Home Sweet Home / Product Photos

So we are back in Connecticut and I am ready to pass out. NEVER FLY ON A RED EYE FLIGHT! Especially from Vegas! I have slept 8 hours in the past 2 days...need sleep! I quickly posted a few photos of some of the bikes I really thought were cool at the show. Have a look at Tyrant's Photos on Flickr

Until next year.....goodbye Vegas!

Interbike Product Photos

I apoligize that I haven't posted any product photos yet from the show. I shot all the photos inside the show with my Olympus point and shoot digital camera and I left the USB cord to upload the photos back in CT. Check back Saturday evening for some shots of the rad new Raleigh 29er, Independent Fabrications new 2007 bike, and many others.

Haro has some rad paint jobs on their new 2007 Forum series of bikes.

Against the grain!

I don't care how the saying goes! what happened in Vegas isn't staying in Vegas....I'm bringing it to you here on the blog so enjoy the random wacky photos. Yes, we are insane and no, nobody had to be bailed out of the Vegas slammer. Until next year....

Digger Davis vs. the 45 oz. - $16 margarita.
Digger won in under 10 minutes :)


Matt had a full bladder at the Belagio


Caesar's Palace or Steve A.'s Palace?


Sweat Shop Union live at the New World Disorder 7 Video Premire Pool Party outside the Palms' Club Rain


The Pedal Power Crew enjoying all you can drink sodas courtesy of Yakima.

Waiting and waiting and......

We had to check out of our room this morning and we didn't want to tote our luggage all over the Vegas strip so we went to the airport 5 hours before our flight was due to leave. We expected to be stuck in lines for a few hours but we flew through check-in and security in about a half an hour. After dinner and an hour of what we deemed "Las Vegas Airport Ghetto Poker" I am here playing on the internet. I really can't wait to get home to my bed and get a solid 8 hours of sleep! Goodbye Vegas!

p.s. Next year we are all bringing our BMX bikes out to Interbike cause there are ridiculous spots to ride on the side streets that run parallel to the Vegas Strip. 364 days and counting till Interbike 2007.

Interbike is winding down...

So there is 3 hours left to Interbike 2006 and I have to admit I'm pretty shot! Its been a week of long days at the show, miles upon miles of walking, and even longer crazy nights. On average I only slept 3-5 hours each night....not healthy! Anyway, tons more cool stuff at the show today.

We The People has a rad new textured paint finish that they are using on their 2007 frames. Check it out for sure! We'll be getting some in at Pedal Power when they become available.

Chrome has the sickest bags out there! As usual they came to Interbike with tons of merchandise to sell and they are basically sold out. I added one of their laptop bags and a laptop sleeve to my collection.

Hincapie has an awesome custom jersey program and we'll be going through them for the CCNS/Pedal Power Team jersey's in the near future. I checked out the product and the material is super nice and their cycling caps are second to none. Breathable 4 panel designs that are comfortable and stylish.

So thats it from Interbike 2006. I know my updates have been pretty lame, but there is too much going on here and I am so overwhlemed with information/product. We fly out on the "red eye" back to good old CT at 11:30 tonight for a 7:30 am arrival at Bradley. Vegas is one hell of a good time, but 4 days is enough for me!!! I'm shot!

TYRANT / HEBRANK ART SHOW

You better be there! Check out Shawn's Site for details and to check out the rad postcard invite piece he designed.

Another crazy night!

After day 2 of the show we went to the NORA Cup awards party presented by Ride BMX and watched Red Bull Means Streets 2 there as well. The East Hampton Bike Crew from Mass. met up with us to add to the insanity of the night. Weasel, Matty Still, and Aaron T. were just as ready to get rowdy as we were. Weasel was out of his gord and it was contagious....I got a bit kooky myself climbing about 15 feet up a palm tree and doing my own rendition of Lou Bickels shout out from FBM's "Albert Street" video. The only difference was I was "doing it for Connecticut and Pedal Power!" HA HA HA....it was a good time. (for those of you who have no idea what I am talking about....buy FBM's "Albert Street" video and you'll find out! Plus, Crandall is rad as hell and you should his company!

