Programmed In My Younger Days...

[Wingnut]

Here's some good news for a change today, lol... and I want to use the pics I took to make a point here. Before all that UNWANTED DRAMA & GRIEF unfolded in the Alamogordo Walmart parking lot with the poor old guy taking a hard fall as described in my recent 'Good Samaritan Action!' thread, well, I was running errands, and one of those errands was to drop off a short stack of books (which I had already read) at the local library. And since I was doing THAT, I figured I'd take some shots of a nearby concrete drainage ditch which is totally rideable if you're on a skateboard or bicycle, lol. And part of the point which I intend to make here is this:

AS AN AVID BANKED & VERTICAL & OVERHANG SKATEBOARDER IN MY YOUTH, I CANNOT PASS A SINGLE CONCRETE DRAINAGE DITCH WITHOUT ASSESSING IT & ASKING MYSELF: "CAN THIS DITCH BE RIDDEN?"

Same goes for swimming pools, go figure. And now that I'm 60 years old (or young, depending upon your perspective, lol), well, I ain't about to SET FOOT on one of those goldurned DEMON SKATEBOARDS again, I can assure you. I took a darn BEATING at the Show Low Skatepark at "double nickel" (age 55), though I DID pull some frontside grinders in the deepest bowl, lol. But I also picked up a nasty "hipper" (or raspberry scrape on my starboard hip) which lasted a darn WEEK, then I SLAMMED my already-damaged shoulder (half the tendons missing) and THAT pain lasted a MONTH, at which point I donated the board to a wide-eyed kid before I broke my FRIGGIN' NECK, lol. "HERE YA GO, BOY, IT'S ALL YOURS!!!"

Paying it forward, as the saying goes. Alright, where the heck was I? Oh, yeah, drainage ditches... I recently spoke to my good friend "T-Bone" whose family ran the first surf shop in Coronado, and we were talking about skating various kick@$$ drainage ditches in San Diego County back in the day. We both skated some hardcore concrete ditches, though hardly ever together, aye? We'd go with our own different friends, I guess, but we skated together on the wooden ramps I built at my house. Anyway, I stopped today and took some shots of a local ditch here in Alamo, the ditch looks good for riding a skateboard or a bike, and I have that bad boy SE Racing 'Rip Style' Cruiser which will EASILY handle the ditch, lol... here we go with some pics, despite the drizzle & whatnot.

Okay, first of all I wanna tell ya that my pinner Canon cam ALWAYS makes deep ditches or obstacles look like they're ONLY a yard deep, which is total BS, this ditch is 10' or 12' deep in many places, and it runs for BLOCKS at the very least. That's a 6' chain-link fence, lol. The stretch o' ditch seen in the first pics has smooth rounded transitional "corners" down where the banked sides meet the bottom. Not only that, but there's actually more than ONE concrete drainage ditch: as you can see in that last pic, we have TWO converging ditches which offer an interesting "point" between the troughs that might be ridden hard, lol. Transition is harder and rougher to deal with in the last two pics...

Now, before we have an INTERMISSION wherein I grab another cold beer and possibly take a slash, and after which I shall continue this thread, I want y'all to know something very important: AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, THAT GOLDURNED CONCRETE HAS NOT GOTTEN ANY SOFTER!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Dang, sometimes I slay myself... alright, back in a moment with Part II of this thread, AYE??? Oh, yeah, BTW, that 'Chihuahuan Raven' number just HAPPENED to be nearby when I was taking pics, so I bagged a shot of it for all my fellow bird lovers here at H&CL, it would be a sad reality indeed if we didn't honor our little (or not so little) feathered friends.

--------------------------------------------------------------------INTERMISSION----------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Sourdough]

I had the pleasure of staying at the "Hotel del' Coronado" (may be misspelled). I have no idea what that and meals cost. I had helped ferry a "LAKE ANPHIBIAN" from Anchorage, Alaska.

 

[Wingnut]

Yeah, that old 'Victorian Fire Hazard' on the beach was purchased by some Chinese investors, go figure... wouldn't wanna stay there NOW, I reckon, though the joint has heller history BEYOND the Marilyn Monroe action, lol.

Edit: Okay, I'm gettin' hammered, I'll deal with the rest of this thread later, lol... "MANANA, YOUSE H&CL HEROES!!!"

 

[Magus]

I remember my last ride on a skateboard. right down a 300' driveway into a power pole. I didn't break anything, but I had a full body bruise from my neck to my groin! After that my board was used to hold up a piano.

I'll bet Wingnut and me in an open chat getting wasted and talking about the secrets of the cosmos would be an epic PPV event!

 

[DrJenner]

@Wingnut that area looks like the underground pipes I used to explore as a kid in the 80s. We would take our skateboards down and ride, made ramps for our bikes out of those huge commercial real estate signs (they had fallen down)- such was life in the ghettos of Sacramento.

 

[SoJer]

..AS AN AVID BANKED & VERTICAL & OVERHANG SKATEBOARDER IN MY YOUTH, I CANNOT PASS A SINGLE CONCRETE DRAINAGE DITCH WITHOUT ASSESSING IT & ASKING MYSELF: "CAN THIS DITCH BE RIDDEN?" ... Same goes for swimming pools, go figure.

