Lot & Lunch

Rumor has it work has already started at The Lot to get the place going for the 2010 season. The jams last year were off the hook and the place was starting to really come around by late November. 2010 should be pretty nutty if Dave and Bryan's ideas become reality! Put on your straight cable and knobbies...time to get dirty!

I stopped by the Wethersfield park briefly on my lunch break and rode around for 20 minutes with Bry and Blachura. Here's a little 1 megapixel camera phone action of Dave...

860

Tiny TYRANT has a new blog: eightsixoh and here is his latest hotness...

860 chillin from Brandon Begin on Vimeo.

Sunday East Side Sessions

Yesterday's Riding on the Eastside trip ended up being somewhat of a bust. A few people were sick and a dozen people were lazy and bitched out yesterday morning to stay local and ride the same damn places they ride on a weekly basis. Does anybody have a sense of adventure anymore? LAME! Anyway, the few people that did come out had a super fun time and we had 3 solid sessions at 3 very cool cement parks. The weather was amazing, people were getting rad, and nobody got hurt...so it was an ideal day after all. A huge thanks to Brett and Shamus for trekking down from Mass. to ride with us. We'll definitely be riding Baltic and Owen Bell a lot this year since each of them have lights at night and are 10x more fun that the shotty Clinton prefab park. We're already planning a Riding on the Westside trip for sometime in April to hit up the Milford park, the new Fairfield park, and a few other cement gems.

Next weekend is the time change, that means after work riding will begin since we'll have some light! So psyched!

Riding on the East Side photos: CLICK HERE

Steve blasting a table over a big gap at Norwich

6 Months Since Haven

Wow, I can't believe it's been 6 months since I've ridden Haven. Steve, Bryan, and I met up with Erik Z. at Haven last night and it was great to be back on the bike...despite some slight pain and weakness in my hand. The session was pretty dead, but picked up later in the evening with the usual suspects going mega-big and super fast at everything. I witnessed Chris Childs come at the box jump in a mach speed manual and clear the box out of that manual...f-ing bonkers!

Don't forget, Sunday is gonna be nuts! and the temps are now anticipated to reach 60! DAMN!

A few Haven photos: CLICK HERE

Riding on the Eastside!

We're planning on hitting up the far eastern portion of the state on Sunday for some sunny, 50 degree weather BMX action. The plan is to leave M-Town at 11am and hit up the Norwich Park, Baltic Park, the Owen Bell Skatepark in Killingly, and on the ride home maybe hit up some street in Willirico. Who is down? Hit me up on the Facebook event page: CLICK HERE.

Hello Spring!

Haven Bordeom

Photo/video extraordinaire, Peter Krol, threw together this little edit of Blachura and Arnwine riding Haven last week: CLICK HERE.

Sorry, Pete has his YouTube set up for no embedding!

Yeah Craig Samuels!

Craig's No Cassettes section is up on Vimeo!

NO CASSETTES PART 2 CRAIG SAMUELS from FonsecaFilms on Vimeo.

Back in the 860

I'm back from Maine, it was a great time. I snapped a photo of a 4" flat rail that goes down 10 stone stairs into a grass courtyard. I can see some heavy sessioning of this rail going down if we take a TYRANT Maine Takeover trip this Summer as we're planning! I'll post the photo tonight. No riding this trip, but lots of hiking...a nice Winter get away! I'll resume blog posting this week.

Jay's Ramp in February

We rode Jay's ramp last night and it was my first time riding outside the basement since the doctor cleared me to ride. It it definitely going to take some time to get back to normal, but I felt pretty comfortable. The guys were going off as the always do. Steve was boosting the wallride and some huge tables, Arnwine was trying whips to disaster, and Tiny TYRANT was landing all kinds of madness! The banger of the night was when Brandon hang 5'd the whole deck of the ramp. Damn kids! Schmidt and Tony T. showed up later in the night and were getting loose. It's always a good time going to Jay's. Sounds like another session will go down next week too!