BMX has been taken to a whole new level. I couldn't believe a clip I saw of street shredder Brad Simms icepick up a 10 stair rail. That is not right!!! Rumor has is that Van Homan's part in the new "FITlife" video is possibly the best video part ever. I'll have to see if I can pick up a copy of the video at the show today. OK, I've typed enough for now. I am off to hord free swag and take in as much as I can. I can't believe its already the last day of Interbike 2006. :( so sad!

Interbike Day 2

So the show is amazing this year! It is the 25th anniversary of Interbike and the new technology for 2007 is nuts! Some of the hotness that appealed to me was:

Volume's new low profile brakes. They are lighter, stiffer, and less expenisve than the $75 Fly brakes. I'll be running a pair of my bike as soon as they are available.

Giants new Alliance technology is pretty rad. They are making bikes that are similar to the spine style that Lemond and Specialized are doing....pairing carbon and aluminum. The difference is Giant's road frames are more affordable without comprimising strength, stiffness, and quality. The new STP colors for 2007 are also super hot!

Raleigh has a rigid 29er mountain bike that comes in under a grand....and its single speed. Such a rad trail bike to bomb around the woods of Hurd Park, Wadsworth Falls, or Meshomasic on.

So thats the latest and greatest from day 2 at Interbike.

SORRY!

Sorry for the lack of updates! The internet access at Interbike is so slow due to the thousands of people using it. Luckily today ts operating smoother and I could finally post the last 3 blog updates I've created over the past few days.

Night One in Vegas

OK, so last night was our first night here and it was insanity! We headed down to the old Vegas strip for a while to see the sights ...The Golden Nugget, Binnions, etc. Upon heading back up-town we ran into Weasel and a bunch of BMX guys at our hotel bar. I noticed a bunch of European riders among the crowd at the bar, which means BMX must have a stronger presence at the show this year for them to come overseas for it! I am currently sitting outside the convention center ready to head in and become overwhelmed by Interbike 2006! More to come after lunch....

Me and some Blue Mang group wax figures


Ah, the sights in Vegas!

Sept. 26th - 3:40 Vegas time

So we are here at INTERBIKE 2006. We just picked up our badges and signed ourselves in. We arrived in Vegas at 10:30 am (PST) and went to the hotel mexican joint "Margaritas" for an early lunch. In his typical fashion Digger Davis started the trip with a bang pounding a $16 - 45 oz. margarita in under 10 minutes. He's a maniac for sure! So the show starts at 9am tomorrow and I have free wireless all week so expect tons of photos and updates starting in the am. Until then, peace!

Sept. 26th - 7:09 am

We are currently in Philadelphia awaiting our connector flight to Las Vegas. Last night was madness! The crew went out to dinner at Eli's and attempted to go to sleep for a few hours before our 3 am departure. Steve A. is a maniac and he hung out at the bar till 1:30 am. This is going to be a long and crazy week!
More to come when we arrive in Vegas....

Sunrise out the window of our plane courtesy of my cell phone

VIVA LAS VEGAS!

OK, this will be the last posting before we arrive in sunny Las Vegas for INTERBIKE 2007. I will be traveling with my G4 Powerbook so expect plenty of great photos and updates from the show.....providing I can find a wireless internet signal somewhere. Hopefully none of my posts from Vegas will include "please send bail money" or "we lost Digger Davis". INTERBIKE for the 3rd year in a row.....I'm psyched!

Gates' Wedding - Night 1

OK, last night was insane! The night can be summed up by: fathers passing out, head butts in the bar, and Fonz sleeping in the hotel lounge. Mainer madness! More to follow soon....

TYRANT/HEBRANK Art Show

So its final! The TYRANT/HEBRANK Art Show at Turnpike Tattoo will be on "Mischief Night". Come out and support TYRANT, Shawn Hebrank & Bird Flu and Turnpike Tattoo. There will be some TYRANT & Bird Flu apparel for sale and most of the artwork being shown will be available for purchase. You can also speak to the Turnpike Tattoo artists if you are looking to have some ink-work done.