Heh, Yep - Totally Relate, Bro.. After a torn meniscus and re-dislocated shoulder, I too, had to 'hang up the hope-hat' on ever pulling 'tricks' again.. Even a half-pipe or nice, 'tasty bowl'.. Yah, just too much 'at stake' these days to push such 'envelopes' anymore, as tempting as it is, sometimes.. Now, the best 'skating / surfing thrill' I can hope for is triggering some Lib-Zommie at the bus stop to 'go Full Karen' when they see all the "Evil Gun Co." stickers on the Longboard, Lol..

..But Hey.. We can Still 'skate / surf all the Memories', right, Dog? (well, at least until the Geritol wears off, Lulz..

jd

 

[Supervisor42]

Heh, Yep - Totally Relate, Bro.. After a torn meniscus and re-dislocated shoulder, I too, had to 'hang up the hope-hat' on ever pulling 'tricks' again.. Even a half-pipe or nice, 'tasty bowl'.. Yah, just too much 'at stake' these days to push such 'envelopes' anymore, as tempting as it is, sometimes.. Now, the best 'skating / surfing thrill' I can hope for is triggering some Lib-Zommie at the bus stop to 'go Full Karen' when they see all the "Evil Gun Co." stickers on the Longboard, Lol..

..But Hey.. We can Still 'skate / surf all the Memories', right, Dog? (well, at least until the Geritol wears off, Lulz..

jd

They didn't have skateboards when I was young, all we had was roller skates with 4 wheels.
The only sticker on your skateboard that would set me off (pun) is the orange one with "1.4" on it.
I was extensively schooled about those when I was going into places that cannot be named.
$300 fine for putting them where they didn't belong.

 

[DrJenner]

Heh, Yep - Totally Relate, Bro.. After a torn meniscus and re-dislocated shoulder, I too, had to 'hang up the hope-hat' on ever pulling 'tricks' again.. Even a half-pipe or nice, 'tasty bowl'.. Yah, just too much 'at stake' these days to push such 'envelopes' anymore, as tempting as it is, sometimes.. Now, the best 'skating / surfing thrill' I can hope for is triggering some Lib-Zommie at the bus stop to 'go Full Karen' when they see all the "Evil Gun Co." stickers on the Longboard, Lol..

..But Hey.. We can Still 'skate / surf all the Memories', right, Dog? (well, at least until the Geritol wears off, Lulz..

jd

But you have a KROQ sticker so that automatically means you’re cool

 

[Wingnut]

Well, I've been moving slowly today after all that excitement yesterday, I was up too late and slept in hard... but I'll finish the second part of this thread now that I'm rested, showered, etc. This section has to do with TIME, and how I've been programmed to notice certain moments on the clock dial. Not just regular clock dials, but also the display on my electric alarm clock. Bear with me as I dredge up some examples of what I mean...

After serving in the Infantry, I shall forever regard 2:23 and 5:56 as "M16 rifle time"---as that weapon is .223 caliber and it fires 5.56mm ball ammunition, lol. When I see 3:57 I think "Magnum time." 3:08 is another rifle moment, and so on...

The popular Yosemite Decimal System for rating rock climbs offers a range of climbing moments, particularly from 5:10 to 5:15, lol. Whenever I see 5:10 on my clock(s), I am reminded of some excellent routes which friends & I did in the past. Dunno why, that's just the way it is, and at least it brings back positive memories. 5:15 is also "Who time!"

9:11 does NOT bring back memories of the WTC in NYC, it reminds me of the Porsche 911, which I used to admire as a youth, due to its classic styling. Call it "Porsche time!" Same goes for 9:14, 9:28, 9:44, etc.

Then we have various motor-related moments, such as 3:27, 3:50, 3:51, 4:27, 4:54, 4:55, etc. Every time I notice 4:55 on my clock dial, I'm reminded of my Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight with its 455 Rocket Motor, lol. That was a GREAT motor, I used to love that thing! The car was heavy though, so that offset performance a bit, but still, it was a fun car to drive.

How about address time? Every time I notice 12:24 on my clock, I think of the ol' beach cottage in Coronado, since 1224 was the numerical street address of our home. I often look at me dear departed mum's photo at that moment and tell her that I miss her and love her... truth be told, sometimes I even kiss her photograph. She is still loved and missed, you understand, but I try to focus upon happy memories.

Anyway, you see where I've gone with this part of the thread, I can't really explain it, but these moments all trigger memories of places, people, things, etc. Perhaps this harmless eccentric behavior actually does some good, even though [for example] my technical rock climbing days are pretty much over. I've learned to focus upon positive memories and let the others go... it's my way of staying sane in this crazy ol' world, lol.

Feel free to add your own personal moments in this public forum, I'm sure I'll think of a few more after I post this message. I'd like to share a quotation with you as well, as it has helped me in the past. For instance, my skateboarding days are definitely history, but skateboarding played such a major part in my life when I was young, I don't ever want to forget it, ya know? Too many good memories, no point in dumping them, aye?

I'll probably never set foot on that ol' demon skateboard again, lol, but DAMN, do I have some FINE memories of pool-riding with good friends! Many of those friends have already passed away too, which seems to make it even more important to cherish those memories. To this day, I talk about skating with my good friend Tommy (or "T-Bone"), he was a phenomenal skater! Here's the quote, Schopenhauer was the man and he pegged it exactly right, despite his often negative outlook.

