Rode on the East Side..again

Yesterday was the Riding on the East Side II event and it was a great turnout! We rolled into the Baltic Skatepark with 16 riders and the place was empty. We got in a solid 2 hours session before heading over to the new Plainfield. The new park out in Plainfield is pretty off the hook. The flowly layout allows for lots of boosting and speed. Good times for sure! We made our pit stop at Daily Grind and everybody was stoked on Chuck's shop. Imagine just about every BMX part in every color in stock. Daily Grind is dialed! A huge thanks to Chuck for the pizzas and air conditioning we were in desperate need of! We topped the day off at Owen Bell and sadly it was a pretty mellow session. The 85+ degree temps and sun kicked everyone's a$$ and we were all beat tired by the last park. No complaints though, we had an awesome day and I can't wait to do it again. Mass skatepark trip in September? Stay tuned...

Riding on the East Side II Photos: CLICK HERE

Been Digging!

I spent a few hours down at Chads yesterday slinging some dirt on a new line. Psyched on the set-up down there. Bring on the rain, we need it!!!

Dirty Afternoon Photos: CLICK HERE

Click to enlarge panoramic

Snake Run Video by NSA

Great GoPro footage from our Sunday adventure courtesy of the guys at the Northern Skate Alliance.

Chad's New Line

I headed over to Chads trails late yesterday afternoon and to my surprise he had rebuilt the whole main line. The old set-up was cool, but the new one is super fun! It's still really soft and in need of some major water and shovel loving, but when it's done it's gonna be dialed. Looking forward to getting some more jumps built and possibly adding more onto to the other lines.

Chad's New Line: CLICK HERE

Monday Mods

I made some mods to my bike today. Finally sick of the murder out same old, same old black bike! I machined the front wheel sidewalls, fork cap, brakes, brake lever, cable hanger, seat post, and headset spacer for that raw aluminum look. Faux bling!

NSA Runnin'

Schmidty and I met up with Ryan Howard and some of the Northern Skate Alliance crew to hit up the snake run yesterday. Man, those long board dudes are out of their minds!

Snake Run Skating: CLICK HERE

Finally Back at Southwick

Steve and I adventured up to the Southwick Trails to meet up with a few people yesterday. It was my first time back to Southwick since last year and my first time riding trails since my surgery. So psyched to be back on the bike! Some of the Enfield crew showed up and were blasting it like usual, Steve was dumping a nice 360 over the last set, and conditions were awesome. Nothing like a Saturday playing in the dirt!

Southwick Photos: CLICK HERE

Riding on the East Side II

It's been a year and a half, but we're doing it again. An epic one day skatepark trip hitting up some of the radest cement parks in the state! We're meeting up in Portland at 10am and making our way over to the Baltic/Sprague Skatepark. Riding should start around 11. Come ride bikes and have fun! Chuck at Daily Grind BMX & Skate will be hosting a pizza party at his shop around dinner time, prior to us riding their local Owen Bell Park. Be sure to bring your appetite and some spending cash...lots of rad stuff at DG!

New Shirt Hotness!

A bunch of people ordered shirts as part of a mass order I put in and they arrived today. Check out the hotness below! Remember, you can order your own courtesy of the ONLINE STORE link above. Thanks for the support guys!

Back at Chad's

It's been several months since we've ridden Chad's Trails. Pretty pathetic seeing they are literally 10 minutes from my doorstep! Chad's had a cast on and hasn't been riding or digging, so the place was in pretty rough shape when we arrived. After a thorough hosing with bug spray we did a little fixing up and the guys rode for a bit. It was 98 out and pretty grimy, fortunately the temp dropped as the sun went down. Looking forward to getting back on the the bike and getting some digging in at Chad's.

Chad's Trails Photos: CLICK HERE

9 Years Going!

Summer of 2002 is when the whole TYRANT thing started, 9 long years ago. Since then we've ridden hundreds of places and had one hell of a good time in the process. I'm brainstorming for next year, something off the hook for the "10 Year Anniversary". Maybe a re-release of the original shirts and mesh hats? A huge 10 year party somewhere? a TYRANT road trip? Whatever I end up deciding to do you can be sure I'll be hyping it up on here well in advance. In the meantime, the next 12 months will be a ton more riding and having fun.

