile photo, haha.
Goes without saying that it's pretty awesome though, Rich Forne's done a pretty decent job on that!
Bit more local-based, but there are more photos of Pijin's trip to the Nike Tunnel here by the official photographer Ben Mark. They're up on John's Flickr, so get amongst it. If you went there, you've pretty much been gifted a new Facebook profile photo, haha.
Good times!
Some cool videos up today, firstly featuring an awesome tune from The Dirtbombs - Ben Basford's latest edit for Kink.
Oakley's trails championship is getting pounded by the British weather, leading to a bit of supercross action. Looks like fun!
Lastly - Nearly 2 is apparently out soon, and here's a rad trailer for it. Good to still see people putting out cool DVDs from their local scene and slightly further afield.
Oakley's trails championship is getting pounded by the British weather, leading to a bit of supercross action. Looks like fun!
Lastly - Nearly 2 is apparently out soon, and here's a rad trailer for it. Good to still see people putting out cool DVDs from their local scene and slightly further afield.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Credit where credit's due...
Yawn have posted up a sorta walk-through thing with Cult that's a surprisingly good watch. Some interesting stuff about the company, some cool products and then some really good riding at the end. Pretty ideal advert, really?
Definitely a fan of Cult - loved the 'zine originally, the DVD is awesome, their stuff looks good and seems to work well. What's not to love?
Speaking of Cult - they themselves put up a spy-shot sorta photo of a possible Cult complete. Pretty rapid progression from bits 'n' pieces to a complete in that space of time, but I guess they've got the experience to know what they're doing.
Cleggy's one of the soundest riders I've had the fortune to meet from way back when I met him in London years ago to seeing him out and about in Leeds - his shop team from Notion have been on a bit of a jolly round the UK and it led to this video being created.
Lastly, some sour news about Scott Hamlin - apparently a sub-box double peg gone awry led to a pretty serious tumble ending up with a cracked pelvis, a broken shoulder, a broken foot and a broken bone in his lower back. I know they say "if a job's worth doing..." and all that, but seriously dude - no need to go that far! Get well soon in any case.
Definitely a fan of Cult - loved the 'zine originally, the DVD is awesome, their stuff looks good and seems to work well. What's not to love?
Speaking of Cult - they themselves put up a spy-shot sorta photo of a possible Cult complete. Pretty rapid progression from bits 'n' pieces to a complete in that space of time, but I guess they've got the experience to know what they're doing.
Cleggy's one of the soundest riders I've had the fortune to meet from way back when I met him in London years ago to seeing him out and about in Leeds - his shop team from Notion have been on a bit of a jolly round the UK and it led to this video being created.
Lastly, some sour news about Scott Hamlin - apparently a sub-box double peg gone awry led to a pretty serious tumble ending up with a cracked pelvis, a broken shoulder, a broken foot and a broken bone in his lower back. I know they say "if a job's worth doing..." and all that, but seriously dude - no need to go that far! Get well soon in any case.
12:34pm
...or near enough.
I find it really hard to care about BMX teams, unless there's a team video being put out (infrequent). As a result, it's probably unsurprising that I didn't know who would be on Verde's UK team. This video (and the accompanying article in Ride UK) certainly enlightened me, although the sort of 'style' of team seems to be a bit different to the US team. Not talking about in terms of outright ability or anything, but they just seem to be different sets of riders. Meh, who cares?
Here's Verde's UK trip. Highlights just how rad Kevin Kiraly is:
Trey Jones is awesome. He's got a great section in the new Cult DVD (About £10 or so, available from the shop now, just give 'em a call! Amazing video, definitely worth it), and this Tuesdays With Miles vid from his back yard is cool too. Some awesome front wheel action.
While we're talking new vids, the latest Road Fools, according to TheComeUp, will feature these dudes with a few bonus extras.
Madera:
Dave McDermott
Jeff Kocsis
John Ludwick
Josh Eilken
Mike Hinkens
Tom Villarreal
Premium:
Garrett Reynolds
JJ Palmere
Josh Harrington
Dan Foley
Chad Kerley
Sean Ricany
I think I may have posted this, but if not, Tony Hamlin is all good. From Kink.
