small town bulletin
Now Playing: shout out louds
The grocery stores in the small towns around here always have flyers and bulletins posted up.  Some of them are sad, some are whatevers and some are just awesome...

   I may have found out about "Chopper Fest" last year from just such a bulletin board.   Noah and I went last  year on Sunday morning and there wasn't much going on.  We went this year on Saturday morning and there were at least more motorcycles in action, but there still wasn't a whole lot going on.  The admission price was outrageous so I decided to come back again and take some photos.

I took this with my phone on the first trip.  This Triumph was my favorite bike there.

I cruised around on the OM Flyer when I went back.  I got some sideways glances for sure.   As much as I'm into motorcycles, I still felt like an outsider.   I guess I should be happy that I can't relate to anyone?  I know there are a few people that think like me.  I kept thinking of my friends at Biltwell while I was at this lame event.  FBM too....Not trying to be a kiss ass but sometimes I wonder if my social awkwardness is all in my own head.  Dudes like McGoo, Bill Bryant, Crandall, Kelly Baker and the Cobras (old and new recruits) keep me grounded.

I'm already an alien in the motorcycle scene without even stepping foot into it.  I have a Honda and another Yamaha parts project so automatically the Harley dudes aren't down with me.

 I think I'm automatically happier that way.  I do love Harleys though so no hate on my end.

 I love that this Panhead is ready for adventure, ready for the road.  Self-contained.

The sound of a Flathead is like the music of no other machine I've heard.   Someday I will play more than two chords on the guitar and maybe even be able to tune a Flathead.  Not sure dude was stoked that I was creeping in on his bike.

   There were some kick ass Hondas there too.

I love this message even though it doesn't really make sense.

You can't really go wrong with metal flake blue and a PBR tap shifter, but I hate the spike nuts.  I also hate Iron Crosses and shitty flame jobs.  I'm an opinionated bastard, aren't I?  Oh yes, I hate billet mag wheels too.   

    I got this sweet tat from a dude in the back of a van at Chopper Fest...

  Totally kidding, bro.  I did get this at Division last week.  It's still healing up but I'm stoked on it....

I like the shitty lettering with the "follow" all fucked up.  "W.I.T." looks almost like "W.T.F."  I could get it changed someday if I wanted to, I suppose. 

 sTAY TUned for this....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let there be light

I made a tail light bracket for my Honda.  It took me a really long time to get it dialed but I'm happy with it and it's solid.  I  have a tail light that works and a brake light that works, but they don't work at the same time.  Wiring is definitely not one of my strong points in motorcycle mechanics.

      Jeff V. sent me a ton of pics from the Birdland session.  He sent so many, in fact, that I was overwhelmed and didn't know where to start.  I'll give you these, for starters...

Davey Coop with a nice table.

Fro divebombs the first turn.  Lurking hard or hardly lurking?

Solan tucks a high one over the spox.

I like the way the motomag and number plate colors compliment each other in this one.   ha ha.

Hatfield brings it home to momma.

My Jr. college GPA or a Howard Stern reference?

 Everything about this looks amazing!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

30 years?

 

With a nod to all the nostagic chopper blogs I've been into lately (here's another one that is awesome, I've decided to blatantly rip off their format and adapt it to my BMX presentation here...

  This was the image I had in mind for this post and as I was editing it, I noticed that it is the August 1978 issue.   Thirty years ago! This magazine changed my life.  It was an escape from my world and an inlet into the new, almost surreal world of BMX.   I remember getting this issue as a kid and just freaking out.  Everything about this photo still rings true for me.   An ultra-enthusiastic crew, making do with less than ideal equipment (the tiny, overloaded Honda reminds me of my Subaru, huh JV?), gearing up for getting down.....

 

Joe J.
Jeff V. sent me a bunch of awesome photos from the Birdland session but they are going to have to wait.  Here are some bad cell phone pics in the meantime...

   When I started editing that Birdland video, I was really bummed about how tiny all the jumps looked.  They aren't nearly as  little as they look.  They are cut into the ground so they look smaller, plus everything looks smaller in photos or on video--including these jumps.  This is Jeff Degryse and UP Mike's not-so-secret spot in Kalamazoo.   These are crazy jumps.  Let's just say that I am excited to go back and shoot photos of those guys riding them.  There is pretty much nothing there I would even consider hitting.

      I started the rebuilding of Birdland.  We got a bunch of rain and I  am motivated to make it all bigger and better. 

The first set is way bigger and I am completely rebuilding the jumps into the first turn.  The old take off is now the basis for the landing and I'm going to build these much bigger as well. 

