etnies

Last Etnies Backyard Jam of 2003

October 24-26, 2003
Derby, England
BMX Street Results

The 2003 series of etnies Backyard Jams has finished, with the final Jam taking over the Storm Skatepark in Derby, England. Over 1000 people attended the Sunday Pro BMX competition to watch the likes of Dave Osato, John Heaton and Dave Freimuth destroy the course. The atmosphere in the arena was electric and the crowd went wild--so much crazy riding packed into one weekend in the North of England is downright dangerous.

Spains Sergio Layos won the $1800 1st place prize, with Gary Young coming in 2nd place with a truck driver out of the curved wall ride. Backyard Jam regular Bas Keep took 3rd place and tail-whipped out of the vert wall with the cheers of the crowd ringing in his ears.

Over seventy expert riders competed on Saturday and the quality of riding blew everyone away. Local Derby boy Matthew Roe took 1st place, much to the delight of everyone who watched him. Luke Elliot took 2nd, and last JamҒs winner, Gareth Wilson, came in 3rd.

As usual, the giveaways were massive, with stickers, posters, badges and magazines being distributed to the lucky spectators. Those who purchased BMX parts and accessories had a wide choice, with stalls such as Alans, Lord, Gate Eight and the Bike Shop selling their wares at special event prices. Seventies had the new Federal complete bike, Foundation, on display, plus Hoffman had their new range available for a peek.

The etnies Backyard Jam series for 2003 is over. Time to roll on to 2004!

For more information on past events and those coming-up next year, visit www.backyardjam.com

1. Sergio Layos
(etnies Spain)
2. Gary Young
3. Bas Keep
4. Ali Whitton
5. Dave Osato
6. Kye Forte
7. Justin Inman
(etnies)
8. Dave Freimuth
(etnies)
8. Ben Hennon
(etnies UK)
8. Shawn Arata
14. John Heaton
(etnies)

Southbound Freight Train (From Vancouver To LA)

Its funny how things happen. As I dropped Ruben Alcantara off at the airport after the last Backyard Jam in Coventry at the beginning of August, he suggested that we put together a rode trip from the Vancouver Metro Jam back down to Los Angeles. When he said "we", he actually meant me, mind you, but I donҒt care. A few calls were made, some flights re-arranged and the trip was on. The crew consisted of basically the T1 World Tour crew--Joe Rich, Garrett Byrnes and Ruben Alcantara minus Nate Wessel--with the addition of S&M Bikes / etnies shredder Adam Baker.
The only stipulation was that we had to have Adam back to Los Angeles on September 8 to fly out to the Gravity Games in Cleveland. This gave us about seven solid days to hit as many spots as we could, with sufficient time at each for Jeff Zielinski to click photos for a Ride BMX article and also for us to shoot some video.

With the Metro Jam all wrapped-up in Vancouver, it was time to hit the road. As the crew assembled, we all decided it would be a good idea to hit some of the parks around Vancouver. Seeing as how they had all recently been swamped with guys in town for the comp, we couldnt have picked a better time. The Hastings Park is basically one huge snake-like bowl starting at around four feet deep, going on down and around to about eleven feet deep. There is also a small street course of sorts that actually is pretty fun.
All the guys had no problem shredding this place--especially Garrett, with hyper fast lines around the whole bowl and blasting huge airs all over the place. Ruben taught that place a lesson, too, despite the airline losing his bike and having to ride a new one he had just put together the day before. Smoooooooth, pretty much sums it up.

Joe was blasting huge airs on this one quarterpipe part of the bowl with big tables and clicked turn downs. He was also destroying the hip, airing it both ways with ease. The rookie on the trip, Adam Baker, was aiming to please and didnҒt disappoint. After only the first day of riding with some of the biggest names in the sport, Adam definitely made his mark, tailwhipping over the hip both ways--one way regular, the other downside. Jeff Zeilinski had a field day shooting him. During the later part of the day, we headed over to Seylynn, where there is not really a park, but just a huge old-school '70s snake run. We heard stories of some of the locals and some other super-pros from the area killing this thing. It has a super-steep downhill run into an open round bowl at the end.