Here's a throwback photo from '02 from my folks...



















(NOTE: I wouldn't EVER considered riding without my helmet now days!)

Sunday Run

Good times on Sunday! Schmidt moved home from Fargo, Evan made an appearance and it was fun getting back to the run!

Sunday Run Photos: CLICK HERE

Sunday Runnin'

Monday Meltdown Video

Monday Meltdown!

Bry, Brandon and I headed up to the Windsor Locks Park for a mid-day session. The sun was in full effect and the temp was 93 when we rolled into town. The session was pretty short lived due to no shade and hellish temps, but I was still able to get a few photos and a bunch of clips. Bry is running pegs again after 3 or so years without them and he's a grinding machine...as you'll see by his 40" double peg and feeble at the park. We made a brief stop at the GMP park so Brandon could say what's up to a buddy of his. The afternoon brought some much needed shade at the trails. Brandon was on a mission to land a flair and by 5:00PM he had. The local kids were boosting all the lines, big and small. Damn youngins'! All in all a fun day of riding despite the heat.

Monday meltdown photos: CLICK HERE

GMP Jam/GMT

I tagged along with Steve to the GMP Jam in Enfield to watch the madness and shoot some photos. The day got started with the Bunnyhop Contest and Seth Bernard and Jimmy Oakes dueling for the win at 40". Jimmy finally took the win clearing the bar with a wild horizontal style hop. The Long Jump Contest was ridiculous. The wedge ramp was a solid 2' high and people were hucking themselves. The jump off came down to Seth Bernard and RJ Legault both jumping a solid 30' or so with Seth eventually taking the win at some stupid far length! Highest Air on the Hip went to James Nelson who somehow blasted 6-7' out of the 4' hip. There were two games of Footdown and Steve was the runner up both times. Bummer, the damn youngins took him out! Jimmy Oakes won the first round and a GMP local the 2nd. I'm not sure who ended up winning the Best Trick Contest? Seth somehow managed to wallride the 2 x 6 sub rail on the back of the quarterpipe and Danny Todd dumped his whole bag of tricks on the ramp! All in all it was a fun jam despite the scorching heat and no shade at all.

After the jam a ton of people went to the Green Manor Trails. With all the rain on Friday the trails were in pretty good condition, nice and tacky. People were boosting like usual, but the highlight was def Jimmy Oakes throwing down a flair/360 flip hybrid on the dirt quarter. He didn't end up landing it clean, but regardless it was nuts and he was damn close.

GMP/GMT Photos: CLICK HERE

New Online Store!!!

I've been getting pretty fed up with the consistency of the CafePress store. One day the shirts looks mint, the next day the logos are crooked and the shirts looks beat! I made the jump to Society6 yesterday. They only stock American Apparel shirts and tees are available in 6 different colors, which is awesome! Head over to the new store and take a look at the new tees! Click on each shirt to see the color options...

CLICK HERE

Thanks Sunset Crew!

Gotta send a huge thanks out to the Sunset Ranch Trails crew for the well wishes! Looking forward to getting back on the bike and getting up to the trails soon!!

Stir Crazy!

It's been 6 days since surgery and I'm going stir crazy not being able to drive anywhere or ride. I decided to occupy some time today pimping my bikes small parts out with some blinging metallic fleck paint. Getting iced out!!!

T's Dragon For Sale

T's getting a new ride so the Dragon has to go. The whole bike is a brown and green color scheme. Hotter than any colorway complete you can buy! If you or anybody you know is looking for a smoking deal on a VERY LIGHTLY RIDDEN custom built bike with hand built wheels send them my way!

