I was at my local Ralph’s supermarket the other night picking up a few things. The list included skim milk, Odwalla juice smoothies, V8, Dannon low fat vanilla yogurt, and bananas. Hey, I gotta maintain this scrawny figure somehow?I can’t let Fudger and Z be the only skinny guys in the office. Anyway, I spotted Jamie Bestick somewhere around eisle 8. Had to drop the $1.69 for this one.

I’m not sure what I’ll do with this notebook, but I’ll figure something out. I wonder if Jamie knows these are out there. Did he get paid? Who shot it (Losey, Souney, Hallman…)? How much did the photographer get paid? What would Jamie write in here if he had one?

Maybe I’ll send it to Jamie and tell him I want it back in one year with every page filled with something. Hmmm, that could be a good one. Check back for Part II of this blog on September 19, 2009…

Okay, so we’re throwing a little party tomorrow here at Ride BMX headquarters. Actually, it’s a big party?huge. As you already know, we just did our 150th issue and the mags have shipped from the printer, so you should be getting it soon. You do have a subscription, right? Anyway, to celebrate this milestone in Ride history we’re having a kegger. A BBQ. A ramp sesh. A contest. A rager?all of the above and more. So here’s the deal; if we know you, chances are you got an invite. If you’re somewhat local and happened to see this blog, then you get rewarded?you’re now officially invited, too.

Lots of industry heads and plenty of pros will be here for the fun. Some of the planned festivities include: free food (Ball Park dogs, random BBQ, and vegan delights), free drinks, free copies of issue 150, music, mini ramp session, free Ride BMX 150th Issue commemorative mugs (limited edition?only 150 made?so first come first get), Barspinner Ryan is bringing his box jump, Bostrom is helping us build a scrappy vert wall onto the building in the AM, plus a bunnyhop contest with a 150 dollar cash prize for the winner. As many of our parties do, we’ll most likely have some toys to kill ourselves on as well. Rumor has it there are going to be some Red Bull girls here, too. Sweeet… And our intern Daniel may be rounding up some high school girls. Crap, this could get ugly…

We’ll also be doing interviews with pros and legendary riders who have helped make Ride BMX what it is. Some of which we’ll be broadcasting live on the site tomorrow.

So we hope to see you here, even if we’re seeing double…

Pretty stoked on these. I have a feeling they are going to be put to good use tomorrow.

The ramp has been cleared of motorcycles and other random crap and is ready for some heavy schralpin’.

The bunnyhop height poles are just about done. We should just give B Simms the cash when he shows up, but who knows, there could be a sleeper out there.

While doing a massive clean-up of the office and warehouse last night I found this little guy and put him on Fudger’s desk to keep him company.

Here it is, the official invite. Consider yourself officially invited. Bring your bike and a smile, we’ll take care of the rest.

If anyone has ever ridden the etnies Skatepark of Lake Forest, you know they let bikes in, but it’s not necessarily “bike friendly.” Since the day the park opened there have been, pardon my honesty, asshole skaters working the place, a number of confrontations between them and bike riders, and tons of intentionally shitty moves (playing the worst possible music during the bike sessions, not drying up puddles in sections until after the bike session is over, etc.). There’s also a bowl there that bikes can’t go in because of the pool coping. Did I mention that there are only three bike sessions a week for a total of 6-1/2 hours of riding time? Want to know how many hours the skaters get during a week? 68-1/2. If you’ve ever been to the mid-week night session or the Sunday morning session you know it’s packed with bikes to the point that it’s not even that fun to ride because of the volume of people everywhere. To add to this, it seems that whenever there’s a special event of some sort it happens to fall during a bike session. It’s happened many times, and still happens, as you can see from this note that was posted today at the park. The only positive thing, BMX-wise, is that they hired a BMXer to work there?Dillon H. Dillon is super cool and has probably kept a lot of riders from writing the park off completely. I know many guys have gone there once and because of all the BS have never gone back.

I own a house in Lake Forest, one of the reasons I moved there was because of this park. My taxes go towards helping pay for that place to exist. It’s great that they allow bikes (every park should, but we know how it is), but this is lame.

Do us a favor, take a second to call the number in the photo and complain, and e-mail the people below and let them know how unfair the skatepark is to BMX. Even if you live far away and never have the chance to go to this park, you’ll be helping other riders and fighting for a good cause. If you do write or call, please try to sound intelligent and not just go nuts. Done the right way, it could help things, done the wrong way will only hurt.

Thanks!

?Keith

*Just so you know, this park is run by the City of Lake Forest, and etnies doesn’t have much say on what goes on there, so please don’t go hating on etnies.

