I’ve been making something… BIG.

A few late nights, lots of tape, 16 years of history. You’ll see it soon.

Ride BMX Issue #150. On sale and in mailboxes mid September.

?Keith

Sorry for the lack of variety in my blogs lately. I guess I’ve been busy making the magazine, doing NORA Cup planning, house remodeling, shooting demos, watching the Olympics, and spending way too much time in the office. Hey, enough of my excuses and complaining, blogs are fun and so is sharing various photos I’ve taken over the years.

Tokyo Man; date unknown. Maybe it’s actually a woman under that mask? We’ll never know. I was in Tokyo, Japan, with Shadow number one, Ron Bonner, his wife, and her friend on vacation and I took tons of photos with one of my favorite cameras ever?a Polaroid Mio. It shoots medium-sized instant Polaroid film and spits out the print from the top of the camera. Anyway, we came across this person on the sidewalk. Had to shoot him.

Joe Rich; October 1992. I love looking back at photos and seeing people I know now, but didn’t know at the time I shot the photos of them. This one is a perfect example. Obviously I know Joe pretty well today, but not when I took this photo. It was my first, possibly my only, trip to the original Posh trails in PA. I think a bunch of us were on our way back to Long Island from a race in Pennsylvania and we stopped at the trails. I remember I had serious knee problems and was bummed I couldn’t ride, but I had my camera, so I did what I always did when hurt?shot some photos. The crazy thing to me about this image is that Joe is on an Auburn. Must have been right before he got on Standard… Neon green front and polished aluminum rear two-piece frame, four pegs, front brakes, 48-spoke wheels, and a hefty turndown. Wow, I can’t believe this is from 16 years ago. Awesome.

Self Portrait; ‘94 or ‘95? Getting my first real fisheye for my Minolta x7A 35mm hand-me-down camera was so exciting. This must have been taken in the fall since I had a wool hat and sweatshirt on. That’s a tripod in my right hand. There’s no real story behind this photo, I just like it.

Race Pigeons; 1995. I used to work with this weird old man named Norman. I actually didn’t work directly with him, I worked in the warehouse and he would come back to smoke cigarettes. He was grumpy and never said a word until my friend Rob Hughes and I starting messing with him. I used take a spray bottle (think Windex) and pretend that I was squirting him in the face. I’d make a noise through my teeth that sounded like liquid was squirting out. He would flinch and close his eyes…he used to get so pissed when I did it, but it eventually got him to laugh. We knew that Norman was into racing pigeons and we used to grill him about it. He would tell us all about the race circuit, the pigeon named Merckx (the greatest racing pigeon ever) who was named after Eddy Merckx?one of the greatest and most successful cyclists of all time, and he loved to tell us about his methods of killing a pigeon when it was sick. One day he invited me to his place during lunch to show me the birds and let me shoot photos of them. This is one of the photos I took while there. I made a ‘zine with this one and some others with a great quote from Norman; “A pigeon must earn its perch.” Norman died of a heart attack a few years later. I have no idea what happened to his birds.

It’s hump day again and that means another installment of random photos. I’ve decided to call this semi-regular feature “Free Lunch” after Sweet Cheeks in last week’s post. Thanks for the inspiration, cutie.

One of my favorite things is finding other people’s photos. When I lived on Long Island I used to have this little route that I’d ride when I was bored or only had a half hour or so before it was dark. This usual route had a couple of wallrides, some curbs to tire-slide, some sidewalks to manual?nothing that good at all, but I made it fun. One thing I worked into my rides was making sure I went behind the strip malls and through their parking lots. Great things could be found behind them, especially in their garbage. There was a one-hour photo close by and one day I decided to take a look in their dumpster. Jackpot. Any photos they messed up or tested their machines and chemicals on they threw away. My sister worked at this joint for a bit, but she never told me this. After my discovery I started taking a few photos on some different rides?whatever could fit in my pockets?and ended up with some good ones. As you can imagine, I’ve also found photos in various other places. And I’ve kept them all. Any place, any find is a good one no matter what the subject or quality.

