Sunday, April 7, 2013

Mauls Brawl

Another Mauls Brawl came and went. traveling down roads of New England that many of us choose to name trails, companys, and videos after has always instilled a feeling of pride in me merely pulling onto and off of them. Springtime in New England will always be a boyhood feeling for me. Every spring i'm 15 again. All of us mutts, groms and apes come crawling out of our winter retirement and feel the need to meet up somewhere for something...its almost predestined. We talk of our plans for a few hours, throw down, and then scatter back out across new england.... With a freshly Renewed faith that we are not alone. when i was younger it was at Impact in R.I., Now for the past 3 years we have been Ranching we've attended Mauls Brawl. It's been like christmas, thanksgiving and an family reunion at once, Tony and everyone involved through the best damn shindig to date. It gets better the older we get in this sport. Lev flipped everywhere!, Jacob, Dean and Sawyer shredded! Billy and Beau pretty much held down the fort as i knew they could. Rose support was high, we had a bunch of smiles, we made a bunch of smiles... and my bike held up good. thank you tables and fables! TYRANTBMX! and Dick Mauls Bike Shop! i felt at home in the truck with beau.. to look in front of me and behind me on the highway and see I'm driving in a convoy.... of Western Mass Ranchers and Locals that just so happened to finish eating at different places 2 hrs from home, hop on the highway.... and just kinda stick to each other like army trucks and drive politely... from a Mauls Event. The ones who could not make it to the event where missed as always but alive and well in my head coachin me on... tellin me "dude its not your hat.... we all have helmets on... just pull the fuckin trick pisser" "and scream for your fellow rider!"

Monday, December 24, 2012

i started a new job welding last friday just up the road. i was told i was to be hired on after 30 days with a raise and insurance and was given a very good opportunity to make some much needed cash. after the first 7 days with over time everyday i was asked about the next holiday weekend to come, understanding i was hired on to complete a deadline i arranged for my one day off to be yesterday, leaving me to weld christmas eve, christmas day, and eveyday until Jan 1. everything was o.k'd by management and Sunday i went to retrieve my welding helmet to catch up on my Steel Rose orders before christmas. well i went into work this morning halfway into my first 30 days to be told i was replaced. So let it be known anyone with a Steel Rose should cherish it dearly because i have spent some time now refining the process to make them as beautiful as i can make them. and i was fired on Christmas Eve to make a few more... Merry Christmas. And may the BMX stay with you always!

Friday, May 11, 2012

half a lifetime on probation, while serving life behind bars

Today marked a fairly long end to a rediculous part of my life. although i have been on probation since i was 15 for being caught red handed next to an open beer can at the easthampton skateboard park, i was recently charged with second offense oui which led me into the woods of Sunset Ranch.
although the two boys who dug this never rode  it,  they let me shape and dig as i pleased.
     I started in on this project to work what the booze had done to my brain, out. and along the way i started learning a lot about myself that i had failed to learn during my drinking career, between the demise of Local Trails in Easthampton Mass, and the beginning of Sunset Ranch. Between 99 and 09 not a lot of admirable things happened in my life and i can honestly say that the only thing that brought me back was the belief that if i kept digging, no matter how long it would take, i might just be able to salvage some of my older friends to go out and shred some dirt on 40 lb bikes. I started out the season of 09 on the trailboss i got from Jerry Bagley in 97. But i kept on and kept on, documenting everything i could as it was all new to me, i had been used to weasil telling me to get water, and alien teaching me how to rake down a good takeoff. building sober was deffinatley something to get used to. 
mainline pic taken from #4
Me Shredding my firts spin over #4
now after two years, mainline has been completely rebuilt, i started with 10 awkward downhill slow jumps, and widdled them into a monster 10 pack with 5 jumps with gaps pushin 20 ft and lips pushin 6 ft. i have a wall in the woods 15 ft tall that police dont ask questions about. i believe all but the original 3 guys i started riding with have made a pilgrimage out to see me, some i thought would never talk to me again, and some still wont leave me alone. When i was a kid i looked up to a guy who did much the same thing as i do now and i thank him for that everyday to myself, and wish he could realize it really is all still there... the friends, the food, the bikes, and the tea party's. The land trust that plowed Local Trails, they just wanted us off of their property, they didnt want us to hurt so bad we would quit and lose focus of our goal. When we all dig together it creates that bond brothers have. and brothers dont shake hands. brothers hug. 

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Our Jam

This is my friend Norm relaxing
Today was our Spring Jam at Sunset and it went off more rediculous than i could have hoped. The Still Young Barn guys were in attendance along with Tyrant and quite a few guys i myself hadn't had a tea party with in over 14 years, others... i have only ridden with briefly at their own trails, only to return to sunset and hack everything and start over. Almost all of us had ridden at MassSkateCoalition skatepark together some time ago, a place.. I believe we all hold dear to our hearts. Sunset has gone through many rebirths, seemingly seasonally. My heart is feeling well as my friends and i were finishing sentences of stories that spanned years. Memories that cant be replaced, places ridden and long gone, new kids starting in old places, and grown up kids doing what we thought we knew new eveything about a long time ago. We all go through many rediculous things in life that we think noone should have to deal with in this world, and all of that is gone when you get a group of guys together that remember every part on every bike they've ever owned. These guys i'm proud to say are my friends, and they make the hike to ride this bike path i built. and if anything ever were to happen...good or bad, i know i could call on em. These are the trails and this is what Local Trails do.
CLICK HERE!!!                                                            
                                                             http://youtu.be/G52CUE5Fx48

Sunset Jam: April 21

Check out photos from today's jam! CLICK HERE


Saturday, April 14, 2012

Sweet Rear End!

Thanks Beau and Andre for swingin through and puttin the time in so you can put your time in!
middle earth at sunset is covered with jumps and ready for andres jam! look at those tiny wallrides in the distance!

Friday, April 13, 2012

middle earth at sunset.

Clay line took me about 100hrs (this year)
Andre' jam is this sunday and i havnt heard from the many but sunset is tarped and ready, last minute preperations the day of or night before will be limited to water and butttering. the leaves are poppin and spring has me feeling normal again.  Diggin today the neighbor strolled down, lettin me know if i needed anything, if i broke a shovel, thirsty... anything dont hesitate. It's things like that i never understood when i was younger... i mean this guy watches me everyday, haulin trash out of the woods, havin visitors park all over the place...  he diggs it, a beautiful labor of love he calls it. "noone wants to grow up, its overrated and rediculous", hell i brought up the athol jam simply because my friends were all riding with their kids. i give the neighbor one more season before hes down there with his boys building rollers and burms. i'm pluggin away guys, ranchers wanted! last day of prep! andres goin to china!