Friday, May 31, 2019
Dylan Stark jumping Sammy's Secret Trails
Here's a fresh sesh. Dylan Stark posted this only two days ago. Honestly, I almost jumped to watch another video to post when I saw this had 4 ad breaks, and a really long drone footage intro. But these jumps are amazing, it took a long drone intro to show them properly. Huge props to Sammy Mercado for hand building such an amazing set-up. These things a huge, burly, big jumps, steep downhills, and super gnarly combo lines.
Need some amazing MTB riding to get you psyched to ride this weekend? It's Friday, and this video fits the bill.
If you're a mountain biker, or any kind of rider north of L.A., we can set you up here at the Block Shop in Lancaster. If you're a BMXer, pretty much anywhere, hit us up at the link below for your biking needs.
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Bob Haro Master Class: The beginning of BMX freestyle
Masterclass Bob Haro - Paris 2012 from Seb Satoorne on Vimeo.
If you're an old school BMX freestyler, have you ever wished you could sit down and have Bob Haro, himself, tell you how freestyle began? I know I have.
I was working in the BMX and skateboard industries in Southern California from 1986 to 1990, and then Chris Moeller's roommate/video guy from 1991-1995. I was in the mix quite a while, and I only met Bob Haro once. So for all of us who got into freestyle in the 80's, and wondered just what the early history was, here's Bob Haro telling it, in his own words... for an hour. This video is EPIC.
From Seb Ronjon and Franck Belliot in France, who I really got Facebook chatting with a couple days ago, comes another epic video. They put together the truly first class BMX/skateboard/scooter culture exhibition Beton Hurlant, in 2011-2012 in France. They invited Bob Haro over to check out the exhibit and narrate it on video. But they also had an old school event they called the "Bob Haro Master Class." Bob gives a slide presentation to a group of old school BMX freestylers from Europe, and spends an hour telling his side of the story, which is where it all began. I found this absolutely fascinating. I'm pretty sure many of you will, too. It's an hour, so watch it when you have some time. This video hasn't had any exposure outside of France, until now. So I want to give a huge thank you to Seb and Franck for sharing it with me and all of you.
If you're an old school BMX freestyler, have you ever wished you could sit down and have Bob Haro, himself, tell you how freestyle began? I know I have.
I was working in the BMX and skateboard industries in Southern California from 1986 to 1990, and then Chris Moeller's roommate/video guy from 1991-1995. I was in the mix quite a while, and I only met Bob Haro once. So for all of us who got into freestyle in the 80's, and wondered just what the early history was, here's Bob Haro telling it, in his own words... for an hour. This video is EPIC.
From Seb Ronjon and Franck Belliot in France, who I really got Facebook chatting with a couple days ago, comes another epic video. They put together the truly first class BMX/skateboard/scooter culture exhibition Beton Hurlant, in 2011-2012 in France. They invited Bob Haro over to check out the exhibit and narrate it on video. But they also had an old school event they called the "Bob Haro Master Class." Bob gives a slide presentation to a group of old school BMX freestylers from Europe, and spends an hour telling his side of the story, which is where it all began. I found this absolutely fascinating. I'm pretty sure many of you will, too. It's an hour, so watch it when you have some time. This video hasn't had any exposure outside of France, until now. So I want to give a huge thank you to Seb and Franck for sharing it with me and all of you.
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Lessons from a 7,000 mile bike trip
Jedidiah Jenkins didn't want his life to pass him by. So he decided to ride his bike from Oregon to the bottom of South America. Over a year. 7,000 miles. This is why he did it and what he learned, in a four minute video. Watch this video.
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
X-Games Real BMX 2019- Full results show
One great thing about doing this blog and looking up bike related stuff all day, I get fresh stuff on YouTube all the time. This is the results show for the X-Games Real BMX 2019 video contest, and it just dropped this morning. "Hot off the presses!" as they used to say when people still read newspapers, and there were presses. I haven't even watched this yet. Brad Simms was my personal pick for the best video. Let's see if anyone else agreed. Who'd you pick?
Bob Haro narrates a French bike/skate/scooter culture exhibit in 2011
Bob Haro / Béton Hurlant from Seb Satoorne on Vimeo.
Going through all the comments from people at the book signing last Saturday, I wound up finding a post on a French old school BMX facebook group I belong to. I took a couple moments to add the names I knew to some of the line-up photos he had on there. I posted my blog post as well, and wound up in a cross-ocean Facebook chat with Seb Ronjon. As much as I have trouble learning new technology, I love that fact that, in today's world, it's possible to stumble into a conversation with a like minded person 5,000 miles away. Amazing.
He turned me on to this video, from the Beton Hurlant exhibit in 2011, I believe, which never really got shared outside of France. Seb and friend Franck put on this amazing museum exhibit about BMX/freestyle, skateboard, and scooter culture in France, and then flew Bob Haro over to walk through and share his thoughts and insight on the exhibit.
This is 17 minutes, but definitely worth the watch, if you're an old school BMX racer, freestyler, or skateboarder. The exhibit is absolutely first class, very well set up and displayed, and Bob Haro's thoughts as he walks through and comments are great. Thank you Seb for sharing, and I'm glad to be able to show the U.S. bike world this video and exhibit. Great stuff.
Going through all the comments from people at the book signing last Saturday, I wound up finding a post on a French old school BMX facebook group I belong to. I took a couple moments to add the names I knew to some of the line-up photos he had on there. I posted my blog post as well, and wound up in a cross-ocean Facebook chat with Seb Ronjon. As much as I have trouble learning new technology, I love that fact that, in today's world, it's possible to stumble into a conversation with a like minded person 5,000 miles away. Amazing.