I find it totally fascinating to be able to peek into other people’s lives by looking at their photos?frozen moments they thought were important enough to capture, cherish, and save forever on film. And, man, some of them are terrible.

Through my dumpster diving I found photos of people I knew from my town as well as relatives of mine. Once while working for Service Cycle Supply Company (a huge distributor based out of Long Island who also owned Mongoose), I found a leather bound “Monthly Minder” (a personal calendar book) in the dumpster. I had the warehouse job and as a result I had to take out the garbage every day. This discovery was sitting right on top of the garbage bags already in the dumpster and stuck out like a sore thumb, so I had to investigate. It turned out to be one of the craziest finds ever?lots of dirty pics from an old dude, who looked like Mr. Spock, and his lady friends. It had to have been a drive-by dumping, as it wasn’t anyone who worked in the building. I obviously can’t show you shots from the Monthly Minder here, but I can tell you that there are some strange people out there.

One of the best photo-finds happened right outside my door a few years back while living in Huntington Beach. Brian Foster, Tim Strelecki, Timmy’s sister Jen (now Brian’s wife), and I all rented a house in a pretty decent neighborhood. One day I came home and there were police everywhere. Apparently they raided the house across the street from us because they were dealing drugs and shooting illegal porn inside. Kinda makes you wonder what your neighbors are doing right now… Anyway, a day or two after the raid, a ton of stuff was piled outside on the sidewalk in front of the house waiting to be picked up by the trash man. Knowing there would be some good junk sitting out there, I picked through it one night and found a box of prints and a photo album. Amongst the photos; a couple of flatland riding shots. Hell yeah. Finding some accidental BMX shots…pretty awesome. 

So what I have for you here are 16 randomly found and chosen photos. Eyes have been covered to protect the guilty.

This little brat stole Fudger’s bike.

These guys were on it; their bikes were dialed. And check out the quarterpipe in the background on the right. Note the use of some sort of fisheye lens, too. I wish I knew more about this photo. Who? Where When?

This woman liked this photo of herself so much that she simply tore her ex right out of the picture. I wonder if she kept the ring…

You know what they’re thinking; “80 some-odd years, worst f-ckin’ gift ever.”

Appears to be a trade show demo…a really bad demo.

Looks like a fun night to me.

Doesn’t look like a fun night to me.

“Check out my fillings!”

What’s better than a photo of yourself with the legendary Dick Clark? A photo of a photo of yourself with Dick Clark. Signed, of course. 

Lighting farts is always more fun with a friend.

Forget about this dude’s bike for a minute and think about this setup; a basement, couple of ratty beds, pulled-back rug. You know some slaying went down in this dungeon. 

The look on the girl’s face on the left pretty much says it all.

There are a number of uncomfortable and odd things going on in this photo. 

I love this one. Candles burning, curtain draped over the shoulder, eyes closed, Indian style on the floor… This is some mystic, spirit channeling weirdness going on right here. To be a fly on the wall in this room…

Not the photo you’d want to sum up your session.

I really hope that whoever shot this photo of that artwork did it because they found it as funny as I do. WTF?

X Games week is packed with over-the-top parties all over LA and there can be some wild nights, but along with the hassles of getting on guest lists, finding passes or bracelets, waiting in lines, paying insane prices for drinks, and of course, LA’s disgusting traffic, it’s not always worth the effort, unless you’re a mega-star pro athlete with an entourage and half a dozen hot ladies fighting for your attention at any given time. This, I am not.

So this week I decided to avoid the X Games parties and relax at home with my house guests for the week, Mr. Van Homan, and his lovely wife Samantha. We chilled some beverages at my place, watched the new Two by Four video (awesome! by the way), celebrated Van’s X Games silver medal (second place in the Street comp), and went to downtown Santa Ana on Friday night for a bicyle-related art show called Bike Curious? Jeff Z. had some photos in the show, Kurt Rasmusson had a photo, and Bob Haro had some of his cartoon illustrations and some photographs in it as well, so it was a no-brainer?definitely had to check it out.