TYRANT/HEBRANK ART SHOW
"Mischief Night"
Monday, October 30th
6 - 10 pm @ Turnpike Tattoo
1919 North Broad Street (The Berlin Turnpike)
(203) 440-2244

Rad Artwork

If you're into art get out to Gallery One in Old Saybrook and check out the work of Tina McCurdy. She's a local artist with some really cool abstract pieces up at the gallery. The show will be running for 2 weeks...so hustle down there and check it out!

Gallery One
665 Boston Post Road
(in Old Saybrook Shopping Center)
Old Saybrook, CT
Hours: Friday - Sunday 11-5pm

Clinton Sesh...

So Lolli, " The Todd", and myself went to the Clinton Park and rode for 3 hours. It was a good time and the place wasn't too crowded. The cops were there when we arrived because some lame mother called them complaining that kids were swearing too much. Give me a break! Kids are vandalizing, doing drugs, and drinking these days and she's going to call the cops cause somebody cursed. Well you know what, f**k that lady! That's ridiculous! She doesn't have anything better to be doing on a Sunday afternoon?

In other news, ONE WEEK TILL INTERBIKE!!!! Hell yeah! Vegas here I come...for the 3rd year in a row! Also, Lolli started screening Ghostship shirts so go to his page, contact him, and buy some swag. Support Ghostship Clothing!

Saturday Soaker!

So a crew of riders met behind Pedal Power Saturday after the shop closed to head down to the Clinton Park. Tiny Tyrant and Pops came down from Bristol to meet up and follow us down as did Cory, Matt, and Russo...some of the BMX locals from Portland . We were able to get a solid hour of riding in before the skies opened up and we got drenched! I would have liked to ride longer and shoot some film, but the park was mobbed beyond belief before the rains came and it wasn't the ideal session. There is always next time.....

Art Show Update

So the TYRANT/Hebrank Art Show will go on this year! We are now looking at an opening on "Mischief Night" October 30th....the night before Halloween. Check back for more info on the event...its going to be sick!

Shawn's artwork is rad as hell!
Bleeding Heart Skull graffiti on a door for a client.

18 days til...

Back From The Boonies!

So I'm back from my adventure to Maine and wow what an adventure it was! No riding went down so I have nothing cool to show, but here are few random photos from the trip. Congrats to Gates on his up-coming wedding. Thanks for keeping us alive on the Dead River and for one hell of a "Mainer Goodtime".

Pat got into a jam!


We were in the boonies!!!

Another One Bites The Dust!!!

So yeah, the title says it all. Yet another one of my friends is getting married. Except this time its my best bud Gates and I'm the best man. So in honor of him losing his manhood and strapping on the ball and chain we are off to the backwoods of Maine to go white water rafting for the long weekend. You can be sure we're getting rowdy! Kevin Bacon eat your heart out! We'll show you what "River Wild" really is!!! Be sure to check back on Monday night for some pictures of the madness! And yes...I am bringing my bike to Maine. Who knows what kind of wacky stuff they have to session up there?

Official Race 2 Replace Photo

So I got my hands on one of the Race 2 Replace photos off the event website. Its the start of the heat Matt and I rode in, the Mens 25-35. Sadly, I am looking down starting my heart rate monitor and computer.

Good to go! Green flag starts the race!

INTERBIKE Once Again...

So we're down to less than a month until INTERBIKE 2006 in Las Vegas. This will be my 3rd year attending the show and its looks to be a fun one. This year is the 25th Anniversary of INTERBIKE and rumor has it there is going to be a lot going on. Lolli, Steve A., Digger Davis, and myself are heading out to rep Pedal Power, TYRANT, and Ghostship. I can only imagine what we're going to get ourselves into this year...

New Design!