Jay's Ramp 2/23: CLICK HERE

Dirty 30 Bash!

WOW, Saturday was pretty nuts. It was my 30th birthday and we had 2 huge parties. During the day family came over and at night all the friends came through. The basement got heavily sessioned and I'm hoping to have some photos up soon. Thanks to everyone that made the trek out to the boondocks to get wild!

A few photos: CLICK HERE

CNN

Check out CNN today at 12:50. A news story about the Pawtucket Skatepark will be airing and I contributed a bunch of photos to them. TYRANT's gone national news! ;) Hopefully the feature will be available to stream on CNN.com after the initial broadcast.

More Basement

We had great basement session last night! A bunch of guys came out to ride, Schmidt put on rollerblades, and all in all it was a good time!

Basement Session Photos: CLICK HERE

Odds and Ends

Been busy working on the basement, painting banners, cutting stencils, and riding a bit. Sorry for the lack of updates. I'm sure a lot of cool stuff will surface later in the week/over the weekend!

Acock Art!

Friend, fellow rider & designer, artist and all around rad dude Anthony Acock will be painting an original graffiti piece at the TYRANT's Lair. I'm so psyched to have some amazing art on the walls and even more psyched that the person doing it is going to heavy session the ramps afterwards! If you don't know Anthony go check out his site and be sure to get your a$$ to his art show that opens at Channel 1 in New Haven tomorrow night!

Lots of Vinyl

I'm in the process of making several 3' x 3' star logo banners for a few for local shops, Haven, Jay's Ramp, and the basement. No digital vinyl plotter or $100 price tag here, I'm doing 'em the old school way...with a #2 pencil, a ruler, some acrylic paint....by hand! Here is a sneak peak of the lined out logo...paint to come very soon. If anybody wants to purchase/barter for one of these banners for their backyard ramp, man cave, shop, etc. contact me and we'll work something out. I'll get a finished product pic up this weekend!

Green light...GO!

I got the green light to start riding again today! It's been a long, lazy, painful 5 months since I destroyed my thumb and had surgery...but the wait is over! The doc took his last set of x-rays today and they showed my thumb is fully healed. The 2 screws are fused into place and the breaks I had are healed rock solid. I'm so grateful to have full range of motion and about 75% of my strength back. Still gotta work on building the strength up to get back to 100%. No rest for the wicked...I got right back on the bike tonight and got some easy riding in on the basement ramps :)

I have to send a huge thank you out to my long time friend Erik and Dr. Joyce for taking care of me in the blink of an eye when I initially got hurt. I was checked out by the doc. and under the knife 4 days after my crash...that is UNHEARD OF! People wait weeks and/or months to get into surgery. I also have to send a huge thanks to my physical therapist Karen for helping me get the majority of my strength back. THANK YOU ALL! I could never express how much I appreciate all your help!

I'd like to send a "thanks for nothing!" out to the Middlesex Hosptial ER who told me I only had sprained thumb when I went in right after my crash. Sprained thumb, eh? I wish that's all it was. Thanks for being completely wrong!..and thanks for charging me a $150 co-pay for your misdiagnosis!

Working on the Lair

Steve, Arnwine and I spent yesterday hauling wood, cleaning the basement, and re-assembling D. Whip's ramps in a new configuration at the TYRANT's Lair. A huge thanks to Shaun for providing us with a Suburban to haul the wood and making the long drive out to the house to unload it for us. Not much to say except we busted our a$$ working for the majority of the day. Good times and a great outcome! More work going down Tuesday night!

TYRANT's Lair photos: CLICK HERE

Snow Sesh.

The snow isn't keeping Tiny TYRANT from getting rad on his backyard ramp!

Backyard Ramp Edit from Brandon Begin on Vimeo.