The vibe was awesome and everything from the toy boutique to the art was cool. How can you not like bicycles as the theme? As we all know, art is subjective, but I liked what I saw and was inspired by it. I was also fortunate to meet legendary skateboarding photographer James Cassimus, which was very cool. Look up his work online, you won’t be disappointed.

Just a friendly reminder: support your local art scene and don’t be afraid to create something yourself. It will bring a smile to your face and others’ faces too.

Here are some crappy digi cam pics from the evening. Sorry for the terrible quality of the photos, I think there was something in that orange juice they gave me…

The show was on the second and third floors at the Go,Rilla! gallery over the Go,Zilla! toy boutique. Lots of bikes all around the front and back. It’s great that people rode to the show instead of burning fuel.

This half-real, half-Lego bike was displayed in the front window. I grew up playing with Legos and still have all of them (tens of thousands of the little bricks!). Now I’m inspired to take them out and make something…

Can’t say I like the color scheme here, but it’s rad nonetheless. Motomags!

Samantha and Van Homan, and Jeff Z. and his soon-to-be wife Tamara. Years ago a Pantone book was stolen from the Ride office. I now believe Jeff took it so he and Tamara can match their outfits when they go out together.

Jeff Z.’s photos. You’ve most likely seen these in recent issues of Ride.

We got to the show late after being at the X Games all day and my GPS being off by a few miles, so I didn’t have a lot of time to see everything or take down artist names or notes, so I apologize to the artists for not giving credit. I don’t know who did this, but I like it.

Bob Haro’s work. The last time I saw Bob was at the Nike Lightning Bolts show in China and it was an super good time. Bob was at the Bike Curious? show hanging out, so it was great to see him again. I have a lot of respect for his contributions to BMX, as well as his art. Below are some close-ups of the pieces he had in the show…

The Toon. Bob’s cartoon illustration style amazes me.

This one brings back 80’s BMX racing memories.

Another great illustration. I remember when the word “endo” was huge and such a big part of BMX. Where did it go?

I can’t imagine a photo of someone doing a sit-down wheelie going over too well in a magazine these days, but this has soul.

This is a photo of the chase scene in E.T. being filmed. This one surprised me?I had no idea there were photos of this. Such a cool behind the scenes image of one of the most classic movies ever made.

Old bikes and wood floors go well together.

Chad Johnston and his wife, Amy. Chad was rolling around brakeless out back and doing things I’ll never be able to do on a bike.

Go,Zilla! has got lots of cool designer toys. Check it out if you’re in the Santa Ana area. www.gorillagozilla.com

Mixed media bike art.

Tires…

Another Lego bike. Here’s a good one; I once swallowed a small Lego accidentally. Our family  doctor told my parents that they had to look through my poop for it so they’d know that it had passed. I’m sure they were not psyched on that one. I’m glad they didn’t make me do it. Great thing is, they eventually found it. I wonder where it is now…

View of the second floor.

Great photo of a bike half-frozen in snow and ice.

In back of the store is a little garage/shop. There were some cool bikes laying around and I think they were doing repairs and tune-ups for free for those who rode to the show. How cool is that?

Some wall art in the garage area.

Nuno Oliveria, Dave Jacobs, and Aaron Bostrom were on the scene.

This reminds me of the old Hot Plates and my first racing number and plate (#2423 in NEBA?New England Bicycle Association). Any old-school east coast guys still around that remember that?

A few more pieces from the show. The two color paintings were super-detailed and looked like photos from a few feet back.

I’ve taken lots of photos over the years, hundreds of thousands actually. Today you randomly get two. It’s hump day, you know…

?Keith

“Ohhhh, yeahh… That naughty Brian Castillo, he really makes my wrinkly skin tingle with those multi-strobe nighttime rail manuals. I don’t carry this cane around with my sorry ass for nothing, you know. Kiss me, bad boy.”

“Free lunch?” As long as it’s a bean and cheese burrito at 12 noon I’m there, sweet cheeks.”

Old Hag: 1998, Phoenix, Arizona.

