I can’t believe I didn’t post this when I first saw it a couple of months ago. It’s the most amazing free ride bicycle video I have ever seen, and I don’t mean it’s the wildest, hariest, craziest. I mean Danny MacAskill’s is un-freakin-believable as a trials rider on a bike. Just amazing.
Danny MacAskill – Incredible bicycle trials video
October 24th, 2009 · Profiles in Riding
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FIM Speedway Grand Prix on HD Theater
October 20th, 2009 · Events, Racing, Reviews
Last night I had the chance to watch the Swedish FIM Speedway Grand Prix on HD Theatre. It was my first time to see a complete speedway event.
What a cool race — the speed, color, action. A very action-packed format with lots of four-man, four-lap heat races, everybody full-on sideways, diving in and out. Excellent racing.
I’ve been aware of speedway since I was a kid, and I remember Bruce Penhall’s World Championship runs in the early ’80s. Later Penhall partnered with the caricaturish Eric Estrada in the ’80s TV series CHiPs, when he replaced Larry Wilcox during the 1982 season.
That was kind of a big thing, having a motorcycle racer on a popular TV show. Sorta like when little Ricky Nelson grew up on Ozzy and Harriet and went on to become a popular singer. C’mon, you all remember “Garden Party“, right? Well, maybe not…
Back to the subject — Speedway. Never saw a full race, just pictures in magazines and the occasional video clip. But watching the whole event in HD on a big screen TV was quite the show. I have to say it’s a pretty ballsy thing. Some young Russian kid won the main event after the only American competitor fell out of the semi-finals with a flat rear tire (there were some big ruts in the surface of the temporary track.)
I’d love to see a big-time speedway race in person. I googled speedway racing and found that it’s popular mostly in the northeast and, of course, California. But there’s a little track not far from my old home in Atlanta — Rutledge Speedway in Rutledge, GA — that has a short track and TT races and is supposed to hold some speedway now and again. Wow, for 15 years I lived less than 50 miles from that track and never knew it existed.
If you’re lucky enough to get HD Theater via cable or satellite (I don’t) be sure to check the guide for upcoming FIM Speedway Grand Prix races. It’s a blast BTW, American Greg Hancock finished 4th overall in the 2009 Championships.
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Historic big air photo
August 8th, 2009 · Vintage
There was no such thing as a “whip” back in the day, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any cool big air photos. Here’s a very cool CZ shot from sometime in the early ’70s. Photo found at CZ Motokros.
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Racing the ski slopes
August 7th, 2009 · Racing
Mountain bikers have known about the ski slopes for years. The MTB discipline of Downhill started on the green summertime slopes of ski resorts. For people like me, who only want their snow on postcards, riding the slopes in summer is the only way to go.
Now we get this new video of a Jeremy McGrath-designed track on the slopes of Powder Mountain, just outside Salt Lake City, UT. There’s nothing cooler (hotter?) than massive elevation changes in a track. What better place to get those than a ski resort?
Maybe all the ski resorts should think about repurposing those gnarly hills for summer?
Chad Reed in USAToday
July 17th, 2009 · Profiles in Riding, Racing
USAToday article on Chad Reed and the 2009 AMA Lucas Oil Pro MX Nationals.
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Larry Brooks bails at 1990 LA Coliseum
July 17th, 2009 · Profiles in Riding, Racing
Video of San Manuel Yamaha team manager Larry Brooks and his famous “push it across the line” race in the LA Coliseum.
Found via Motocross Action.
Keep your trailer secure
July 5th, 2009 · Safety, Workbench
We all know someone who’s had their bikes and/or gear stolen, if we haven’t been the victim of theft ourselves. Lately it seems that thieves are simply hitching up to the trailer and towing the whole thing off. I guess that’s the price we pay for increased popularity of our sport, and the rising value of vintage bikes in particular. So I thought I’d share the steps I’ve taken to try and keep my own stuff secure.
First we need to acknowledge that if a real thief wants your stuff, there’s little you can do about it. But most thefts are crimes of opportunity — someone sees your stuff, sees an opportunity, and takes it. That’s the kind of thing I want to prevent. So here are five things I’ve done to reduce my chances of losing my stuff. [Read more →]
Coombs family robbed. Dickheads caught on tape.
June 26th, 2009 · Events
Rita Coombs, surviving widow of Dave Coombs Sr. and mother of Davey Coombs of RacerX and MX Sports, was robbed on Thursday June 18 between 3:30 and 5:30 am. Mrs. Coombs was asleep upstairs in the home at the time.
The useless dickheads who robbed the house were captured on security cameras. Please see the security cam videos here and help the Coombs family put these douchebags in jail.
Using GPS on a dirt bike
June 19th, 2009 · Technology
I have a GPS unit (Garmin Zumo 450) that I use on my street bike, but for some reason it never occurred to me that you would use one on a dirt bike. Maybe because I live on the east coast and don’t go trail riding anywhere I’m likely to get lost… But there are trail areas in national parks in this half of the country that are certainly big enough to get lost in.
I came across this GPS and Dirt Bikes post over at the Dirt Bike Blogger. There’s a lot of good info, but the most interesting thing to me was this part about geocaching:
A GPS unit will also allow you to participate in geocaching – a great addition to trail riding. Geocaching is basically a high-tech treasure hunt. Caches are hidden and listed on the Internet (try Geocaching.com) with only their coordinates and sometimes additional clues. The caches generally include a logbook and pencil to record visitors, and tokens or prizes that can be traded.
The author also discusses using the GPS and some additional software to map your own trails, and build your own maps. If you’re interested in such things have a look at the whole article.
The end of the American love affair with cars
June 2nd, 2009 · Politics of Riding
There is an excellent article by P.J. O’Rourke, titled “The End of Our Love Affair with Cars,” out Saturday in the Wall Street Journal Online Edition. In his inimitable style, O’Rourke takes us back to the heyday of the automobile and, painfully, recounts the torturous path to modern bankruptcy. The path paved with political correctness for it’s own sake, with banality and bureaucrats and government mandates that don’t for a minute have anything to do with actually making our lives better.
I don’t believe the pointy-heads give a damn about climate change or gas mileage, much less about whether I survive a head-on with one of their tax-sucking mass-transit projects. All they want to is to make me hate my car. How proud and handsome would Bucephalas look, or Traveler or Rachel Alexandra, with seat and shoulder belts, air bags, 5-mph bumpers and a maze of pollution-control equipment under the tail?
And there’s the end of the American automobile industry. When it comes to dull, practical, ugly things that bore and annoy me, Japanese things cost less and the cup holders are more conveniently located.
We are witnessing an end to American idealism and individualism — and perversely this is all in the name of diversity. Even Pravda laments the loss of American freedoms in the face of this bureaucratic socialist onslaught that is taking our land, our cars, and our motorcycles:
It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.
Never before have we seen the level of government meddling we witness now on a daily basis. No pursuit is too small to be regulated for our own good — see this article on Federal regulation of garage sales. Yes, our love of the automobile is dead, and there are millions of people in this country — people who lack imagination, guts, character, honesty, and integrity — who are glad to see it go.
But I am not one of those people. I am not one who is happy to see honest Americans barred from our own public lands. I am not one who is happy to see an overgrown toy regulation agency given total control over motorcycles. I am not one who wants to see a President who has never held an honest job now guiding an entire industry with the help of a cadre of unelected buffoons.
But that is what we have. As O’Rourke says, it’s time to put a bullet in the V-8.
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