P.S. Would've originally been a 12:34 post, but customers spannered those particular works...
I find it really hard to care about BMX teams, unless there's a team video being put out (infrequent). As a result, it's probably unsurprising that I didn't know who would be on Verde's UK team. This video (and the accompanying article in Ride UK) certainly enlightened me, although the sort of 'style' of team seems to be a bit different to the US team. Not talking about in terms of outright ability or anything, but they just seem to be different sets of riders. Meh, who cares?
Here's Verde's UK trip. Highlights just how rad Kevin Kiraly is:
Trey Jones is awesome. He's got a great section in the new Cult DVD (About £10 or so, available from the shop now, just give 'em a call! Amazing video, definitely worth it), and this Tuesdays With Miles vid from his back yard is cool too. Some awesome front wheel action.
While we're talking new vids, the latest Road Fools, according to TheComeUp, will feature these dudes with a few bonus extras.
Madera:
Dave McDermott
Jeff Kocsis
John Ludwick
Josh Eilken
Mike Hinkens
Tom Villarreal
Premium:
Garrett Reynolds
JJ Palmere
Josh Harrington
Dan Foley
Chad Kerley
Sean Ricany
I think I may have posted this, but if not, Tony Hamlin is all good. From Kink.
P.S. Would've originally been a 12:34 post, but customers spannered those particular works...
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Continued...
Yet more Almond news.
Brad Simms is absolutely ridiculous.
Nike aren't shy of sending people around the world.
...and that's about it, really.
Brad Simms is absolutely ridiculous.
Nike aren't shy of sending people around the world.
...and that's about it, really.
Monday, August 23, 2010
No wai!
BMX shoe company in "Doing things properly" shocker? Probably a fairly (and un-necessarily harsh) way of starting that, but hopefully it got you reading. WTP are awesome, Eclat is awesome, and as a result you'd expect their shoe company to be awesome. It certainly is, from the sounds of things. They were floating the idea for the company about, and bouncing ideas around, back when I was in Cologne 4 years ago - probably why their shoes appear to be pretty dialled and they're still not released yet. Doing things properly = all good.
Spotted this over on the Nice website earlier - an edit from a good few months ago of John Ivers. Watch this, then go check out some of Nice's products, and maybe some of Solid's too.
Cards on the table time - if I put a video up on here, it means I've watched it. I don't really see the point in just propogating mediocre videos so I usually, unless stated otherwise, watch everything and just try and put up things I think are good. I'll be totally honest and say that I haven't watched all of this video. In fact, I don't think I got past the 1min mark. It's from Motion, so that should give people who know me some kind of reason why (i.e. park footage), but I'm sure some of you out there will like it. The editing's pretty full-on, but no doubt once your eyes become accustomed to it it should be fine.
Enjoy the pre-rolls. Man, I hate Mpora so much...
Bit of copypasta here for tea:
“Get a chance to win a Vans X WTP shoe. Watch the vid, find Bruno’s trick, then send your answer to info@frenchys-distribution.com. 10 people will be selected and wil win ton of stuff from Vans & WTP.”
Snaking the park dudes with the "Is that oppo or hard way?" issues at the end there. Cover your bases, "Smith to 180!". While I'm being sour - people need to stop using that same filter that gets dropped in this video when Bruno picks up the mic. I mean really - enough is enough. Definitely worth taking the time to point out that Bruno's getting pretty tech-serious on street now.
Lastly: Corey Martinez apparently owns the rights to the twist to smith. So smooth.
Spotted this over on the Nice website earlier - an edit from a good few months ago of John Ivers. Watch this, then go check out some of Nice's products, and maybe some of Solid's too.
Cards on the table time - if I put a video up on here, it means I've watched it. I don't really see the point in just propogating mediocre videos so I usually, unless stated otherwise, watch everything and just try and put up things I think are good. I'll be totally honest and say that I haven't watched all of this video. In fact, I don't think I got past the 1min mark. It's from Motion, so that should give people who know me some kind of reason why (i.e. park footage), but I'm sure some of you out there will like it. The editing's pretty full-on, but no doubt once your eyes become accustomed to it it should be fine.