TYRANT's Lair

Oh man, things are gonna get out of control this weekend...the TYRANT's Lair will be coming to life. D.Whip has donated his old basement ramp set-up to me and it will be assembled in our basement this weekend. Expect a super tight vert wall, wallride, mini sub-box, 2 quarters, and lots of ducking! OFF THE HOOK!

Milnes on MidWest Mayhem

Here is Sean's recap of last weekends MidWest Mayhem Comp...

Midwest Mayhem was f-ing rad! Friday, I landed at the airport and was picked up by Madison Wisconsin transplant Tom O'hara. He received, built, and tuned my bike. Thanks buddy. We went over to Ben's Cycle to meet up with the rest of the guys that had flown in. Street riding went down from there. I was fresh off of injury and completely overwhelmed by the presence of all of these great riders. I learned hop 360's! We went out for some decent mexican food where I was bathed in ice water by the waiter. Thanks Man! After an awkward towel down from another member of the wait staff we took a cold ride back to our home away from home and headed out for some more night riding. We sessioned a nice mellow stair set. All City rider, Mike Carney, threw down some smooth 180s. Volume rider Eric Puckett hit some nice bar spins. AJ Austin of Milwaukee Bikes was doing tuck no handers and I was clicking some decent x-ups. We finished up our riding with a visit to Marquette Universities local dive bar. Amazing! You can still smoke in bars and they play Pantera! Love it.

Saturday was spent sleeping and eating before the comp. We all headed down to the premier of The Revival, ate some dinner and loaded up Ben's Cycles brand new, used, Sun Ringle box truck. We threw all the bikes in and headed out to the comp. Cream City Skatepark is amazing. Smooth trannys, a sick bowl, wall rides for days! Everyone threw down as hard as the could. The highlights include Ed Wonka's ridiculous wallride to flat, easily 9 ft off the ground. Tom Lamarche 360 off a ledge barely wide enough to walk on (on a fixed this aint easy). Puckett barspinned the long ass five stair set, AJ was doing tuck no hander airs on the vert wall. local ripper Antonyo hit fixed ridings first documented footjam nose pick on a quarter. So ridiculous! I threw a wheelie down the 5 stair rail and Torey Thornton immediately followed with a pedal feeble down it. My favorite trick of the night and favorite rider was Mike Schmitt! This kid is 20 from Richmond Virginia. He threw down an acid drop out of the rafters in to the steepest bank at the park. Amazing! I have to say, in my opinion, the smoothest and most consistent rider was John Prolly. The nicest cab 360 ive seen and a beast of a 180 down the stair set.

Sunday was for sleep and hanging out, boxing bikes and saying farewell. Many thanks are in order- Sam Erickson for putting us up and driving our asses aroundDrew at Bens Cycle for being rad and helping make this thing happenShea, Chris, Antonyo for throwing the comp! Cream City for hosting!Josh and Open Bicycle for sponsoring me and helping me out! Thanks for everything! You make it all happen for me! Tony Tyrant for the awesome threads! Cant wait for the new shit! thanks for the support man!and all the new friends I made! AJ, Carney, Tom, Torey, Wonka, Peru, Jesse, Schmitt, Mosher and Puckett! See you all soon! and John Prolly for the support and blog posts!

Boosting!

Haven was off the hook last night! Dudes were going off!

Haven Photos: CLICK HERE

TYRANT Tanning Team

Not really...but check out Hebrank tanning a bear hide rocking the beanie. That dude is the only vegan I know who loves playing with dead animals. Shawn isn't really that morbid, he used to be a bird taxidermist at the Peabody Museum at Yale, so he was right at home with this bear! What does this have to do with bikes? Nothing. It's just a shout out to Hebrank for always being loyal to TYRANT and repping it hard in MinneCRAPolis! Thanks dude!

Morse On Edge

Props to Steve Morse, he'll be the 4th TYRANT dude now riding for the Cutting Edge Team. Ever since Steve moved back to CT from Philly early last year he's been killing it on his heavy, semi-old school bike! Rumor has it he is building up a new, more modern, lighter bike...can't wait to see the stuff he pulls out!

