Day One Is Done

Riders: Andrew Taylor (top) and Joe Perrizo
Photos: Potato Grande

Off To Supersession

The Griz

Rider: Me
Photo: GuettoBlaster

Stephen Murray Jam

What happened to Stephen Murray really, really sucks. It sounds like he is making decent progress in his recovery, but his life will never be like it was before the crash. We went out to the Murray Jam at The Compound to show our support and help raise money. Even though everybody was pretty bummed about Stephen, the jam itself was fun. Cory Bohan, Dave Dillewaard, TJ Ellis, and several other pros were there. It was a non-stop train through the DJs for hours.

Riders: TJ Ellis and Thomas Hancock in the middle. Don't know the other guys.
Photo: Potato Grande

Liquid Dirt

Rider:Kris Cram
Photo: Potato Grande

The PGA Tour

Pierce, Garnett, Allen... get it? The new Celtics are the closest thing to The Dream Team since The Dream Team (I think they could have taken the last Olympic team, like the rest of the world did). I've always had a love for basketball. To me, it has a lot in common with bike riding: rhythm, flow, style, creativity. Nuggets and Celts in the finals would be the raddest thing since The Dunk.

Dig

The Meters - Here Comes The Meter Man

I <3 the funk. And The Meters are the funkiest of them all. And Zigaboo is the baddest dude to ever pick up a pair of drum sticks. No video, just music. What more do you need?

Super Rad

Rider: Building Leapin' Donny Jones
From 1980 BMX Action

A Day At The Trails

We had a rad session at the trails today. It seemed like forever since I'd been out there, even though it had only been a week. Mikey had some new tricks up his sleeve... like one handed tables, and a no hander to no hander lander to scorpion (seriously one of the craziest slams I've seen, luckily he was fine). And Jake busted out some new camera tricks after he slayed the trails.

I don't think most people realize how hard this is to do. Or, maybe they do, because you never see people doing them (except for The Blue Falcon). Not bad for his first day of trying them.


Mikey got tired and decided to take a power nap right on the trails. Check how the tread mark on his back looks strikingly similar to the tread of his rear wheel.


I was just jumping. It was fun.



Photos: Jake

Back Again

I'm back from a super chill week with the family. I can't wait to do some more of this tomorrow.

Photo: Jake

Downside Whippage

Rider: Brett
Photo: Jake

Vacation

I'll be back home with the family for about a week and won't have much access to the web. But, don't fret, the radness will continue as soon as I return. I'll leave you with another crazy shot that Tater got at The Compound over the summer. Unfortunately, we don't know the name of the rider, but as you can see, he kills.

Photo: Potato Grande

The Compound

The Compound (formerly known as Real Ride) is one of the sickest places to ride bikes in California. It consists of three park areas (basically small, medium, and large features), a foam pit, and dirt jumps. Even though skateboards are allowed, don't get it twisted, this place is a bike park. Unfortunately, it is located on the state fair grounds and has to shut down for a few months each year (September/October). Shutting down also means tearing down the dirt jumps. According to the owner, Shane, the jumps won't be built up again until February. Let's just hope the jumps this year will be as much fun as this past year. They weren't that big, maybe 5 foot lips and 6 foot landings with 8 to 12 foot gaps, but they were steep, bowled out, and WIDE. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th lips and landings were maybe 25 feet wide with varying heights and distances allowing for some awesome transfer action.

Maybe the best part about going to The Compound is that it is always filled with rippers. You'll see pros and crazy groms that might as well be pro. We went out there several times over the summer, including for the Stephen Murray Jam, and Tater got some great shots of the action.

Up top and right below is Brian Johnson. He is always there. And he always shreds the place to hell. Have you ever seen a toboggan 3 before? You have now.


More BJ. Straight dumped.


Shane, the owner of The Compound.


Photos: Potato Grande

The Fog

Joel McDavitt skying above the marine layer.

Photo: Potato Grande

Seat Grab Tire Grab

This dude has some serious style.

Gnar Cal

Riders: A-Rev (top), Ryan Howard
Photos: Zach Dank

Hip Hop Charts

Greg Melms Designs

Greg Melms, who goes by the screen name GMDesigns over on Ridemonkey, has built one of the coolest bikes I have ever seen. The fork and frame were custom made and include some interesting and very smooth looking details. Check out the caliper placement, seat clamp, cable routing, headtube/fork junction, axle areas, chrome seat rail, and integrated headset that looks non-existent. The level of detail is amazing. He also modified a Profile stem to make maybe the smoothest looking stem ever. You can tell from his website that rad bikes aren't the only cool thing he designs. Awesome work, Greg.

