Skate-It

Matt, Carl and I hit up Skate-It in Manheim last night. The park was small and filled up with skaters real fast around 5:30 (which rendered it almost unrideable) but we had a good time. The mini was slippery but had a good pop and the park stuff had some interesting things to play around on. We are probably going to head back up next week. Below are a couple shots of Carl that we shot...check Flickr for more.

New Ride

Federal Notorious frame.

So not a lot of new things are going on due to the winter weather so i figured i'd show off my new frame. I had to say goodbye to my united frame just because i wanted to get a 21.25 top tube since i'm a taller dude, should work out for me.

Rode the new manheim park tonight... small but fun before the crowd shows up.

Winter Motivation

A few clips to get you motivated for spring...Steve, start getting ideas.

Busy Barend from OrganicBmx on Vimeo.

Dialed 603 Fall 2009 from Johnny Herrick on Vimeo.

Abe Rowland, Welcome To Jefferson State from Marcus O'Brien on Vimeo.

Even More Spring

I have so much free time I don't know what to do with myself...not working as much as I thought over Christmas break. So, here are so more pics from earlyish 2009, I think in May. This session produces some of my favorite pictures of the year; the time of day produced lighting and colors that are mint. My radio trigger also decided to work that day which provides a bit of fill light from the left. Matt with some more footjams, whip and lookback. Also one of the few pictures of the year of yours truly: photo by Matt. Skate It on Wednesday for those who might see this and are interested: Matt, Steve, Carl and I are heading up.

More Spring

In May Matt, Steve, Alex and I headed down to FDR for an early morning session. I had not been down in a long time so it was good to ride there again with some of the new terrain; surprisingly, for how close it is (relatively speaking), we don't get down there much at all. I have always found it difficult to ride FDR fluidly and so I spent some time shooting (which it is quite hard to do with the light contrasts, especially early morning. For more on that see here) and chilling.

Steve's always finding something unique. Tireslide/chink. Damn bikers.

Alex Steckler: Table hip

Early morning rush hour.

Matt is building a sweet collection of masks. As far as I know, he only has two but any collection that includes a Darth Vader mask is sweet in my book. Spiderman comes out for the ride home.

Wow

It seems trail building these days is just as much about the aesthetic of the jumps as it is about rideability. That's fine by me...check some French trails below.


Swamped from http://digfourvictory.blogspot.com/

East Coast Recreation

This will only have relevance to a negligible amount of the world's population, however, after watching that old video footage the other day, I figured I would post this piece of Lancaster Co. BMX history for those to whom it means anything. East Coast Recreation was, as far as I know, the only indoor skatepark that Lancaster has ever had that allowed bikes (for that matter, the only other indoor parks period was More and the current one in Manheim. Any others?). It only lasted a couple years and then classically was shut down amid a swirl of conflicting rumors. It was formational for me in the sense that it opened just as I started to get serious about riding. It received some attention from the wider BMX scene as it has an appearance on FBM's Albert Street and was frequented by the Little Devil crew numerous times.

The only contest that I have ever entered was held there and a while ago I found a flier from the contest that I had kept. Check it below. I don't know any of the dudes on it except for Jeremy Smith in the top right hand corner.

May 2009

With my switch over to digital a while back I had to get used to the whole process of digital archiving. It is interesting to have a ton of pictures in one location that are dated so that you can see the progression of how things went. This batch occurs right after the heaviest part of the digging season for us this year at the end of May. We spent April and the better part of May putting a ton of work into the creation of Matt and Steve's line. This is one of the first sessions of the year that went down (I think).

This was the fourth jump in Matt's line. Blackie came and put it instantly to work. One hander.

I love the lighting created by the off camera flash. Matt reaping the fruit of his labors.


I have to laugh when I see this. I was not expecting Matt to get this high and thus framed the photo accordingly. Headless turndown.

Digging

Matt, Steve and I began some digging today at a spot just down the woods from Smith. It seems to be a decent spot, has good soil, and be fairly secure. The lay of the land is ok with a few things that may be fun to work with but the trees are a lot denser and much will need to be cut down to get any bigger stuff going. We got some brush cleared and a couple rollers started today in spite of the frost. Obviously not too much more will go down this year unless weather warms up a bit but we will keep this updated.