"Just as the wayfarer only surveys and recognizes the road he has come when he reaches some high place and can look back over it in its entirety, so we ourselves are only able to recognize and value a stage in our life when it is over."

Arthur Schopenhauer, German pessimist philosopher (1788-1860)

 

[Wingnut]

Heh, Yep - Totally Relate, Bro.. After a torn meniscus and re-dislocated shoulder, I too, had to 'hang up the hope-hat' on ever pulling 'tricks' again.. Even a half-pipe or nice, 'tasty bowl'.. Yah, just too much 'at stake' these days to push such 'envelopes' anymore, as tempting as it is, sometimes.. Now, the best 'skating / surfing thrill' I can hope for is triggering some Lib-Zommie at the bus stop to 'go Full Karen' when they see all the "Evil Gun Co." stickers on the Longboard, Lol..

..But Hey.. We can Still 'skate / surf all the Memories', right, Dog? (well, at least until the Geritol wears off, Lulz..

jd

Haha, SoJer, you got that right... my friends & I beat ourselves half to death on those demon skateboards, but we also pulled off some pretty cool maneuvers back in the day. I can't remember how many times I ate $h!t attempting some maneuver, but I'd always get back on my board and try again... skaters don't get enough credit for their tenacity, lol. My skating friends called me 'Bulldog' because I'd never stop trying, and sooner or later I'd pull off whatever maneuver I was attempting at the time, lol. Ironically, there was a DogTown skater by the same moniker, I guess he was tenacious too, lol.

Back in '93, I wrote a story which was published in the San Diego Reader, though the assistant editors botched my work and added mistakes, lol. Here's the blog version, and somebody managed to botch THAT one too, by putting some of the conclusion in italics, go figure... dunno how or why, I certainly didn't enter the blog that way, but meh, you'll still get the gist of it, lol. I actually earned $1000 for that story, my own personal saga of skateboarding. I did ride again many years after I had turned from the sport, and at double nickel (age 55) I actually scored some frontside grinders in the bowls at the modern skatepark in Show Low, Arizona, but I also managed to beat myself up there and I eventually donated that board to some wide-eyed kid before I broke my friggin' neck, lol. It was a FAST board too, with those Bones Cubic wheels, 97 durometer, very sticky urethane compound but very fast... I hope that kid didn't get hurt riding it, lol. It was a Powell-Peralta 'Ripper' model with Gullwing Pro 3 trucks and racing bearings. I had a good time just putting that board together with separate components... a fun ritual back in the day too!

Here's that blog version of my story, I must admit it has some hooliganism in it, as skateboarding was still a crime and a separate reality back in those days, lol. We used to steal wood to make ramps too, not from any private party, but from greedy developers putting up ugly condos in Coronado. I'm sure those wanks passed the cost on to condo buyers, but meh, I can't go back in time to change things. The Infantry eventually straightened me out, lol. Sometimes I feel sorry for that Arizona kid whose board my friends stole... but the Howard House was a HARD place even for locals, lol, with its huge wooden halfpipe out front and all of us skatin' hard every day. It's all in the story... funny thing, I was telling Eric the Ammo Loader (Tombstone Metallic Cartridge Company) how we stole the wood to make ramps, and he told me that anybody who did NOT make a skateboard ramp with stolen wood was a CHUMP and a POSER, lol. Funny guy, Eric, and a good ammo loader too, you can buy cartridges from him by Googling his company. He makes some good ammo, that's for sure, and his prices are reasonable, though he can't ship to certain states like NY and CA.

My favorite part of this skate saga is the section on riding the VertiBowl, as we christened it: an 8' deep pool with at least 4' of pure vertical, the thing was gnarly but rideable, and I pulled the first double grinder in that pool. A timeless moment, and I hope my writing gives readers the exact sensation I had when I was grinding the heck out of that coping, lol. To this day, I can remember that vibration in the board, I could feel it through the deck itself beneath my shoe soles. THAT was skating, man... good memories there. Some developers demolished that motel and built ugly new condos, but they left the VertiBowl in place, so perhaps one day some other youngsters will ride that gnarly wall again, lol. Boy, I saw some hard falls & injuries in that pool too, some guys would slam hard and they'd be done for the day, lol. It was unforgiving, that's for sure... but that's no longer my problem, lol. Here's the story, hope all who read it will enjoy this blast from the past... pro skater Steve Cathey wrote in to the paper after this saga was published and thanked me for writing it, might as well have been "praise from Caesar!"

Trix Are For Kids

CHEERS!!!

P.S. I just read that story again, and boy, did that ever bring back some memories, lol. I meant to say earlier that the opening line has The Supe's name all over it, lol. What a classic line, and a funny intro, lol...

 

[SoJer]

...Trix Are For Kids

Totally Awesome! Srsly, Great Detail, loved all the 'early days' info, and Yeah, I remember those days Very-fondly as well / Still have a scar or two from 'em.. Remember when 'Banana Boards' with those translucent-Red urethanes first came out? Oh, man, all the Hot 70's Babes in short-shorts and tube-tops zipping around on those, Lol! SoJer be like (O_O) Good Times..