Here are the people you should complain to:

Nick Gates: NGates@ci.lake-forest.ca.us

Vicky Blethen: VBlethen@ci.lake-forest.ca.us

Rob Gaylord: RGaylord@ci.lake-forest.ca.us

Salt Lake City is always a good time, judging contests isn’t. Yep, worst job ever. By the end of the weekend three riders are stoked on you and 67 others hate you. Then you’ve got the armchair Internet judges giving their opinions of how bad the actual judging was when most of them didn’t even watch the contest and only read a list of tricks that each guy did. Oh well, everyone’s got an opinion, right? 

I’m thinking about doing an article on judging with a bunch of interviews with judges, contest promoters, and riders. It’s a big can of worms to open up, but I think some good can come of it. If not, I know there will be some crazy shit talking and comments from you guys, so either way I think it’ll be worth it. Give me a bit to put that one together…

Just so you judging haters out there know, there are five judges, those same five judges judge all of the disciplines (Vert, Dirt, and Park), and the high and low scores are thrown out of every run scored. In my personal opinion, most every judge that is picked for the Dew Tours is highly qualified, highly opinionated, and when it comes to doing the job, judge fairly and unbiased. Because of the system, who one judge thought should have won doesn’t always turn out to be the winner, so next time you talk shit about a judge you may want to know how he scored before you spout off.

Enough of that for now, it’s fun time. Here are a few digi pics from the weekend…

Flying in electrical storms is fun.

Cow jumping over the moon, of course.

Paparazzi shot of the night?Corey spotted shredding the streets of downtown. Yo, T-nez, never underestimate the power of a point-and-shoot digi cam!

Cory Muth making friends for his upcoming move to SLC.

Best bike at the Dew Tour.

Eddie from 50/50’s RV loaded up for a go-cart mission. What you can’t see is the other 75 people crammed up front and in the back.

How did England produce two of the best vert riders ever? Tabron and Bestwick are cool as shit, kind of makes up for England’s lack of ice.

My man, the Pusher man, Clay Brown?triple fistin’.

Diogo Canina cracks me up.

The always awesome Kevin McAvoy was slightly pissed…about a certain dirt jumper winning, and let me know it. Hey Kevin, let’s have a couple more and go for round two, haha. 

Bestwick again, this time with my old Long Island racing buddy, Kennan Harkin doing the TV thing.

I dare you to talk shit on this guy. He judged, too, you know. Beringer loves bunny hop and BMX loves Matt Beringer.

I like seeing a 1080, and I like Ball Park hot dogs, but I’m not sure I want to combine the two. Spin first, eat later.

Everyone has their own methods for packing up their bike when hitting the road and it seems like most riders have a few little things that make the whole process easier for them. I was packing my bike up this morning to head out to Salt Lake City, Utah, for the Dew Tour and thought I’d share this one with you.

I’ve been using two small bungee cords to hold my headset pieces together and in place for a while now and it works perfectly. They’re super small, weigh next to nothing, and feeding them through the head tube and hooking them together literally takes seconds to do. You can find bungee cords of all sizes at most any hardware store or mega-stores like Target, WalMart, K-Mart, etc. for next to nothing. If you’ve ever lost one of your headset pieces or had one bent or crushed because it fell out, you know how frustrating it is. Next time give this a try .

Shot down to Temecula after work yesterday on my Thruxton, had dinner with McGoo at a bar next to Snafu called Hard Hats (where the chick bartender and waitress girls work in panties and bras?fur burger anyone?), then rode the wild thunder out into the desert at sundown with Chris Collins and Bill Bryant from Snafu and a couple other friends who are on their way to New Mexico. Woke up in Joshua Tree National Park at 5am with a bunch of owls hoot’n real loud and bats flying all around. Blasted back and was in the office by 10:30 this morning. 355 miles total. Nice spur of the moment overnight trip and not my typical Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Pretty damn awesome. What does this have to do with BMX? Nothing and everything. Here are a few pics…

Departure.

Purple haze, a sickle moon, and a little go-go juice.

6am at the campsite.

Chris loads up his pan for the long haul to Albuquerque.

Ready to roll.

The park roads were empty this morning.

Quick stop next to some Joshua trees.

Camping makes me happy.

Saw this in the park shitter this morning. It’s going to be awesome when that egg bursts open and thousands of baby spiders jump on whoever is sitting on the toilet.

What can I say? Today was one of the happiest days ever. CONGRATULATIONS Jeff Z. and Tamara! I love you both and wish you a lifetime of happiness together. I’ve never known a couple more meant for each other. Giraffes across the world are singing tonight. You guys are awesome.

I now present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Zielinski…

The happy couple.

MC Fat and the lovely couple. Minister of Ceremonies, Fox Tony, did a stand-up job of helping seal the deal.

It wouldn’t be a proper ceremony without a bear in the audience.