He turned me on to this video, from the Beton Hurlant exhibit in 2011, I believe, which never really got shared outside of France. Seb and friend Franck put on this amazing museum exhibit about BMX/freestyle, skateboard, and scooter culture in France, and then flew Bob Haro over to walk through and share his thoughts and insight on the exhibit.
This is 17 minutes, but definitely worth the watch, if you're an old school BMX racer, freestyler, or skateboarder. The exhibit is absolutely first class, very well set up and displayed, and Bob Haro's thoughts as he walks through and comments are great. Thank you Seb for sharing, and I'm glad to be able to show the U.S. bike world this video and exhibit. Great stuff.
Monday, May 27, 2019
The Birth of the Freestyle Movement - 2nd edition book signing party
This event, put on by author Dominic Phipps, as a book signing and promo party, was held at the 10 Barrel Brewing company downtown San Diego, the afternoon and evening of May 25th, 2019. The first edition of the book came out in 2017, and while it was really good by all accounts, people started giving Dominic ideas about the scenes and things not covered in the book. I've heard that the NorCal/Golden Gate Park scene was mentioned by nearly everyone, along with the Dirt Brothers and several other scenes that had major influence on BMX freestyle's early development. So Dominic went back to work, and revamped the book, which is the 2nd edition, seen below.
Huge classic photos were blown up and on display at the party. Really cool touch. No flatland pics, but the epic ramp, pool, and street photos brought back memories to all of us. My personal favorite was the huge Dave Voelker air, and you can find out why in the "part 2" blog post. At one point I was sitting near these photos, and Pete Augustin came up and put his phone right up near my head. I was thinking, "Man, you don't need my pic, I look like hell these days." Then I realized he was taking a selfie with the big photo of him that was behind him, which probably made a really cool pic. A selfie with himself. I think all the riders in the photos got pics with the photos at some point.
While the official reason for the party was the 2nd edition book launch of The Birth of the Freestyle Movement, the real reason was to bring together as many crazy characters from 80's BMX freestyle as possible. That was a huge success. The biggest surprise appearance was R.L. Osborn. He's kept such a low profile since moving on from freestyle, that we actually had Sasquatch out looking for R.L. at one point. The word was that he was sick of the inherent drama of the BMX world way back when, and when the Old School events started happening, he wasn't sure if he wanted to rehash the old days all over again. It was really cool to see him at the skatepark earlier in the day, he was a huge influence on my own life, and many many others.
The original skatepark legends, Eddie Fiola, Mike Dominguez, Brian Blyther, and Rich Sigur were all at the event. Martin Aparijo was representing 80's flatland legends, along with R.L. Osborn. Todd Anderson was there representing the Camarillo Ramp crew and. Dave Voelker was there representing San Diego and bass fishermen everywhere. Kevin Martin, Ron Wilkerson's announcer, organizer, and all around solid guy BITD, was there. Racing legend Stu Thomsen was there. Oakley announcer The Duke was there. I met a guy from Moo's Bike Shop in Riverside, part of the late 70's early 80's BMX racing scene, old school even to me,who told some us some good stories about those days.
The Skyway/NorCal/Golden Gate Park posse was well represented. I went to the event with Maurice Meyer, Chris Rothe, Chris' son Max, and Mark McKee, all from that scene. Ron Wilkerson, who began his bike life as part of the Golden Gate scene, was there. Maurice brought a plaque with Dave Vanderspek's photo and number plate, along with the commemorative brick with Dave's name one it. Robert Peterson showed, and was as fun to talk to as ever. Hugo Gonzales was there, I spent quite a while talking to him, hearing crazy stories from the 80's. Mike Golden flew in from Dallas for the event. Mat Hoffman, who started his freestyle career was the wonderkid on the Skyway team, was there, after putting on a vert contest earlier in the day. Craig Campbell, longtime U.K. Skyway rider, was there, I heard.
BMX industry guy, infamous brother, and all around character, Frank Scura was there. Everytime Frank and Ron Wilkerson started talking, I half expected paisley confetti to fall from the ceiling. Wizard's long time epic photographer, Windy Osborn, was there. I didn't even realize that until right before we left, so I didn't get a chance to say "Hi" to Windy. Epic vert rider, now nursing a reconstructed ankle back to health, Simon Tabron, was there. I somehow missed saying "hi" to him as well. Dennis McCoy was there, even after knocking himself out on a 900 attempt at the contest that morning. He pulled a beautiful, smooth, barspin 540 in that run, before the 9 slam.
One guy I was hoping would show up was Bob Haro, the man who invented this whole sport. He wasn't there in person, but this great photo of young Bob (below) was on display. We dated this shot, which I'd never seen before, at probably 1979 or 1980.
Everybody wants a photo of Mat Hoffman. We were telling stories about how Mat seemed so crazy back in the late 80's, us older guys were actually worried he might actually kill himself riding some day. A few of us were talking about how, at the Palm Springs GPV and halfpipe event, we were debating whether Mat would take himself out riding, or wind up doing construction in a few years. That was when none of us saw freestyle lasting much longer. Yeah, Mat proved us all wrong 100 times over.
Another great conversation was when Eddie Fiola introduced me to Dawn, whose first job was working in the snack bar and selling T-shirts at Pipeline Skatepark. Dawn and I talked for at least 20-30 minutes about Pipeline and that whole scene.
That was the evening, looking around, finding someone who looked kinda like someone you knew, but hadn't seen for 10-20-30 years, and then walking over to see if that's really them, and telling stories for half an hour. That just kept going on as most of the people got progressively buzzed and shared pizza and apps.
All in all, The Birth of the Freestyle Movement (2nd edition) signing party was a great time. I think it was Maurice Meyer who said a friend asked him what the old school BMX events were like. Drob told his friend, "It's like a high school reunion, except that you actually like everyone." Exactly.