Enjoy the pre-rolls. Man, I hate Mpora so much...
Bit of copypasta here for tea:
“Get a chance to win a Vans X WTP shoe. Watch the vid, find Bruno’s trick, then send your answer to info@frenchys-distribution.com. 10 people will be selected and wil win ton of stuff from Vans & WTP.”
Snaking the park dudes with the "Is that oppo or hard way?" issues at the end there. Cover your bases, "Smith to 180!". While I'm being sour - people need to stop using that same filter that gets dropped in this video when Bruno picks up the mic. I mean really - enough is enough. Definitely worth taking the time to point out that Bruno's getting pretty tech-serious on street now.
Lastly: Corey Martinez apparently owns the rights to the twist to smith. So smooth.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Vague.
You know when you see a video, and it's just 'good'? I don't mean that in an underwhelming way, I just mean that for the most part you just watch a video and that's pretty much the full extent of your feelings on the subject - it's just a video, it has riding in, you watch it, some of your life has just gone by. This, on the other hand, is a good video. It just works, so stop reading this and start watching that.
Spotted on Mutiny's site, although it originally comes from Hideout.
EDIT: Yeah, it's a month old, but it's still good, unlike videos that everyone suddenly starts posting that are over 2 weeks old and absolute toss. Just sayin'. If you're thinking "Does Mark mean me?", the answer - as always - is "Probably."
Spotted on Mutiny's site, although it originally comes from Hideout.
EDIT: Yeah, it's a month old, but it's still good, unlike videos that everyone suddenly starts posting that are over 2 weeks old and absolute toss. Just sayin'. If you're thinking "Does Mark mean me?", the answer - as always - is "Probably."
Friday, August 20, 2010
Missed opportunity.
If I'd have checked it out earlier, I could've done a Matty Lambert triple header. What a tool. Anyway, here is the third part of that trilogy of Matty L content, this time featuring Mark Webb and a painful reminder of just how many balls rolling your ankle sucks.
I just re-invented what the term 'screwface' really means with how much I cringed watching this video. I'm not even going to link to the competition purely because this video is that bad. Sufficed to say, you too could win some unpleasant meat-based snack if you entered it, but... well... you'll have to find your own way there. Bearing in mind how shamelessly corporate this whole thing is, it shouldn't be too hard to work out which website it comes from - not even mentioning the massive logos on the player...
Lastly, in the on-going saga of "How good can completes keep getting?!", Fit have waded in with their 2011 completes. I mean really, the spec 3 Eddie C bike. Damn!
I just re-invented what the term 'screwface' really means with how much I cringed watching this video. I'm not even going to link to the competition purely because this video is that bad. Sufficed to say, you too could win some unpleasant meat-based snack if you entered it, but... well... you'll have to find your own way there. Bearing in mind how shamelessly corporate this whole thing is, it shouldn't be too hard to work out which website it comes from - not even mentioning the massive logos on the player...
Lastly, in the on-going saga of "How good can completes keep getting?!", Fit have waded in with their 2011 completes. I mean really, the spec 3 Eddie C bike. Damn!
Holidays should be relaxing
...but they aren't. As a result of a brief roadtrip then a load of image editing work, I've been a bit out of the loop this week, so as much for my own benefit as anything else, here's some stuff.
2 bits from Matty Lambert - some filming tips, and also a clip of Bengo confusing what seems like all of America with this nozzer edit.
Vimeo has some new coding action on the go, so if it goes wrong, directly blame Vimeo and indirectly blame those tool-bags over at Apple.
Dan Lacey has dropped a new Daily Telegraph edit. That's a phrase I didn't think I'd ever say. Head over to Federal to view it, as I refuse to put auto-playing videos on here...
Federal also have the new Dig cover on their site, and in new magazines news Ride is out now too, which features a Mutiny X Etnies trip - the video of which is here:
Speaking - as we were - of Ride, they've got a new edit of Lima up which also gives you the chance to win an ATF. Click that link to go over there and grovel like a 'tard like so many people seem to, thinking it'll enhance their chances.