So on Friday night while at Turnpike Tattoo Shawn finalized the sketch for the new Tyrant fall line. Check it out, its rad as hell! and check out Shawn's website while you're at it!

Farwell to a friend!

So Mike E., one of the crew at Pedal Power for the last 5 years, is moving back to Dirty Jersey with his wife and kids. Let me tell you, we're gonna miss his antics and the killer parties he threw at the old Colchester pad. Dog fence russian roulette, red hots, lawn raking, Interbike '04, etc. Many good times Mike, best of luck back in "the armpit of America".
~The shop crew

Clinton

So Bry A. and I headed down to the new Clinton Park tonight to shred the gnar under the lights. As usual, Bry comes out of hibernation and starts aping it from the get go. Here is a big fuf coming back into a 4 foot wide quarter...the photo gives it no justice...its burly! It was a good old session with Tony Photo, Brandon Wyz, and others.

Burly trickery by Arnwine - Lousy photo shooting by me! Ooops, sorry!

New Fall Clothing!

Its been a while since I've done something new with the Tyrant line so I'm stepping it up. For the fall there will be Dickies Eisenhower Jackets available with a new unreleased logo, beanies (finally!), flex-fit hats, long sleeve shirts, and possibly pants? Keep checking back for details on a release date! The unveiling of the new design that Shawn Hebrank is playing a vital role in illustrating is also on the horizon....come back soon!

The new TYRANT jackets. Coming soon!!!

NEW TYRANT WEBSITE UP!

The new Tyrant site is up and running. Its super simple...no fills, no thrills! I need a site that is easy for me to manage seeing I have no time between work, riding, eating, and sleeping! Enjoy and as always thanks for the support!

LIVE TO RIDE: LOVE TO RIDE!

NEW TYRANT SITE

New England Represent!!!

So Vic Bettencourt was nice enough to call today and give me a heads up that a crazy session was going down at the Mass. Warehouse. Apparently Walter Pieringer was in town filming for Props Visuals upcoming "New England Scene Report". Don Pavelka and I headed up to ride and it was one hell of a good time. I hadn't been to the warehouse in months before tonight and it was nice to see all the old faces. Riders came out of the wood work to represent New England and insane shiat was going down!!! Don was going off as usual 360 tailwhipping the spine within the first few minutes we were there. Other shredders like Andre Postel and Eric Hennessey from Mass. and Hector "Terremotto" Restrepo and Justin Spear for CT were killing the place as well. Its nice to see so many rad riders in the northeast, the west coast gets too much exposure. They can keep their warm weather, palm trees, and plastic women...East Coast for life!!! Check out the pics at Tyrant's Flickr. They're nothing special...shooting indoor sucks with a point-and-shoot digital camera!!!

Don Pavelka with a clicked fakie turndown on the quarter

Roadtrip Video

Matt used my spare digital camera the whole trip and took a ton of photos and video. He just posted the end result of all his camera work, a rad little video of our roadtrip titled "Indy or Bust!"

More roadtrip photos

I posted some more random shots from the road trip at Tyrant's Flickr. Enjoy!

Lolli salutes Sapporo!

ShawnHebrank.com

Shawn Hebrank has been doing some amazing new tattoo & artwork! Surf on over to ShawnHebrank.com or stop by Turnpike Tattoo and see him in person to have some work done.

Skatpark Sessions

The main purpose of the roadtrip to the mid-west was the Race 2 Replace, but Matt and I did bring our BMX bikes so we could shred all the local parks. The first park we hit was the Kokomo, Indiana Park which was outright scary!!! The whole park is over-vert and its big! I was so initimidated! Luckily Lolli was able to get a shot of me in the fullpipe before I decided I was too much of a wuss to ride there anymore. Next on the list was the Major Taylor Skatepark in Indianapolis which was really fun and had a great layout. The local riders were friendly and the session was fun. So after a few days in Indy we packed up and headed due south to Louisville, Kentucky home of the sickest skatepark in the US! I must say I was really impressed with Matt. For someone who has just gotten into ramp riding over the last year he was carving the fullpipe well and looked super comfortable on his MacNeil Deuce Deuce. The last park we hit up was Jeffersonville, Indiana and it too was very fun with a cool layout. The only bummer of the BMX part of the trip was me falling 2 days in a row on my right hip. By Saturday night I was just about limping and felt like I got hit by a truck. All in all the sessions were rad as hell! Tyrant's Photos on Flickr

Kokomo fullpipe carve. Photo by Lolli.