20.75" Eastern Dragon - Brown Sugar color
DK Nina Bars - Black
Shadow Conspiracy Grips - Green
FBM Top Load Stem - Green
Carbon fiber headset spacer
Eastern Internal Headset - Black
Tectro Brake lever - Black
Tectro 990 Brakes - Black
FIT Stock Forks - 3/8" - Black
Primo Powerbite Cranks - 180mm - Black
Animal Hamilton PC Pedals - Clear Green
Shadown Conspiracy Crow Sprocket - 28T - Green
Animal Seatpost Clamp - Green
Shadow Conspiracy Post - Black
Shadow Conspiracy Pneumbra Seat - Green & tan pattern
Odyssey Hazard Lite Cassette Rear Wheel - 10T cog - Chrome rim
Premium Sealed 3/8 Hub laced to Primo Hula Hoop Rim - Black
Primo Wall Tires - 20 x 2.10" - Black

Worth over $1,150.
Asking $500!

I could part this out an easily get $500 for the parts on Craigslist, but I'd prefer not to waste my time and effort!

Photo to come soon. I can't lift over 10 lbs. due to my injury thus can't get the bike off the hanging wall rack.

Out for A While

Sorry for the lack of updates, it's been a rough few weeks to say the least!

I haven't been feeling well since early June and it all came to a head last weekend when I spiked a 102 fever and was doubled over with severe stomach pains Sunday night. Being the hard head that I am, I fought the pain and sickness for 3 days till Wednseday before T encoraged me to seek medical attention. The initial thought by the doc was Lyme Disease until an abdominal CAT Scan was ordered. After the scan I got hit with the news that my appendix was possibly perforated and about to rupture and I needed surgery ASAP. I left the clinic I was at and reported to Middlesex Hospital where I went under the knife Wednseday afternoon to remove the appendix and some toxic fluid around the area. Come to find out I also had a small tear in my intestines that they found while they were Roto Rootering my insides! Damn, my gut was all messed up. Word is if I hadn't caught it when I did I would of been in serious trouble....like dead!!!

I spent a few days in the hospital so they could monitor me and be sure the antibiotics were kicking in to prevent internal infection. I'm basically on house arrest till my follow up on July 11th. I'm on 2 heavy meds and can't drive my car or do anything active...besides short walks. I've already been told I'm officially off the bike for the better part of July. I'll be looking forward to shooting lots of photos and video in the coming weeks to prevent me from going insane!!!

Circuit/Cumby Trails

Steve and I headed to Rhode Island yesterday with Bongi, his girl and his dog in tow. We went and checked out Circuit BMX's new shop location. Vic has that place stacked with the latest and greatest in the BMX world! Eventually made out way to the Cumby Trails, their local jumps. To say that I was awe struck would be a total understatement. These trails were epic...the place was beyond perfect! Steve and Bongi got on their bikes and got jumping pretty quick, while I was a chicken sh1t and manned my camera most of the day. It was a fun session watching Vic and the locals blast over their huge sets. Gotta send a huge thanks out to those guys for having us at their trails. Amazing!

Cumby Trails Photos: CLICK HERE

Joey's/Bongi's Again...

We rode Joey's jumps for a bit then headed over to Bongi's jungle jumps. Steve had never ridden Bongi's before, but after a few runs was boosting the line and getting rad. We're supposed to be headed to some trails in Rhode Island this weekend. We'll see how things pan out...

Joey's/Bongi's Photos: CLICK HERE

Mid-Day Sesh @ Wethersfield

Bry and I met some peeps at Wethersfield at 11am today for a mid-day session. The place was empty...as in nobody at all! It was fun to have the opportunity to flow around that place not worrying about dodging a flying board or pre-teen scooter rat. I've heard rumors that the park is in pretty rough shape and the rumors proved very true. The flat bottom is gnarly and chipped up, but just fine for some 75 PSI bike tires. Fun, fun!

New Decals; Nice!

They're in and they're rad! Get 'em while they last, only a few dozen in stock.