Midwest Mayhem Recap

Sean Milnes is on his way home from Milwaukee right now, I'll have a full recap of the event in the next day or so. Rumors have been flying that Shawn wheelied a 5 stair handrail. Bonkers! All you BMXers should know that fixed gear riders can't manual so they're forced to wheelie. I challenge anybody to wheelie the rail at Haven!!!


















Photo courtesy of Tim Kainu

Random January News

We're half way through January already...damn!
Lots going on...

- New TYRANT tees are in the works...gone American Apparel!
Due mid-February

- Tiny TYRANT is running brakes again...barspin to fuf anyone!

- We've been talking about hitting up Ray's MTB Park and Chenga 57.
March TYRANT road trip!

- rideTYRANT.com got a face lift and the new kick a$$ site will launch this Spring! Full on store with shopping cart, streaming video, crew bios and bike checks, etc. etc.

- Rumors have been circulating about TYRANT sprockets and stems...Hmmm...time will tell...

Go ride your bike!

Haven: 1/21/10

Another fun night at Haven! It started off really slow with literally 8-10 riders then as the night went on it got busier and busier. Steve pulled out a nice icepick on a sub off the faux brick bank that I'd been eying up for a while. I think it's been done already, but I was psyched to see Steve fire it out. Blachura was throwing toboggan airs out of the bowl and his tailwhips are getting pretty dialed. Fun session for sure!

Haven Photos: CLICK HERE

iPhone A No Go!

I'm typically posting fun and upbeat stuff, but this post kinda sucks! The CT Skatepark Guide iPhone app I started work on late last Summer has pretty much fizzled out and won't become a reality anytime in the near future. Things have been too busy and the individual who was going to help me with the programming side of things has too much on his plate at the present time. I'm hoping maybe come Fall we can get the ball rolling again and shoot for a 2011 launch?

You can still get the iPhone wallpaper I created for FREE:
DOWNLOAD HERE

Heavy Sesh. @ Jays

Last night was pretty wild, 6 BMXers and 4 skaters sessioning Jay's ramp. I was pretty impressed by a few of the skaters. It was Tiny TYRANT's first time riding Jay's and of course he has to go off from the get go. His first run included a sweet table, foot jam to vader to drop smith, and a barspin to brakeless tire tap. Dialed! It was a fun session watching dudes feed off one another and just chill and have a good time. No skater vs. biker hostility BS!

Jay's Ramp Photos: CLICK HERE

Cyber TYRANT

Most of the people listed under the "TYRANT Crew" now have a rideTYRANT.com e-mail address', so if you want to contact them on the net ask 'em in person for their address. Due to confidentiality requirements I will not be providing these address' publicly. I'll be phasing out the rideTYRANT@yahoo.com address over the next month and general inquiries, orders, etc. can be sent to TYRANT@rideTYRANT.com This leap into cyberspace is an effort to expand our network of friends, vendors, etc. and spread the good word about TYRANT in 2010 and years to come! A new website is in the works with a full-on shopping cart and should go live not too long after the new shirts come in next month. I told you 2010 is gonna be nuts! Moving on up like the Jeffersons!

New Begin Edit

Web Video 6: Haven Edition from Brandon Begin on Vimeo.

January Thaw

BONKERS! January 16th...50 degrees and sunny! Arnwine, Steve and I met up around noon and headed over to the Wethersfield Skatepark. Just about every park in the state is covered in snow, but thanks to Team Shovel Lovin' lead by Sal Cianci, the Wethersfield park was clear and rideable. The park was pretty crowded but it didn't stop Bry and Steve from getting in their runs and enjoying the gorgeous weather. At around 3 we headed over to the Cromwell park to scope out the situation. It appears somebody cleared off some lines here and there, but it was a def. half a$$ job cause all the surrounding snow melted and flooded the park. FYI...if you're gonna shovel off that park do it all or nothing....cause a clear park that's got flooded flats is a tease! The only clean area was the mini so the guys sessioned that for a bit. Wow, it was great to be outside in the sunshine without a jacket, scarf, and beanie on. Gotta love global warming!