Sandy Carson was in town from the Metro Jam (he stayed up in Vancouver this past summer filming for the Federal video) so he kinda had this place down--he was hauling ass! It was a pretty chill session for all the guys. Joe did get a little squirrelly one time and took it to the shoulder in the deep end when his hand popped off.

Tuesday night, we drove down to Seattle and met-up with Sandy Carson again and rode a small concrete skatepark in the city that apparently wasnt too bike-friendly, but we had no hassles. Joe killed the wild shaped bowl there with Sandy. I think the rest of the guys were pretty whooped from a full day of riding and driving.

So, we chilled in Seattle for the evening, woke up the next day and headed out to some trails that you have to catch a ferry to get to (I could tell you the location, but then I would have to kill you--you know how it is.) The trails are in a super-nice, shaded, wooded area that is quite pleasant--considering how freaking hot it was. Ruben and Joe rode for a bit, but they werenҒt feeling it. Joe nearly slammed a couple of times, so he decided to sit this one out. Today belonged to Adam Baker--trails are his thing, you know. He taught this place a lesson, even though he had never been here before. The whole place was set up on a hill in the woods and Baker was fully shredding this one set of doubles that I honestly would be stoked to just clear. To top it off, the set was on quite a downhill grade. He was whipping it, 360ing it and three-whipping it with ease. Once again, J.Z. had a field day shooting Adam, and the locals shredded this place. The trail session pretty much consumed the whole day, what with just getting there and then driving down to Portland in the evening.

Everyone woke up pretty early the next day and headed down to some trails in Salem. Once again, this place was in the woods, but for some reason, it seemed way more humid than the day before. Once again, Baker was in training for the upcoming Gravity Games. He loved this place and it showed. All of the usual: trucks, whips and big turndowns. Joe, Garrett and Ruben seemed to have a
good time here, as well. Etnies / Fit Bikes rider Justin Inman showed-up and impressed everyone with his awesome, smooth, flowing style and snappy tables. Everyone had a really had good time, the locals were super-cool and the trails ruled.

J.Z. got shut down on taking pictures by the trail boss due to some other previous photographers abusing their picture-taking privileges. On our drive down to Southern Oregon, we went and checked out a park in Aumsville at about 11:00 p.m. We heard that if you show up late enough, it is sometimes possible to get a session in there. We also heard some crazy stories about local skaters wielding shovels to scare the crap out of bikers to keep them out. We showed-up and there was a session in full swing, which didnt look like it was going to be slowing down any time soon. This park looked soooooo good. We checked it out for a while then bailed and headed to Grant's Pass.

We got up bright and early (well, early for these guys) and headed to the Grant's Pass skatepark, which is actually a bikes-allowed park--something not too many bikers get to experience. This allowed the guys to have a chill session. It was pretty hot today and this park isnҒt in the shade. Joe shot some pocket airs with J.Z. in the deepest bowl. Ruben flowed smooth lines around the whole park. Same with Garrett, even though he bowed out early in search of some shade. Adam was right there with him. Since he had been killing it the whole time, it was cool he took a day off.
We then headed to Ashland, once again another bike-friendly park. Adam and Garrett woke-up enough to shred this place. Joe went to work here also, and Ruben was just Ruben. After feeding, we headed to Talent, since it was getting pretty late. Talent looks like it was pretty much one of the first concrete parks built up in Oregon--a little rough around the edges, so to speak, but definitely fun for all the guys. Everyone made easy work of everything there, and we rode till the sun went down.