I don't know why, but the way that video was edited sort of made it seem like as a viewer, I was being punished for something. In related 'music I didn't like' editing news, Ride US posted a 2 week old video on their site that featured literally the worst song I've ever heard - which was in fact so bad I'm not posting it here - but it did lead me to seeing this video of Hoang Tran on Vimeo after I did a bit of lurking on Subrosa's channel. Hefty.
Another Vimeo find was this edit of Bruno Hoffmann. The guy's ridiculous.
Very much lastly because I'm tired of this screen, go to LeastMost, read an interview about it, then watch I Love My Bicycle. Most definitely worth it.
Linky linky.
2 bits from Matty Lambert - some filming tips, and also a clip of Bengo confusing what seems like all of America with this nozzer edit.
Vimeo has some new coding action on the go, so if it goes wrong, directly blame Vimeo and indirectly blame those tool-bags over at Apple.
Dan Lacey has dropped a new Daily Telegraph edit. That's a phrase I didn't think I'd ever say. Head over to Federal to view it, as I refuse to put auto-playing videos on here...
Federal also have the new Dig cover on their site, and in new magazines news Ride is out now too, which features a Mutiny X Etnies trip - the video of which is here:
Speaking - as we were - of Ride, they've got a new edit of Lima up which also gives you the chance to win an ATF. Click that link to go over there and grovel like a 'tard like so many people seem to, thinking it'll enhance their chances.
I don't know why, but the way that video was edited sort of made it seem like as a viewer, I was being punished for something. In related 'music I didn't like' editing news, Ride US posted a 2 week old video on their site that featured literally the worst song I've ever heard - which was in fact so bad I'm not posting it here - but it did lead me to seeing this video of Hoang Tran on Vimeo after I did a bit of lurking on Subrosa's channel. Hefty.
Another Vimeo find was this edit of Bruno Hoffmann. The guy's ridiculous.
Very much lastly because I'm tired of this screen, go to LeastMost, read an interview about it, then watch I Love My Bicycle. Most definitely worth it.
Linky linky.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Ride/Rode to Glory/Not-so-Glory
One of these teams rode to glory, four of them didn't. You can now add some glory in the form of voting on Ride's website. In the mean-time, some videos.
Deary me.
Apparently the world is out to get me today - from the guy complaining about us being parked perfectly legally while he was ironically illegally parked to the person giving me hassle for an item I'm selling online, even down to the guy who got his dog lost down a hole on the face of a cliff next to a pump-track I was riding meaning that I had the constant, off-putting noise of a scared dog whimpering - today's been one of those days.
Fortunately, Cult have re-vamped their website and put some new videos up. Winners! Dakota Roche is ridiculous.
Alex Kennedy also has a new Cult edit up which is equally cool. All about the nollie can - techedy tech! Good to see someone thinking outside the box rather than trying to work out how many E.T.s they can do off something...
Lastly - the song's awesome, the riding's awesome, the whole DVD is awesome - Sean Sexton's section from Kink's Safety First.
Bueno!
Fortunately, Cult have re-vamped their website and put some new videos up. Winners! Dakota Roche is ridiculous.
Alex Kennedy also has a new Cult edit up which is equally cool. All about the nollie can - techedy tech! Good to see someone thinking outside the box rather than trying to work out how many E.T.s they can do off something...
Lastly - the song's awesome, the riding's awesome, the whole DVD is awesome - Sean Sexton's section from Kink's Safety First.
Bueno!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Holiday!
Week off work = fan-frickin'-tastic this late on a Sunday night. Lie-in tomorrow! Get in!
Anyways, I saw this on some other websites before but in that I trust Mark Noble's opinion on things I thought I'd give it a watch seeing as he'd put it up on Deluxe. To partially quote Family Guy: "Hefty hefty heeeeefty!"
This is yet another BLVDLIGHTS edit - I don't really know who they are or much about them apart from this was made by Talem Cowart (hopefully?). Dude's got an interesting style anyway...
Lastly, this was apparently filmed in 3 days. Can certainly see the "Used to be a trials rider" side of things, but that's not the end of the world really. Nozzer to bars is serious whichever way you cut it.
Anyways, I saw this on some other websites before but in that I trust Mark Noble's opinion on things I thought I'd give it a watch seeing as he'd put it up on Deluxe. To partially quote Family Guy: "Hefty hefty heeeeefty!"