Storm Carnage

Bry and I made our way over to Joey's Trails today to do some riding, but Mother Nature had other plans. The violent storms on Wednesday and Thursday night wreaked absolute havoc on the trails. As we rolled up it was clear to see that the jumps were eroded, very pitted, and needed some solid work. The real surprise came as we got out of the car and actually made our way over to the trails...a 25 foot tall tree fell right on the 4th lip and lander. We spent a solid 2 hours cutting up the tree with axes (cause there was no chainsaw!), removing water from the pits between jumps, packing new dirt on the lips and generally tuning up the place enough to be rideable. When all was said and through we only got in an hour of riding. Bummer!

R.I.P. Hamden Trails

I heard a rumor that the Hamden Trails were gonna be getting plowed, but this was the real nail in the coffin...

CLICK HERE

Before our session there last September, I hadn't ridden Hamden in nearly 6 years. It's really sad to see such an amazing place being shut down for good. Those trails were truly a work of art and I know the locals broke their back there for the past decade making that place what is was. One can only hope that a new set of trails rise up and the riding goes on.

R.I.P Hamden

New Vinyl Here!

The new website vinyl decals arrived today and the new logo ones should be close behind...

Falcon Monday

We made our yearly trip to Falcon BMX on Monday night. It was hotter than hell, but we managed to get in some solid runs around the track and have a good time. No photos to show for the session, but I'm sure we'll be back there in the near future.

Sunset Ranch Trails Jam

Steve, Bry and I headed up to Mass. to the Sunset Ranch Trail Jam. We arrived at 11 and nobody was there yet. As the day went along more and more riders showed up and people were getting more comfy on their bikes. Chris had the place groomed to perfection and the place was running mint. The soil up there is so nice and tacky, rides so nice! After the trails we hit up Chris' rope swing for an hour or so. Def a great time across state lines! Looking forward to going back soon.

Sunset Ranch Trails Jam Photos: CLICK HERE

New Vinyl Coming

There are 2 new vinyl decals coming in the next week or so. The website sticker is pretty large, meant for a down tube, car rear window, etc. The smaller decal is 5" x 1.25" and should be ideal for sticking just about anywhere.

1st Jumps in June

We had a good sized crew riding Joey's tonight. Surprisingly the placed dried out a ton since Tuesday's session...almost too dry, but we still had fun riding. Steve and Ryan pulled the first over under at the trails, pretty wild! Gonna be one crazy Summer!!

1st Jumps In June Photos: CLICK HERE

DROUGHT OVER!

Yikes, sorry about the posting drought. We've been going through some moving madness and after 9 days, 4 trips with a 17' UHaul, and some brute strength things are done! I hadn't ridden in 2 weeks, but luckily that drought too came to an end Thursday with a solid session at Joey's. A good number of people showed up, the trails were dialed due to all the rain we got, and fun was had by all. Summertime heat is here, as are the bugs. Woo!

Joey's Trails Photos: CLICK HERE

Dick, Stack, Pack

It's been raining like hell, so we've been digging like mad men. We put in a solid 6 hours over the past 2 days dodging the rain showers passing through the state. The trails are looking nice. Can't wait for the rain to end and the riding to begin!

Norwich: 5/10

Bry and I hit up Norwich earlier in the week and he was throwing down the suicide nose picks like they were going outta style! The new section added last year is so nice! Lots of Norwich session this year for sure.

Norwich Photos: CLICK HERE

DIRThsday

Rode Joey's again yesterday afternoon and also hit up Ben Fitzpatrick's trails. Both places were so dry! Man we need those days of rain coming next week.

DIRThsday Photos: CLICK HERE

Logan's Mass. Pics

A huge thanks to Logan Mitchell for snapping some great pics on our trip to Mass. on Saturday.

Check out the action: CLICK HERE

Monday Trails: Joey's & Bongi's

I made my way down to Haddam yesterday afternoon to meet up with Chris Piascik and Ryan Staron and a posse of young rippers from the area to ride Joey's Trails. The place was super dry and crumbly, but we made the best of it and rode for a solid 3 hours. Ryan threw down a tailwhip over the first set, a solid 8-10 foot gap, and got everyone fired up! It's wild to see the next generation of BMXers riding a place I used to hit up 10 years ago. When we used to ride Joey's back in the day most of these kids were just getting out of diapers. Damn I'm getting old! I made an early evening call to Bongi and we made our way down the street to check out the 6 pack in his yard that he and Steve Baklik built in the Fall. The place is legit...true Haddam Trails style for sure. Big jumps requiring lots of speed! Bongi was blasting the set and local Ben Fitzpatrick was getting rad as well. Another fun day of trail riding in the books and it's only early May. Gonna be on hell of a Summer!