Matt in the Louisville fullpipe

The Race 2 Replace

So the Race 2 Replace was intense and a total once in a lifetime experience! The pace was fast as all hell and there were some brutal crashes. I finished the 25 mile race in 58 minutes and change averaging 25.4 MPH. The end result was a 23rd place finish in the Mens 25-35 age bracket. I was really happy with the result seeing it was an open field of riders with a bunch of Cat. 1, 2 & 3 riders! Matt rode really well too finishing in 50th and sprinting like a mad man down the homestretch passing 3 riders. Check out the pictures: Tyrant's Photos on Flickr

23rd place at the Race 2 Replace

Home from the road

I just got in from my Indianapolis/Louisville Roadtrip and I'm dead! No energy, need sleep, enough said!!!! Check back soon for tons of amazing picks and all the details from the best trip possibly ever! Check out Matt's Blog, the link is on the right, maybe he was motivated enough to post something. TO BE CONTINUED SOON................

Off to Indy

So Lolli and I leave for Indianapolis this afternoon and won't be back till early next week. We will both have cameras firing away to document what goes down. I will have my laptop so with any luck I'll be able to post our progress each night....if our hotel has a high speed hook up? Everyone have a good weekend, see you next week.

3rd Annual Pedal Power Stunt Show

Oh Canada!

So Blachura, the Stock brothers, and I believe a few other freeriders took off to Whistler, BC, Canada this morning. The guys are gone for 10 days, but be sure to check back for photos of some outragoeus trickery in the coming weeks. If you saw the previous post of Stock riding here in CT, you can only imagine whats going to go down in BC...the freeride/downhill Mecca of North America!

More Lolli Shots

So Matt, Pete F., and myself went on a super late night street mission a couple of weeks ago and I just got my hands of some of the photos Matt shot of me. Once again he came through with some rad shots, especially since the spots we sessioned had no lights except for the high beams of my Toyota Carolla and Matt's flash. I'm really psyched to leave on the roadtrip Thursday with Lolli, expect to see some sick photos of our trip posted next week. For now, check out the photos below and check out Matt's Blog

K-Mart rail at midnight


Bank to guard rail tail-tap near Wallyworld

Rad New Park!

So a new park opened on the Connecticut shoreline and a bunch of us headed there in the morning after we got booted from Groton. The park is pre-fab, but its a great layout with lot of big ramps. Finally something solid for a bike to ride! As usual people were killing it! We rode for a few hours and everyone went home...but we had to go back for more. So a crew of us returned from 8-10 for a night session under the stadium lights. Yes! That park is fully lit! The only downfall is its a brand new park so its infested with kids. There were at least 50 people there last night...good thing none of us care...we just bomb through the crowd! Check out the pics at Tyrant's Photos on Flickr

Steve Baklik with a huge transfer over the 10 foot channel gap

Sick Sunday Sessions!

Yesterday was an amazing day of riding! A crew of us met up at the Groton Skatepark at 7 am to session before the skaters and cops kicked up out. A ton of insane trickery went down before some stupid mother decided she was going to call the cops because there were bikes in the skatepark. If my life ever becomes that worthless, that the highlight of my Sunday if ratting out a bunch of 20 somethings on bikes for being in the skatepark, somebody please shoot me! Try reading the Sunday paper or going to church or going to breakfast; get a life you miserable F! As you can see I was and still am really heated over it!!! Anyway, check out the photos at Tyrant's Photos of Flickr The highlight of my day was the PETA sticker I had in my car....



Don Pavelka ain't right!!!