The evening was spent driving through the Red Woods of Oregon. Even though we really couldn't see too much, we could feel the enormousness of the trees. The winding roads consume you and wont allow you to fall asleep at the wheel. We were heading for Brookings on the coast at the Southern most point of Oregon--almost on the border of California. We had all seen pictures on the internet and in magazines of a park featuring a bowl there with
a jump over it, which just seemed to be screaming for a biker to come and conquer it. We rolled in around midnight, and Joe, Garrett and I went and found the park to save time in the morning. The plan was to wake up about 6:00 a.m., get over there, get the job done, then head out.

The only problem was, being on the coast, it was really foggy when we woke up and everything was wet. We figured we would wait an hour then check it out again. Same thing--wet! Repeat every hour until nearly 11:00 a.m. We thought for sure that skaters would be there by then, but much to our surprise, there was not a soul around. It was on. Just as we pulled our bikes out of the van, a sheriff rolled-up. Like so many times before, we assumed that we were going to get shut down before we even started. To our surprise, the sheriff just wanted to know if we were with some guys called the Crank Crew. We all looked at each other a little bewildered and responded, ғSorry, no. Then he just headed out, wishing us a good day.

IT WAS ON. The sheriff even came back later to watch the guys ride and shoot the breeze. Both Ruben and Garrett rolled straight in and jumped the bowl. ItԒs pretty easy, they both concluded. Garrett was going high over it and doing big turndowns. Ruben was having issues with himself for not being able to bring himself to whip it. Once again, Baker was killing it with opposite 360 lookbacks over it, regular threes and three-whips to shut the session down. J.Z.s shutter finger was pretty happy the whole time.

Sacramento was the final destination of the West Coast destruction tour. Once again, we didnҒt get into town 'til late. We woke up Earl and hooked-up with the Solid guys and sessioned an abandoned pool.
This sesh went off! Joe killed it, airing the crap out of this pool, which honestly shouldnt have been airable. Ruben had some original lines, making riding look easy, as he always does. For once, Baker looked like he might be having trouble riding a spot. Garrett shredded some really good lines. Once the pool session was over, we headed over to a man-made concrete quarterpipe that the Solid guys had built a few months back. Ruben rode this more than the rest of the guys. It looked like he was having a good time doing tabled nose wheelies to airs.

For the final stop before we headed down to LA, the Solid guys took us to some local trails, which put a smile on Baker's face. There were jumps as far as the eye could see, and when we showed up, X Games Gold medalist Brandon Meadows was shredding, so all the guys knew they had to make some kind of an impression, and they did exactly that--jumping everything from the small stuff all the way up to the biggest sets there. It was definitely a session to end all sessions and a great final day to the trip down from Vancouver. The drive on down to LA was a very sleepy one, except this one thing that did happen--but thatҒs another story in itself.

Interbike: Las Vegas

Siegfried and Roy Take A Bite Out Of Vegas
October 12-24, 2003

Interbike is the biggest bicycle trade show in the business, held annually (as of three years ago) in Las Vegas. Etnies is a supporter of BMX and has had a team for about eight years, so its just natural that we would have a booth here.

In theory, going to Interbike seems like a great idea when itҒs all being planned and put together beforehand. Getting to see your friends, hanging out in the evenings and enjoying Vegas, etc. But when you actually spend nine plus hours a day in your booth for three days straight, it really is like being at the dentist--just completely draining. You think it cant be that painful? Believe me, when you are trapped in the booth all day and forced to confont some of the craziest, spandex-clad, shaved-legged freaks you have ever seen in your life asking you dumb questions and thinking that just because they have wheels on what they consider to be a bike that they are going to be able to get hooked-up by Etnies, it just sucks. After accepting tape after tape, resume after resume and CD after CD, you just think, ғWhy havent they learned their lesson from last year?Ҕ.

I know its part of the job, but it really does kinda suck to be in a town blessed with some of the best skateparks around (with some of the most lenient bike rules), and you have to be stuck inside a fugginҒ trade show booth in the convention center full-time, bored off your ass while a bunch of your friends either sleep-in or go ride while you are still trying to get rid of a pretty killer headache at 8:00 a.m. after getting only three hours of sleep.