Thanks Dominic Phipps, it was a great time. The night owl of our crew, Mark McKee, helped shut the bar down with Ron Wilkerson, Frank Scura, Scott Freeman and a few others, after we left. If you're an old school freestyler reading this, buy the book, and check out the various package deals. And make plans to show up at one of the old school events, it's a great time. First class night, all the way.
Words and photos by Steve Emig/The White Bear. This blog is brought to you by Block Bikes Online BMX Store. Check out a few more photos on the Part 2 blog post.
The Birth of the Freestyle Movement- 2nd Edition signing party- Part 2
A stack of the books for sale. There were various packages with T-shirts, stickers, and other goodies to buy. Since I'm just making a come back from being really down and out, I had to hold off on getting one for now. I'm DEFINITELY going to buy one of these when I can. Dominic Phipps did specifically come over to me, introduce himself, and tell me I either have a line or two in the book, or a credit. Because I write so many blog posts about the old days, he contacted me a while ago and I told him about the Vision Street Wear days. If you rode in the 80's, or are younger and want to know learn about your history, you NEED to get this book. This event was held at 10 Barrel Brewing Company in San Diego, CA, on May 25, 2019.
Saturday, May 25, 2019
Brand new Dakota Roche edit
Welcome to the long holiday weekend. This video from Dig BMX and Cult Crew came out yesterday, and it's one of my favorite new school edit ever, already.
Friday, May 24, 2019
Mountain bike Patagonia adventure
As we move into this three day weekend, I wanted to find a really good bike adventure video to inspire you all to think about some kind of bike riding over this three day weekend. This video of trail riding in the backcountry of Patagonia, Chile fills the bill. This just looks like an amazing time on every level. Have fun this weekend, and get a bike out somewhere if you possibly can.
A bike tour of historical Arlington, Virginia
Memorial Day weekend does start this afternoon, so I thought I'd look for a bike related way to remind us all what Memorial Day really is. It's a holiday to honor and remember all of the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines and others in the armed forces, that gave their lives in service to the United States of America.
With that in mind, here's a cool bike tour done back in 2015 that goes to, and shows, a big series of historical spots in the Arlington, Virginia area. Arlington, of course, is on the outskirts of Washington D.C., and home to the largest national cemetery for military personnel. This bike tour does make a stop there, among the many other stops.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Thursday, May 23, 2019
Getting over a mental block in Moab
This young couple is Syd and Macky. She's Syd, he's Macky, and that beautiful backdrop is the Moab, Utah area. I just found this video looking for some cool riding stuff outside of the BMX world, which the blog is centered around. Both of these two have some solid mountain bike skills, which is part of the reason they have their own You Tube channel. In this particular video, Syd has a mental block about this sketchy drop she tried, and landed... once. She rolled away, but in a burly nosedive, and it scared her more. Her mental block grew.
I can totally relate. In my serious riding days, mental blocks were the main thing I spent 20 years wrestling with on my BMX freestyle bike. A serious mental block kept me from landing bunnyhop tailships before anyone could do one, and kept me from ever landing one clean (I managed a few toe dragger ones on night). That STILL bugs the crap out of me 30 years later. Coming from an overly-intellectual, non-athletic family, I overthought everything. I wound up spending years learning about our mental processes afterwards, trying to understand what held me back. Anyone else out had that issue? I thought so.
So Syd and Macky ride a loop, do some other, pretty damn technical lines, and then head to the scary drop. Great little video, some really good riding, and beautiful scenery. Moab is one of those places I really want to make it to some day. Remember, if you dig their video, giving them a like and subscribing to their channel helps their cause.
If you do this type of riding in SoCal, we've got the bikes and components for you here at the Block Shop in Lancaster. If you're a BMXer, we've got the new online store to hook you up most anywhere you are.
Addiction - Not Just A Drug Problem
Mental or Physical - Addiction is still addiction... By: Rich Bartlett
I've spent nearly my entire life riding/racing bicycles at a pretty competitive level. Life has had a huge fluctuation of success as well as failure. As fit and healthy as I am comes a counter reactive ability of mental insecurities and depression. Maybe the physical is just a mask for the emotional and other times visa-versa. Competing on the bicycle is a double edge sword because there is only one winner but numerous losers and having that top spot is difficult to achieve and even harder to retain.
This goes with everything in life. You work so hard to try to claw your way to the top only to find yourself completely alone upon arrival. You see, no one wants to be the loser and although we put the Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Babe Ruth's on a pedestal, it is only because we didn't directly compete with them.
Michael Jordan posterizing Dikembe Mutombo
Here is the perfect example. Although he was one of the most recognized and influential players of the game, you can bet that Dikembe Mutombo was not a "fan" of Jordan. Taking it one step further, this photo probably created a lifetime resentment for His Airness. Even though Jordan is arguably the best player the sport has ever seen, Mutombo, being a victim of and loser to, will find himself defending his own honor rather than giving credit to Jordan for being superior. It is human nature. If we win it was our own doing, but when we lose it was the fault of someone else. A bad day or sheer luck. We struggle to admit someone is better, has worked harder, or simply out played us.
Sarasota NBL - Not from this story but closest visual I could find.