I dropped my brother-in-law and his girlfriend off at the Warped Tour on Friday.   I came back hours later, just in time to see Pennywise.  I sent James B. a text that said something like "Bro, are you here for the hymn?" (in reference to the Pennywise song "Bro hymn").   He immediately called me back, kind of freaking out, and asked "Where are you right now?"  He was on vacation in Northern Michigan and was wearing a Pennywise tee shirt.  He thought I was spying on him.  ha ha.

     If you happened to catch the AST Dew tour this weekend, you probably saw Mike Spinner's quadruple tailwhip.  Absolutely ridiculous.  He followed it up in his run with a 1080.   Bike riding has progressed to an incredible level.  And a lot of it is just gross.

Joe Johnson had this to say....

       "What the Fuck!?!?!?!"
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nothing to do with nothing
Now Playing: JFA: Beach Blanket Bongout
Two posts in two days, with web videos for each one!  What has come over me?  A good ass weekend of riding, that's what.  First we have Sean Newton photos from the Birdland session...

The Legend, Solan Foster, tables the spox.  

Dylan Luke Towne, hanging tough with momma while brother Noah throws dirt into the wind (and back into his face).

Fro Ardelean bring in munitions.   Fro and Hatfield did all the grunt work this day.  Thanks, guys.

 

Fro brings it home over the first set.

Style for awhile.  Chris Hatfield on the spox.

Casual Friday one footer while Fox Foster takes cover...

"The Mangler" saw a lot of laps.  That cast aluminum Motomag wheel from 1978 was like riding with a five-pound weight bolted into your front end. 

Race inspired?  Fro and I into and out of the first turn.  My favorite photo of this set.

Riding with Solan is something I just can't get enough of.  Watching him in action is true grit.

Friendly Phil Race.  Wait, this is my favorite photo...  Phil rules.

   And here is another poorly produced video, from a session on Monday at the Grand Haven park.

 No bongs were involved in the production of this video. I wanted a beach related name and couldn't get "Beach Blanket Bongout" out of my head.  It's the name of a JFA song.  The part that says "whip pulled!" is Chris landing a perfectly executed tailwhip.  My lo-roller digi-cam took too long to engage.  Dammit, I missed the banger!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

High winds and hot shoes....
Now Playing: Uncle Tupelo: Screen Door

Heck yes.  A bunch of dudes came out on Sunday to ride the trails.   The wind was blowing mercilessly, but it didn't slow anyone down too much.  It was very much a family event, with kids running around and veggie burgers and dogs grilled and consumed on the spot.  It couldn't have been more fun.

Here's a role call:

Solan and Fox Foster

Phil Race

Sean Newton

Fro Ardelean

Davey Cooperwasser

Chris Hatfield

Jeff, Jeffrey and Cullen Venekamp

Jason Burton

and my whole crew, of course. 

Click on this photo to see the low-fi video I put together.

  You know, I have a 3-chip digital video camera but I like to keep it simple sometimes.  That was filmed on a five-year old Canon Elph digital camera.  I like the low-res (it's a friggin' web video anyway, right?).   The angles are bad, there is lots of shakey-cam going on and you can hear the wind blowing through most of it, but I like how it came out.  The only tricks are a 360 by Davey Coop on a weird bike, (assembled at one AM the night before in a drunken stupor) with a 30-year old, five pound mag wheel on the front and us blowing up a pair of shoes with gunpowder (a twenty-year anniversary of a similar event brought to life by Jeff V).  The song is Uncle Tupelo, Screen Door.  A favorite of mine.  Sean Newton just sent over a bunch of really good pics that I will post later.

     Today is a big birthday for my friend, "Turbo" Todd Britton.  Todd is a good dude and very much dedicated to bicycles.  He runs a bike shop in Grand Haven, Michigan, called Breakaway Bikes and is almost single-handedly responsible for bikes being allowed into the Grand Haven cement park (more on that soon).   One thing I truly admire about Todd is that he is an "Idea man" who actually follows through, unlike me and most other people with big ideas.  Todd has seen several frame projects grow from scribbles on paper to production runs, along with several parts designs that mysteriously end up in other people's product line, either by pure coincidence or blatant rip-off.  He's a good dude, a good dad and a "Lifer" BMXer.  He was supposed to come to the Birdland gig but got worked the night before in a mountain bike mishap.  Here's to you, Turbo!

 

 

 

 

purple hearts
Now Playing: Fletcher

Inspired by the awesome Crandall post on the FBM site today, I give you all photos...