It is pretty cool, though, seeing all the new products from the core companies and other stuff people think is cool. Not to mention the next cutting-edge products from some of the big mountain bike companies cashing in on BMX who are basically clueless, but have some astro physicist sitting at an AutoCAD program drawing-up all kinds of wild crap. Its pretty amusing--it honestly has to be seen to be believed and to know exactly what you are NOT missing.

The evenings in Vegas are fun, though. This year, they premiered the Odyssey video at some wild cowboy bar with a mechanical bull smack dab in the middle of the place. I witnessed plenty of bad-ass bike riders get whipped to the floor after thinking they could ride this thing. The video was pretty awesome--quite original with some animation thrown in to make it different. A good friend of many bike riders, Wee Man was in the house and is a constant source of entertainment. The NORA CUP awards were also held one night, and in the street category, three out of the four nominees just happened to be Etnies riders Ruben, Rooftop and Edwin, but the winner for the third year in a row ended-up being Fit BikesҒ Van Homan. Taj was also up for the best ramp rider, but that title was eventually nabbed by the golden boy, Dave Mirra.

The night life is pretty good in Vegas, with celebrities sightings all over the place. I saw the guy from that 80s show, Benson. I also saw Kato Kaland--the dude who lived with O.J. Simpson when he killed his wife and her boyfriend. I know it was not really that funny, but someone made a cardboard cut-out of a life-size man and put it in the mouth of that huge bronze Tiger outside the MGM Grand like it was Roy from Siegfried and Roy.

Vegas is just Vegas and I guess Iђll never learn. I will probably end up there next year thinking the same thing I thought this year: What am I doing here? Never again!Ӕ Until till next time?

From Interbike To Derby

Mike Escamilla has been in town for a while, shooting photos for catalogs. He was in Vegas for Interbike, hanging-out at the etnies booth meeting kids and industry types. Mike was one of five riders nominated for a NORA CUP award for street. He left from Vegas to Utah to get some filming in for the Samurai video, which is due out around Christmas or the beginning of 2004. Mike is at home right now working on editing said video.

Taj Mihelich and T1 co-owner / etnies teammate Joe Rich just recently got back from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where they were ironing out some small details with the manufacturing process of their bikes. Taj is at home right now hanging with Joe and Ruben and getting some riding in on the trails, the T1 ramp, as well as some street. Taj was one of five riders nominated for Ramp Rider of the Year in the NORA CUP awards.

Joe Rich was back in Austin for a bit after getting back from Baton Rouge before heading out to Las Vegas for Interbike. He did a road trip out there with a couple of friends and stopped off in Albuquerque to ride the concrete park. Joe also rode in Vegas a little while at Interbike, then headed out back toward Austin via Albuquerque again to meet-up with etnies teammate Sandy Carson. Next, they were off to the Abilene Skatepark in Texas. Joe has been home in Austin this past week riding the T1 ramp, a little street, getting work done in the office and riding his motorcycle.

Before heading out to Interbike, Ruben Alcantara was on the East Coast, hanging-out and riding with etnies teammate Garrett Byrnes. Ruben also went out to Pennsylvania, where he rode the famous / underground Posh trails, which he claimed were the best ever! In Vegas, Ruben hung-out, had fun with his friends and was at the etnies booth quite a bit letting select people check out his shoe sample (when he wasnt sleeping in, that is). Ruben was up for Street Rider of the Year in the NORA CUP (but didnҒt win). He flew out of Vegas to hang in Austin until he leaves for England for the etnies Backyard Jam.

Josh Stricker has been out in California for the last couple of weeks since completing college. He has been enjoying plenty of free time, which he has been exploiting to the max, riding all of the not-so-bike-friendly concrete parks in So Cal, hanging with his friends and family and getting in plenty of rest and relaxation. Josh was in Vegas hanging at the etnies booth, where there was a larger-than-life shot of him hanging up (which he was stoked about). Josh is still in Cali and will head out to England for the etnies Backyard Jam this week.