2009 in Review: Footjam

I have always been attracted to the media side of BMX. Last night Steve, Matt and I got together to watch footage from about ten years ago that I captured with a video camera I had bought when I was fourteen. It was a good time reminiscing on some of the earlier years of BMX (high seats, small bars, heavy bikes, no attitudes). It had a buch of footage from the old Lancaster park (East Coast Rec) along with Quarryville/Lancaster street and the early years of the Smith trails (if Fashion looks at this post, it even had some footage of you from Minersville that, I guess, Dave Adams had taken). To say all that, taking pictures of BMX continues to interest me (sometimes more than actually riding) and this year has provided plenty of good ones. Over the next couple weeks (as I have time) I am going to post some of the highlights from the year for interests sake while riding weather diminishes and also as a way to pull them all into one location.

I will start small as I need to get crackin on studying for finals so here is one or two from the beginning of the season.

I think that it was just this year that Matt started getting foot jams and this shot was shortly there after. I warmed the colors up a bit and like how the picture captures the action: finger on the brake, eyes on the reentry, leaned in, locked in, and loaded.

It seems to me that from looking at the trees, the image of Carl is the earlier one. Carl is always full of picture producing moves and this one is no exception. The composition could be a bit better but I am into the angle, the super steep angle of the bike and the onlookers in the background.

i don't know about everyone else but i'm ready for another rays trip... or something

All the same?

This post is the product of a couple days of thought about two things, in particular, which have led to broader applications about the state of BMX. The more that I peruse the BMX media/literature which saturates the internet, the less and less diversity, or freestyle (if you will), I see characterizing much of today's riding. The edit below is an example of what I mean. The style of riding in it is representative of 90% of the other web edits that hit the web this summer: barspins, nose wheelie variations, tuck no handers, barspins, 360 to flat, barspins, foot jam variations, and more barspins. I am by no means implying that the riding is in anyway sub-par, but where are the classic BMX disciplines: mini-ramp, vert, big street or the flat-inspired park that characterized much of the late 90's/early 2000's (such as this). In essence, why is everyone doing the same thing on their bicycles. (Catty Woods reached similar conclusions about the lack of trails riders in a recent post.) This, of course, is only a generalization (generalization only being helpful some of the time) and there are plenty of dudes out there being original and not worrying about what is the trick of the moment. Nor am I implying that there is necessarily one form of riding whic is in some way superior. Judgments regarding preference in art are subjective and will vary from person to person.

In addition to concerns of style, one only has to look at a Dan's Competition catalog to see that the bike of choice is big bars/little seat/one brake (or none)/small sprocket (this description fits 95% of the complete bikes in Dan's.

This homogenization of style can be, I believe, largely attributed to the internet and the efficiency of disseminating what is going on at any moment in the world. I could waste a lot of time laying out the pros and cons of the internet (of which, there are much of both) but I will not. I need to get some school work done. There is much more that could be discussed about this (though I am not sure who would want to join the conversation and if we would reach any significant conclusions).

Anyway, watch the aforementioned video below. It is good, as I said, but it is simply representative of most of what is being produced today.

Hoang Tran Subrosa Villicus Edit from Subrosa Brand on Vimeo.

Before the Cold

Got out to the park for awhile today and shot some pics with Steve. It was nice to be out and enjoy a nice day before it gets super cold. I has been some time since I have had time to spend a solid couple hours at the park.

