Seriously, the last D.I.Y. World Championships post...

OK, last post on this, I swear.  Here's all the good video on the Steve Crandall/FBM Bikes D.I.Y. World Championships held in the Powers Bike Shop parking lot here in Richmond, Virginia, on October 20, 2018.  This is the DIG BMX Mag edit of the comp above.  And here, below, is the Scotty Cranmer Vlog/YouTube channel edit of the comp.


No huge corporate sponsors.  No real budget (OK, except for building the world's biggest, 3,000 pound cinder block), and no huge pro purse.  But this comp was more fun than a barrel of monkeys lubed with Wesson oil while doing acid.  Anything could, and pretty much did, happen.  Here's the link to my series of posts with my words a photos of the day.  And here are my three favorite photos I took. 

 Big air and big style on the RAMPLIFLIER.  These riders go to eleven.

 The Buck Wild Trophy being admired.

 Deklan with a crank arm grind.  He did the second one of these to a no footed can-can out.

 And the Corgi. 

Scotty Cranmer's video: The FBM/Powers Bikes D.I.Y. World Championships

I got busy last week, and didn't think to look this clip up til this morning, while writing another blog post.  Here's the D.I.Y. World Championships from last weekend, through the eyes of Scotty Cranmer and posse.  Great stuff.  This contest was, seriously, the most fun I've had in over a decade.  Steve Crandall puts together the coolest shit.  Chad at Powers Bike Shop offered up the awesome location.  Bikes and fun ensued.  Just watch.

Here's the band Cruelsifix performing at the comp.  Old guys:  they cover Agent Orange.  Hell yeah!

I was in the booth trying to sell art most of the time, but here's my best pics of the day...

 High air on the RAMPLIFLIER.

 Flip to flat off the giant cinder block jump.

 Crank arm slide.

 The Corgi.

 Crandall.

Dog checking out the Buck Wild trophy.

D.I.Y. World Championships- Post 5

 How cool are BMX people?  When I landed here in Richmond, I was literally escaping crazy drama in North Carolina, and was homeless, broke, and trying to figure out what to do next.  Steve Crandall saw it on social, and told me to meet him at Powers Bike Shop.  I didn't even know he spent time in this area, much less is pretty much based here.  We go back to 1994, but hadn't seen each other in 15 years or so.  After the high fives and bro hugs, Steve handed me an old phone of his, and a bag of food.  He didn't even think twice about it.  That's a thing that only happens if you've got a solid history in the BMX world or something like it.  Good guy that Steve Crandall.  This is the side of BMX outsiders don't see, or don't get.

That phone is what I shot these photos on.  I've never spent much time shooting photos on a smart phone, and never action photos.  But I've been shooting photos for 45+ years, and every photographer gets lucky now and then.  I'm really stoked on the pic above.  The peak of the highest air of the day, full invert, Cruelsifix rocking (hidden by the crowd), pyro stuff smoking, and the whole crowd digging it.  Good bikes.  Good friends.  Good times.  What more do you need on a Saturday?

 All of us old guys get sick of seeing flips, one after another after another, in comps like the X-Games.  But this wasn't the X-Games, and this back flip to flat off the cinder block launch was burly as fuck.  Props rider, whoever you are.

Below is the launch ramp to bike rack rail contest, which had a bunch of crazy variations coming off it.  Crank arm grind the full length.  Gnarly shit.

 I honestly have no fucking idea what this guy is doing in this shot.  One hand off, the bottom of his tires 5 to 6+ feet above the deck of the 10 foot high quarterpipe.  I'm sure this didn't end well.  But I think this might be the guy who managed to do a foot jam nosepick on top of the knobs later.  That was huge.

One more time, Steve Crandall, the man behind this whole jam idea, on the mike.  Huge thanks to Steve for shepherding this whole jam into reality.  Props to FBM Bikes and Powers Bike Shop for the support, the gift certificate prizes, and the location.  It was a great event all around.  Thanks again to Steve and Chad Powers for letting me set up and sell some art.  It was great to reconnect to the BMX world again.  It's been over a decade since I've even been to a BMX event, and I've been wanting to make it to an FBM "ghetto comp" for a long time.  Everyone I talked to had a blast, many of them actually did blast air, and have Instagram pics and real life memories forever.