Sandy Carson has been on the road for I donӒt know how long, but it sure has been a while! He was up in Oregon with some friends, living off the land and camping out. Sandy has been filming for the Federal Bikes video up in the great Northwest and hitting the parks in Oregon. He says that at every park he rode, he would pull out his skateboard first and everyone was cool, but the moment he pulled out his bike, all the skaters became dicks! He got hassled from the skaters as well as the cops everywhere, but did get to ride some good trails in Oregon. Sandy then headed down to San Francisco, where he rode plenty of street. After leaving SF, he headed down to Albuquerque, where he met-up with etnies teammate Joe Rich. They rode the park there and then headed out to Abilene, Texas before moseying on home to Austin. Sandy has both the Ride UK
and Movement magazine covers this month.

Garrett Byrnes has been home in Jersey for the last month or so, where he has been riding and getting some last-minute surf sessions in before it gets too cold. He has been riding the seven-foot hip that he and etnies teammate Ruben Alcantara built while he was out there, and he also rode the Posh trails with Ruben. This last week, Garrett went to his cousin's wedding, and also went to see a doctor (finally) to check out the wrist that has been bugging him for the last year or so. It turns out that the navicular bone in his wrist is broken.

Edwin Delarosa has been back on the East Coast, getting ready for the cold weather that is ready to set in any day now. While there, he has been getting random footage for etnies commercials, etc. His wrist is still healing, but he has been riding on it anyway against doctor's orders. Edwin is currently in Columbus, Ohio shooting video stuff. The new Animal video, which heԒs been working on, is finally done. Edwin is getting ready to go to England for the etnies Backyard Jam.

Nate Wessel has been on the road between Woodward East and various other places, either riding or building ramps. He hopes to get up to Appleton, Wisconsin to work on Area 51 with Dave Freimuth. Nate was in Las Vegas hanging-out at Interbike and will be going on the Square One road trip coming up instead of the etnies Backyard Jam in Derby.

Before heading out to Las Vegas for Interbike, Dave Freimuth was riding at home in Appleton, Wisconsin while doing some final editing on the next Baco video, Baco 10. In Vegas, Dave hung out, partied and got some riding in at the bike-friendly concrete parks out there. Dave is also, getting ready for the etnies Backyard Jam in England.

John Heaton has been home riding in Toronto with friends, hanging-out with his girlfriend Andrea and playing some rounds of golf. He's getting ready to head to England for the final etnies Backyard Jam this year in Derby as well. Hopefully, he can continue his winning ways after getting 1st place at the La Revolution in Rochester a month ago.

8th Sorta Annual Nelson Family Reunion Contest

8th Sorta Annual Nelson Family Reunion Contest
November 1, 2003
The Nelson & District Youth Centre Nelson, BC, Canada


One giant class: Flatland and obstacle
Entry fee: To be determined on site

Host Hotel: Best Western Baker Street Inn (tell them you are with the BMX contest)
Phone: 1 (888) 255-3525 or
bwbakerstinn@telus.net

$79.00--One person, one bed
$89.00--Two persons, two beds (these rates are actually even better than 2002!)

There will be plenty of prizes, most of them to be given out by a draw--not by your placing in the contest (last time, there were 512 prizes for 80 riders). The obstacle class will be run in a jam format with four riders at a time for four minutes. Top five to ten ride in the finals. Flatland format will be determined on the spot by the riders with Nev as the moderator. Open class means everyone rides in the same class (so if the A-list shows up, you can say that youve competed against them!).

The park will be open for practice the night before until late (remember: the night before is Halloween!) All riders under the age of nineteen need to have waivers signed by a parent or legal guardian in order to ride the park--whether they are competing or not.