This is yet another BLVDLIGHTS edit - I don't really know who they are or much about them apart from this was made by Talem Cowart (hopefully?). Dude's got an interesting style anyway...
Lastly, this was apparently filmed in 3 days. Can certainly see the "Used to be a trials rider" side of things, but that's not the end of the world really. Nozzer to bars is serious whichever way you cut it.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Out of the blue...
Pretty ideal video to pop up of a Saturday morning - a 35 minute web-video feat. pretty much all the most interesting riders around. Click here to view it, see some good riding, and if you're "One of them" to realise that a good video doesn't mean you put a 50mm on your dSLR, put it on a tripod then film the same boring ultra close up, slow-mo'd clips of people's tyres at a skatepark over and over again, then make a cripplingly boring 5 minute long video that could've been 30secs...
Friday, August 13, 2010
Moozak.
Spotted this on the Case Facebook page ("Casebook page", maybe?) - Rob Castle's band X.X Cortez have an interview up here. You can check out some of their music here.
In other news:
Nailz is rad, and isn't shy of a nickname or two.
Mutiny X Etnies edit dropping soon according to their site, where you can also check the new Ride UK cover.
Lastly, Jim "I just want to see what's possible" Cielinski has put a "How to Crankslide" video up on the Sunday site. I've been keen to learn these for a while, might as well give 'em a go now...
In other news:
Nailz is rad, and isn't shy of a nickname or two.
Mutiny X Etnies edit dropping soon according to their site, where you can also check the new Ride UK cover.
Lastly, Jim "I just want to see what's possible" Cielinski has put a "How to Crankslide" video up on the Sunday site. I've been keen to learn these for a while, might as well give 'em a go now...
Monday, August 09, 2010
A question:
Have you ever thought about maybe just lying down for a bit?
He hadn't, but did anyway.
I can't remember if I posted this or not (I think I did, or at least I meant to), but there's a comp to vote for the best trick of the Nike Stand-By Barcelona comp. Click here to vote and potentially win some shiny new shoes. Here's the selection:
He hadn't, but did anyway.
I can't remember if I posted this or not (I think I did, or at least I meant to), but there's a comp to vote for the best trick of the Nike Stand-By Barcelona comp. Click here to vote and potentially win some shiny new shoes. Here's the selection:
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Late night's all right.
The last time something BMX related left me this cold, it was -8°C in Leeds city centre in the back of a transit van in the middle of the night. Kudos to him I guess.
Getting warmer now - the guy's got an interesting style, but the ender is all good.
Getting warmer still - Tobias Wicke is a prime example for all front brake aficionados out there that without a front brake there's a much wider world out there than toothpick and whiplash variations, spines and volcanoes.
Getting even warmer still - I'm all about seeing new Lloyd Wright media be it with him in front of or behind the camera. In this instance it's behind, making the most of his new pro rider celebrity contacts now he's living the high life over at Seventies - a whole load of photographic goodness.
Toasty now - Eric Lichtenberger not only has a name that I always have to think twice about spelling (should've done when I tagged him last. I lose.), but he also has a great eye for the unusual in terms of BMX trickery. This video's no exception.
Totally messing up the whole literary routing of this post, but it needs to be said - I mentioned a Cult rider earlier, and it makes sense to also mention that the Let 'Em Talk video is absolutely awesome. I've actually had the song from Russ "Got really, really good in the past few months" Barone's section stuck in my head all day, and if anyone knows the name of the intro song they're a full-on, absolute winner if they leave it in the comments.
...that is all.
Getting warmer now - the guy's got an interesting style, but the ender is all good.
Getting warmer still - Tobias Wicke is a prime example for all front brake aficionados out there that without a front brake there's a much wider world out there than toothpick and whiplash variations, spines and volcanoes.
Getting even warmer still - I'm all about seeing new Lloyd Wright media be it with him in front of or behind the camera. In this instance it's behind, making the most of his new pro rider celebrity contacts now he's living the high life over at Seventies - a whole load of photographic goodness.