On a personal note, I got contacted by a couple of old school BMXers I didn't know before the event.  A guy named Sam Weber messaged me ahead of time, and told me he wanted to buy my sea turtle drawing, which I drew from a photo shot by mid school jumper, Sheep Hills Local, and now hardcore free diver, Barspinner Ryan Brennan.  That definitely helped me out a lot, and I got to meet Sam, which was cool.  I literally haven't been able to chill and talk to old school BMX guys for a decade. So that was way cool on both counts for me. There simply weren't any where I was living in North Carolina.

I also got a message from York, PA legend and Plywood Hood, Brett Downs.  I'd never talked to him before, but he's been reading my blog, and wanted to catch up.  Brett's a really smart, really cool guy, and we ended up talking for a couple hours all together, I think.  He's also one of the better riders in the 50 plus age range, or Level 5-0 as I call it, because that sounds cooler.  Here's a riding clip I found of Brett, which is a ton of inspiration for us older guys to get on a bike, or to ride more often.  Ride everything.  Good advice.  He also reminded me that I may not be riding like I'd really like to be now, being out of shape and in a sketchy living situation.  But he reminded me I'm still part of the BMX world.  That was huge to me.  Thanks a ton Brett.

Brett also handed me his bike, and said he wanted to see something.  At about 315 pounds at the moment, weighed down by the taxi driving weight I never lost, and after about ten years of not riding, I was nervous.  I managed a halfway decent (for not riding so long) infinity roll on the second try.  I was jonesin' to ride all day, so thanks for that Brett.  While we were talking, Crandall walked by, and Brett offered his bike and challenged Steve to bust out a flatland trick.  Crandall, who I've never seen do any flatland, busted out a mega spin.  Hell yeah.

One last thing.  A bunch of guys were doing flatland tricks, hang-5's and such mostly, on the loading dock, early in the day.  I walked up and said, "I've got a quarter for the best front brake trick."  None of them had front brakes.  I was just being an old guy having a little fun.  But I had a point to it.  Hey guys, we named it "FREEstyle" for a reason in the 1980's.  You can do whatever you want.  You can set up your bike however you want.  I rode brakeless for a year in 1989 when EVERY trick was a brake trick. That year, as a MEDIOCRE rider, I learned half Cabs, lookback 180's, lookback half Cabs, full cabs (rollback to 360 bunnyhop), no complys (footplant to 180 bunnyhop), and a bunch more.  It made me try new stuff, riding brakeless in the "must have brakes" era. 

Just because everyone is running no front brakes and lots are running freecoasters, doesn't mean you have to.  Try whatever sounds interesting.  Different setups teach you different skills.  Different types of riding teach you different skills.  You know how Brian Foster can do such insane gaps? It's partly because he was a AA pro racer and knows how to accelerate and go fast, so he can get speed to make the distance.  Most of today's riders don't have those basic high speed pedaling skills.  Racing for a few months can fix that.  Even if you race flat pedals against the clip guys and get fifth.  You build bike skills, acceleration, and speed.  Flatland teaches you weird balance points and concentration.  It can also impress gangbangers in the hood who want to steal your bike.  That's actually the best reason to learn a few old school flatland tricks when you're street rider. Flatland tricks have gotten me out of many sketchy situations in the hood while street riding back in the day.

OK, enough preaching.  This past weekend was a blast.  Like I said in an earlier post.  Good bikes.  Good friends.  Good fun.  What more to you need?  

D.I.Y. World Championships- Post 4

 Cruelsifix, continuing to rock us all into the dusk after RAMPLIFLIER contest ended.  The two brothers in the band, who names I never caught, were hitting the ramp right before playing, and one was getting maybe three feet out and the other about five feet out of the ten foot high quarter.  The rock ON and OFF their bikes.  They rock.  They ride.  They have a band name that will definitely cause some controversy for some, but I'm going to blow your cover, guys.  These rockers are all just plain really good guys.  