Waiver form: scuffoff.com/nelson/

Phone: (250) 352 5656

Sacramento Trip January 5-8, 2003

Things didn't really get rolling until Sunday evening. The crew, consisting of Etnies riders Nate Hanson, Mike Tagliavento, flow rider Cody (unpronounceable last name) and myself, John Povah (plus Ride BMX magazine photographer Jeff Zelinski, who tagged along to document the trip), met-up at Ventura's Skate Street. We had a small, private session put on by the manager, Bob, who is super-cool and very bike-friendly--allowing us to ride 'til our hearts content. Some of the highlights were Etnies Brian Terada, as usual, ruling the place with fast lines and big tricks, even though he claimed he had a hurt hip from a curved wall ride gone awry. You couldn't tell by watching him--many people were overheard commenting as their jaws hit the ground that Terada was riding smooth as hell.

Mike Tag took it pretty easy, carving around the bowl and laying down some grinds while making it look way too easy the whole time. Nate Hanson is the bowl shredder, he turned up a little late all exhausted from a desert excursion in his Blazer.
He drove back from the dunes, dropped his truck off at home, then headed straight out to Ventura. He made quick work of the almost perfect wooden bowl--as well as some super fast pumping lines around the whole park. The night was spent in Ventura in preparation for the drive up to Sacramento the next day.

Monday morning is normally taken up by myself writing reports of what the Etnies BMX team riders have been up to for the past week, but on this Monday we were hitting the road to do some riding and nothing else. First on our agenda was a park in Visalia, which we were surprised to find was more bike-friendly than most other parks in So Cal. There was a cop in the parking lot, and he didn't really even give a shit who was in the park--and let me tell you there were some real characters.

Most notable was this ten or eleven year-old kid squirreling around on a skateboard. If someone cut him off or got in his way, he would spurt off at the mouth with some of the foulest language you have ever heard. Me, being the twisted person I am, found this quite amusing. So, I would deliberately get in his way just to get him bent so he would start swearing.
It was awesome--he would just spew the craziest stuff and then end it all up with, "I m going to kill you if you get in my way again you #^%&*!". It was so funny, and to top it all off (even though our crew said it wasn't real, but I swear it was), this kid had a huge tribal tattoo on his neck running from the middle of his back all the way up under his throat. Judging by the way this little runt acted, the tat had to be real. His parents must be some real winners!

There were also about nine or ten awesome little gangster kids who wanted to do nothing but start fights with all the other little shredders in the park who were better at riding. In between all of the freak shows going on, some really good riding of our own went down. Nate was just flowing super fast, smooth lines around the whole park while trying to avoid collisions and grinding and sliding everything in sight. He made-up some original lines in a park he has only been to one time previously. Cody had been here only one time before also, so he made quick work of the elbows in the park. He is pretty quiet, but totally shreds when he is on his bike. Huge lookbacks over the hips, big opposite tables and he also fired out a few whips here or there.

Once again, Tag was pretty stealth--just hanging-out in the corner doing his own thing, grinding some ledges, doing 180 to backward grinds to 180 out, firing off some downside whips, dodging the kids and having a lot of fun for a first-time visitor. Jeff took some shots and rode around a bit, but he's more of a wedge rider, so he stuck to that side of the park. But, you could still see he was having fun riding. I took some digi pictures and played with Nate in the bowl / snake run dealy. We hung at Visalia until dusk and then went to eat.

Back on the road. We heard that Fresno has a brand new concrete park, so we took a slight detour to go check it out. It was pretty late when we got there. We finally found the park after a few wrong turns, but we were not disappointed. It's awesome: about 45 or 50,000 square feet, featuring plenty of runs ranging from small to big, including bowls, ledges and all of the usual stuff--but there was just a lot of it. It's a shame we may never get to ride it due to the strict California "no bike" law--not to mention the ten-foot tall fence around the whole thing. We did jump the fence to get a closer look, but a cop rolled up, so we made a hasty retreat. Onward to Sacramento.

