Elevator Music

The Return of Dave Parrick

You know what to do.

Delicious Ditch

So, I hopped into my 'chiny' red convertible at 9 in the AM this morning and made my way out toward the sticks with a bag full of golf clubs to whack some balls around at a little dive called Lee's Par 3. There's a brand-new road in town that goes straight there. New roads equal new ditches, and I knew this stretch would be offering a few. So, the bike came along, too.

Each paved stamp of Earth I passed looked delectable. Despite the 40 MPH winds—Earth's way of saying, "suck it!"—I couldn't wait to turn around and give these a closer look.

I took some snaps on the iPhone:

Ditch 1. All kinds of fun to be had here. And I know what you're already thinking. Actually, if you look closely, you will see that someone got here before the water (and I) did and pulled the carve-to-wallride on slab below the rail. Sick nuts. Plenty more to be explored though.

Ditch 2. Weirdest ditch I've come across. Ton of creative potential. The ledge is tall enough to separate the men from the boys, and that curvy, slabby thing on one end is just begging for combos. Not to mention, the bank to rail is there for the daring, and the embankment is at a perfect pitch. Bonus: the joint from ground to bank is buttery smooth. No DIY needed.

Ditch 3. This was undoubtedly my favorite. Call it, "NB-Wallows," if you will. Fun to dive into from the sidewalk. And I love how the banks have little curb-cuts at the bottom. Some might not dig that though.

Ditch 4. Last one (that I took a picture of, at least). Nothing remarkable here, but it is hella fun to dive in from the afore gap and boost out into the soft dirt. Banks are a good height and pitch to trick on, too—with a flat spot at top for your tires to play with.

That's all. Get out there and explore.

The Taj Stable History

In what might be the best BMX blog post of 2008 (not a difficult feat), Taj Mihelich runs through many of the bikes he has mounted during his early life and storied career.

The RideBMX.com blog post includes photos, descriptions and mini-anecdotes that take you through Taj's early days, his various sponsorships, his time at Terrible One, and up to today.

“Later when Linn Kastan built T-1’s for a short while I got so pissed at him over some production issues that I jumped in my car and drove 24 hours straight to California to confront him. He called me a boy who didn’t even know what chromoly was and refused to meet me in person.”

Read Taj's blog post. (via)

Austin's Happening

Bunch of Austin-related shit for your week:

Mutiny's 'What the F' web vid

"So here's the deal, Josh Bedford set out to 6th St. here in Austin to do some partying just like any other party night AKA every night! The idea was to film some riding on the way to the bar, get hammered and get some loose footage! Then Whamo! Here you have the "What The F" Mutiny Bar video. This might become a series, let us know if you want to see more. Watch different team guys as they come to town and see what they do when it's just time to get loose."

Please! Make it a series.

Dave Parrick working on new Empire video

Apparently Dave was sick of bike videos after Etnies Forward. Upon moving his family to Austin and working a boring job, he caught the itch and is collaborating with Tina and Tom on the new empire video, so says Issue 67 of DIG.

Get the issue and read the interview. Sounds like Dave's going for something new. Something different. Sooner or later a trailer with mostly empire mini-ramp riding will be available online. Video slated for Summer 09.

DSBMX Now on Twitter

Notice the speech bubble spawning from the dead bird above? DSBMX will now be tweeting progress updates in an attempt to keep you loyal followers involved while pushing development along. I'll also be asking questions every once in awhile. So, if you want to participate and respond, get a twitter account and tweet @dsbmx

Follow us here or at twitter.com/dsbmx

The DSBMX Standard Model

As I work hardly feverishly to resucitate the late DirtySouthBMX.com, most of my attention has been put toward defining what DSBMX is from a high-level perspective.

I've developed the following model, and I think it's quite solid:

Content & Communication

At the center of our model is content and communication. Content is everything consumed on the site, be it news, events, stories, interviews, music, video, user profiles—everything you can see and hear. Content is supported by communication, which will come in the form of commenting on stories, talking shit on tag boards, relaying messages and posting status updates.

