Mellow Memorial Day

So it was a gorgous day today and I rode for 5.5 hours. I hit up the Newington, Wethersfield, and Rocky Hill parks this morning and rode the East Hampton park (2 quarters and 2 rails) this afternoon. I was nice to spend the better part of the day on the bike enjoying the weather. The sad part is nobody else around here rode today! The so called "crew" has faded away. Lolli rides once or twice a week, but he's the only one besides me! I really wanted to get down to the Stampede warehouse jam, but I couldn't force myself to pay $15 to ride inside all day (even though it was for an AWESOME cause!!!) when it was sunny and 85 out....and nobody else was around to go???

You can't grind the 18 foot curved rail unless you lean downside!

MSX Almost Rideable!!!

So Dave B. and I put in another evening at the trails trying to complete the "big" six pack. The jumps are looking great and Dave really did a ton of work on the first lip...its mint! One thing I must say is kids these days are lazy and stupid!!! 3 seperate days these random kids showed up on there bikes and watched us dig for like 15 minutes...and then just rode away with out ever saying a word. Spread the word...if you think you are coming to ride our trails you better put in some digging time. We have a half dozen shovels, rakes, a pick axe...grab a tool and make yourself useful! I hate to sound like a jerk but we have put in endless hours of digging and the local weiners think they can just waltz in whenever and ride the trails. This year....NO WORK, NO PLAY! AND WE WILL TELL YOU TO LEAVE! Check out the photos at Tyrant's Flickr.

The first 6 pack is looking good!

MSX yet again.....

Another afternoon/night digging at the trails. The first 6 pack is going to go as follows: 4.5 foot lip - 12 foot gap - big lander into a 6 foot lip - 12 foot gap - 6 foot lander into a mellow 5 foot lip - 12 foot gap - 5 foot lander into a double berm set up - left and right...you choose what line you wanna take. Left will be small, right is going to be SICK AS HELL! I was told Stock wanted to see more photos so I took what I could before it got pitch black....what do you think Mike? Check out the photos at Tyrant's Flickr.

The lip and lander still need to be carved out,
but the piling and packing of dirt is done!

Another Evening at MSX

So a crew gathered at the MSX trails tonight to dig and we made a bunch of progress. The 1st and 2nd doubles are piled up, they just need a good packing and some tranny sculpting. We took down a 1 foot thick dead tree with a hand saw which turned out to be a half hour ordeal involving about 5 people. All in all it was a good time and a great sign of the days of summer to come.

The 2nd double is looking nice! 6 foot lip - 15 foot gap - 6 foot lander

1 hand saw - 2 workers - 2 spectators - 1 dead tree - 30 minutes - PRICELESS!!!

The Rebirth of MSX

MSX is being reborn thanks for P. Krol, Dave B., a little help from myself and many others. I shot a few photos, check them out at Tyrant's Flickr. Lets pray that the punks that destroyed the jumps last year don't do the same this year.....cause payback will be a M.F.er for them!!!

Dave being dwarfed by the "Monster Lip"

IS THE RAIN EVER GOING TO STOP?

Since I've been trapped inside due to the rains I decided to shoot some photos so I had something to post on the blog. I hope you enjoy what my boredom brought out.....check them out at Tyrant's Flickr.

Sad, Sad Saturday

So Jess called me Thursday and broke my heart, she told me "our baby" Kasha was sick and diagnosed with Feline Leukimia. It hit really hard to hear that my little kitty, only 1 year and 2 months in age, was fatally ill!!! I'm not going to lie, it really got me upset and it brought plenty of tears out. Then today, Saturday, Jess called and told me the vet had to put our baby to sleep because she was really, really sick and she was suffering. Some people would say "its only a cat", but that cat was my little baby. It really hurts to let go of something you care about so very much. Luckilly, I am a photo nerd and I took hundreds of shots of her, which I will cherish from here on out. R.I.P. :(......

Kasha - March 2005 to May 2006 - R.I.P.

Muddy Mountain Bike Ride

The rain held off today and Lolli and I got out for a solid 2 hour mountain bike ride through the trails of Portland, Cobalt, and East Hampton. Its nice to hang up the BMX bike and put in some miles in the woods...keeps my riding balanced. I took a few shots of Matt along the way and he got one of me, check them out at Tyrant's Flickr.

Matt Lolli crossing a stream at full speed

Multiple Sunday Sessions

Knowing that we were in store for another gorgeous day, I made plans to do a ton of riding. Two of my co-workers and I put in some miles on the mountain bikes this morning at Hurd Park. I had to get a feel for my new frame, I'm racing a cross country MTB race next Sunday. As the afternoon rolled around I picked up Blachura and headed to Schmidt and Mercenary Steve's trails over in central CT. The place is amazing! Props to those 2 for the endless hours of digging they have done! The lines are sweet, but much to burly for me to ride.....so I took a bunch of photos and posted a few on Tyrant's Flickr. After the trails Dave and I hit up the Newington and Wethersfield Skateparks. It was great, both parks were pretty quiet...not really crowded. Gotta love a Sunday full of riding!

Schmidt flying through the air

A Saturday in Spring

So I headed over to Turnpike Tattoo to chat it up with Shawn and discuss our plans to take over the world. It looks as though the art show we are planning to collaborate on is going to happen for sure, its just a matter of time. Keep checking back here for details....or better yet go to Shawn's site (see the link - LOOK RIGHT!) I also made my way over to Tiny Tyrant's mini-ramp for an afternoon session and like usual the kids got a half dozen new tricks since the last time I saw him. 360's to fakie, 270 to smith, icepicks, and so on - and so on! There are some pics on Tyrant's Flickr.