Craig Samuels with a brakeless icepick

Don inverting

Tyrant on MySpace

So I gave in and made a Tyrant page on MySpace. Tell all your friends, family, hot moms, etc. Check it out Tyrant MySpace Page

Sick Skateparks on the Horizon!!!

If you read the post before this one you'll know that on our trip to race road bikes in Indiana Lolli and I are also hitting up the Lousiville and Kokomo Skateparks. I figured I'd post these pics to show just how sick these parks are and just how stoked I am to be going! 1 week and counting down till we leave...

Lousiville Extreme Park - courtesy of skateboardparks.com


Kokomo Skatepark - courtesy of skateboardparks.com

August is a busy month!

I can't believe tomorrow is August 1st already....where did this summer go? This month and next are going to be nothing but madness for me...but its madness I am looking forward to. I am headed to New Hampshire this coming weekend for the New England Criterium Championships on Saturday (15 mile race) and the Central New Hampshire Road Race on Sunday morning (32 miles). It should be a fun weekend of riding! I've been training hard under that watchful eye of Aidan at CCNS in Middletown. Next Thursday is the big day, August 10th! Lolli and I leave on our 5 day road trip to race the Race 2 Replace at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana. Its a 13 hour ride to get out there, but I'm psyched!!! We race the 25 mile race Satruday and then we're headed to the Kokomo Sk8 Park that night and the Louisville Sk8 Park on Sunday. We're also staying 3 miles from Major Taylor Park which has a velodrome and a cement sk8 park. I'm so stoked for this trip! It's going to be the best of both worlds. Some fast and furious road racing and some serious shredding at 2 of the sickest parks in the US! You can be sure I'll have dozens of rad pics up as soon as we get home. So keep checking back around August 14th or so to see the hotness!!! To top off the month it looks as tough the Pedal Power Summer Stunt Show will be on Saturday August 19th at high noon....BUT NOTHING IS FINALIZED YET! Check back in the coming weeks for detials.

Dog Days of Summer

I decided to ride from my place in Portland to a family picnic at the Guilford cottage on my road bike. It was hot as hell, I got a flat that took 10 minutes to fix, and I got sunburnt during the 29 mile ride. I was also a bit sore; I raced the Cyclonauts 56 miler yesterday morning up in Monson, Mass. The plan was that the crew was going to get together to ride some BMX street tonight. So we waited for the sun to go down in hopes that we would get out for a warm evening session, but no such luck!!! It was hot out and I was sweating bullets!!! For the first time in a long time the crew got togehter for a Sunday night session. Lolli, Whip, Arnwine, Pete F., Todd from the shop, and I rode around M-Town for a few hours hitting up a few of the regular spots and one new fence ride that Blachura and P. Krol found. It was nice to ride with a bunch of people for once, solo missions get old after a while!
Here are a few photos Whip took for me.

Arnwine with a downside pedal stall on the cross brace of the fence


Me attempting to icepick the cross brace resulted in a fence ride

New company setting sail!

You heard it here first...well maybe second, cause they have a MySpace page up now, but Ghostship Clothing is about to set sail! Get on board and go down with the ship!!!

Best of both worlds!

So this was a crazy week of riding! I rode over 200 miles on my road bike over the course of 6 days, rode the Wethersfield Skatepark for 4 hours one night, and rode street in East Hampton for 2 hours another. It was nice to get out to a park and ride some ramp, its been strictly street riding lately cause I have been training on the road bike while its light out and riding BMX at night. I raced a crit in Naugatuck yesterday and came in 8th out of 50+ riders (only 40 or so finished) in a Cat. 4/5 combined race. I was the 3rd Cat. 5 rider in so that makes me pretty happy! I was 18th a month ago in New Britain so training hard with Aidan is paying off. My trip to Indiana for the race at the Indy 500 is quickly approaching....2.5 weeks and counting!

Thanks to Jason Patrician for the photos!

25 MPH into a hard left turn!


Sprinting to the line!

Pushing my limits!!!