We rolled up at the Solid Bikes warehouse / manufacturing facility around 2:00 in the morning, exhausted and burned from driving. We said our hellos to the guys, Aaron and Ryan, and then bailed to get some shut eye. A good night's sleep is always happening when you know you don't have to get up for anything specific other than to ride. We met the Solid guys again over at their warehouse, where we figured out some kind of game plan. We checked out a local wall ride that was really fun, but you can only ride up a wall so many ways before you're over it.
Then it was on to some ditches--a few of which were unridable due to rain water. We did find a good one, though, that we sessioned for a few. We rode an old Air Force base with a huge bank-to-wall for about an hour before we got the boot.

Then it was off to go check out a Jersey barrier that was on top of this five-foot tall bank that turned out to be unreal. The guys had a lot fun on that for a good few hours. One of the barriers had a concrete quarter built into it to make it smooth (I think there is an Eric Koston ad in a skate mag on it, but it didn't have the addition of the concrete quarter then). The guys were airing the shit out of that thing. Mike Tag did some good stuff, like fufanus to ice picks. As we departed, it was getting dark, so the Solid guys took us to a huge concrete quarter they had built behind this Mexican restaurant in plain view of the street. They didn't care--it was all in the name of fun, and they figured that even if it gets torn down in a couple of days, they would still at least have a great time for a short period. Then it was off to the city of Sacramento to ride street.

The Solid guys have plenty of secret spots hidden throughout the city--some of which even boast the trademark concrete handiwork of the Solid crew--and a good time was had by all. The night was pretty much over after shooting the shit and watching some goofy old school BMX videos back at the Solid warehouse. Morning comes around too soon, so we got up early to go ride some skatepark up in the mountains just outside of Sacramento called Grass Valley. It appeared pretty new, looked perfect and felt just about the same.

There were no skaters there when we turned up, but a few did come a little later who were really cool. This park ruled--Nate shredded the concrete as usual, Tag had a fun time, Cody was smooth and ambidextrous and Jeff Z. was shooting off plenty of film. A cop eventually rolled up, but he was super cool. Then we took off to go to another park that was back by the highway where we got off to go up the mountain. 

The skaters there were not so cool, and you could feel the vibe. The park was a lot of fun--even though the transitions were a little bumpy--but everyone made quick work of that place. Tag peg stalled a seven-foot wall out of a four-foot quarter. As the session wound down, we all said our goodbyes after grabbing a quick bite to eat at Chili's and then made the long trek home back to So Cal. Six and a half hours later, we were home. All in all, it was a good trip. We got plenty of riding got done, lots of photos were shot and everyone had a good time. When all is said and done, that's really what it's all about.

BMX Team Kicking Back At Home

Mike Escamilla
has been home for a couple of weeks from the Sprite tour, where he has been enjoying quality time and working on the Samurai video. He also rode a dirt bowl (complete with spine ramp and bowl corners) that some kid built in his backyard out in the 909.
Mike will be heading out to Vegas this coming week to attend Interbike and hang-out at the NORA Cup awards ceremony, where he is up for Street Rider of the Year with four other guys. He will also be filming a music video out there.

Taj Mihelich
has been working at T1 and riding the ramp out back. After ten years, he finally learned tailwhip tiretaps. Taj has also been putting on the now fortnightly rock shows at the Ritz.

Joe Rich
and Taj recently drove down to Baton Rouge to meet with Peter, the guy that builds their frames, to go over some different things. Joe also has a friend, Andreas, from Greece, who has been staying with him for the past week hanging-out in Austin and riding. Joe has been getting ready for Interbike, too, which is always a task, and plans on hitting some spots on the way out there.

Ruben Alcantara
and Garrett Byrnes
are out in New Jersey, hanging-out enjoying some time in one location for a while. Both have been enjoying some surfing, as well as some skating. Over the weekend, the guys built a huge hip near Garretts dadҒs work and they were blasting nine foot airs off of it.