How in the world does this relate to BMX? Well, I have been the Mutombo my entire career. I was surrounded by the best athletes on earth and my role was to get dunked on. Occasionally I'd find myself ahead and sometimes even a victor. Even the best professional teams lose an incredible high percentages of games. Jordan's Bulls lost 10 out of 82 games in the best season ever at the time. So 10 teams that year won against the Bull's. Beating them was almost a bigger achievement than the 72 wins Chicago had in 1996, depending on how you look at it. The credit does not go to that winning team though. It would be said that Jordan or the Bull's team had a "bad night" not that the team who beat them played their asses off. Just like the day I won the Ironman race and jumping contest in Orlando. It was a Friday night special event before one of the War of the Stars weekends. I never lost a moto the entire day and lit it up dirt jumping immediately after the race. It was winner take all in both events and I won $1000 for each that day. Two grand in one afternoon. Did I get any credit for it? NO! The factory guys will say it wasn't important. There were no points, it was hot, humid and miserable. The format was 4 riders per moto and two moved on until the final four. Then winner take all. No second place, no trophy, no reward for any effort other than first. I was on fire that night, I needed the money, I was fit and hungry, and all the conditions suited me. The factory guys will say they "saved it" for the nationals. But that was only after not qualifying out of their moto.
Leona Valley (Cherry Drop Jump) circa 1977
This takes me back to 1975 in my hometown of Leona Valley, California. We had BMX bikes but bicycle motocross was not a thing yet. My dad took a girls (because it was lighter) Schwinn Stingray bike and put on his old cut down Husky 450 bars, caged pedals, 39/16 gear on heavy duty 20" coaster brake rims, and a road bike saddle, replacing the banana seat. It only weighed about 40 pounds and I was spun out at 12 miles per hour. My friend Sean Price had a ranch 3 miles up the road from my house and his dad put on a "Bike Race". By today's standards it would be called an enduro. We started on their front porch and ran across the front grass about 50 yards and hit a real life "tabletop" jump consisting of a one piece picnic table/bench setup with plywood nailed into it. I was about 8 years old so that three foot high jump with a four foot deck seemed gigantic. The course wound through the trees (flat turns - we didn't know what berms were yet) and we had a wedge jump water hole that was probably ten feet across to clear. The another wedge jump over a 4x8 piece of plywood the short way, with a thousand 16 penny nails sticking up, that you had to jump over or flatten your tires. It was only four feet across but by far the most terrifying obstacle on the course. Then we blasted through a huge water puddle which was probably six inches deep and ten feet across that put us out on the dirt road in front of their house. With all the obstacles the yard section was probably less than 30 seconds long but I remember being so out of breath and so tired as we hit the dirt road for a half mile of 1-2% down grade on the sandy, corrugated surface. I was by far the youngest kid at 8. My guess is that everyone was 12 and older. But I found myself in second place as we turned off the dirt road onto the asphalt for the 2 mile sprint to Leona Valley Elementary School for the finish. The paved road has an average of about a 4% downhill grade and today on my road bike I could average about 30 mph on that section. On my 20", at 8 years old, with a 39/16 gear I was spun out, so we tucked down pretending to be Kenny Roberts on his Yamaha road race machine. I was a big 8 year old but probably weighed at least 20 pounds less than any other kid out there. The entry fee was a quarter and top three would get paid. About a quarter mile down the road I got passed by a bigger kid who slowly just crept away. I remember looking back over and over to see where 4th was. With a half mile to go I didn't have to wait any longer, he passed me, slowly creeping by on my left. Then the road leveled out till just before the school where there was a little steep downgrade to the finish line. I knew this was my only chance, I would have to pass him and put in a gap before the last downhill if I wanted to finish with a prize. I spun my brains out caught and passed him within a quarter mile section. But would it be enough gap for the last section to the finish where we would be spun out and coasting? It was, and I held him off for third. I was the token grom and everyone was so psyched for me - except for the kid I beat - obviously. I am sure there was a good excuse. Not that the little kid out pedaled him, but more like something went wrong. But I also had an excuse... The were older, bigger and more experienced. I'm sure in my mind it wasn't that I got beat, it was that they had an advantage in being stronger and heavier by age. So that is the moral of this story. We don't get to chose who our competitors are. It is never going to be evenly matched or fair. We have to accept that all we can do is our best, learn from defeat and improve in the process. But in the meantime congratulate those who beat us, thank them for the experience and learn from them their strengths and weakness so that we can take that knowledge and improve ourselves. There is only one winner per event but unlimited events in life. Use this to your advantage and never accept the fact that you are not allowed to prevail. Stick with it and your time will come and hopefully your competitors will respect you enough to pay you a compliment - even if you posterize them!!!! I took my .75 cents winnings and went directly to the Superette (local store) and bought candy - probably spent all of it there, bringing to the end one of the most memorable days on the bike!
1,000+ Mile Bike Race... in Alaska
Think you're tough? 1,000+ miles. Bike Race. Alaska. In WINTER. Let that sink in... Iditarod Trail Invitiational.
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
The Career Path of The Butcher
THE CREATION OF BLOCK BIKES (part 1) By Rich Bartlett
In 2003 Block Alternatives was my sole source of income by means of the sportswear industry. We made a living manufacturing BMX jerseys and clothing as the minority and inline hockey pants and jerseys as the primary. I was playing a lot of roller hockey and it was a natural progression to get into the sport on the business side. We did well at a time that BMX was kinda flat-line, which seems to cycle frequently. One day my landlord called me in for a meeting and let me know that our next door neighbor was moving out. He offered me the unit before he put it up for rent. It wasn't even on my radar but I told him that we would give it a shot whether it be expansion or something uniquely different. The rent was affordable so it was worth taking a chance. We had a solid local BMX team and both Dani George and Bubba Harris lived just a few miles away. Our town has always been heavily populated with BMX legends since the beginning of the sport starting wit Bob Hannah. So we pulled the trigger and made a clubhouse for the Block BMX Racing Team. We had a couch. X-Box, ramps, a small work station and a ton of tee shirts. We immediately grew the race team to nearly 50 members consisting of riders in Palmdale/Lancaster, Santa Clarita and Simi Valley. The team was solid and a 2 year old kid named E-Dog (Ethan Wolthers) put us in the lime-lite by making national mains as a 2 year old in the 5 and under class. He went on to an number of national titles and ironically is now on the national title Jr ice hockey team.