..and, re: "..before the board was finally put out of its misery by a large American automobile..." Oh man, I know That one all too well, too! First time, was crossing Victoria Blvd (Ventura, CA) coming back from 'getting Stamps' at the P.O., and I don't remember what I hit, but.. Totally ate it / boardflew behind me - Just as some old T-bird or other-such was making a Left, from the other direction, and I had No time to go snag it, so.. Krrrrunncchh! That was the End of my beloved 10 x 30

..But, the old guy was So terrified, that he pulled over, and gave me $20. (which, of course, didn't come Near 'covering it', but.. Eh, I was just too embarrassed that I ate to 'queja' so.. I just sulked home with my splintered board. (Opted to get a BMX bike, though, in 'replacement', because "Mag Scrambler" beats a 10 x 30, Lol..)

..And, didn't have Another 'big Boat' till this Hand-Made Beast (well, save for the Gullwings / Wheels, of course ...Heavy as a Tank (ain't no car fatally crunching-over This puppy! but is very smooth and is Quite detrius-tolerant, so.. Ehh, it was more about the 'Nod to the old Surfboard', anyway..

...anyhoo, Great Story, Man.. Those Were The Days, eh? *sigh*

jd

 

[Wingnut]

Nice stick... and I also look back on those days with fondness, but I no longer intend to relive my youth by riding a board, I tried that in Show Low and it nearly finished me off, lol.

Well, back to lurking with a cold beer, I don't think I'll bother watching a movie tonight... maybe I'll change my mind, hard to say right now. I gotta figure out what I'm gonna have for dinner too, though I'm not that hungry yet.

 

[Wingnut]

Hey, SoJer!!! And any other old school skateboarders out there in cyberspace, lol... I have a mission for ya! Should you choose to accept it (lol), you will see some KICK@$$ ARTWORK done by Wes Humpston, a.k.a. 'Bulldog!' I thought his DogTown skating & business partner Jim Muir was the 'Bulldog'---but nope, it's Wes Humpston himself, a very talented artist in my opinion, lol. He actually used to skate too, pulling grinders & tail-taps & whatnot back in the day. Anyway, get on the web and search for "Wes Humpston Bulldog Skates Artwork"---I use DuckDuckGo and I cant find the Humpston website I remember from years ago, but if you punch that in you should be able to see some PRIMO ARTWORK on radical skate decks, lol. If anything, add the word "images" to your search, aye?

Now, at the former website, I saw pics of what looked like an art museum full of airbrushed skate decks... evidently, Wes Humpston also has a book out which showcases his artwork. He's a cool hand, and certainly the most talented artist from that whole DogTown crew... he's the guy who used to dress up all the other riders' boards, 10-4? I thought I saw a longboard called the 'LONG PIG' (lol), a 44" x 10" (or maybe 9.5") back in the day, but maybe that name wasn't PC enough so it was changed to the 'SUPER PIG.' The 'LONG PIG' I saw earlier was blue, which set off the artwork better, that radical wave peeling in both directions, yeah? But the 'SUPER PIG' shown also displays that wave, and as an added bonus there are some fine old school skateboarding photos in the mix in that group of images.

Wes Humpston (a.k.a. 'Bulldog') is a cultural icon, make no bones about it... I LOVE the pirate-themed boards he made, those were so COOL!!! And the skeletal joker boards too, with the hat and the cards and everything else, lol... I don't mean the Powell-Peralta 'Ripper' artwork, which ol' Wes might have done, I dunno, I'm talkin' about the skull wearing the top hat or whatever that is, lol. I think one version had syringes in it, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Good ol' Wes was quite the hand when it came to the cultural skateboarding artwork, lol. Anyway, punch in that line on your computer and see if you can pull up the same images, some of those airbrushed decks are HELLER COOL!!! The skating photos are also worth seeing, I remember drooling over magazine photos with friends back in the day, and some of those pics look familiar, lol.

ALRIGHT, BRO, HOPE YA FIND THE 'SUPER PIG' FILE PHOTO, THAT WAVE IS AWESOME, LOL... CHEERS!!!

 

[SoJer]

Hey, SoJer!!! And any other old school skateboarders out there in cyberspace, lol... I have a mission for ya! ..

...This 'un?

...if so, Never saw it, but.. yeah, Man.. 'Gnarly', alright! ..but Some of his Other 'Pigs' are - Wow - commanding a Pretty penny, ie:

Z-Flex Z-Pig Wes Humpston BDS POP Bones Dogtown Zephyr 70's SKATEBOARD deck | eBay Wow.. and.. Z-Flex Z-Pig Wes Humpston BDS POP Bones Dogtown Zephyr 70's SKATEBOARD Complete | eBay WOW!!

..But, indeed.. He created some pretty Choice deck-art, there..

..Shoot, now ya got me burrowing down the Rabbit hole, Lol! ie: Remember 'G&S'...

Good Times, Man, Good Times.. *sigh*

jd

 

[Wingnut]

Yeah, but I saw a 'LONG PIG' in blue, it was the same model as the 'SUPER PIG'---I think the name got changed for PC reasons in the marketplace, PFFFFFFT. But damn, didja LIKE the artwork? Lol. Not bad for some old skateboarder, aye? I love the pirate themes, Viking themes, etc.---ol' Wes sure knew how to kick out the skate art, lol.

