Good Feelings

Hang-5's make you feel like you're floating when you hit a good one. It's addictive.

Sunday was pretty fun at the Ghetto Courts in Salem. Everyone had something to say about the weather but the ground was dry and I didn't sweat. I hate sweating, screw summer. If it could be 45 degrees all year long I'd be a happy guy. I run hot, what can I say?

Joe did some cool scuffing stuff I haven't seen in person before. I like it when somone unleashes a trick on you like that. It's like flatland ambush. Paul likes to roll hitch hikers and said as much. Jeremy got agressive and did a lot of hand switching to high speed spinning stuff. I'm still having a hard time comprehending everything that's going down!

Well, I have to cut this blog short. I'm off to Denver to shoot some crap - you know, snowboarding and shit. I can't bring my bike this time, no bueno.

Hasta la vista, homies.

Yeah! Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!

I'm glad I came back from Mammoth this weekend. Saturday was Justin's jam and I was really looking forward to seeing everyone and riding. I went all week without my bike and it was just killing me. I've been building up to a few tricks and taking a break for that long is totally unacceptable.

The jam was fun. One new guy, James, showed up and was in a similar boat to my own. We both got back into riding from checking out vintagebmx.com and getting back the stoke we had when we were a lot younger. It's amazing how the internet can bring people together in so many different ways. Most people assume that spending time online is somewhat antisocial. I've found it to be the opposite. I mean, in the old days you would just meet riders randomly if you were lucky. Now, you can go on to a message board, (pedalmbx.com Yeah!) and instantly look up a scene. Luckily, the scene here is filled with cool cats that are in it for the right reasons and just happen to be decent human beings as well. Good friends have been made!

Anyway, James is British and lives in Seattle. It was fun to have someone around the same skill level as my own to ride with. I hope he's able to come down and ride with us again some time.

People were going off at the jam. I was in a stupor that resulted from a total lack of sleep caused by the evil vortex that is the Circus Circus casino in Reno, NV. Roulette will be my downfall, I guarantee it... It didn't really matter that I was having trouble riding because I got out the camera and did a little photo-experimentation. Flatland is really fun to shoot. There are so many environmental aspects to the spots and it's cool to try and involve them in the compositions. I like to try and make it seem peripheral, like the riding was something that you just caught out of the corner of your eye. We'll see if it worked out...

Back to people going off: Jeremy is a man possessed. Paul is a machine possessed. Joe had a freshly clipped beard and smooth switch footed Karls. Darrell went gumby ankled, smoothly mind you. Justin flashed it up and made fun of my tricks. Hagnas's tricks confused and inspired me. Little Scott had some industry talk and a nice bike. I wish we could have ridden with him a little longer. James brought his enthusiasm. It was a damn good scene and I'm glad I was there for it. The video session at my house was pretty cool. I'm overwhelmed by what I see in those videos and it was cool to watch them with riders that can identify with what's going on. We're all stoked on different stuff.

Now, on to the reason for this thread's title: Yeah! Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!

Tricks completed with Darrell as my witness and Jedi Master Sensei:

1: One steamroller, start to finish including a smoothie ending
2: Fork glide to switching my feet to the outside pegs, (like a cyclone or ashtray) to switching my hands and riding out. I know, it's not really a trick since people use it to get out of tricks but it was really fun.

STEAMROLLER! I fucking did it! It's on now, jump back!

Thanks to Justin for keeping it alive. Good, good work.

The 'Burbs to the Ghetto

I LOVE THIS SCENE!

Today was a non-stop orgy of flatland riding. The Tigard courts were pounded down and worn smooth with rolling tires covering every dry spot available. Today made me wonder what it is about each person's "spot". You know, pretty much all of the tennis court is smooth and fun but there always happens to be one little zone where you feel the most comfortable trying something. Maybe you want to roll through a certain area or maybe you like to initiate a trick near a certain crack in the surface or even next to a fallen leaf. Sometimes it's a little maddening trying to break that habit. The Tigard courts make me feel that way. There are zones there that I dig.

Something else I dig is enthusiasm. It's music to the ears when we encourage and congratulate each other. It helps so much to have your friends be excited about your riding and nothing gets me more stoked than when I see one of the guys land something sick or even get close! Darrell's switch footed combo got me so psyched. I can't even fathom attempting something like that. I aspire to ride with his fluidity.