January Thaw Photos: CLICK HERE

Milnes in Milwaukee

So psyched for Sean Milnes, he's headed out to the Midewest Mayhem competition in Milwaukee next weekend to get rad with some of the best fixed freestylers in the nation. A trick contest at the Cream City Skatepark?...all you Sean! Check out all the hype over on Prolly. I'm working on some custom threads for Sean to keep him cozy warm while rocking out TYRANT style in the MKE. Good luck dude, and be sure to get a fresh High Life while in town!

Finally Back at Haven

Wow, it's been a month since I was last at Haven. I got immersed in all the Holiday madness, New Years, etc. and had to take a brief hiatus for some family and friends time. Anyway, Arnwine and I came out of hibernation and we hit up Haven last night and it was a pretty solid session. Tiny TYRANT was throwing his bars and his crew of friends were all going off...damn kids are getting good! Arnwine pulled out a hop whipped into the stair bank which was awesome seeing he hasn't ridden in over a month. Schmidt and Steve were ripping up the bowl and fullpipe getting some pretty serious height in the cradle. We ended up hanging out 45 minutes into the skate session to watch CT skate legend Hammer get rad in the bowl. Nothing like an over 30 dude throwing down hand plants and watching the youngins' bug out! Hammer's still ripping after all these years...and he's gonna be a daddy soon. Congrats dude! All in all, the typical super fun session at Haven!

Haven Photos: CLICK HERE

H-H-H-Hot Bars!

It's been a cold, harsh Winter, but Tiny TYRANT's keeping his garage warm with those hot bars...

Bars, Bars, Bars! from Brandon Begin on Vimeo.

2K10

WOW, we're 2 weeks into the new year and today it finally hit me...it's 2010! The past 10 years have been an absolute blur...so much riding, going so many places, meeting so many new faces. Gotta love it! 10 years ago I was riding a matte black Robinson Ruckus with 14mm 48's, a 44T GT diamond plate sprocket, Torker tubular 3 piece cranks, Primo Super Tenderizer pedals, 4 Primo Stogie pegs, Volume MadDog bars cut to like 20", the original Odyssey Dirt Fork, and a Primo Hemorrhoid seat. That beast topped the scales at around 45 lbs! I'd love to see one of you trendy little chicken leg, girlie pants wearing, brakeless, big bars weiners (We still love you Brandon!) try to pull a hop 360 or hop whip on that bike! Not happening! Here's to the days when baggy pants and cro-moly ruled the BMX world!

Not my exact bike, but that's the stock Ruckus.
Look at those damn drop outs!!!












Over 10 years old!

Primo - Made in Taiwan from Playmobike.com on Vimeo.

Screwed Up!

Ben Church is screwed up, healed up, and back on his bike. After an ankle break in July that required surgery and a screw Ben is shredding again after nearly half a year off his bike! Expect some bars to disaster at a park near you very soon!

2010...it's on!

Lots of rad stuff in the works for the new year!
That's all I gotta say!
Keep posted for details in the near future!















New "No Haters" tees available via: The Store

Where or Where???

I received a random e-mail from a kid in New York asking for directions to the fullpipe I chimped down into and rode back in 2006. Sorry dude, I'm not giving away directions! Gems like that need to be protected...so they don't become hotspots...and get locked down! The fullpipe has been featured in several videos and photo spreads and is every bit as sick as it looks. Damn, I think we'll have to head back there this year!!!

A tease thanks to Google Maps











So sick!!!