THE BLOCK SHOP - 2500 square foot of BMX bad-assery.
We began training in the evenings and built a 4 man gate in the parking lot with a full sure-start setup. On any given night you could find Bubba Harris, Mike Day, Brian Schmith, Dingo, Dani George, Sam and Ken Cools training here. We did clinics and our team progressed and started becoming threats as expert NAG (national age group) riders. When you are surrounded by
winners you find yourself having higher expectations.
BUBBA HARRIS 3x ABA National #1 Pro & World Champion
We stared with nothing and had no intention of becoming a local bicycle retailer but things moved fast. The team demanded products and before long we went from a clubhouse that did some minor bicycle repairs to a retail bike shop that carried Schwinn, Mongoose and GT. At the time Hyundai was the title sponsor for the Mongoose and GT teams and they were solid with Fuzzy Hall, Jamie Bestwick, Coco Zurita, Cam White, Simon Tabron, Steve McCann on the freestyle side and Eric Rupe, Randy Stumphauser, Mike Day and John Purse on the race squad. This was all pre Wal Mart days and the image was solid, the brands were desired and brought instant credibility to the shop. Schwinn was legit with TJ Lavin and his little buddy Cesar Flores. Most all of these characters had been to the shop for different events like Block Jam, which was a huge music and action sports festival we put on.
MIKE DAY - Olympic Silver Medalist - Block Jam
Block Bikes organically grew and changes with the growth. We have never forgotten our roots but we were able to grow with brands like Marin, Kona, Felt, Jamis, Raleigh and currently Specialized. This gave us the ability to be a full fledged family bicycle center with heavy competitive roots in every cycling discipline. Our brick and mortar shop was super important to the building of the cycling community in this small desert town without a real cycling presence. We were and are core BMXers with national titles in mountain biking and road racing. We have brought original events and experiences which allowed us to form friendships and networks. Currently we are experiencing the changing of the guard where money is the most important element. People have forgotten where they came from, the advice and coaching given , and the experiences they were provided with. Finding the cheapest price is how people shop these days but this will be short lived. It is a fact that people need their bikes worked on, riding advice, choosing the right products and simply how to be better everyday. We are here! We have been here and will continue to be here for you! With the birth of BlockBikes.com we now have the best of both worlds and we can service out friends locally as well as those hundreds of miles away! We hope to continue to grow and become more valuable than ever. I'll continue the history in segments periodically. I've been asked countless times how we got started so we'll lay it out chapter by chapter with interesting stories in between.
My First Time Going to Woodward West
This is a selfie while standing on a huge boulder, with the newly concreted pump track, and a sliver of Woodward West, visible in the background. This place is freakin' amazing.
A week into another new phase of life back in Southern California, Rich Bartlett, owner here at Block Bikes asked, "Wanna go to Woodward West?" Uh... yeah. I've been wanting to go since I knew there was a Woodward West, many years ago. But for this first trip, I was a week out of long term homelessness back East (long story, don't ask), I weigh over 300 pounds, I haven't been riding for years due to my crazy situation, and I knew I would NOT be riding. Honestly, I almost didn't want to go on those terms, at first.
I grew up in a world where BMX didn't exist, as far as I knew, until I was in junior high. I got into it in high school, in 1982, when racing was a weird thing, and BMX freestyle, as a sport, was just being born. I spent 20 years of my life riding every day on whatever I could, DREAMING, literally dreaming, of a place like Woodward West. Then life put me in an arm bar, banished me to a BMX hating part of the South, and apparently punished me for something I did in a previous life or something like that. I've spent a decade struggling to escape North Carolina and get back to Southern California, get back intp some kind of shape, and get riding again at some level.
One of the MTB guys airing the step/hip/table in the huge flow course.
Rich had been going to ride at Woodward every month, a third Wednesday, long, open session for bikes, skates, and scooters. Yeah, scooters. And since Woodward is scooter friendly, you can't give them the pro elbow or a hard carving shoulder shove like we did in the Orange County skateparks in the late 90's. Anyhow, the riding crowd was smaller than the month before, Rich said, and there was plenty of room for all. That's what was so crazy, there was stuff to ride, GOOD stuff, everywhere I looked. I was jonesin' to not only ride a bike, but to skate, as soon as I saw the first bowl and banks.
I had to settle for snapping these few pics on the phone I forgot to charge (DOH!), and shooting some video with Rich's camera. I haven't shot video in years (except for a North Carolina redneck wedding), so I was struggling to figure out a camera system that was totally new, and missed catching a couple of guys tearing up the vert ramp.
This double target gap, with a very inviting shed roof nearby, is just outside a small street area that only a couple of little scooter kids were really riding. It had some cool wedge features that would make for some fun 80's bank tricks. That's a huge Hot Wheel car in the gap, they're sponsoring Woodward, and a contest series for kids. You can see a close-up of the car in the "part 2" blog post, just behind this post.
One thing that I couldn't figure out at first is that there was this three level high, over vert, quarterpipe, with almost no run up to it, right by the sign-in table. About two hours later it dawned on my that it's for practicing American Ninja Warrior type stuff.
I connected with old Orange County friend Jason German on Facebook the day before, and he made it up that day. So he's the first O.C. rider from BITD I got to talk to and catch up with since I've been back here in California. That was really cool. I spent ten years in a place where there were literally NO old school riders or skaters. I'm up in Lancaster without my own transpo now, but I'll get to H.B. Tuesdays and elsewhere as time goes on, and meet up with people as I can.