The Zielinskis and their newest family member, Tamara. Congratulations!

Guess who?

Whenever I had blue balls, I kept it to myself. Not this kid…

Someone teach this guy how to do a tie, please! Bill Dies in full effect.

Ben Ward gets smashed. Who knew he drove a 4×4?

Fudger, Z., and Snips; smiles for miles…well, sort of. Is it me, or is Fudger starting to look like one of those GEICO cavemen?

Wasted!

First place, and Best Man, Ralph Sinisi puts up the one…

A very tipsy and happy Ryan Fudger, Tamara Zielinski, Jeff Z, and me.

Congrats Jeff and Tamara!!! Enjoy the honeymoon and your wonderful new life together!

Best wishes,

?Keith

Sorry there were no random photos this week, I was at the annual Transworld Media Sales Meeting shooting guns, having paintball wars, and climbing cables high up in trees at night. It’s what the big-wigs like to call “team building.” I call it three days that I don’t get to ride my bike or work on the magazine. But aside from having to give a presentation in front of 50 people, it was actually pretty cool, so no complaints. Who knew meetings could be this fun? Back to BMX soon…

What you can’t see is that I’m aiming at Fat Tony’s flaming red custom Nikes with “Fat Tony” embroidered on them. Bull’s eye!

This week’s random photos consist of two legendary BMXers; both from different eras, and both very different in their riding, but each hugely influential to the race and freestyle worlds.

Howell, New Jersey; 1981. Photo: Bruce Mulligan. I was looking through some old slides that my dad took when I had first started racing and I came across this one. This was at a national at Central Jersey BMX and as you can see, the trophies were impressive. Quick random fact: The bicycle shop in front of this track, formerly known as Bicycle World, is now owned by Scotty Cranmer and is called SC Action Sports (www.scactionsports.com).

So I must have looked at this slide dozens of times, but the most recent time I looked at it under a loupe I found something I’d never noticed before. Sitting in the infield, off to the side of the starting hill (upper left in the photo), is the one and only Stu Thomsen. He’s got on the classic white, red, and black Redline uniform, and you can see SunTour printed on the sleeve. When I first spotted him in this photo, it was like, “What? No way!” I was totally stoked to find this BMX legend in a slide I had. For me, it makes this photo a little more important and an instant classic. The funny thing, though, is what Stu is doing in the photo; something’s obviously got his attention because he’s staring up into the trees with his eyes wide and mouth agape. Below is a zoomed-in crop.

Stompin’ Stu. Your guess is as good as mine on what he’s looking at. Stu presented the Number One Racer award at last year’s NORA Cup, and is a true icon to BMX racing.

Dave Young; 1996-1997? The day I shot this, Chris Hargrave (former Ride editor) and I were down in San Diego hanging out with Dave Young. We were most likely teaming up to shoot a bike test for the magazine or some ridiculous move that Dave wanted to do. At the time, Dave lived in the basement of a house and his “apartment” was appropriately named the “Dave Cave.” The walls of his room were actually carved out of rock. It was wild. I remember a bunch of toys and other crazy things in his place, and I’m sure this clown mask was one of many fun things Dave had lying around to amuse himself and others. The moped? It actually had a flat?we pushed it into the street for the shot. I don’t know what inspired this photo, but it’s one of my favorites of this legendary street dog.

I’ve learned to expect the unexpected when visiting Matt Beringer’s house. You never know what he’ll build in his backyard or garage next, what will go on fire, and when the weather sucks, there’s no telling what will be brewing to keep the fun alive. 

The last time I found myself at Matt’s it was February 29th. That magical day only happens once every four years, and I imagine just like nights with a full moon, people tend to get a little crazier than normal. Okay, cut to the chase: Matt’s roommate Justin’s sword is in the kitchen and things start getting sliced. A bearded Dave King is in the house and takes control. Step back, these are not professionals. The rest, as you can see, was an explosive good time…

Take that, Oatmeal Creme Pies!

Justin, not satisfied with the sword’s initial performance on packaged dessert treats, tends to the blade. 

Orange juice works well for medium-sized blobs. Dave King with a perfect slice through the middle and a colorful splash. 

Then came the spray paint… As you can see, the sword can cut cleanly through a can, but when nicked, a can will take flight. Steer clear, these are Krylon missiles!

Best shot of the night! I still have paint on my camera from this one. Dave King with a direct hit. Hey, cover that cup!

Dave’s got good form on this one.

When you play with a sword, you’re bound to get something on your face.

Sometimes you have to just straight chop it down. Matt’s not scared.

It’s official: it’s a bloodbath! See that fire in the background? That, along with some aerosol bombs, helped wake up the neighborhood at 3am.

Gotta love this guy! Beringer rules.

Warning: You and your friends will DIE if you play with swords.