Trails Photos: CLICK HERE

Sunset Ranch Video

Chris Traverse made this edit from Saturday's session at his Sunset Ranch Trails. Good stuff!

Sunset Ranch

Steve, Bry and I road tripped up to Mass. on Saturday to hit up the Sunset Ranch Trails in Hatfield. Chris Traverse and his army of local dirt slingers have done some serious digging over the past 6 months and the place is really coming along nicely. Logan Mitchell made the trip down from Keene to ride and shoot some photos. It was good to see him, it's been years since we last rode. We sessioned the trails for several hours, Chris did some grilling, and everyone had a good time. We made our way to the NoHo Park in the afternoon and the park session quickly turned into a wallride session at a near by cement slab. Steve gave it hell and boosted the wall way too high...Rad! The late afternoon plan was to hit up the Westfield Park, but a last minute call from Matty Still took us down to Easthampton for a little ramp action. All in all a kick a$$ day of riding, hanging with old friends, and loving the warm weather. Let's do it again soon!

Mass. Photos: CLICK HERE

Sprague Sesh.

Apparently what we've been calling the Baltic Skatepark for the past few years is actually the Sprague Skatepark....ooops! Anyway, Steve and I rode the park for a few hours and it was insanely windy with random 30 second showers on and off. Really odd weather! Steve was blasting the hip and getting his grind on. Good times.

We're headed to Mass. on Saturday for some trails and park. Should be a fun trip seeing some old faces.

Sprague Sesh. Photos: CLICK HERE

Classic New England BMX!

Man, it's videos like this that make me wish I could go back in time. Tons of rad people riding BMX and having fun. This was shot in 1997, I didn't meet Weasel and his brother Matty..and all the old MSC crew till 2000 or so. Would of been a good time to be up in Mass. in the late 90's!


Go to BNQT.com for more videos.

Hudson Park

I was in Mass. visiting family for the weekend in the vicinity of the Hudson Skatepark. I had planned on hitting up the park on Saturday, but it rained like hell! Oh well, looks like we'll have to road trip up soon. The bowl alone is worth the trip!!

Hudson Skatepark Photos: CLICK HERE

All Trails

So all we've been riding is dirt lately. Gas prices are on the rise and Chad's trails are only 10 minutes from my place! Steve got rad on the Tombstone Kicker, glad it's running well.

Chad's Trails Photos: CLICK HERE

Quick Vid. from Chad's Trails

Chad's Trails Revisted

We hit up Chad's Trails yesterday and they've been rebuilt in the past 6 months since we were last there. The line is tighter and smaller than it was before, but crazy flowy and fun. Rumor has it things will begin to get built up more and more as the weather get nicer. Steve manned up and was giving it hell on the mountain bike bridge drop. Good times for sure...and the trails are only 10 minutes from my doorstep!

Chad's Trails Photos: CLICK HERE

April's a Drag!

April showers in full effect that past 3 days straight! Looking forward to May, warmth, sunshine, and trails!

More Middletown...

This is the finished product :(

Middletown Skatepark Progress: 4/5/11

Despite some set backs it looks like the crew is making progress at the Middletown Skatepark. It was raining like hell today, but some makeshift tents were set up and the concrete was flying. Rumor has it the park will be done sometime this month.

Park, Trails, Street Sunday

Steve, Bry and I hit up the Middlefield Park for a half hour yesterday morning. The place was empty and fun to pump around. We met up with Sean Milnes and Chris Piascik and headed down to some trails South of Middletown mid-day. The local kids were cool and the place was pretty fun, it was nice to ride some dirt for the first time in 2011. It was fun to ride with Sean and Chris, it's been too long! Riding trails also got us inspired to start digging and getting things in order on our end. New trails in the works, should be a fun set up! We topped off the day with a little street riding at a local high school. It was a pretty ideal day of riding, a little park, trails, and street and everyone had fun.