As we walked into the main gate, there's a huge concrete flow bowl to the right. It's got a tall corner, hips, tables, a step-down into it, two side pools, and even huge banks, along with a couple of spines. This is the bowl pictured above and at the very bottom of this post. Then there's the little, slab style street course near those target wedges above. There's a big freestanding skate curb near that. Just beyond all that is the big outside street course. Above that is the pump track which had just been layered in concrete, and looked like a good, fun, warm-up spot for a session. That's where Rich and most of the BMXers started out. You can see it in my selfie in the Part 2 blog post.
Mountain biker with a big flip on the resi, next to the foam pit. Except the foam pit is now a big bag, which is easier and quicker to get out of when you land. Good idea.
I've always loved riding concrete, banks, bulges, and vert, though I could never air out. So this pump track below is another place I'd love to ride. Above all of that was a wooden mini ramp that was closed for repair, but next to it were two, facing, wide, wooden quartepipe/wallride things, going unused. There were dirt trails in progress above that along a trail that passed a leaf covered parkour/free running course, with a covered climbing wall, and then the big BMX dirt trails farther down the way. Those were closed for the evening. But I didn't hear anyone complaining, there was so much else to ride and skate.
I spent 20 years riding every day, and we would have been in heaven to go to any one of the sections I've listed above. And I'm sure I forgot some stuff. It's absolutely mind-blowing how far BMX riding, skateboarding, and (go ahead, hurl the insults-I had a 1971 scooter with lawn mower wheels, and competed on 80's scooters, I have no shame) even scootering, has progressed and grown in my lifetime.
The world needs Woodward-type places in in every city with more than... hmmmm... let's say.... 43 people. We NEED these places EVERYWHERE. You know all the dead shopping malls closing down? Yeah, imagine the Woodward people with a big check and an empty shopping mall. There's something to dream about tonight.
Hey, it could happen. None of us Old School guys thought we'd be riding past age 23 when we got started. And look at the world now.
MTBer carving the tall corner in the flow course. This bowl has more big hips than the women at your 30 year class reunion.
So, I was jonesin' to ride like crazy the whole night. But I held off, and got these sketchy pics and a little video, which should be up on the blog when we get ourselves organized here. This whole blog thing here at Block Bikes is new, and there's a lot more online/social media stuff coming in future months.
-Steve Emig/The White Bear
All in all, it was a blast going to check out Woodward West, even as a non-rider for the night. It's great motivation for me to get back in shape (12 pounds lost in 2 weeks in Cali so far, mostly from being sick, but I'll take it). I've got an old MTB to tool around on here, and I'm walking every day, so it'll happen eventually. If you ride out here, get to Woodward West whenever you can. If you're a kid, save your money all year and take your dad to Woodward West. I'll see a lot of you there at some point, I know.
Woodward West is located at 28400 Stallion Springs Drive, Tehachapi, CA 93561.
My first time going to Woodward West- part 2
These are the extra pics I took with my phone while at Woodward West. Yeah, I'm a blogger, but not well set up yet, just coming from a crazy living situation. So these photos have been stuck on a phone for the last few days.
Hot Wheels Supercharger Junior Series
This video of Hot Wheels Supercharger Junior Series highlights JUST dropped, less than an hour ago. I don't know who got Hot Wheels to start backing BMX (and skateboarding), but more power to you, that's a great match. These kids re tearing it up on all the parks and pools and stuff they have to ride in today's world. Here's a look at the future...
British pop star Lily Allen rides her classic banana seat bike
Like everyone, I grew up listening to pop music... whether I liked it or not. That's the nature of pop, it's in the background everywhere. I don't like most of it. But this song has a cool groove and it's sarcastic, and about bike riding, sung by a cute young woman, what's not to love?
I actually first heard this when I bought a bunch of CD's, either at a storage unit auction (O.G., I did that before the TV shows), or at a garage sale, I can't remember. I listened to it a few times, and then resold it for a couple bucks more somewhere. FLIP. Oh yeah, the song's called "LDN," which is the airport designation for London.
Along the way, I googled Lily, and came across this funny clip, where she shares a fun, and odd, fact about herself. Enjoy. And if you're looking for a classic banana seat bike, try Facebook Marketplace, I saw some classic Schwinn's for sale recently in this area. Lots of cool stuff there nobody actually buys. But if you need a BMX bike or parts...
Monday, May 20, 2019
Scotty Cranmer gets Trey Jones and Big Boy to try 80's tricks
I don't watch Scotty Cramner's channel on a regular basis, but I know he has some great stuff on it. This gem from a couple of months ago got shared by old school flatlander Mike Sarrail on Facebook yesterday, and I thought it was awesome. Someone gave Scotty an old "101 craziest freestyle tricks" book from the 80's, about 1988, I'd guess by the tricks, and he decided to have Trey Jones and Big Boy try some. They pick random numbers, then go to that page and try each trick.
OK, I lived and rode through the 1980's, and I could only do two of those tricks in my prime, and those weren't consistent. But this video is hilarious if you're an old school rider. See, our tricks were hard, some of them, anyhow. And there were lots of them, HUNDREDS of tricks that fell by the wayside over the years. Maybe some of the youngsters will dust a few of those tricks off and revamp them. This one is well worth the watch in my book.
Kids and bikes go together: Give Danny Macaskill your GoPro... but not your kid
Perfect timing. This brand new Danny Macaskill video just dropped overnight here in the U.S., and the Kink BMX 2020 line of bikes, featuring several for little kids, just came out as well. Get the little ones all set for a "wee day out." You can get all these bikes for the little bitty ones at the Block Bikes Online BMX Store.
Whatever size your kid (or husband or wife) is, we'll get you set for Spring riding.