So last night I did a Performance Test with Aidan to see what kind of power my legs can put out and exactly how far I can push myself before I drown my legs in lactic acid. This test also helped determine my heart rate levels for various levels of training. I'm sure I am going to get a few laughs when I show up at the skatepark with my heartrate monitor on, but I'm curious to see exactly how much I exert riding ramps. It was a good time, well if you're a bike junkie like me, and thirve on pushing your limits and a little pain. The funny thing about the whole night was that when I was given my results page Aidan included the results of Lance Armstrong's test to humor me. It appears my legs generate exactly 1/2 the power of Lance's.....but can Lance do an icepick grind or fufanu? :)

Race 3 - New Haven Alley Cat

So the New Haven Alley Cat went down despite the mid 90 degree temperatures. Matt decided to ride, even after a long night Saturday, and I worked a check point in the middle of no where at the end of a cul-de-sac in East Haven. Sadly my check point was late in the race and too many riders were dehydrated and exhausted so only 4 valiant riders made it to me. All in all it was a great weekend! Props to Matt Uva for planning a great event!

Once the riders saw me they had to ride 1/2 mile to get to the checkpoint!

Race 2 - Hartford to New Haven

So the 2nd day of the Kings of New England Weekend was a stage race from Bushnell Park in Hartford to The Devils Gear Bike Shop in New Haven. The route chosen by the event organizer was Rt. 5, the busy Berlin Turnpike a good portion of the way. Matt rode well hanging at the front of the pack the whole way and to my total amazement a fix gear rider from NYC hung the whole way too. Shawn Hebrank donated a $50 gift certificate toward a tattoo sitting at Turnpike Tattoo to the first rider to reach the shop on the south end of the turnpike. Matt and 2 other riders were in a tight pack and Lolli sprinted ahead to win the tattoo voucher. The madness of the day was that Matt and another rider who had a pretty big lead over 3rd place missed a turn literally 200 meters from the finish and Dan the fix gear rider from NYC won the race.

Photos by Jason Patrician

Matt was the 1st man to Turnpike Tattoo.....by a few feet!


Leaving Route. 5 and headed toward State Street

Race 1 in the books!

So Lolli and I rode like wildmen; weaving in and out of traffic at high speed, bunnyhopping curbs, covering all ends of Hartford (30 miles total) to complete Stage 1 of the Kings of New England Series: The Hartford Alleycat. Matt and I were the 4th and 5th men in out of a group of about 30 racers, but this race had a twist. Not only did we have to ride to all the check points, we had to answer a barrage of questions about downtown Hartford landmarks, and the only way to get the answer was to ride to the landmark. Seeing neither of us are from the Heartbeat we got are butt kicked on this aspect of the race, which bumped us down into the teens in the placing. All in all it was a hell of a time and we both made it out in one piece...although I nearly got hit by cars twice!

Lolli chatting it up before the race

Kings of New England Weekend

So for all you out there that haven't heard of, or participated in, an Alley Cat Race this weekend is your time to step up! The Kings of New England begins tonight with the Hartford Alley Cat, 7pm sharp at the Charter Oak Cultural Center. Typically these events are ridden by fixed gear riders but anyone can show....rumor has it a posse of BMXers rode the last New Haven one. Lolli and I are going to take on Hartford tonight, he is racing the Hartford to New Haven time trial tomorrow while my co-worker Jason and I follow him in the Tyrant Mobile as Sag support and a film crew, and Lolli is also riding the New Haven Alley Cat on Sunday. Check out the flyer below. These races are madness...don't miss out!!!

Rad photos...

So I ordered this new wide angle lense for digital cameras and it came today. I am so psyched to get out and shoot some photos of street riding or at the park. I'm also looking forward to shooting a bunch at the Kings of New England track race this weekend that Lolli is riding in. I love new toys!

Team Tyrant.....on road bikes?