Limited Edition Hoodie

Honoring a special request from JC in SC, the tiny TYRANT design will be available on hoodies for a 1 week only. If you're down with staying warm and the tiny TYRANT flattie graphic grab a hoodie while they last. Limited run ends Monday, January 10th. Buy now or buy never...this won't be offered again!

Click on the image to purchase

Missing Summer!

It snowed the past 3 days in a row! Damn, I'm really missing Summer, The Lot, riding with the crew. Cabin fever is setting in!

Team TYRANT 2025

This is the future of the sport! T's nephew is only a year and a half old and is already hopping on his sisters 18" bike...despite the fact he can't even reach the pedals. Get that boy a 12", a helmet and pads, and lets get him down to Haven :)

Holidaze!

I've been MIA for the past week or so and it will continue until the weekend. Been spending a lot of time with family and friends who are in town for the Holidaze. It's been a crazy week and it will continue until New Years Day. I hope everyone had a good Holiday Season and I wish you all the best in 2010. Thanks for all the support in 2009 and here it to another kick a$$ year or riding bikes and having fun!!!

6.0's from Santa

So I got an early Christmas present from Santa, these Nike 6.0's all murdered out! So rad! So psyched to get back on my bike in 2010!

Milnes #8

Props to Sean Milnes, the below video of him made the 2009 Top 10 Fixed Freestyle Videos on Prolly's site. This is awesome exposure for Sean and a taste of things to come in 2010. In addition, Sean is going to be shredding on a new BMX set-up in 2010 so expect some rad sh1t on 20's as well as his fixed!

Open Bicycle - Sean Milnes from Quarter Productions on Vimeo.

Crutching Around

It was good to see Aaron Tauscher out and about at Haven last week. Despite being in a pump air cast and on crutches Aaron made the trip down from Mass. with the Team EAST posse and hung out for a few hours acting as team camera man. Heal up dude!

NEW Gear Bag

NEW gear bags now available over at the TYRANT Online Store. These nylon bags are Made in the USA by American Apparel and the 20" x 9" size allows plenty of room for pads, a helmet, clothing, etc. Get ready for those 2010 road trips!

Another FlipVideo from Haven

FlipVideo Clips: Haven Skatepark 12/14/09 from T Y R A N T on Vimeo.

Craig's Famous!

Head on over to the No Cassettes' site and scope out Craig Samuels being all famous on his fixed gear. Yeah Craig! Scope out this video, it's sick as hell! Those dudes rip sh1t up!

Winter Haven

We hit up Haven on Monday and Tuesday for some indoor BMX action! My camera died mid-session last night so I was only able to get a few dozen shots off. Upon returning home I was able to fix the camera issue so I'm ready to rock for next week. Only 3-4 more weeks to go and my hand should be strong enough for me to be riding again! I'm always psyched to shoot photos, but damn I miss riding! 4 months is too long!!!

Monday Session 12/14/09: CLICK HERE
Tuesday Session 12/15/09: CLICK HERE

Bryan Arnwine Ninja Whip

Flip Clips: Haven 12/11/09

Random Flip Clips - Haven 12/11/09 from T Y R A N T on Vimeo.

Middletown Skatepark???

Apparently the City of Middletown is considering putting a skatepark in the North End, but there is no mention of BMX in the article! Click the Press link below and leave a positive, pro-skatepark, pro-bike comment letting them know riders and skaters are equally as important in the community and we need a skatepark! In addition, I set up links to key players in the potential skatepark development. E-mail them too and let 'em know what's up.

The Middletown Press Skatepark Article

UPDATE: 12/12/09
I noticed this morning that Izzi Greenberg from the North End Action Committee commented on the Press article:

" I think the idea would be to have BMX'ers and skaters together. The rep from Spohn Ranch had great ideas about how to make the space good for both."

That's awesome news!

I still encourage you riders, skaters, parents, etc. to voice your opinion and let the powers that be know a skatepark is a great idea! Strength in numbers, remember that!

