Sounds vs Soundtrack, Revisited.

"A video with no music whatsoever"? Hat tip to InTheGnar for Brandon Westgate's music-less part from the Zoo York video State of Mind:



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Except it's not his video part at all, just the leftover clips. Hence the title "Extras." But thanks to my ignorance, that's how I watched it, foolishly thinking that the editor consciously, intentionally crafted this strangely epic thing, and I hope I kind of tricked you into watching it the same way, and I hope you enjoyed it as thoroughly as I did.

I mean, isn't it absolutely riveting?

For comparison, here's the actual video in its entirety. Westgate's part starts at 1:30. It's quite good, I guess, but seriously: I find the hushed patter of urethane wheels on brick infinitely more foreboding than the squonky cliched guitar riffs of Magic Man.

You'll Never Ride It IV: Epic Spot Sniped by Fixies & Sk8-Lugers.

You probably saw the fantastic pics of this gigantic hydroelectric reservoir posted on that Slovenian fixie blog back in June. For the record, I'm not so much annoyed by the fixed gear gnar-dog antics , as I am jealous of their amazing spot. (Though I confess that I did chuckle at the bmx bullies tearing up the comments section.)

With nothing original to add, I refrained from blogging about it.

Yesterday, however, I saw the spot again, featured in a YouTube video on the Skate & Annoy blog, and decided to make a quick post.

Suffice it to say, if you dislike William Spencer, you're going to hate Almir Jusovic. (I adore them both.)

I don't think there's anything intended as ironic in here. Truly, seriously, unfashionably original. Lots of wonderful sketchy spots; reservoir roll-in is the ender-ender.



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Related: You'll Never Ride It I, II, and III.

The Fabled Sk8/Sno/Srf One Day "Hat Trick."

Willamette Week writer Shawn O'Bryant hit powder, 'crete, and sea in a single frickin' day.The project, chronicled here.

O'Bryant's blog about Portland skate spots, here.

Li'l Sk8punx in the Park.

Monday evening, witnessed a gang of adolescent skaters sessioning the three-stair in the park, in observance of Go Skateboarding Day. As they paused to discuss the next spot, slouching fashionably in their defiant pre-teen glory, a spontaneous game of "hide-and-go-seek tag" broke out on the adjacent wooden play structure.

For a full twenty minutes, they played like innocent, unselfconscious children.

Low-fashion skate kicks inspired by He Who Walked On Water. Yours for the price of shipping.

'Tis the season, I guess.


I acquired this pair of skate shoes from my cousin Connor, who inherited them from our cousin Mike, who purchased them in the spirit of irony from the now defunct gospelshoes.com, circa 2003 as I recall. Mike (not a skater or bike rider) wore them around on occasion. Connor never did. I intended to use them for riding, but there's just no way I can swing a size thirteen. So they've sat in my closet for a year, and now I'd rather have the space.

If any bike rider would like to have these, just paypal me the shipping cost, and they're yours. Email me to sort out the details.




While I'm not fundamentally opposed to Christianity or organized religion (I'm a practicing Baha'i), I am amazed and amused by the bald-faced commercialization of sacred things. I'd like to meet whomever designed these shoes.

"So," I'd say. "You stamped the Lord's name on a product destined to be smeared with mud and dog shit. How reverent."

Shoe Goo

Adrien Lopez's sig has been my riding shoe of choice for three years now. (Go to C1RCA to check out a formidable selection of colorways.) Actually, I've been riding the same pair for three brakeless years. I've finally worn through both heels and a toe, the soles are folding over, and the insoles no longer stay in place, so I'm moving on. Pictured above is a pair that I've never ridden in. The sole started peeling off toward the end of my four-month foreign study in Ghana, in 2004, and I've been saving them for a rainy day project ever since.

First I wiped out all the red African dust, got the two surfaces clean as possible. Then I applied a liberal coating of Goo to top and bottom. That's a safety pin holding open the gap, while the glue dries a little. After a few minutes, I removed the pin and pressed the pieces together tightly. I don't have a vice any more, and all my attempts to improvise one failed, so I gave up, even though the directions emphasize keeping everything clamped until the glue has cured. But after sitting for two days, the shoe feels solid. Also, as shown in the top picture, the toe was deteriorating. I gave that a ShoeGoo patch as well.

I figure these oughta buy me a couple of months, at least. I'll be watching the bmxboard ForSale/Wanted forum, but I think I already spotted my next pair: $19.99 @ Target.

the old SK8>BMX cliche.

There seems to be a maturation timeline for any given youth movement, and skating has a whole decade on bmx. Their creative figures are older, their participant base is far larger, their image is established and marketable, and the money at stake is huge. (As a side note, Dig has always been a powerful reference point for the progression of bmx culture, something I'm proud to be associated with and to show people, and I'm immensely pleased that it is finally taking root on the shelves of American bookstores. As a teenager, stumbling across a new issue once a year was a charge of adrenaline, and never failed to cement a little part of my otherwise nebulous bmx identity.)

I learned something new about myself when I saw, for the first time, maybe 1999, the Zero video Misled Youth. Jamie Thomas's part expressed something that I'd always felt but never articulated. Baba O'Reilly became my secret internal soundtrack, not that my feebles and manuals were worthy. I pedalled fast and pumped hard. Here it is on Googlevideo. Jaime's part starts at 11:20.

Some time later I stumbled on Tiltmode: Man Down, and had my internal soundtrack altered once again. This video is practically the opposite of anything done by Zero. No slo-mo, no metal, no angry/angsty punk. The video is instead upbeat, happy, and playful. Whereas I was used to seeing antics in Roadfools and in the credits of bike videos, these guys pulled off their silliness without affectation. Not sure if it's true, but that's what I thought then. The video is longer than it needs to be. I would always just watch the first fifteen minutes and then go ride. I'd be so fired up, I could hardly stand to wait any longer. Tiltmode.

I still love both, and I keep both the Who and Aha on my ipod now, but there's a lot of other stuff on there, too.

capped ledges

I don't recall how I first stumbled across it, but this is a great read on the skateproofing of San Fransisco and the impossibility of "public space." It's a long piece; I recommend printing it out and taking it with you on the train.

While I was tracking that link down, I happened upon this in somebody's blog. I'd love to session this with a bike, but it looks nice to sit on, too. I even think the defgrip guys would approve.