garden of eatin
I've been meaning to post for a few days but real life has been standing in the way of innernet tomfoolery.
Davey Coop and I went to the Have Fun @ Ray's event on saturday. Didn't seem so much like an "event" as a really fun session at Rays. It was awesome to ride there during the day with some natural light coming in through the windows. This is going to sound corny (big stretch, huh?), but after one especially good run through the big box loop, I was so stoked that tears actually welled up in my eyes. Like I said, corny. I met an older dude named Jeff from Albany and we were BSing outside. He told me that he had quit riding and started again a bunch of times. He said he couldn't find anything to replace BMX in his life. Preaching to the choir on that one.
It was good to see old friends and make new ones. Kerry Sayre closed up shop at Rise Above but is stepping right back into the game at Chenga 57. Catfish was there and in high spirits as always. I love that kid, for reals though. I'll call him "kid" because all the DK dudes he's in charge of call him "Grandpa". Ha ha. Speaking of old dudes, I met "Old Man Brian" and his kid from Chi-town. Brian has a few years on me even and was shredding. I was inspired. In a weird coincidence, my friend Jeff V was asking me just a few days earlier if I knew a guy named "OMD or OMB or Old Man something" that had just been spotted in Indiana. I didn't then, but I do now. Weird, small world stuff. Am I rambling?
I was having too much fun riding to get my camera out, but here's a photo of Davey that Mike O'Bryan took a couple years ago in Lansing.
I happened to be there that day and Davey didn't quite make it all the way down, but that is one long ass rail. I think it was the same day that I saw him man-handle a big, steep rail (in the middle of a casual, cruising street session). Good on ya mate.
The Lightning Bolts show that I linked to the other week happened in Beijing on May 9. My submission is on page 9. Here's a shot of it that I took before shipping it out.
I'm guessing you probably didn't make it to the show (I didn't even know what day it was--ha ha), so here's the little bio that I sent with it.
LIGHTNING BOLTS & ME
I started racing BMX in 1977. My parents split up around the same time and riding bikes became my escape from the reality of a troubled home life. I became completely obsessed with BMX bikes, riders, magazines and anything related to the activity. Bicycle Motocross Action magazine was brand new at the time and was my bible. Shortly into the second year of the magazine, Bob Haro's work began to appear in the form of custom number plates and numbers on the bikes of the factory riders. Everything changed right then. Number plates were no longer just a space to display your number for scoring reference. Number plates were now an art form. When Bob's "freestyle" riding started becoming more regular in the magazine, it had similar effect on the way BMX riding was perceived. It too, had become a new art form and means of expression. BMX was no longer just racing around a track as fast as you could. Sure, jumping and doing tricks had always been a big part of BMX, but Haro made it legitimate. Haro made trick riding important.
I first saw Bob Haro ride in person in 1981. It was a life changing experience. His style, grace and technique were like nothing I had ever seen (even to this day).
I am still obsessed with BMX and Bob Haro is still impacting my obsession
I guess it's always been the same for me. Ha ha. Currently, I'm dealing with the stresses of every day life by digging in the dirt. I've vowed to not unveil photos of my trails until I feel they are fully operational, but we'll just say that my wife's dream of having a backyard garden is helping to fuel a dream/nightmare that I'm incorporating into the trails. I put my dirt tires back on for real moto action.
I set up lights for the graveyard shift the last few nights and it's interesting to go out there the next day to actually see what I built. Come over and ride sometime, why don't ya?