 Younger rider with a no-footer off the five foot high cinder block launch ramp... tp flat.  They launched to flat for a while, then the "John Deere ramp," a landing built with long strips of wood that made it look like a tractor tire pattern, was moved into its landing position. 

 You know, there are times when you just need to go into the curved wall ride, and get the help of a three foot tall cat to fix your bike, while a hamburger eating rocker looks on.  There was a prize for hi-fiving the cat while doing a curved wall ride.  That was pretty damn impressive when it happened.  This obstacle, the curved wall ride, also won the prize for best obstacle built by a group.

 It's 2018, and BMX events are a family thing these days.  The cute little blonde girl here wasn't all that impressed by the riding, but she seemed to have a good time anyway.  I'm pretty sure that PBR isn't hers, by the way.  Number 9 guy is apparently a Russian, judging from the name, but I'm pretty sure he wasn't an evil bot.  Oh yeah, this is actually a riding pic, too.  My new friend Adam, in the black stocking cap with the beard above the crowd, is actually sliding a bike rack rail from a launch, in the background. 

Adam saw my art earlier, and wanted a poem, but didn't have his wallet.  We talked for a minute, introduced ourselves, and I told him I'd forget his name.  We kept running into each other, and I wound up remembering his name by the end of the day.  Good guy.  He's the guy who won the Golden Hairclippers in my impromptu curved wall ride best trick comp at the end of the day. 

You might be asking why I'm running a lame photo of a cut off rider doing a no footer on the launch ramp.  I'm not.  This is an great photo of Adam chilling on the back of the three foot tall cat in the bottom left, and there just happens to be a rider doing a no footer in the foreground.

D.I.Y. World Championships- Post 3

 The D.I.Y. jam idea comes out of the head of Steve Crandall, master of the FBM empire.  He wants to promote the concept that you don't need huge corporate sponsors or a huge bankroll, or a major skatepark or venue to have a great jam, all you need is a bunch of interested people, a community, to come together, grab some old pallets and scrap wood, buy a box of screws, and build some cool shit to ride.  In BMX, the roots of this whole idea is the kids on the block grabbing a cinder block and a random piece of wood, building a little, sketchy ass jump, and having a blast. 

In my life, that's exactly how bike jumping first happened.  I was 8, and lived in Coshocton, Ohio.  My friends and I found three bricks, a 2 X 8, and built a sidewalk jump.  We hadn't even heard of BMX then, we were jumping our banana seat bikes with tall handlebars, three speed stick shifts on the top tube, and slicks for back tires.  Roots.  Taking that basic idea to a ridiculous level, Crandall and friend Crescent (I don't know how he spells his name, sorry) actually built a 3,000 pound, concrete cinder block, and a slightly custom concave board to form this roots looking launch ramp.  Epic.  If Richmond, VA gets hit by a nuke someday, there will be cockroaches and this cinderblock left standing.

 There were trophies for each event, and $100 gift certificates for FBM/Powers Bike Shop for several events.  The gold painted guitar was for the RAMPLIFLIER best trick, the gold cinder block was for the giant cinder block launch best trick.

 Here we have one of the larger dogs at the jam checking out the Buck Wild trophy, an actual, mounted, 8 point (Eastern count) buck, with rifle holding hoof mounts.  This was for the best trick all day long.  The Buck Wild Jam turned into a session on the smaller quarterpipe, where handplants, flairs, 540's, and some crazy ass footplants went down.  Who won?  Shit, I don't remember, it was a jam.

 Steve Crandall's art was for sale under the awning.  His classic coffee mug paintings, along with prints of the board and cinder block.  Coffee and BMX, wake up and go ride America.

 Steve let me set up my art to sell, and I sold a bunch.  Huge thanks for that Steve.  I'm sitting in the cheap motel room right now, paid for by the art sold.  Thanks for that all of you who bought art, or helped me out just for the hell of it.  Seriously, Thank you BMX world. 

I couldn't get rid of my big Gwen Stefani drawing from last year's art show at Earshot Music, though.  But I had small prints of Bob Marley, Johnny Cash, a poem I wrote, and a WWII guy riding a motorcycle while shooting a machine gun. 