Brian Castillo: 1997, California

I took a ride on my motorbike today out to Mountain High in Wrightwood, California. Some of you may remember McGoo and Bill Bryant’s Vans Triple Crown of BMX downhill race series that went on about eight years ago. The final race of that series was at Mt. High?it’s a beautiful mountain town and ski resort not far from the Riverside area in SoCal. Well, the Chop Meet was organized by McGoo, Bill, and Mike Collins, but this wasn’t a BMX event, it was a motorcycle gathering. Simply put, it was a swap meet, motorcycle show, bands and booze fest, and a fun way to spend the day. I’m into motorcycles, and especially love garage-built choppers and there were plenty of them there today. There are a number of BMXers who are into motorcycles these days, and you can often tell by the look and parts on some motorcycles which ones are owned by BMX riders.

We’re actually working on a Ride article about BMXers who ride motorcycles, but it’s probably going to be a while before it’s finished.

Here are a couple of pics of some BMX-infused bikes, a few BMX heads who were there, and some random photos from the day…

(don’t forget to click on the photos for a better view)

This bike was wild?crazy handlebars and a wheelie bar help create the ultimate pit bike ride.

Some guy named Slim puts together these off the wall choppers. This one has Shadow Conspiracy grips on the footpegs.

Another bike by Slim. Check the Crupi caged pedal for the foot rest and the wrench kickstand.

Mike Vallely’s band Revolution Mother (shown here with Mike belting out the lyrics) played along with The Whitewalls and Throw Rag.

Holland’s Paul de Jong?HCDT captain, Paul’s Boutique bike shop owner and operator, brother of Bart de Jong, and disbeliever of the NASA moon missions?was hanging out with his wife and mechanic Boyd (shown here). If you’re ever in Aarle-Rixtel in the Netherlands stop by Paul’s Boutique. You can check out Paul’s shop at: www.paulsboutique.nl.

S&M’s Timmy Ball, my old friend from New York and former POW House resident Brooks Manbeck, and Bo Usher (yes, the Bo from the famous Bo’s trails). Check out some of Brooks’ awesome photography at www.brooksmanbeck.com.

Even the mannequins in Southern California are stacked. If I had a girlfriend with a body like that she’d probably choose to wear a face shield like that as well. You know, for when we’re, uh, riding.

I used to sell all of my used parts and frames at the local BMX track, never really thinking that years down the road it would be cool to have some of that old stuff. As a teenager, cash was more important than parts I didn’t need or want anymore (I was a sponsored racer, so there were some good years where I didn’t have to worry about buying a whole lot of bike stuff). Broken parts I just threw out. Some parts I gave to friends who needed them, and I once traded a set of Redline Flight Cranks to a neighborhood kid for an electric guitar and amp (still have those). 

Some cool stuff I did hang on to, some things I acquired here and there, and a few things I have, I recently came across on eBay. I think there are some things here that old-school collectors and guys who have been around for a while can appreciate. So here are ten things that I’m pretty stoked to have…

(click on the photos to see better detail)

1. Elina Seats. I can’t remember if I actually ever used an Elina seat on my bike, but I think I must have. I found these in two separate bike shops through my travels. I love the flat contour and overall shape of these seats, but the yellow plastic and lightning bolt sticker just does it for me. This is classic BMX style and design at its finest.

2. 1975 Kawasaki BX200-A1. One day I decided I wanted a  vintage BMX bike for inside my house. Instantly I thought of the old Kawasakis with the rear shocks and started looking on eBay. The timing was perfect as this one was up for auction and I won it. I think the only non-original pieces on it are a couple of the stem bolts. Overall it’s in mint condition?the seat doesn’t have a mark on it and is as new as the day it was made. I keep it in my home office and find myself looking at it all the time. The blue Schwinn Stingray is a limited edition remake that Vans had made. I love this bike, too, but the Kawi is the real deal.

3. Kore Bash Guard. These were all the rage in the early 90s. My friend Timmy Strelecki and I ordered these from S&M and I remember being so excited when they finally arrived at his house. As you can imagine it weighs a ton and while it protected my sprocket I still broke chains left and right with it on my bike. Needless to say, it didn’t stay on my bike for long. I think it’s funny I put the “Built Street Tough” and “If It’s Hard Grind It” Vision stickers on it.