Toasty now - Eric Lichtenberger not only has a name that I always have to think twice about spelling (should've done when I tagged him last. I lose.), but he also has a great eye for the unusual in terms of BMX trickery. This video's no exception.
Totally messing up the whole literary routing of this post, but it needs to be said - I mentioned a Cult rider earlier, and it makes sense to also mention that the Let 'Em Talk video is absolutely awesome. I've actually had the song from Russ "Got really, really good in the past few months" Barone's section stuck in my head all day, and if anyone knows the name of the intro song they're a full-on, absolute winner if they leave it in the comments.
...that is all.
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
T-t-tunnel Vision, T-t-tunnel Vision!
From the moment I got the e-mail from John a few days before the Nike Tunnel session to driving back home at midnight on the Sunday, that "Chuckle Vision" theme tune overlaid with "Tunnel Vision" was pretty much all I could think about.
The basic premise for the whole gig was that a bunch of shops - including Pijin - were asked to head over to the Nike Tunnel (as seen in the Tunnel Jam vids/pics/articles) to film some riding and generally have a rad time. While the Pijin edit's not going to set the world on fire - primarily because no filming went down - the "have a rad time" aspect of things was certainly covered.
Nike know what they're doing when it comes to putting events on. This was the third Nike-sponsored event I've been to, and that also meant I received the third free event-specific T-shirt from them. Yeah yeah, T-shirts are T-shirts, but the free food, drink, grips, transport and riding session were also signs that Nike are more than happy to spend their money ensuring people have a good time. I'm well aware that in the past there were issues raised with Nike's manufacturing ethics, but bear in mind that times change and they really do invest in BMX rather than just squeezing money out of it. People often complain when 'corporations' get involved with BMX and people see it as purely a money thing, and even though this could be construed as a cynical ploy to get us media types all singing Nike's praises they're still out there putting their money where their mouth is. Paying local unemployed riders to build a skatepark (that Nike are also paying to maintain) is a pretty cool thing to do - rather than just paying people to come from further afield specifically to build it then do one - as is allowing people like the Pijin family and friends to go and have an awesome time there, all for free.
Anyway, that aside - the Tunnel. The vast majority of us hadn't actually been to the Tunnel before, so for all of us it was a new experience rumbling down narrow country lanes in a massive coach before having to get out ("I'm supposed to stay on site all day." "You won't make it down there." "But I have to be on site!") and riding down some bumpy road to get to the tunnel itself. When you first go into it, the first thing you notice is how cold it feels. According to Carlos, it stays at about 11°C or so pretty much all the time because of how insulated it is. Walking through some massive metal doors, past the rowdy generators, past the mini then down a narrow, pitch black path with the ramps all lit up ahead of you was a surreal experience. While everyone was filling out their "I'm not an idiot and won't sue you guys" disclaimers out, I snuck in before everyone else. Getting into the ramp room was ridiculous. The ramps aren't small by any means, so just seeing a sort of wooden snake run built into a long tunnel that just seemed to disappear into the distance was out of hand. The few times that the generator died and plunged the tunnel into darkness highlighted how mysterious the place was, and the way that even with the lights on if you walked behind the end ramps and just looked down the tunnel it just disappeared in a murky blackness was pretty spooky. Hearing Ben talking about Peugeot 205s, original VW Beetles, The Sun shoots and all the other crazy things that have gone down there also helped lend it a certain mystique.
Seeing people's faces when they got into the tunnel was priceless. Even the more street guys there were more than keen to have a session, and it was cool to see everyone throwing down the moves. There were a few riders there who I hadn't really seen ride in a year or more, and the improvement and progression in that time was nuts. The "You might as well try it because you won't get to ride here again and it'll just annoy you" attitude certainly helped get a few moves done - Antonio waiting 'til the dying seconds of our time there to drop the 3 off the top of the sub-box setup to flat for one, as well as guilt-tripping Joel into wallriding it all down to flat. In case you were wondering, no matter how many times you see someone carve over the top of the doorway to the ramps, it never gets any less scary to watch. Everyone there did something cool at some point, so me not necessarily commemorating it in either photographic or text form isn't a slight in any way. If you were there, you know what you did and I know what you did, and that's the main thing...