JJMF

John Jesme is a bad ass. He's never seen a jump that he can't flip or 3. From sketchy little jumps up at the whoops, to the ginormous step-down at Sea Otter that caused most others to wet themselves, he slays it all. He's so tough that he eats people who eat nails for breakfast for breakfast. Team Hard Hard for life.



Rider: JJMF
Photos: Potato Grande

More progress at the trails...

Rider: Brett
Photo: Jake

Jumping Juice

Jumping Juicer: Mikey
Photo: Potato Grande

Liquid Throwback

The Whoops

Riders: JJMF & Cru
Photo: Potato Grande

Toboggan of Justice

Kris Cram can ride bikes. When I was learning turndowns, Kris was giving me some tips, as he could already do them on his bmx. I let him try out my bike (26") and the very first time he left the ground on my bike, he clicked a turndown! I couldn't believe it. But, it forced me to learn turndowns that day. Thanks Kris.

He can also throw down some gnarly toboggans. Check out this nifty little photo/graphic that Tater put together...


Rider: Kris Cram
Photo/Graphic: Potato Grande

From Dusk til Dirt

Good friend of the Liquid Dirt crew, Zach Hensley (also known by his superhero name, Zach Dank), has finished a trailer for his upcoming dirt jump vid "From Dusk til Dirt." The spots and the riders are lookin' straight dope. We need to get him down to our trails soon...

Click here to check out the trailer for "From Dusk til Dirt"


Rider: Zach Dank
Photo: Somebody in Zach's crew

Wheatus - "BMX Bandits"

Maybe this has been around for awhile, but I came across this on accident and had never seen it before. Even though BMX Bandits is not even close to as cool of movie as Rad, this little tribute kicks ass. I love seeing bikes in music videos. Especially cool, artsy, indie music videos. The lyrics are pretty rad, too. My favorite line is, "It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a bicycle up in the sky." Well, either that, or...

"Shit I left my cell phone at home
It's just a broken collar bone
Walk it off you big pussy
And get your ass back on the bike
It's time to go lay some pipe
Or just watch me get nice
I’ma school you on how to get high
Then go home tell your friends how you bite all my style"

Yeah, that's what I'm sayin'

Sheep Hills

When I first moved to LA a couple of years ago, one of the first things on my to-do list was to go to Sheep Hills. Ever since I was young I had heard about Sheep through bmx mags and other riders. I pictured this huge, magical place full of the best dirt jumps and flowy-est lines.

So, I went there. And I found out that it was nothing like I had imagined. Not necessarily in bad way, it's just that Sheeps (as Jesme likes to call it) is unique. The first thing you notice is the dirt. It's like this sandy/silty/soft stuff, or "moon dust" as I read that Stephen Murray calls it. The area for the jumps is relatively small and completely flat, except for the jumps. You have to pedal your ass off for everything. And most of the jumps are pretty small by today's standards.

After riding there for a little bit, though, you start to realize why this place was so popular back in the day. It's the perfect place to learn... how to jump, how to carry speed for jumps, how to do tricks, how to crash, and how to build. There's a certain satisfaction in having to work so hard for everything. It helps to have bmx racing skills, which most dirt jumpers did back then. You really have to know how to land right and pump to get speed for the next jump. And you get confidence to try new tricks... because crashing in the moon dust at Sheeps is the next best thing to using a foam pit (OK, it's not THAT soft, but it's super soft compared to most spots).

Nowadays, Sheep Hills is recognized by the city as a bike park. They're pretty strict about not letting new jumps go up. You don't see as many pro riders out there as there used to be. But, you'll still see a good sized crew of SHLs (Sheep Hills Locals) out there regularly, pedaling their asses off to have some fun in the air.


Photos: Potato Grande

Holy Steez Missile

OK, I promise I won't post non-original photos that often. But, I crave the steez. And when I see it, I feel obliged to share it.

When A-Rev got his first bike, the dude at the bike shop said to him, "Do you swear to ride with steez, the whole steez, and nothing but the steez, so help you God of Steez?"

Thankfully, he said, "I do."


Rider: Alex Reveles
Photo: Bryce Shaw

It'd take a radical miracle to beat this guy...

Dirt That Flows

This is part of Mikey's ultra-top-secret bicycle roller coaster. Or, as I like to call it, the closest thing to Hell Track since Hell Track. BTW, Cru Jones would have lapped Bart Taylor and the Reynolds Twins on Hell Track if he would have been on bigger wheels.