Saturday, May 18, 2019
X-Games Real BMX 2019: Simone Barraco
Simone's riding is a little more tech, a little less huge. Good use of front wheel tricks, to mix things up a bit. A great video clip all around. But I'm going to stay with Brad Simms as my overall favorite of these six videos. Again, that's just me, an old blogger who doesn't ride seriously these days.
I don't know how the X-Games crew picks which riders to include, and that's always an issue, because there are so many good riders out there. But these six were a good mix of different types and styles of street riding.
As a video producer from way back in the olden days, some of the editing decisions baffle me these days. If I was making a 90 second video for a competition, like this, I would not show any trick more than once. Get one good angle and move on. I would use very little, if any, slo-mo. My cutaway shots would be about 12 to 20 frames long, super quick. I would have almost no pedaling up to tricks, unless it was a mega gap where it helped to show the speed going in. The first thing I learned from my video mentor, Dave Alvarez, was "keep it tight." By that he meant, don't have a single frame of garbage that you don't need to make the piece work. There's a lot of unneeded footage in most of today's videos.
Anyhow, there it is, the six videos submitted in this year's X-Games Real BMX 2019. It just occurred to me that I don't know who actually won. My pick is Brad Simms, for the best overall video. What do you guys think?
X-Games Real BMX 2019: Brad Simms
Wow. OK, we have a new leader in my personal picks from this year's X-Games Real BMX. Brad Simms just took the lead, edging out Corey Martinez and Greg Illingworth. Fast paced clip, great use of urban landscape, and great riding. Man, I'm going to have to go back and watch all of these again when I'm done blogging.
X-Games Real BMX 2019:
OK, just watched this one again. That huge 360 gap at the end is epic. This is a great mix of street riding, all burly stuff. Been a fan of Corey Martinez' riding since Animal's Can I Eat video. I'm still leaning a little in favor of Greg Illingworth's clip, but just barely. Again, that's just me. Another epic edit from Corey Martinez.
X-Games Real BMX 2019: Greg Illingworth
Yes! This is why I tune into street videos. Fast-paced, jumping, airs, using urban spots well. I've watched four of these videos so far, and this is my favorite. Or maybe a tie with Corey Martinez. Close call. Hey, this is just one old guy's opinion, but this edit rocks.
X-Games Real BMX 2019: Dan Coller
Rails. This one is all about rails. Yes, big, long, gnarly rails and several variations. Maybe it's just 'cause I'm old, but I like to see some actual bike riding mixed in the the rail variations. Not my favorite of the 2019 Real BMX. Super burly stuff, not my favorite video section, though.
X-Games Real BMX 2019: Jordan Hango
Jordan Hango. New name to me, I know nothing about him. The first 15 seconds or so I was thinking, "What's this guy doing in this contest. Then the tricks just start stepping up. The editing's not exceptional, but not awful either. But there's major commitment in those last few tricks. Gotta remember his name...
20 Weird and Unusual Bike designs
While most people like to just ride their bikes. The bike world is full of people who like to experiment, tinker with new ideas, and sometimes just get crazy building new concept bikes. Here are 20 weird and unusual bike ideas from recent years.
As you know, if the classic double diamond hardtail BMX bike is your thing, we've got those ready to ship at...
Don't forget, the new I'm Jumpin' It T-shirt is available right now at the link above...
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Skeletons and Muscles? Is that what S&M stands for now? That poor dominatrix is out of work, I guess. Anyhow, pretty cool video, the editing gets a tiny bit annoying, but not too bad. Dude, the guy who picks up the marble sphere then collapses, that made me cringe.
Anyhow, we're planning to shoot some original footage today, so that is something to look forward to.
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
The Shredaholics: 2017 visit Wetlands Trails in Huntington Beach with Brandon Semenuk and more
Digging through the video treasure trove/trash bin that is YouTube yesterday, I came across this video. I was looking to see if anyone had built up the old Bolsa Chica trails by the Slater ditch in Huntington Beach. In the search, I found that this freakin' amazing place is nearby, though not at the two places the mediocre trails were in my days in H.B.. But there were some small jumps in this area, and BMXers had been riding here since the late 1970's, on and off, and MTBers since mountain biking started spreading in the 1980's. I know this area well, I've ridden here from about 1987 to 2003, I've wandered all the Jeep and foot trails, and shot a lot of wildlife video in this area. I once sat and shot video of two coyotes wandering around the wetlands for about 45 minutes, until my battery went dead, 100 yards from these jumps. So it was really cool to see an amazing trails area has sprung up in this weird little part of Huntington Beach that has so much history with bikes.
In fact, the quick Slater Ditch section (aka Cancer Ditch), in my 1990 video, The Ultimate Weekend, which you can see at 9:53, was shot at the pump house on the canal, a little over 400 yards away, as a snowy egret flies (lots of them in this area). That's Randy Lawrence in the white tank top, and Keith Treanor in the black T-shirt, flatlander Andy Mulcahy with the fisheye mug shot, and Sean Johnson talking, and Alan Valek in the background.
There were BMX photo shoots in this area with riders like Greg Hill and Harry Leary (so I've been told) in the late 1970's or early 1980's, Chris Moeller and crew jumped here a bit in the 80's, the quick section I shot in 1990, Paul "Flush" Fernandez jumped off a U-Haul truck, and another guy flipped a beach cruiser at the old jumps in the background in The Offspring Video around 1994. Then came Victor Salazar's amazing "Promised Land" edit in 2013. "Promised Land" is one of the best videos I've seen in a really long time, both in riding and in video editing and production.. Do you want to make amazing bike videos? Study, "Promised Land."