P.S. That "Gas Head" deck is CLASSIC!!! I think that's Magus wearing the goldurned gas mask, BWAHAHAHAHA!!!

 

[Neb]

I predated the skate board era and did the roller rink with four wheels on each foot. Never was a hot dog more a hapless fool that would welcome young ladies to save me from falling.

Good times skating to the hockey pokey ....

That is what its all about!

Ben

 

[Wingnut]

Darn, SoJer, I tried to "lift" some images off that page with all the decks & artwork, but it doesn't seem to be happening... oh, well. Time for me to get morning chores done so I can get ready to ride... beautiful day outside, so I'm taking the thumper to the mountains. Before I go, I want ya to know that I'm gonna haul my SE Racing 'Rip Style' Cruiser into town tomorrow or Friday and ride that ditch seen in the original post of this thread. I already found the perfect spot to park (in a public park), and there's ditch access right nearby, no chain-link fence, a rider can simply drop in and start riding, lol. I figure I'll combine that mission with a store run to resupply afterward, save fuel that way, lol.

Alright, I'm off to have some fun, but I'll take pics so y'all can go along for the ride later, lol. Same for the ditch riding, I can shoot some video with my Canon cam, but I ain't paying a dime to process it for YouTube or Vimeo... I'll look into that later, dunno if they've changed their policies or what. Hey, I'll drink a cold beer in yer honor later today, when I'm out on some wilderness trail in the middle of nowhere... if y'all never hear from me again, that means 'Da Bears' got me, lol.

Note to self: Don't forget bear spray & a sidearm, lol. CHEERS, AND HASTA LUEGO!!! I'm off to RIDE...

 

[Wingnut]

Yo, SoJer, I had a blast riding today, I'm a little sore right now due to the challenging 30-mile trail I rode, but if I feel good manana, I'm gonna go ride that ditch on the pedal bike, lol. We'll see what happens, right now it's beer-thirty for some physical therapy, lol, might have to watch a movie and mack killer leftovers... I still have half of a ginormous yardbird sandwich I made for today's ride, the Chicken Parmesan number has all the trimmings, it sits 4" high, probably higher, and it would feed an Ethiopian village for at LEAST a month, lol. I macked half of it on the trail today, but put the rest back on ice for later, yeah? And "later" now means PRONTO, lol. Alright, I'm done here, I can hear another cold beer AND the TV remote calling my name... CHEERS!!!

P.S. If I'm feeling "chipper" tomorrow morning---and NOT like I've been THROUGH a wood chipper---then I may still ride that ditch, I have my eye on that bad boy, lol. If I'm too sore when I wake, I'll ride the ditch on Friday morning. Awesome fall weather here, I don't wanna miss an excellent opportunity to carve that ditch like I did in the old days in Dago, lol.

SOMETIMES YA JUST GOTS TO RIDE... THE FASTER & MORE STYLISH, THE BETTER, 10-4???

 

[Wingnut]

Okay, SoJer, here's my SE Racing 'Rip Style' Beach Cruiser, perfectly suitable for riding concrete drainage ditches, lol. I had a primo adult BMX bike from SE Racing which I used to ride at the skatepark in Show Low, Arizona, but I sold that when I needed some money. Meh, I rode it for two years first, so no worries... this bike also worked well in the park, and it's strong enough to ride vertical in parks & pools. Ain't no Chinese Walmart bike, that's for danged sure, lol...

Dunno if you're familiar with SE Racing, they make some kick@$$ BMX bikes. Their website: SE Racing & BMX Bikes Check out some of their bikes and photos, they're the REAL DEAL when it comes to BMX, lol. Gotta love a company founded by hardcore BMX riders, aye? Anyway, I miss my SE Racing OG Flyer (I think that's what my other bike was called), it was truly radical, almost as radical as the custom Powerlite Cruiser I put together so many years ago.

I aired up my tires this morning, oiled the chain, wiped down the bike since it was a tad dusty, and I even put 'Tire Shine' on the rubber, lol. That's so if some local cop sees me FLYIN' down the ditch while wearing my skate pads, maybe he'll be a former BMX rider and cut me some slack, yeah? "DUDE, NICE BIKE!!!" And it isn't bad, check out the looped frame at the rear end, front half of the frame with its trick construction, nice tube forks & neck, all sweet alloy and no Chinese junk, lol.

Nice alloy rims, stainless spokes & decent hubs too, lol... the cranks are standard one-piece beach cruiser cranks, but they'll do the job today. As a BMX rider, I keep the bars high and the seat a bit lower so I can ride while standing up and still have good control. I'll probably take some wrenches with me so I can adjust things if necessary. The bike is better than it looks, lol, it's pretty light for a beach cruiser and everything is strong alloy metal of one sort or another, except for those plastic pedals and rubber grips, lol. My OG Flyer had a thinner BMX seat and better bars, though these bars are plenty strong. Meh, it'll do for what I have in mind today... here are my "187 Killer Pads" and "Triple 8 Pads" and wrist guards for safety's sake.