So this isn't exactly BMX related, but its bike related and Tyrant related so deal with it!!! I rode in the New Britain Criterium Cat 5 race this morning and it was insane! I thought going out of the gate with 6-8 guys in a line at the BMX track was scary, try 38 guys going off at once!!! Not only did we all start at once, but we kept as a pack for almost 9 of the 10 mile race reaching speeds over 35mph...in spandex none the less!!! Lots of people talk trash about the road scene, but I'll tell you from first hand experience its no joke!

Repping Tyrant in the road scene

The Bird Flu has landed!

I just finished screening the first of what I believe will be many runs of Bird Flu shirts (a new series of artwork) for Shawn Hebrank. If you'd like a shirt stop by Turnpike Tattoo, contact Shawn through his website, or contact me and I can get my hands on one for you. The Bird Flu has landed and its going to be an epidemic!!!

Disrespectful Kids

We all know that we can get in trouble for riding street spots if the property owners, cops, etc. really wanted to give us a hard time. I'm sure we've all had a run in or two, but we try to be respectful and session spots discretely so they don't become a bust. Well one of the most fun spots in Middletown, the parking garage (which I've been riding since the 90's), is now dead. Thanks to some ratty dirtbag teenagers littering, breaking the lights in the garage, spray painting all over...ultimately doing thousands of dollars in damage, the barriers have been removed and the parking garage is now off limits. The cops are handing out tickets and taking names so that if you are caught a second time there you are arrested for trespassing. What once was a chill spot to ride, especially to get out of the hot sun,rain, or snow when you're itching to ride, is now a total bust. Thanks jackasses! You ruined it for all of us!!!

Mini-roadtrip Session Re-shot

So last time Lolli and I went on this in state street riding trip his camera was a little screwy and he basically lost all 3 rolls of film he shot. Tonight/this morning we decided to go re-shoot all the stuff and session all the spots again...hitting a few new ones up too. Peter F. hitched a ride and came along for the fun as we made our way to Wallingford, Meriden, Berlin, Cromwell and Middletown. Thanks to Matt for shooting a ton of film again and taking the time to take a few shots and video with my camera as well. Check out the photos at Tyrant's Flickr. Quick clip of me pedaling across a Rt. 5 in Wallingford and manualing down a pretty long median super late night.

Me icepicking a guardrail atop a 5 foot bank

Mike Stock ain't right!!!

So Lolli and I went out on a mountain biking photo shoot with Mike Stock and some of his friends over in Mesh. I will be totally honest, I earned a lot of respect for freeride mountain bikers...especially Mike Stock. This kid was riding down things so steep I had to slide down them on my butt and dropping off boulders that were a story high! I don't know what I can really say, props to Stock for being a little crazy and having cojones the size of watermelons! The photos speak for themselves!!! Check it out at Tyrant's Flickr.

Little hit to huge gap and steep lander!

He's alive!...and still killing it!

So after nearly a month of none of us seeing or hearing from Bry Arnwine I get a random 8:47 AM phone call asking if I want to ride. Only Arnwine! So Bry, Charlie, and myself decided to go hit up Wethersfield and the BMX track. What else is new! Right out of the car Arnwine is fufing everything at the skatepark and foot jamming the mini sub box. Later in the day when we made our way to the BMX track it was the same thing. Bry flatted 360ing the first jump at the track so he decided to take Charlie's 4 pegged, brakeless, 40 lb. bike and session any obstacle in site. Check out the photos at Tyrant's Flickr. There is also a video of a random rails slide as well.

The man...the myth...Bryan Arnwine

Krol Fest Photos

So Krol Fest 2006 was a total success with the cops only showing up once all day...due to a lame neighbor who called in a noise complaint when the first band played. There were about 20 riders and a ton of spectators and fun was had by all. Dave B. was pulling out some pretty rad tricks, Jake Lineberry was hucking himself and doing some big tricks, and Schmidt and Steve B. were flowing the yard with their trails style. Thanks Pete! and happy birthday! 364 days and counting till Krol Fest 2007. Check out the photos at Tyrant's Flickr.

Dave Blachura riding the curved wall to the top