REMEMBER: Keep your message positive and be respectful!!!

E-mail Mayor Sebastian N. Giuliano
E-mail Ray Santostefano, Director of Parks & Recreation

Hello Winter!

Well we had 64 degree temps on December 1st and 6" of snow 8 days later! So much for the Global Warming theory! Tiny TYRANT posted this on Facebook yesterday and it pretty much sums up the next few months in Connecticut...

News Blast!

Instead of putting up a bunch of different posts I'm smashing a bunch of new info into this one...

Sean Milnes is hanging up the fixed gear for a bit and getting on a BMX bike. In the very near future Sean should be on a tricked out new 20" ride and will be joining us for some Haven sessions.

Dave Blachura is on a top secret new ride. It's still a 26"...but you'll have to see him in person for details. Look for Dave to be going huge at Haven and any other indoor spots in New England now that The Lot is snowed over.

Tiny TYRANT painted his bike for the like the 50th time this year. Rumor has it his once 4.8 lb frame now weighs 7 lbs. due to all the paint. Maybe that's why the damn thing cracked...from the weight of all that paint!

Aaron Tauscher is doing well rehabbing from his seriously busted leg a few weekends ago. He has a follow-up appointment this week to check on his surgical wounds and the stability of his leg...I'll have details soon. Glad to see Aaron staying strong!

The Team EAST & DropOut BMX crews are headed down to Woodward this weekend and sadly I have prior engagements here in CT and can't tag along as originally planned. Have fun guys!

Rumor has it that come Spring the East Hampton Park & Rec. may be kicking in some cash toward the revitalization or the seasonal Belltown Skatepark down at Sears Park. Pedal Power is already donating a couple grand and with new money from the town we should have some serious cash to buy wood and supplies. Steve Morse is working a new carpentry job and will be bringing his wood working skills to the plate this Spring to get that park dialed. Spring couldn't get here soon enough!!!

That's it! Have fun, ride bikes!

Flip Clips - Fall 2009

Random Flip Clips - Fall 2009 from T Y R A N T on Vimeo.

Pier 62

The new Pier 62 public skatepark in NYC looks to be pretty much complete and it's rad! Sure beats the old Chelsea Pier Skatepark...though that clear fiberglass vert ramp was dope! I'm psyched, this park is 11 blocks South of my uncles Manhattan apartment! Looks like we'll be hopping the train to the city this Spring for some overnight sessions.

FREEDOM!

I went for more x-rays and a post-surgical follow up with the Ortho. today and was told I am healed up pretty solid. The brace/soft cast comes off for good today and I start an intense physical therapy regime next week. Time to work my a$$ of to strengthen the thumb, hand, arm muscles so I can get back on the bike. E.T.A on riding again is mid-February...but no crazy jumping, gaps, etc. till early Spring....not like my old a$$ does that anyway! I'm so pscyhed, it's been a long 3 months since surgery!

Ben Church is fully recouped from his July ankle surgery. Ben got back on his bike last night for the first time in 5 months and plans on getting back into a riding routine. Awesome!

Well Loved

That's one well loved TYRANT sticker! That's been stuck on the 1/4 at the Rocky Hill Skatepark since Dave and I sessioned there 4 years ago! Random post...I know...but it's cool to see that 4 years of bike-blade-board abuse and New England weather can't take TYRANT down!

2005 Blachura Session Photos: CLICK HERE

Skatepark in EH Update

So there is a Town Council meeting tonight at 6:30 at the East Hampton Town Hall to discuss the Sears Park 5 Year Plan...which potentially will include a permanent skatepark. If you're free tonight show up and voice your opinion! I'm not psyched on the fact that a permanent park could be years away, but I am thankful that we are allowed to set up the seasonal skatepark again when the Winter ends and the snow melts. With Steve Morse working as a carpenter and having access to tools and lots of scrap wood and Pedal Power's $2,500 wood donation we're hoping to deck out the temporary park for 2010. By the time we're ready to set up the park in April my hand should be healed up so I can contribute to the building and be riding again!