Sunday Photos: CLICK HERE

Tuesday Session: March 29th

Bry and I rode the Cromwell park for an hour or so with Ryan Staron before Evan showed up and persuaded us to head over to Wethersfield. It was the first time we've been to the Wethersfield Skatepark this year and the Winter was not nice to the park. The majority of the flat bottom is cracked and chipped away making the place nearly un-skateable. Apparently this has resulted in the park being virtually empty on a daily basis...leading to some heavy BMX sessions. I'm sure the town is gonna fix the damage so get your sessions in before it's infested with kids again!

Tuesday Session Photos: CLICK HERE

Plainville Park

The new Plainville Skatepark is open and Bry and I hit it up on Friday afternoon for a bitter cold session. The place has a few good hits, but is pretty spread out and small...like most pre-fab parks are. Brandon Begin showed up and was getting rad. It was good to ride with him, haven't seen that kid in forever. Good times likes usual!

Plainville Photos: CLICK HERE

Jam Postponed!

Sorry folks, the Spring Has Sprung Jam is being postponed till May. We're due to get 5-8" of snow tonight, the temps are gonna hover around freezing till next week, and things just aren't falling into place as expected. We'd rather postpone it and have it be a great event, than have a cold, sh1tty one this weekend. Stay tuned for a new date!

Saturday Sessions: 3/19/11

Steve and I hit up the Middlefield Skatepark Saturday afternoon. I didn't even have my bike out of the car yet and some 3 foot tall weiner who couldn't of been any older than 12 or 13 felt the need to belt out "Skateboards Only"...as if that was gonna stop us from riding the park. Need I say it again...we have plastic pedals, pegs, and bar ends. Our bikes are less destructive than skate trucks! We rode the place for 20 minutes or so before a ton of skaters rolled in. The place isn't crowd friendly and is packed with 5-8 people trying to session the place at once so we hit the road.

We headed over to the Newington Skatepark later in the afternoon and the place was crowded as usual. Pro-hoes sitting on the ramps, little kids on scooters....typical Newington session. Ryan Staron was at the park blasting airs out of the big quarter. Total balls!...cause it was windy and the slightest gust could of been deadly! It was nice to ride 2 days in a row, but damn I'm getting old...my whole body hurts! We capped off the day chilling around Steve's fire pit, good times for sure. Rest today, rain tomorrow, maybe some riding Tuesday?

Saturday Session Photos: CLICK HERE

Middlefield....Finally!

We finally hit up the Middlefield Park today. Rumor has it the town decided to make the park skateboards only. No bikes, blades, scooters, etc. Talk about some BS discrimination! Regardless, we rode the place for 2 hours and nobody said a word to us. To our surprise the place already has a lot of chipping and cracking going on, proof that boards are just as destructive as bikes can be. Fortunately, we run plastic pegs, pedals, and bar ends so even if our bikes did hit the concrete no damage would be done and nobody could gripe at us. Bry pulled a really solid fuf which resulted in a great photo. We had a good time flowing around the place. Hopefully there will be more sessions to come at Middlefield. Later in the afternoon we hit up the Cromwell Park, which was infested with kids like usual. It was sunny and 75 out, so it didn't matter how crowded the park was, we were enjoying riding outside and the Spring-like weather. Bring on the sunshine!

Session Photos: CLICK HERE

The Lot

The Lot needs some serious shovel loving, but the snow is finally gone!

2 Weeks - WHOA!

New world record, 2 weeks without a post! Why you ask?...because Haven has been closed, we haven't been riding much and I've been away on a ski trip for the last week. The snow is melting fast, the temps are in the 50's, and rumor has it the Cromwell and Newington Parks are clear and rideable. Spring is just around the corner and we'll be riding out a$$es off soon enough! Don't forget, Spring has Sprung Jam in 2 weeks!