4. Jive & Star Wars Number Plates. The #5 Jive plate used to belong to Will Smyth  of Dig magazine. I was doing an article on number plates in Snap years ago and he sent it to me and said I could keep it. I thought that was really cool of him, especially since I had always been stoked on photos of him that I had seen in BMX Action and Go. That plate and the stickers he put on it totally captured an era that I look back on with great memories. As for the Star Wars plate, I found that on a little kid’s Star Wars bike somewhere and just had to take it.

5. Oakley B-2 Grips. These gems I got fairly recently while visiting Oakley one day. This guy I know that works there named Steve Blick gave me an awesome tour of the place and when I asked him if they had any old stuff that they kept, a big smile came to his face. He took me to a caged storage room and pulled out a couple of secret bins with a few pairs of these in them. Thanks for the gift, Blick.

6. Oakley 3 Grips. When I started racing my dad got into it, too, and raced in the cruiser class at the local track and at nationals. He had a 24″ Hutch and for some crazy reason he loved these grips and wouldn’t use anything else. When the time came that he was done racing (the bruised heart and broken collarbone probably helped make that decision) he sold his bike to a guy we knew from the local track. Later that day he showed up at the trails and I saw him take these grips off and throw them on the ground. For some reason I had to grab them. I remember a year or two after, I put them in my dad’s Christmas stocking as a joke. Now I’m really glad I saved these as they’re so crazy and not something you come across very often.

7. Schwinn Blue Falcon Prototype. To my knowledge this is the only Blue Falcon frame made with a 20-1/4″ top tube (which is shorter than the production BF frames they sold). It even has “20-1/4″ written in marker on the top and down tubes. I was given this raw frame when I was the editor of Snap, but I never built it up. I’ll have to dig up the background behind it, but whatever the reason is that they made it and gave it to me, I’m happy to have it.

8. Shimano DX Pedals. DX pedals are one of, if not the, most iconic BMX components ever. The DX design was spot-on and copied by just about everyone and still is to this day. These are like gold to me. All are 9/16″ axles and have original bearings and axles. And yes, those are two brand new sets still in the boxes. I’ve been running the blue ones on my bike lately?another great win on eBay. Supposedly Shimano actually wore out the mold, and that’s why they stopped producing them. If anyone has sets of these they don’t want I’ll gladly take them off your hands.

9. Sticker Board. My dad made this for me when I was younger. It’s a piece of plexiglass and he painted the red, white, and blue on the back. I remember putting a lot of these stickers on it and thought it was so cool. I always had it hanging on my bedroom wall. Now I have it in my garage. Favorite stickers on it? Probably the old Shimano head tube sticker and the Patterson Racing sticker. The Torker, Thruster, Jag, and Mongoose ones are pretty sweet, too, as are the prism ones.

10. My First Trophy. May 17, 1981, was the day that changed my life. That was the day Long Island’s first BMX track opened down the road from our house and I got this third place trophy in my first-ever race. I was seven and raced on a borrowed Torker. Looking at this trophy brings back great memories of a time when BMX was in its earliest stages (at least on the east coast).

Okay, here it is, my first bloggggggggg for the new and improved site. We were told the site was going to launch tomorrow, so I was pleasantly surprised to see it live when I got in today. It’s been a long time coming, that’s for sure, and we couldn’t be happier that our ancient old site can now go someplace else to rot.

I’ll try to bring you interesting things and some good photos from our day-to-day Ride BMX adventures. Key word: try. It’s not always that interesting and good, but it’s always an adventure.

I’ll keep this one short, but I wanted to give a shout to Charlie from Michigan who gave me a rather random and awesome phone call this afternoon. Charlie took the time to dial us up and say how stoked he was on the magazine and how much it means to him. We rarely get calls like this, and it was great to hear how sincere he was. I’ve never met or talked to him before, but I’d love to ride with him some day. He told me he’s 41 years old and just got into riding a year ago. Kick ass. That rules. Keep shredding, Charlie.

Anyway, welcome to the new site. Now go ride.

Keith