Late nights after a long day at work and a load of riding never really make me write in the most coherent way so I'm going to draw this mess to a close. Huge thanks have to go out to Sam from Nike, Paramedic Daves, Ben for opening the place up for us and telling us some pretty crazy stories about the tunnel and John/Pijin for helping out with everything else. Big thanks from me, Joel and Butlin to John for letting us stay in the shop the night before too - Guitar Hero, Bomberman, pizza and Oragina - 'nuff said. In the current age of online bitterness, petty bickering and the other distractions in the BMX world, it's still cool to know that there are people out there trying to make things better, and trying to get riders hyped on riding again. Everyone left the tunnel pretty spent after giving it all day, but even though the bus was pretty quiet on the way home you could still tell that everyone was buzzing from it, and that's pretty much what it's all about.
The basic premise for the whole gig was that a bunch of shops - including Pijin - were asked to head over to the Nike Tunnel (as seen in the Tunnel Jam vids/pics/articles) to film some riding and generally have a rad time. While the Pijin edit's not going to set the world on fire - primarily because no filming went down - the "have a rad time" aspect of things was certainly covered.
Nike know what they're doing when it comes to putting events on. This was the third Nike-sponsored event I've been to, and that also meant I received the third free event-specific T-shirt from them. Yeah yeah, T-shirts are T-shirts, but the free food, drink, grips, transport and riding session were also signs that Nike are more than happy to spend their money ensuring people have a good time. I'm well aware that in the past there were issues raised with Nike's manufacturing ethics, but bear in mind that times change and they really do invest in BMX rather than just squeezing money out of it. People often complain when 'corporations' get involved with BMX and people see it as purely a money thing, and even though this could be construed as a cynical ploy to get us media types all singing Nike's praises they're still out there putting their money where their mouth is. Paying local unemployed riders to build a skatepark (that Nike are also paying to maintain) is a pretty cool thing to do - rather than just paying people to come from further afield specifically to build it then do one - as is allowing people like the Pijin family and friends to go and have an awesome time there, all for free.
Anyway, that aside - the Tunnel. The vast majority of us hadn't actually been to the Tunnel before, so for all of us it was a new experience rumbling down narrow country lanes in a massive coach before having to get out ("I'm supposed to stay on site all day." "You won't make it down there." "But I have to be on site!") and riding down some bumpy road to get to the tunnel itself. When you first go into it, the first thing you notice is how cold it feels. According to Carlos, it stays at about 11°C or so pretty much all the time because of how insulated it is. Walking through some massive metal doors, past the rowdy generators, past the mini then down a narrow, pitch black path with the ramps all lit up ahead of you was a surreal experience. While everyone was filling out their "I'm not an idiot and won't sue you guys" disclaimers out, I snuck in before everyone else. Getting into the ramp room was ridiculous. The ramps aren't small by any means, so just seeing a sort of wooden snake run built into a long tunnel that just seemed to disappear into the distance was out of hand. The few times that the generator died and plunged the tunnel into darkness highlighted how mysterious the place was, and the way that even with the lights on if you walked behind the end ramps and just looked down the tunnel it just disappeared in a murky blackness was pretty spooky. Hearing Ben talking about Peugeot 205s, original VW Beetles, The Sun shoots and all the other crazy things that have gone down there also helped lend it a certain mystique.
Seeing people's faces when they got into the tunnel was priceless. Even the more street guys there were more than keen to have a session, and it was cool to see everyone throwing down the moves. There were a few riders there who I hadn't really seen ride in a year or more, and the improvement and progression in that time was nuts. The "You might as well try it because you won't get to ride here again and it'll just annoy you" attitude certainly helped get a few moves done - Antonio waiting 'til the dying seconds of our time there to drop the 3 off the top of the sub-box setup to flat for one, as well as guilt-tripping Joel into wallriding it all down to flat. In case you were wondering, no matter how many times you see someone carve over the top of the doorway to the ramps, it never gets any less scary to watch. Everyone there did something cool at some point, so me not necessarily commemorating it in either photographic or text form isn't a slight in any way. If you were there, you know what you did and I know what you did, and that's the main thing...