Joe kicked ass today. He's been riding so much and it's great to be around him and his enthusiasm for riding. He's living the lifestyle, hard-fucking-core.

Jeremy's new handlebars are light and narrow. He seems to have a little more "snap" when he does his usual tricks with those bad daddies on there.

Justin and Scott rode their own little section of the courts today. I didn't get to see a lot of what went down over there but I heard a lot of "Yeah!" coming from that direction. I'm sure they both did some things I can't comprehend.

The Machine occupies a very small percentage of the spot when he rides. Head down, headphones on and pure determination. Paul rocks! I almost NEVER see him resting on his bike during the session. I like the way this guy operates. He's stoked to see everyone and then he just charges it.

Part 2: Underground Wild Goose Chase

We didn't find the new spot and after some time driving around Beaverton we decided to head to Grant. Grant is my favorite place to ride. I feel so confident and good when I'm there and it was so rad to see how psyched Jeremy was when the lights finally came on. It's easy to be on fire there. There's just some kind of good energy about those courts. It could be the amazing lighting or the fact that the place is almost perfectly smooth. When you're there in the daytime there are kids playing, people riding bikes on the paths, picnicking families in the grass, athletes running laps on the track, kids stopping to watch and lots of other pretty positive things going on. It just all adds up to a good time. Last night I started to feel steamrollers on the middle lot. Today I really started to figure out forward megaspins there. Hang-5's came to me in Tigard but the comfort began at Grant.

Big, Big Ups to the crew for the encouragement today. It means a lot to me, rock the fuck on!

See you all at the jam. It's going to be so dope...

Bow Legged and Narrow at the Shoulder

I've now flatlanded on the penninsula. I'm up at Mervin Manufacturing wrangling some snowboard photos for the Gnu catalog and I had a chance to ride on some dry concrete at a little elementary school up the road. It was a nice, solitary time on my bike. It's crazy how things just come to you in a flash that open the door to other things. I was trying sqeakers and kept falling to the right until I realized I wasn't bending my knee. A slightly bow legged adjustment to the left kept me centered and I rolled backwards further than ever before. It's that kind of enlightenment that keeps me SO STOKED on riding my bike. Also, The Sarge will be happy to know that I rolled into a forward mega-spin, got the whole first forward 360 solid and then kicked my back tire right into a fakie 360. Luck would have it that my pedal was there and I landed that sonofabitch, rolled back to my truck, put my bike in it and came back to work. I'm satisfied with tonight's session. I hope it stays dry tomorrow while I'm in Bellingham. I'm obsessed.

Justin has what looks to be the spot of spots for the winter. I'm looking forward to hanging at that place between trips this winter. I'm scheming on a way to bring my bike with me on my travels. There has to be an easy way to store that sucker conveniently...

Catch you dogs this weekend. Where's the session?

Headspace

To Quote the Pixies: "Where is my mind?"

I couldn't get it together today on the court. New bike, good bunch of friends, willingness to ride and just, nothing. Taking pictures was pretty fun though. Jeremy has some tricks, yo!

I'm getting some good rest tonight, eating well, stretching and then looking forward to riding tomorrow. I love that bike, it's opening the door for me, I just have to take the time to walk through it.

Flying bikes are funny. Welcome to the Everyday Paradise Durability Assessment Department headed by our very own Justin H.... Hey man, see if you can make some time to ride Salem tomorrow. It'll be all fun & games at the JoeJoe lot.

Here's to persistence.

Cha-Ching!

Because of popular demnd I submit to you, the public, "The Grand Total"

$923.00

This includes parts that I'm probably going to return: GTX Gyro, Evolver brake, & Gyro cables. Peer pressure and a huge headset cup determined that I'm not going to use rear brakes... Oh well, it'll expedite my evolution or just frustrate me beyond belief.

Here she is!

The Strange Thing

All the parts are here for my micromachine! Tomorrow is going to be a furious day filled with toxic chemicals, spray paint, wrenches, allen keys, swearing, sweating and total bliss. I can't wait to ride this and I can't wait to show the homies.

I want to start a website for the PDX flatsters but I need a good, solid, no cheese included name for it. Any ideas?

The forecast this week looks dry and clear. Let's hit it!