I had a nice lightweight Pro-Tec helmet for BMX, but I donated it to a younger hand in Show Low when I gave him my Hero Cam as a birthday gift, that helmet had the camera mount already on it, you understand. This helmet is actually a D.O.T.-approved cycle helmet, I probably won't bother wearing it because it's heavier than I want for BMX, the pads and wrist guards alone should be fine as I'm not riding some monster pool with heaps of vertical, lol. But hey, I'll be FLYIN' down that ditch and workin' it from side to side, same way we did back in skatin' & BMX days, 10-4? Gonna tape my Canon cam to the bars (probably use electrical tape, lol) and see about getting some video... I have some skatepark video to share too, but I'll dig that up later and post it, I gotta get going so I can ride that bad boy ditch, lol. Cheers!!!

 

[Magus]

...This 'un?

...if so, Never saw it, but.. yeah, Man.. 'Gnarly', alright! ..but Some of his Other 'Pigs' are - Wow - commanding a Pretty penny, ie:

Z-Flex Z-Pig Wes Humpston BDS POP Bones Dogtown Zephyr 70's SKATEBOARD deck | eBay Wow.. and.. Z-Flex Z-Pig Wes Humpston BDS POP Bones Dogtown Zephyr 70's SKATEBOARD Complete | eBay WOW!!

..But, indeed.. He created some pretty Choice deck-art, there..

..Shoot, now ya got me burrowing down the Rabbit hole, Lol! ie: Remember 'G&S'...

Good Times, Man, Good Times.. *sigh*

jd

I'll bet you guys read "Shred" magazine!

 

[SoJer]

I'll bet you guys read "Shred" magazine!

Nah, just Thrasher and 'TWS'..

jd

 

[Wingnut]

Well, youse HEE-ROES, I'm about to sign off and cook some PRIMO burrito mix, but I reckon I'll post these pics of the bad boy ditch I rode today. Here we go with the few short still pics I bagged, I have video to process but I gotta make some dinner, yeah? Lemme post these shots first, then come back and address them, lol...

Check out that COOL STREAK O' BURNT RUBBER when I came to a screeching halt prior to taking this last photo, lol. Yes, I was HAULIN' @$$ up the goldurned concrete drainage ditch after working it side to side, but I came upon this SPLIT DITCH ACTION which threw me for a loop, so I decided to STOP and take a photo... this was BEFORE I taped up the Canon cam to my handlebars, so bear with me. Might have a few more "streak" shots with that burnt rubber, lol.

Okay, I have GOT to make dinner here, I only threw these pics down for SoJer... I'll get to the video cr@p later, lol. Boy, I'm HUNGRY now too, so enough of this beloved H&CL website action for TONIGHT!!! Say, the 100% graffiti in that last pic *MIGHT* just be my SCORE after my SWEET RUN, lol. Olympic bobsled runners gots NOTHIN' on ALAMO for hard fast runs, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! This place gets MO' BETTAH every day of the week, LOL. CHEERS!!!

 

[Wingnut]

Well, that tears it with the Big Tech BS... it was bad enough dealing with the cheesy 3G flip-phone, trying unsuccessfully to transfer those trail-riding pics, now I discover that my Canon cam was NOT recording during my long fast run down the ditch, GRRRRRR!!! However, this one's on ME, since I taped the Canon cam to the bike handlebars like a ghetto dweller tapes up license plates on a stolen vehicle on Chicago's South Side...

I thought I did a decent job of taping it up against that safety reflector attached to the handlebars, but I now realize that I did the job too well, lol. I left a gap where I could hit the record button, as you'll see in a moment, but I couldn't see that view screen on the backside of the camera in order to tell if it was actually recording. Meh, looks like I'll be making that long run again, and this time I'll do it right with the electrical tape, lol. Here's the short video I caught before the run...

Oh, hell, now it looks like THAT one got erased... probably for the best, since it had a few choice words on the audio, lol. Jeez, this is NOT my day for dealing with Big Tech, that's for sure. But the good news is that I'll be heading back to ride that ditch soon ANYWAY, and the ditch ain't going anywhere in my lifetime, lol. Nice new concrete drainage ditch like that, it'll surely last another 50 years, by which time I'll certainly be toast, I can't see myself living to 110 years of age, lol.

Oh, well, now I can relax and watch this college ballgame I found on my streaming stick, it says "Live" so I hope it's not some old game from years ago. Meh, doesn't really matter anyway, I'm just through dealing with tech devices today, lol. Time for that beer, I still haven't grabbed it, pfffffffft. [Cracks cold beer and takes huge swig...] "AAAAAAAHHHH!!!" Now THAT is the sort of low-tech device (the beer can) that I can easily understand and operate, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Guess I'll trash around the Interwebs a bit longer, just hang out here for a bit, then I'm gonna get started on that chicken burrito mix... a task I can actually HANDLE, lol. Damn, it's kind of insulting to be bested by a 3G flip-phone, but I'll get my revenge when I SMASH IT with my SLEDGE HAMMER, lol. "Take THAT, you insolent Samsung device!!! That'll teach ya to mess with Wingnut!!! YA BLASTED VARMINT!!!" Ah, yes, I can feel the hammer blows already...