Haven in December

I soloed it to Haven last night to meet up with Steve Morse, Stan Zygo, and some of the Mass. guys. It was a pretty low key session, only 20 riders or so...must have been those 65 degree temps keeping the kiddies outdoors. The last few months at Haven have been pretty rad! A lot of old school faces who haven't ridden in years are getting back on their bikes and shredding again. Age is nothing but a number, always stay young at heart and always ride your bike!

Haven Photos: CLICK HERE

15 yr. old Josh Gryszan from Mass. going big!

More CT 'Crete!

So it appears the Fairfield Skatepark is coming along nicely but I keep hearing mixed messages about bikes being permitted. A few riders and skaters at Haven I spoke to said they'll be permitting bikes, but the skHATERS over on Concrete Disciples are claiming it's no bike.

UPDATE: Thursday 2pm - Got a message that bikes, especially ones with pegs, are "discouraged" from using the park but not technically banned. Rock some PLEGs and hit the place up people!















The photo is property of: SkatePerception.com

Milnes in the City

Sean Milnes will be headed to NYC on Saturday to get his fixed gear trickery on. I'm sure this is going to be a pretty rad event, a lot of those fixed guys are bonkers! If you're in NYC Saturday check this out...and keep an eye out for Sean...he'll be rocking some TYRANT threads.
















As seen on Prolly Is Not Probably

Best of Aaron Tauscher

I threw together a "Best of" album of Aaron. Apparently he has a new fan club of doctors and nurses as a result of his 3 day hospital stay. Aaron will be signing autographs from his hospital bed till 4 or 5 today.

Best of Aaron: CLICK HERE

Skaters & Riders at Jays

Steve and I headed over to Jay's ramp for a late night session with Schmidt, Jay and a few other guys last night. Schmidt's buddy Howard and his friend Jared were skating the ramp and totally going off on the coping pulling out all kinds of tricks I don't know the names of...but it was rad. Steve and Schmidt we're boosting some wallrides and tables and Jay was bombing around the ramp at mach speed, 50% in control as usual. Schmidt's riding buddy Tony came down and was pumping around the ramp on his MacNeil Deuce Deuce. It was cool to see somebody else riding the 22" top tube beast. A session at Jay's is always a good time and last night was no different.

Photos from Jay's: CLICK HERE

Cromwell Riverside Trails

So I stopped by the site of the old Cromwell Riverside Trails on my way to work today after hearing rumors that some locals were rebuilding them. To my surprise, the rumors were true and jumps are being built down there...but it looks like a young crowd is behind the resurrection. The dirt jumps are small with lots of debris like old tires and scrap wood used to make them. There is an old truck hood set up as a wallride and there is one jump that is literally 1 foot tall with a 10-12" gap. I'm glad local kids are riding and building down there again, but nothing will beat the solid 6 pack and table top that used to exist down there 10 years ago.

Cromwell Trails Photos: CLICK HERE

Aaron Update

As mentioned in a previous post, our buddy Aaron Tauscher from Mass. got wrecked at the jam Sunday. Aaron was admitted to Middlesex on Sunday night with 2 breaks to his tibia and fibula which would require intensive surgery to stabilize his leg. I stopped in to see him at lunchtime yesterday and he was in good spirits with his folks by his side. At 8pm last night Aaron went under the knife for a surgical procedure that took several hours but ultimately was successful in repairing his lower leg with plates and screws. I spoke with him this morning and despite being hopped up on morphine, and not eating solid foods in almost 2 days, he sounds pretty with it. I'm going to try to get in to see him again at some point today because it doesn't sound like he'll be discharged until late in the day or tomorrow. It's always a drag to see a fellow rider get hurt, especially when hospitalization are surgery are required!

Heal up buddy, we're thinking of you!