Late nights after a long day at work and a load of riding never really make me write in the most coherent way so I'm going to draw this mess to a close. Huge thanks have to go out to Sam from Nike, Paramedic Daves, Ben for opening the place up for us and telling us some pretty crazy stories about the tunnel and John/Pijin for helping out with everything else. Big thanks from me, Joel and Butlin to John for letting us stay in the shop the night before too - Guitar Hero, Bomberman, pizza and Oragina - 'nuff said. In the current age of online bitterness, petty bickering and the other distractions in the BMX world, it's still cool to know that there are people out there trying to make things better, and trying to get riders hyped on riding again. Everyone left the tunnel pretty spent after giving it all day, but even though the bus was pretty quiet on the way home you could still tell that everyone was buzzing from it, and that's pretty much what it's all about.
Jynx?
Remember I was saying how consistent Duncan Lloyd was with manny-180s? Jynxed... Sorry dude! Hope you get well soon.
In related "Get well soon" action, Van Homan took one to the head at X-Games and had to spend some time in the ICU. Not cool. Speaking of "Not cool" and the X-Games, ESPN have created literally the worst BMX-related headline I've ever seen. The increasing usage of just rider's surnames to refer to them on internet news sites has been kinda irking me for a bit (it's not like football...), so trying to get it all even more "Pro sports writer" just makes it worse. I can't even bring myself to type the title out here, so click here to see it. I'm a little disappointed I'm giving them more views by linking to it, but it's just that bad that that doesn't matter...
While I'm at it, you need to check out this video of "Li'l Stevie". The last truck's so massive it's actually a juggernaut (Snaking ESPN on that joke there, boom.).
In related "Get well soon" action, Van Homan took one to the head at X-Games and had to spend some time in the ICU. Not cool. Speaking of "Not cool" and the X-Games, ESPN have created literally the worst BMX-related headline I've ever seen. The increasing usage of just rider's surnames to refer to them on internet news sites has been kinda irking me for a bit (it's not like football...), so trying to get it all even more "Pro sports writer" just makes it worse. I can't even bring myself to type the title out here, so click here to see it. I'm a little disappointed I'm giving them more views by linking to it, but it's just that bad that that doesn't matter...
While I'm at it, you need to check out this video of "Li'l Stevie". The last truck's so massive it's actually a juggernaut (Snaking ESPN on that joke there, boom.).
Monday, August 02, 2010
Wethepeople 2011 Completes
Well, what can I say? Wethepeople have come up trumps again with their new range. Is it possible to find better looking, better specced bikes at the same price? Mission impossible.
Bikes are expected to arrive in the UK around the end of August, early September and demand will probably outstrip supply judging by previous years.
Just go their website to check www.wethepeoplebmx.de/...
2011 Prices
| Arcade | £299.99 |
| Justice | £339.99 |
| Reason | £349.99 |
| Crysis | £399.99 |
| Versus | £429.99 |
| Trust | £469.99 |
| Zodiac | £539.99 |
| Volta | £649.99 |
| Envy | £799.99 |
| Avenger | £469.99 |
Keep it like a secret...
So yeah - last weekend was a banger, many thanks to Nike 6.0 and all the locals! Photos up soon...
X-Games is over - Garrett Reynolds won Street, Daniel Dhers won Park and Jamie Bestwick won Vert. Winners.
This is out of hand:
Scotty Cranmer is pretty good, as this video on FFWD shows.
Lastly - Almond have a new 'look book' (Or "Website" as they used to be known) to show off their new stuff. Some of their formatting is not so hot, but hey ho - some cool stuff in there anyway. Cue all the classic "That's just a Chukka!" or "That's just a TNT 2 Mid!" comments.
X-Games is over - Garrett Reynolds won Street, Daniel Dhers won Park and Jamie Bestwick won Vert. Winners.
This is out of hand:
Scotty Cranmer is pretty good, as this video on FFWD shows.
Lastly - Almond have a new 'look book' (Or "Website" as they used to be known) to show off their new stuff. Some of their formatting is not so hot, but hey ho - some cool stuff in there anyway. Cue all the classic "That's just a Chukka!" or "That's just a TNT 2 Mid!" comments.
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