 

[Wingnut]

Hey, Sojer!!! I dug up a video of riding my OG Flyer at the skatepark in Show Low, this was the very first day I rode that park and I hadn't even dialed in the bike yet after I assembled it. Hence the brake squeal, which can be rectified by turning the shoes inward a bit at the front of each shoe. Meh, you can still see the bike, it was pretty sweet, though I never liked the checkered pad covers, lol. Didn't slow me down any, lol... this video was taken when I was 55 years of age, hence the title. Oh, looks like my Vimeo handle is listed, better not let any kids see it, lol. I used the 'Sidewinder' handle at multiple riding & dirt biking websites... due to my knack for getting sideways in the dirt, aye? Lol. Here ya go:

Double-Nickel Dinosaur

P.S. You can hear me gasping for breath in the video, as I had just moved to Show Low from the beach in Coronado, so the 6300'+ jump in elevation was new to me, lol. Once I acclimated, no worries, but here I sound like some tobacco smoker in an emphysema ward, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

 

[Magus]

Way to daddy that "G" force!

 

[Wingnut]

Come to think of it, the bike may have been an 'OM Flyer'---I can't remember now, too much has happened since those days, lol. But it was a good bike, nice & light... not as light as the tricked-out Powerlite Cruiser I built decades ago, with 26" Araya rims, S/S spokes, Bullseye hubs, primo 3-piece cranks, etc. Anyway, I found some other short videos from that site, these are of yours truly riding my "pitty" (as the Aussies call 'em, lol) on Rim Road 300, an AWESOME VENUE for trail riding! Big-time deer & elk country! The Hero cam made foot-deep ruts look an inch deep, pfffft... whenever you hear me say "Pegs!" that means I'm standing on the pegs to negotiate a rougher section of trail. Rim Road 300 stretches over 100 miles along the Mogollon Rim, and the views at just about every turn are MAGNIFICENT!

I highly recommend this trail to any and all dirt bikers & offroaders out there... it will not disappoint you, lol. Okay, here are some pit bike videos, the numbers mean nothing, there is no particular order, these are just short sequences lifted from Hero cam footage, aye? The last video has me missing a shift or two before wiping out... that's when I banged up my knee, lol. Funny thing, you can hear the audio after the wipeout, the camera was knocked off my helmet during a 'John Wayne combat roll'... but it kept running, yeah? So you might hear a few choice words in the audio recording, lol. Enjoy the White Mountain scenery! It is so awesome up there, with fresh mountain air, heaps of wildlife, very few people---and the folks ya meet are all like-minded, just offroaders, dirt bikers & wilderness enthusiasts, ya know?

Pitbikesaurus Rex 5

Pitbikesaurus Rex 9

Pitbikesaurus Rex 2

Pitbikesaurus Rex 4

Pitbikesaurus Rex 3

Pitbikesaurus Rex 7

Pitbikesaurus Rex

I probably should mention that before each ride, I would hang out at the trailhead staging area nearest my home (which was literally like 3 minutes from my door, lol), and I'd pound a few beers while listening to Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, David Allan Coe, etc., as I prepped the bike and my riding gear, aye? I'd also wash down a thumb-sized nugget of chronic before each ride, using beer as my chaser, lol. That explains the rambling audio in each short clip, lol. Meh, I was having too much fun up there... till I wiped out and bashed my knee, that put a damper on riding for a few weeks, lol. You can see my torn-up boot after the wipeout, that rocky trail really did a number on me and my gear, 10-4? I was 'walking wounded' after that wreck, though the bike fared okay, just a minor scratch or two on the plastics. That 125cc ThumpStar pit bike wasn't bad, I'd say it was the best of the Chinese bikes... maybe there's something better now, but at the time I chose this bike. If I ever buy another pitty, I'll get one with a Piranha 140cc motor, that's the best Chinese motor I've used, hands down. Alright, Sojer & Magus & whoever else, enjoy the rides! At least your knees won't get banged up in the wreck, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Oh, hell, I'd better sign off and make breakfast, I gotta get cleaned up too before I run Zorlac to the shelter for his vet appointment. Poor little guy doesn't have a clue what's about to happen, lol... maybe he'll settle down afterward.

 

[Wingnut]

Bumping this thread so I can find it more easily and post ditch-riding video later! Free fun! Exercise! Perfect fall weather! What's NOT to like? CHEERS!!!

Hmm, I'd better get my work boots on and get out there to water the trees & plants before I go... that heller wind we had lately dried everything out! But I have the solution... "I'M YOUR HUCKLEBERRY!!!"

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! No hip flask full o' tequila needed today for riding the ditch... just a few cold beers on ice!

 

[Wingnut]

Whoowhee!!! What a day so far! I actually accomplished a lot in the yard before I even left to go ride that ditch: filled the trash bin with pulled weeds (again, but at least the goldurned weeds were already pulled), watered the trees & plants, put my BBQ down on its paver pad for the first time (where it belongs), and some other tasks. Didn't get to the ditch till about 1300 hours, but that's okay, I wanted the concrete to be warmed up by the sun, that way my tires would stick better, lol. Kinda like riding rice rockets in Anza-Borrego where the road surfaces are HOT and the tires are STICKY, aye?