Localization & Personalization

Enveloping the site's core are the concepts of localization and personalization. Localization has has always been a key principle of DSBMX—it was started as a way to document the Texas riding scene. In this new model, localization means all content and communication will take place in a given geographic context. News and events will belong to a single city/state, tag boards will exist for each scene, etc. Localization is important because it connects you with riders around your area and introduces you to new places.

Personalization means you control the content and communication in the manner you see fit. Each user will have their own profile, their own column or blog, and each user can choose where to import their photos and videos, be it Flickr, YouTube, Mpora, Vimeo, etc. Personalization also means you control your identity at DSBMX.com by dressing up your profile, column/blog posts and tag board messages.

So, the foundation is solid, and hopefully the brick and mortar gets laid sometime this century. Stay tuned for updates.

Here's a fuckin' Web edit

Ed Koenning, children. Take notes.

Hello, Summer

Holy shit! it's getting hot out there. Texas has a fever, and the only cure is more cowgirls.

Since you're probably inside right now, hiding from the relentless Sun, checkout this little edit by Stew Johnson featuring Stefan Lantschner tearing up Dallas and Austin, including a proper shutdown of the Empire mini.

Too good.

Mutiny Web Vid

Mutiny just raised the bar on Web vids. Check it.

James' Ramp

James had a good sesh at his ramp today and sent over some pics. So for the first time in who knows how long, I'm posting some photos on DirtySouthBMX.com... Enjoy.

Do you fakie?

Terrible One is holding a "Highest Fakie Air" comp at the ramp on Feb. 2nd. And, why the hell not? More on the flyer.

plainlife

I love you Robbo, but...

Maybe I misunterstood the hype. Maybe I imagined the hype. Either way, I was all wrong about Fit's latest team video, "Fitlife."

I dug through the magazines and browsed the web sites, looking for the early talk about Fitlife, trying to find those passages that promised a BMX video with a new approach — a new direction. I came up short. Wasn't Fitlife supposed to approach this project with a unique perspective, focused on riding culture more than lines and tricks? Was this promise? Was this rumor? Was this merely illusion?

The product of over 2 years and an estimated $15,000 worth of riding, filming and editing, Fit's "Fitlife" is nothing more than a can of Play-Doh squeezed through the Play-Doh Factory and cut into 10 small pieces with that shitty plastic yellow butterknife. If Fitlife was set in a new direction, it must have swung a hard left at $10,000 Blvd.

The riding in Fitlife is excellent, no doubt. But it's dry. It's pressed from a cookie cutter and sprinkled with a crappy soundtrack, not quite as nostalgic as the "Demolition" vid and not quite as original as the earlier Road Fools hits. Hit mute.

Does Fitlife get you pumped to ride? Possibly. It at least gives you the itch. Is it the new direction that it was promised, rumored, or imagined to be? Not even close. Is it worth your time and interest?..

... Shit yeah! It only costs $10 $16!

- Colin, sometime near Fitlife's debut

06.04.07

The Skatepark of San Marcos is open to the "public." Ride with caution.

southern exposure

Grab a copy of Dig 58 for a couple pages covering a road trip through Texas, namely Austin and San Antonio. Always cool to see new lines on spots you may ride everyday (in a global publication, nonetheless.) Dig's got a new Web site going, too. Not my favorite incarnation--almost like they lost their paint brush, but that's just my taste. Check it.

01.31.07

Traffic is good for the soul, or at least for the long drive to work.

The dark room where I get paid to clack away on a keyboard, building websites, is about 50 miles from my apartment. There are two main routes from New Braunfels to Boerne—a lonely state highway through the Hill Country and an Interstate trifecta flirting with San Antonio's outskirts.

For the longest time, I made the dreadful, lonely trek everyday up Hwy 46. The roadway was empty but winding—scenic but lifeless. My impression was that taking I-35/Lp 1604/I-10 would be hell with all the traffic and shitty Texas drivers. My impression was ignorant.

On Hwy 46, I'm an unlucky bastard on a long drive to work. On the Interstate, I'm crammed stop-and-go with America's workforce. We're all out here to provide for the family we miss. We're all in this together.

It's love-hate, but it's far from lonely.