I bought these clippers for 41 cents at Goodwill, while doing some bargain shopping.  We painted the handle gold, and I was going to give them out for a prize in the World Record Bummy Hop contest, but I lagged on that, and it never happened.  So I held an impromptu best trick contest on the curved wall ride at the end of the day, and my new friend Adam won with a peg stand curved wall ride. 

What's a Bummy Hop?  When I moved to San Jose in 1985, I started a zine, met the Golden Gate Park freestyle scene guys, which included the Curb Dogs, the Skyway factory team, and some great amateurs, and started riding with them.  I learned that the San Francisco skaters had a trick called a "Vollie."  When they were skating down the sidewalk, and a sleeping homeless person was in the way, they'd ollie over the bum.  So it was a vagrant ollie, which became known as a vollie.  I asked the BMX guys what the BMX version of a vollie was, and there wasn't a good answer.  So, as the zine guy of the scene, I took a poll.  We had an official vote.  There were several ideas at first.  But eventually, the official name for bunnyhopping over a homeless person became the Bummyhop.  I told Crandall about this, and since I'm currently homeless, I volunteered to be the bum to bunnyhop in the first ever Bummyhop World Record contest.

But since it rained all morning, I waited until late in the day, when the pavement dried out, to tell Steve I was ready to do it.  By then, there were too many other events lined up, and not enough time before dusk.  We didn't have time to do it.  So... maybe one of these days, we'll have a Bummhop contest.  Or maybe some of you will do it.  If you do, buy the homeless person/people some pizza and beer or something.  Their life is hard enough, don't go making it harder.  I'm telling you, I know.  Oh, and don't land on them.  That wouldn't be cool.  

D.I.Y World Championships - Post 2

 BMXers have always jumped curbs and bunnyhopped street obstacles, since the early 1970's.  Then, in the mid-1980's, skateboarders like Mark Gonzales and Tommy Guerrero started skating the streets themselves as a big skatepark.  Tommy was part of the San Francisco area, Curb Dogs bike and skate team, led by BMX pro/good skater Dave Vanerspek, and the idea of looking for street stuff to ride bled over big time into the BMX freestyle world.  Since then, BMXers have been wandering into weird urban places looking for stuff to ride.  This past weekend, at a bike shop tucked away in the back of a sketchy looking industrial park, bikers gathered to session, goof around, and just plain have a good time.  That's exactly what happened.

 The upside down bike, the helmet and backpack.  I think I took this shot by accident.  But this is the BMXers life.  Chill for a bit, watch your friends, and grab the bike and ride a while.  When you see these things, there's a session nearby.  Below is the back part of the contest area.  Every obstacle was built by a different group of people, part of Steve Crandall's idea of bringing the BMX community together, everybody adding something, and then riding it.  It's like BMX Stone Soup.  Remember that book when you were a kid?  If not, go read it.  If you look close below, there's a guy on top of the gray banked wall, doing a manual, I think.  That obstacle was a grind box to banked wall to grind box, and made for some interesting combos.  With open jams in between, the day's focus went from one obstacle to another, with prizes for best tricks in each.

 This little low rider collie, "The Corgi", was wandering around all day, and getting in the way and ruining lines all fucking day.  It was a theme, and at one point there was a bounty to bunnyhop the Corgi, though no one did.  The Corgi even puked on the course and then ate its own vomit at one point, which nearly won it a best trick prize.  No one seemed to know who The Corgi belonged to.  There was talk of Corgi burgers and that it would fit well on a rotisserie, but all in good fun .  Somehow, The Corgi managed to get in the way for hours, but never get hit or landed on. 

While the Corgi got the most attention of the dogs there on Saturday, Powers Bikes shop dog, Pedals, didn't seem to mind the lack of attention.  She knew it was a big event, and when all was over, she rules that parking lot.  Pedals was the perfect hostess to the ten or so canine Americans at the jam, and I didn't see her give any attitude to any of them all day.  Well done Pedals! 

For some reason, mostly because she's the guard dog, she always growls at me when I go to Powers.  It usually takes a good hour before she warms up to me.  But Saturday, I walked up, and pulled out a granola bar for a little snack, and she was my best friend.  So I guess the way to Pedals' heart is through her stomach.  I'll keep that in mind next trip to the shop.