Some plans are formulating in regards to a new spot. When the idea for a skatepark in Quarryville was first being tossed around, there was talk of a dirt area being done in conjunction with the park. Over the past week I have been in contact with the big boss of SECA to see if plans were still in the works for that, and if not, to see if we could get something going. Steve and I talked to him today and he was very supportive with the idea as long as we could come up with a team to head up the project. While there are certainly some drawbacks to a spot that is open and available to the general public (especially when held in contrast to a spot secluded in the woods), there are some positives as well, things that an isolated woodsy spot can not (generally) provide (water access, no ticks, availability of machinery, three blocks from the house, no worries of being plowed, etc). We will see how things move forward. Probably going to head up to 717 tomorrow to get some digging on.

conclusion to rays trip

so last weekends trip to rays was super awesome. I can't wait to go back. Shane was rocking all the wallrides and the rhythm room, stauff dog was digging the roller line, and i was tight with the foam pit. I'd say we all made it home without any major injuries besides stauffers shoe ripping and all of us being sore as crap. i managed to learn backflips for about ten minuts until i put a hurting on my neck and shoulders, super dissappointed i didnt get to take it to resi and home. so all and all it was a "raw" weekend. Clara's Places' sausage gave us all killer stank ass. beware. myself and everyone had a real great time just being around each other and away from here. i'm down for another trip out to that place real soon and i hear green mountain has a woodward trip this winter? i may be down for that. no word yet on what were doing for trails. deeve started digging in an unoffical spot but im not sure if myself and stauffer are a go for that place. we'll give a shout when we know for sure whats up.

World Travel

I suppose some people do it these days with the ease of world exploration via the internet, but I have not heard of people seeking out extraordinary spots (on the internet) and then getting them done. I was messing around with Google earth (an amazing program) and found this hotspot. Anyone want to travel to Nepal?



I should throw out a post about the conclusion of our Ray's trip (which was quite good) but that will have to wait for later (unless Matt wants to tune one in(the phrase of the trip)). I have some reading to do.

Oh. At the advice of 717, I also just ordered Pa Wood's 10 year DVD. The trailer looks real good so I am stoked to see that.

Ray's

The past two days of Ray's has put a hurting on us. The place is way to big to ride in three days. So much stuff. Matt fired out a couple back flips into the foam and Shane is rocking the rhythm room. Check back for more pics later (and Flickr).

Closure

Things came to a bit of a closure tonight with the Smith trails. Matt and I did some research and finally tracked down the overseer of the school district property. It turns out that for the two years that we have been digging back their, no one had even noticed us. The other day, a faculty member was concerned to see some people walking back into the woods and reported it to the janitorial staff. Later they checked it out and shut it down due to liability issues. Thankfully, the overseer was super nice and understanding of our plight. He gave my name and number to the school's business manager and said they would give me a call if things changed. I suppose to our credit, he was quite impressed by the amount of work that was put in back there but there was not much they could do.

Ideas are being thrown around as to what is in order next with differing opinions. If nothing works out by next spring, we will donate our shovels to 717 and move thither. Matt has a collection of memorial pictures on his Facebook but I will get some up here this week. It was a good two years.

See you at Ray's.

What it is

so it's been a full day now since our sudden shut down and i've done a bunch of thinking. first off i don't know if i've ever felt this type of heartbreak before. As lame or gay as it may sound it's like a piece of me has been taken. myself and josh spent a good majority of time at the smith trails and was almost a type of home, im sure anyone who has ever had trails can relate to that. so moving forward... josh imforms me that steve and him may have found a new location already but i'm not willing to start anything up before there is a sence of security in the spot. We also plan on talking to the school or whoever we can about our shut down just to see what the reasons are and so they can see what type of people we are. kinda ironic situation, last week as i was walking up to the trails i found a wallet, full with cash,i.d,cards, etc. that i turned into the school and from the little glimps of what i got from the "guy in the truck" i think it may be a match. so anyways i'm sure our plan is to keep on keeping on. we have considered just migrating to the 717 crew but we just want something in out back yard if you will. I'm hoping to make it out to 717 tomorrow after i get done work to get back into the trail spirit...

Charm

Saw this video on Ride Bmx Online of the Haro Team at Charm City in Baltimore. I will in no way make this blog a dumping site of all the latest and greatest from the internet, but it has been a while since we have been down there so I thought it was interesting. Apparently the park was not that good judging by the amount and diversity of the clips.

Haro Bikes Visits Groove Merchants BMX Shop from Haro Bikes on Vimeo.