Dr. Suess knows it... 

I love wheels...

White grips, purple paint, hearts?  ??? ?   BLACK HEARTS!

me at 9:45pm Wednesday evening.  Photo by Sean Grenader Newton

Action pan shot of Sean by his girl Keri a little bit earlier...

Birdland overview.  Keri Slater photo.

Come and ride Birdland Sunday afternoon!  Yeah, you....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

poetry in motion
Now Playing: No Age: Teen Creeps

I was in kind of hurry yesterday when I posted and forgot to mention how awesome Buc-E, Hanaan and Ali from Veteran BMX are.   They were already awesome but they went way beyond the call a couple weeks ago and helped me out at our old house (we still have our house in Detroit).  Buc-E saved me hours of work and potentially blowing the house up with some gas line work and for that I am forever grateful.  Good peoples.

       I've been working hard on the trails.  Here's a new set, in the works, that I'm calling "Cousin It".  If  you've never seen the Addams Family, you can google it....

I also did a lot of work on the berm in the background.  Working on berms sucks!   so much dirt, so much work. 

   My bike is purple, nurple.

Benny Baker is a shredder and a poet.  He's getting backside on the family box jump!

  In other news, Tyler Deshaine is avoiding me...

 

 

 

 

uh, um, yeah
Now Playing: Son Volt: Drown

    We got hit by some super gnarly storms last week.  We didn't have power for three days.  so lame.  I bought a generator but we still didn't have running water.  That's a tough gig, especially with little kids.

    We got so much rain in such a short time, Birdland was hit hard by the storms (our basement flooded a bit as well).  All the lips (that we had just dialed in the night before) got washed away and there were giant puddles everywhere.  I've been working hard on them, when I have a chance, but it's slow going.  V2, the second stage of the trails, is well underway too. 

Sick!!!   I've been in full custom mode lately.   Can't get enough of websites like these: 4Q, Nostalgia on Wheels and White Knights...  Fuel for the convoluted mind.   I painted my trail bike three different colors yesterday and still am not satisfied.   Flat red?  Purple?  Navy?  Who cares?

    I'm working on some new Deliverance tees, but in the mean time my friends over at Biltwell used one I drew up for them (threw up for  them?).  You can see it here. 

The Bird flipper is Mark Lewman, who is my old homie from Kzoo and was the editor of Freestylin' Magazine in the late 80s.  I'm super excited to see this.  I'll write more about it when I have it in my grubby hands.  The above photo was taken after a race at Plainwell BMX (I'd say 1980).  A friend sent the clip below to me recently...

   

   Crazy.  That was a really long time ago.   I just heard from Billy (far right) the other day.  The dude second from the left (suspiciously not mentioned in the caption) is a notorious local who I've seen around town a couple times since we moved back to this area.  I literally hide my face so he doesn't see me.

   MOre later...
 

 

 

 

 

 

the man on the moon
Now Playing: Lou Reed: I'm So Free

Yeah man.

 

 

      So much means so little.   Hot trips and cold drips.   I took Noah to a "Go Skateboarding Day" event in Kentucky over the weekend.  We had a good time.  He likes it when skaters eat shit "He fell down!!!" he yells when they bail.  I'm not sure they appreciate his commentary but I think it's pretty funny.   We found this full-pipe but there was no way to get inside.

The "longest day of the year" (most sunlight) was the other day and I celebrated by working on my trails until ten at night while still being able to see what I was doing.  Luke "White Lotus" McGarry now lives up the street (even closer than Sean Newton), which is pretty random (if you saw how out in the country we all are here) but is also very cool.  He came over and rode Birdland last night.  Got through it all in a minute, with the exception of the berms, but provided some new perspectives for design.  270 berm version five (no exaggeration) coming up!.   

      I put in some Kalamazoo street time today and it was fun.  

I love cruising around and hitting little jibs.  Speaking of that, this video is awesome.  Kevin Porter is one of my favorite riders and the fact that he filmed this himself is even better.  Etnies rules, in case yo forgot (I didn't)

     Kevin also has a part in the very good Vinyl BMX DVD which I got from Dans Comp just today.   Speaking of Dans, they have more Deliverance Bar Bags on the way.   Nice segue, eh?

      I rode the Kzoo park tonight with Luke and Dave Moon and it was a treat.  Talk about feeling like a sub-standard rider!  Both those dudes are soooo frickin' good.

In other news, Dane Wild still rides bikes and  has been been doing shows with  Ron Thomas.  Here's a nice tabe taken at a spot in rural PA.