D.I.Y. World Championships- Post 1

 This is a quick post with a few pics from yesterday's fun at the D.I.Y. World Championships.  Backed by FBM Bikes and held at Powers Bike Shop here in Richmond, Virginia, it was a BLAST.  I'll get into all the fun details later tonight or tomorrow.  There's a jam at the trails and pump track today in a bit.  Up above, rider blasting 7 feet above the RAMPLIFLIER.

 The man behind it all.  "Hey, lets get a ton of scrap wood, build a 3,000 pound cinder block, get a bunch of guys to build shit to ride after work, and have a good ol' time without corporate sponsors, any kind of budget, or all that stuff.  BMX fun at its core.  Steve Crandall, FBM bikes founder, daily rider, black bus liver, and DIY Jam Master of (lack of)Ceremonies. 

 360 from a tall launch into the most wobbly trailer mini halfpipe I've ever seen. 

 A huge cinder block that will survive the apocalypse, a piece of wood laid up on it, and a BMXer blasting some kicked out trails style.  Roots.

 Old school X-up, one of the classic tricks from early BMX days, launch to mini half.

Cruelsifix is playing between the foreground ramp and the RAMPLIFLIER in the back, pyro smoke rising, and an aborted ice pick or something on the knobs as we all rock out.  Props to the band for covering an Agent Orange song, you made this old punker's day with that one.

More pics and words later... both here and on Instagram. 

I'm going to be sharing most of my old school BMX stories on the new Block Bikes Blog from now on, check it out...

FBM/Powers Bike Shop D.I.Y. Jam Weekend

Turn your knobs to 11 and come to Richmond and ride the RAMPLIFLIER tomorrow.  There's a street ride around town tonight.  Jam starts at 11:00 tomorrow, random prizes and events throughout the day.  Make it here however you can.  Still time to fly here form the U.K..  Just sayin'.  Pump track at Gilley's on Sunday. 

One of those random events is my doing.  We'll have the first ever BUMMYHOP World Record contest.  It's an old NorCal trick from 1985, I'll tell you guys what a bummyhop is tomorrow if you don't figure it out.

High air jam at dusk as the band Cruelsifix plays next to the ramp.  Crazy sounding band name, but they're cool guys, I met 'em.  They're gonna rock.

All day sessions, music, and fun.  I'll have my art to check out, for the first time ever at a BMX event since I've been doing my Sharpie scribble style drawings.  Tons of good riders.  New ramps and obstacles.  Here's the FBM blog post with all the details.  It's at Powers Bike Shop here in Richmond, VA.  Here's the Ghetto Jam that happened here last year:

Meet up with Steve Crandall the other day

 When I landed accidentally in Richmond, VA about a month ago, I didn't know a thing about the city.  I got a message the other day fromSteve Crandall of FBM, that he was going to be at Powers Bike Shop here.  I had no idea Steve spends a good chunk of time around Richmond. 

I met Steve and the early FBM posse on their first trip to California in 1994.  They slept on the couches and floor of the apartment I shared with Chris Moeller and Timmy Ball then.  When you were roommates with Moeller of S&M Bikes back then, the living room was a motel for wandering BMXers from around the world.

It was cool to see Steve, it's been 20 years or so, neither of us could remember exactly.  We're both old BMX guys who do art now, and it was great to catch up a bit. 

In the crazy bike collection at the Powers Shop, they had an old Skyway T/A with red Z-Rims and red check pads, nearly identical to my first "real" BMX bike, that I bought in Boise in 1984.  Steve had Donovan pull it down so he could get a pic of me with it.  Once you're a BMXer, it's always in your blood.  I was jonesin' to ride after hanging out at Powers Bikes and checking out the ramps, for a while.  Steve also hooked me up with an old phone of his, so now I FINALLY have the ability to take my own photos, and share them.  Somehow I've been building an art business without this ability.  He also gave me the hobo hook-up with some food, knowing I'm homeless for the moment.  Thanks for the help Steve, and thanks for letting me annoy Donovan at Powers Bike Shop with a bunch of old school stories.  I'm going to try to get back by this week and meet Chad, the owner of the shop.