I took some really cool shots of my yard and the BBQ and some other stuff, but all of those will get posted later, I wanna light my campfire in a bit and have a celebratory BBQ with these NY Strips & Baby Back Ribs I bought, lol. Those ought to be pretty darned tasty... I'm not gonna eat all of 'em, lol, I'll save some as leftovers for other meals like steak sammies and whatnot. Right now, I wanna cut to the chase and post some still pics of today's ditch-riding adventure, then try to figure out how to load this MP4 video off my Canon cam... it's already in the laptop, maybe I can directly upload it here?

Another thing: I went farther up the ditch this time, thinking I had the "Poor Man's GoPro" licked, but that piece o' Big Tech junk foiled me again. I had an INSANE run too, long as all get out, but the camera pulled a trick on me... it acted like it was filming, but hitting the 'Record' button for video ONLY brought the stinking lens out, and after a short interval (by which time I was FLYIN' down the ditch on my run), the lens folded or collapsed back into the camera. I wasn't expecting that to happen, I thought the piece o' junk was finally RUNNING, so I wasted a HELLER GOOD RUN, GRRRRRR!!!

And lemme tell ya, it's no EASY SLOG pedaling UP that ditch to get situated for the downhill run, not on a stinking single-speed bike with a coaster brake, lol. After I realized I'd been shafted on my first run, I almost said, "F#% this, I'll come back later and do it right, all the way from the top!" Lol. But then again, I didn't wanna come away empty-handed like last time, so I said, "Alright, I'll drink a beer as I relax and catch my breath, then try again but I won't go so far up this time!" Well, I FINALLY figured out what I was doing wrong, you understand, so I pedaled back to the point I stopped LAST time I rode the ditch.

Hey, I'm friggin' 60 YEARS OLD and I'm riding these goldurned ditches at high speed... well, the first time around, anyway, lol. But I DID manage to capture the second shorter ride, so I'm gonna try to post that up before I go light my campfire and BBQ a good steak & rib dinner tonight! For now, I'll pound a couple o' cold beers, lol... lemme post the still shots first, just to get 'em outta the way, then I'll tackle the MP4 video. I sure hope there's some way to upload that directly to this site, otherwise youse heroes will be SOL tonight, as I don't wanna mess with Vimeo or YouTube.

Alright, here we go with the still pics, sure was a pretty day today! And I had HELLER FUN, despite yet another tech glitch with this Canon cam. I learned that one must first press the button to bring out the lens, as if one were gonna take a still shot, THEN hit the goldurned 'Record' button for video... the camera faked me out again and friggin' robbed me of a really cool high-speed run, but I got its number now, and I'll go BACK later to do the full-on Olympic bobsled run on the SE Racing 'Rip Style' Beach Cruiser, lol. Meh, a journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. or some such BS, lol.

HERE WE GO, BUOYS & GULLS... ALL ABOARD THE 'ALAMO EXPRESS!!!'

Okay, I'll explain some of these pics manana, I'm just gonna post 'em now so I can get on with my outdoor campfire living and BBQ action, lol.

 

[Wingnut]

Okay, here's the next round of today's still pics...

Okay, I'll elaborate and elucidate more upon these pics tomorrow, right now I wanna figure out how to post or upload that MP4 video, after which I shall relocate fireside to check out a million stars overhead and BBQ some heller grinds, lol. So bear with me here, there's a point to or for each pic I took today, and I will fully explain those points, long-winded b@stard that I am, lol, I just wanna get back to the AWESOME TIME I've already had, and perhaps stretch it out a bit further and HAVE A BLAST TONIGHT!!! Which I fully intend to do, lol... "NEXXXXXXT!!!"

Oh, yeah, I'd like to reiterate that this cheesed!ck Canon cam has PROBLEMS recording the true depth of dirt trail ruts, concrete drainage ditches, etc. For most of its long length, this ditch is 10' if it's a STINKING MILLIMETER, lol, but the cheesecam makes it look maybe 5' deep, PFFFFFFT. The sucker is 12' deep in a couple of places, and I ought to know, being a former vertical skateboarder & BMX artist, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! One fine day, I'll tell y'all about this friggin' GLORIOUS CANYON JUMP I once made in Coronado, when other riders & close friends were AFRAID to do it, LOL.

BUT THAT IS A STORY TO BE TOLD LATER... RIGHT NOW, FRIENDS, I TRY TO UPLOAD THE MP4, AYE?

 

[Wingnut]

Okay, could it POSSIBLY be this simple? I see an "Upload Video" button below, tell me, PUH-LEEZ, that this button will allow me to directly upload the MP4 video which is already loaded in my laptop computer...

Here we go... "O Great Cosmos, please let this button work so I can go light the campfire, drink beer & BBQ! Meh, I'll slip ya a C-note later, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Damn. Alright, here goes, sure hope this works!!!

Well, I'm getting a response that says: "The uploaded file is too large for the server to process." What, from this tiny little PIECE O' JUNK Canon cam?!?!? WHAT THE F#%??? Okay, somebody help me out here, maybe I can still post the friggin' video sometime this year, AYE??? Right now, I've had enough TECH BS, time to go light that goldurned campfire and drink some ice-cold beer under a million stars... I'll check in later, or maybe manana, to see if anybody has a SOLUTION.

HASTA LUEGO, YOUSE H&CL HEE-ROES!!!