Two years ago, 35 or 40 years after the first BMX photo shoot took place in this area, the Shredaholics guys shot Brandon Semenuk, Josh Hult, Kris Fox, Anthony Napp, and Drew Bezanson here. I guarantee you none of the guys at the session in this video had any clue of the history of BMX and MTB in that little area. That's where my old, fat ass comes in, I add some context and history to videos like this, and remind all you young guys that you're part of a long line of ever-improving shredders.
I just figured out that the jump that Paul Hernandez does off the top of the U-Haul truck is the hill right by where the Wetlands Trails are now. The last time I road there was in 2003, and I wa sdoing 180's right at the top of that same trails down the hill (less ruts in 2003), and then doing half-Cabs into that hill, dropping a couple feet then riding the rest. Crazy all that happened right there.
Thanks to Jason German for correcting me on a couple factual mistakes in the first go.
After the Wetlands Trails session, the Shredaholics head south, and join the locals' session at Agla Norte skatepark, inland of the 5 freeway, between Carlsbad and Encinitas. Pretty cool video, and I was glad to find this video, and then get the shout out for Salazar's "Promised Land" edit. OK, you've got a few clips to watch people, enjoy. Oh, and you know where to look for BMX bikes and components, right?
Block Bikes Online BMX Store
Don't forget, the I'm jumpin' it T-shirts are available now. Buy one before Ronald McDonald shows up at our office with a baseball bat. Follow the link above to get one (or 10).
Don't forget, the I'm jumpin' it T-shirts are available now. Buy one before Ronald McDonald shows up at our office with a baseball bat. Follow the link above to get one (or 10).
Monday, May 13, 2019
It's Monday morning, here are 130 bike tattoos to look at instead of working...
Sunday, May 12, 2019
How mountain biking was born
I'd heard bits and pieces of this story over the years. I even met a bunch of the early hill bombers from Marin county at an early mountain bike race in 1988. Here's a fairly short video that gives a really good summary of how today's mountain bikes, even the $6,700 one we just got here in the shop (really! $6,700!!), came to be. Like every other action sport, a handful of people getting a little crazy and having fun eventually turned into a worldwide sport, competition circuit, and full blown industry, even though that wasn't the original intention.
You want that $ 6,700 mountain bike? IOr maybe one much more in an average rider's price range? We have a great selection here in the actual shop, in Lancaster, CA (45 minutes north of L.A.). If you're looking for BMX bikes, we've got the online store...
Saturday, May 11, 2019
The Block Bikes Pinterest Page- more and 1,000 BMX/MTB photos
Yeah, I know, not bikes. This video has 10 (OK, 11 actually) strange vehicles that got known from their photos on Pinterest. But Pinterest is a site all about collecting photos for any reason, on any theme. So a lot of weird stuff ends up on the site from all over the internet.
Well... I've been working on building the Block Bikes Pinterest page, and there's already over 1,000 BMX and MTB photos on it. Crashes, huge air, bikes jumping cars, tabletops, lookbacks, Evel Knievel (gotta add him), weird bikes, banana seat bikes, berm shots, and some individual rider collections like Mat Hoffman, Brian Foster and Chris Doyle. You can get a peek at our page without signing up for Pinterest (it's free), but you have to sign up to really dig into it. Check our page out here: Block Bikes Pinterest page. Have a Happy Mother's Day everyone, and a good rest of the weekend.
ACT Jam 2019: Canberra- Australia
Fresh edit that dropped yesterday from Cult Crew at the ACT Jam, which just happened recently in Canberra, Australia. Decade jump to manual??!! Daaaayyummm. Looks the the event was put on by Backbone Bike Shop in Canberra. Here's their edit of the event:
Friday, May 10, 2019
I'm jumpin' it T-Shirt
MY job is to give you a "why." The best way I can think of to do that is to tell you that my grandma is really sick, and she has a tumor the size of a bowling ball in her skull, and has to have a complete head transplant to save her life. So buy this T-shirt, and 10 or 12 bikes from us, and you can help save grandma's life.
OK, as most of you have figured out, that's a bunch of crap. But it's the best way I can think of to get you to buy stuff from Block's online store. The SECOND BEST way to get you to buy stuff, is to just make something really freakin' cool, that you want to buy, and to be the only place you can get it. With that in mind, Rich, the Block Bikes owner, and me were brainstorming the day before yesterday. He thought it would be cool to make a Block Bikes T-shirt, and we got to talking about all the cool "logo bite" T-shirts that small BMX and skateboard companies made back in the 90's. So I came up with some ideas, and started drawing this one. Rich took my initial work, funneled into the ol' computer, and this is what popped out.
Yeah, I came up with the design, and I'm the guy blogging to promote this shirt, and trying to make you want one. So you don't have to believe me. But every time I look at this T-shirt design, I just start laughing. Honestly, I don't care if you buy this shirt. I want to design another one you will buy, and buy a whole bunch of these (Hey, I get an employee discount, right?), so I can wear them for the next ten years. Not like completely for the next ten years. I mean, I'd take one off every five or six days, and put another one on, and wash the old one. I'm not that much of a slob.
But we're a an online shop (and a real one, too), we sell stuff, that's kind of the idea, so you can buy one right now if you want. Click the link below, fork over $20 (+shipping), and one of these puppies is yours...
*Congratulations, you're the one person in 100 who thought, "Hey, there wasn't an internet in 1985." That's when I put out my first zine (pronounced "zeen"), which is a small, self-published booklet. That's what bloggers did before blogs existed. You don't get a free shirt or anything, but you can go through the rest of the day knowing you're smarter than most of the clowns who read this crap.
Good Morning America... here's some classic Mike Aitken
Style for miles with some classic Mike Aitken trails and street riding. If this isn't motivation to pick up your bike and go ride, I don't know what is.
Thursday, May 9, 2019
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