Posted

One of the glaring realities of the trail business is the fact that they are often located (due to the younger and poorer nature of the participants) on land that is not owned by the riders. Thus the possibility of rejection by the proper owners looms dark over the creative spirit of trail building/riding. This horrible reality struck us today as we went back to find the trails posted and all of our shovels out at the trail head. Not sure what the plan is from here but Steve and I are probably going to do some hiking around tomorrow. No pun intended, but we will keep the blog posted.

new old school

so last night in my internet browsing i came across another new old school frame but this one is actually old school. S&M has a re re make of the Holmes but this one has an american bb and 1'' headtube and the smaller seat post... and better yet its 400+ bucks. last time i checked it was 2009 so shouldnt the companies be making frames that are 2009 standards. i thought we got away from all the stuff from the old school for a reason. Would anyone actually buy that thing and use it as a daily rider??

Possible Trail Riding

So i think it's about time that the Mrk broke this blog thing in. The Weather For this weekend is looking real good from what i saw earlier, but unfortunately for me i will be working all day saturday. I talked to josh and it looks like were going to try to have a little session on sunday (after 2:30 because i work.) I'm pretty sure we'll go back and touch things up as much as possible tomorrow to have everything riding but i don't think a lot needs done since things look good under the tarps. In other news has anyone else seen the subrosa pandora dtt frame? it's all old school looking with a dual top tube. wtf? One week to Ray's... stoked.

Manheim Skatepark

I saw this article in the paper the other day. Apparently there is a park getting fired up in Manheim. No mention of bikes; however, rumor has it that bikes are allowed minus pegs. Anyone know anything about this? Speaking of skateparks in Lancaster County, I would be all for attempting to try, once again, to get bikes into Lancaster County park. A couple years ago the old county commissioners were ousted; the new ones may feel differently about allowing bikes in.

Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth living.

While not really related to bikes in any direct fashion, this article reflects some of my initial reservations about blogging. While it may not parallel your worldview, if you like to read and critique your own life (as I do too much), hit it up. It will be worthwhile.

New Dirt

Did some digging today. Steve was back in proper form. Dude is a shovel/axe animal.

Delay

It seems this blogging thing could get fairly addicting; the only problems are 1) whether anyone is looking and 2) if anyone cares. Oh well.

Just wanted to let peeps know about the Ray's Weekend coming up. Green Mountain is taking a crew out and Shane, Matt and I are going to head out as well (a day earlier than they are). It is promising to be a good trip. It would be good to get a good Lanc. County representation there.

Secondly, I was delighted to find the symbiotic relationship of Flickr and Blogger on here. Using Flickr as a photo hosting site seems much more efficient than uploading everything to the blog face. The way to do it may be to upload a few highlights to a post and then redirect traffic to Flickr. We'll see how that works.

Speaking of highlights, I have to post the picture of a ridiculous berm that I saw a month or two ago. Apparently it is over in the U.K. and is of mind boggling size. The U.K. trail scene seems to have blown up this year.



I am trying to get Matt set up as another author so hopefully you will see him on here soon as well. Cheers.

Updating

Since this is getting fired up here late in the season, I should post some pics for any newcomers that are interested to see how things look. A lot of digging was done early this year resulting in the lines on the left side of the woods. New digging is happening now in preparation for next year so maybe I will get some shots of that up soon. Word has it that Steve has some epic berms brewing.

Quarry Ville

Do I even want to start a blog? I am not sure. However, the trail scene is poppin and blogs seems to be a boon to the creation of a bit of community. Matt and I have been the main two diggers this year at Smith and we are ready for some friends. So anyway. Here it is.

Quarry Ville seemed appropriate at face value. See Merriam-Websters:

quarrying n

ca. 1828 : the business, occupation, or act of extracting useful material (as building stone) from quarries

-ville \ˌvil, esp Southern vəl\ n suffix

[-ville, suffix occurring in names of towns, fr. F, fr. OF, fr. ville village] : place, category, or quality of a specified nature 〈dullsville〉

^{While you can read into definitions according to your desired use, Quarryville seems an appropriate designation for a set of trails: a community (or village) seeking to extract (sometimes rare) material out of the earth for the establishment of a bicycle riding, jumping, berming community. Community begins and ends the process of this phenomena we call trails. Maybe the 717 Family is on to something.}