11 years old - 16" bike - 2 feet of air out of a 7 footer

Let the riding begin!

Ok, I'm cleared to ride again. I got my stitches out this morning and the doc says the infection in being eaten up by the anitbiotics I'm on. So I'll be out all weekend on the bikes. Give me call if you wanna ride!

Even more rest...

So I ended up developing an infection as a result of last weeks surgery. Now I am on 2 presciption drugs and have to keep off the bike for another 10 days. I swear by the time this is all healed up it will be almost 2.5 weeks that I will not have ridden. I am beyond stir crazy...but luckily my new mountain bike frame came in so building that up has kept me preoccupied.

Well needed rest...

So I am out for 2 weeks letting my "rod" settle in my skull. No biking or anything else active....I'm already going stir crazy! Check out the cool X-Ray. The titanium implant is 13mm long x 4.3 mm wide. Counting the 3 Ti screws in my knee I now have 4 titanium pieces in my body!

Get well "Digger Davis"

Just wanted to send a get well out to "Digger Davis" and remind all you kids to wear your helmets!!! Digger is one of Pedal Power's finest and late Tuesday night while throwing some trickery down off a loading dock he almost did himself in. I thought my crash back in October was harsh, but Davis topped me for sure! Concussion, 7 stitches in the forehead, 3 under his seriously blackened and swollen shut left eye and major road rash all over his face, head, and neck! BMX is fun as hell, but you never know when you're going to take it hard! No worries though, Digger is hardcore and he was back at the shop today....just sporting the mummy look (I was lucky enough to catch him between bandage changes). He'll be back on his bike in no time, Digger Davis never rests! SOOT!

Still in one piece, but barely!!!

Finally made it to P. Krol's

So I finally made it to P. Krol's, haven't been since the new line and quarter pipe went up. Blachura was blasting as usual and Pete was flying pretty high himself. Dave didn't pull out any backflips today because he was riding with a blown apart bottom bracket...yet he was still airing 10-12 feet up off the wooden booter! The line is sweet and its only 1/4 of the way done. The hip/roll-in, new 6 pack, satellite wallride, and spine haven't even been put in yet. I shot a few photos, check them out at Tyrant's Flickr. I apologize that the action shots are a tad blurry, I still don't have my new camera dilaed in! Soon though!

Dave Blachura with a nice "Squirrel Seat-Grab". Its the hottest trick in Poland right now and Dave is bringing it to the US with dialed style!

Surgery #3

So I'm headed under the knife again! This being the 3rd surgery since my nasty crash back in October. Tomorrow they will be implanting a 6mm titanium rod into my skull....not so fun! To make a long story short I will not be riding BMX for the next week or so. I have to wait till I get my stitches out and the implant settles into the bone. Even though I can't ride I plan on shooting a lot of film, so call me if you are riding next week.

Rain out!

So I really wanted to ride BMX this weekend, but Mother Nature has other plans. I'm protesting gas prices so I am not driving anywhere far to ride, and all the nice indoor parks are out of state, so it looks like I am going to have to settle for watching BMX DVD's instead. Last week we had a great gathering on my patio to ring in the Spring season with a fire and all (well we lit a bonfire in my 18" Weber Grill), this week its under water...check out the photo. Keep checking back for photos of P. Krol's Dirt Mecca in his backyard. I here its off the hook this year and Dave Blachura learned backflips...does he stop progressing?!?!? Ride your bikes and have fun doing it!

My patio table is a lake! No patio party at the "Tyrant's Lair" this week!

Riding other bikes, other places

I received a few e-mails and messages on MySpace this week from fellow riders complaining that I haven't been at the parks much lately, and asking if I am still riding. I have ridden 12 out of the last 14 days (probably more than you guys that felt the need to harass me.) If you know me personally you know that I don't just ride BMX. In the Spring and Summer months I am also an avid "Spandex Jockey" (road biker) and mountain biker. I have a new mountain frame on the way and I'm looking to get back into mountain bike racing a bit this year, something I did a ton in my later high school days and into college. BUT I am still shredding the BMX bike, so no worries. I rode street twice last week and hit up the Newington and Wethersfield Parks with Craig Samuels and Garrett P on Saturday.....despite the fact I was coughing up my lungs! In addition, I live a half hour from most of the parks and gas prices are high as hell, so I've been riding local spots. So to all you fellas who think I'm not riding, CHECK YO SELF FOOLS! Call me, IM me, MySpace message me, E-mail me, send a smoke signal, or even a carrier pigeon if you wanna ride. I ride daily!

Random Photos

Just about everytime we go out riding I shoot photos, but they aren't always BMX photos. I never post the random photos; the artsy, unusual, creative shots. I haven't ridden in the past couple days because I'm battling off a wicked chest cold, so I've been sorting through some old photos. I came across a few pictures that I thought were kinda neat and decided to share them. I know they aren't Tyrant BMX related, but each photo was taken when I was out riding my bike...that's gotta count for something? Check them out at Tyrant's Flickr.

Sunday Spring Session

So we couldn't of asked for better weather today, it was gorgeous and we rode for 7 hours. There was a posse of BMXers at the Wethersfield Park, at one point I think we had at least 12-15 of us there owning the place! Some rad stuff went down like Schmidt blasting airs from the quarterpipe to the hump going mach speed and Tiny Tyrant shredding the bowl and airing out of the deep end a bit...so sick! Seeing I was psyched on the weather I mainly rode today and only took a few photos. Check them out at Tyrant's Flickr.

Were you airing out of 8 foot deep, over-vert bowls at age 11?
"Tiny Tyrant" Brandon Begin is!!!