Nate Wessel
was out in Oklahoma for a friends wedding. He had planned on going to Appleton, Wisconsin to build ramps at etnies teammate Dave FreimuthҒs local park, Area 51, but the people running the joint hadnt signed the lease yet, so Nate had to bail on that plan and headed back out to Woodward, where he is getting some riding in for the Baco Designs video. Nate also pulled a move that had previously taken him out, a 360 wall ride to backward manual down a bank.

Edwin Delarosa
is chilling at home. His wrist is getting better and the doctor has cleared him not to get surgery, which Edwin is stoked about. He does have to get a bone growth stimulator to help it heal faster, though. He is still riding against doctorҒs orders.

Dave Freimuth
has been spending time outdoors doing chores around the house--seeing as how the weather up in Appleton has been pretty nice for the season. Aside from chores, he has been riding some of the local parks and working on the next Baco video, Baco 10. Dave has also been working with good friend Chad Degroot on a video premiere tour, where they will go to parks around the Midwest premiering the video when it comes out.

Jason Enns
has been working hard on getting his new place up to shape for his big move at the end of the month. Jasons boss, Brian Castillo, is in town working on getting the next Volume video done.
Jason took it hard to the head while filming on a rail, got seven stitches and is basically sore all over from the hectic filming schedule. The plan was to get a whole section filmed in one day, but due to the crash, that plan got derailed for Jason.

Josh Stricker
flew out to the Los Angeles area this past week from Pennsylvania, where he will be hanging ґtil he leaves for the etnies Backyard Jam at the end of the month. While here, he has been hanging with his family and enjoying riding with his friends that he doesnt get to see too much. Josh put a new bike together--if you had seen the previous one, you would understand why. Josh has also been filming for the next SandM video, due out soon.

Of Riders And Rock Stars...

Mike Escamilla is done with the Sprite Tour, where he was witnessed playing bass for the band N.E.R.D. (see yellow arrow in photo at left). Lately, Mike has been chilling at home with a nicely swollen and bruised ankle. He entered the Vans Triple Crown of BMX this past weekend and placed a glorious 29th. Mike has been working on his third pro model signature shoe, which is super-close to being done. He has also been working hard on the Samurai video--check out the story in the current issue of Transworld BMX.

Taj Mihelich has been riding the T1 ramp a bunch, as well as trying to shoot his next etnies ad, which is turning out to be harder than he figured. You know how it is, you always want to do your best stuff. Taj has been working a bunch at the office and holding T1 shows at the Ritz in Austin, Texas this past week.

Joe Rich has been working at T1, riding the ramp and there's also a new pool in town to session. Somehow, he got roped into writing a story for Ride
magazine of the etnies trip down to Los Angeles from the Metro Jam at the end of August. Lately, Joe has also been playing around on his new 125 motorcycle.

Ruben Alcantara got into New Jersey on Thursday from the Dominican Republic, where he said he had one of the best times of his life. He flew in to hang-out with etnies team rider Garrett Byrnes and go surfing and drive out to Rochester, New York for the La Revolution contest last weekend (he didnt quite make the finals). Ruben drove back to New Jersey with Garrett on Sunday.

Josh Stricker is done with school, allowing him to ride quite a bit of street, park and dirt. Josh went to Rochester this past weekend and entered the La Revolution. I think he should have made the finals, but somehow he didnҒt. Josh is coming out to California this week.

Garrett Byrnes has been surfing at home in New Jersey, skating and riding some. He just purchased a beautiful early 80s Jeep Grand Wagoneer that he and Ruben Alcantara drove out to Rochester, New York to attend the La Revolution contest. Garrett didnҒt make the finals, either--his wrist has been bothering him for a while and he's going to get it checked out this week.

Edwin Delarosas wrist is still broken, but he has been riding on it regardless, shooting pictures with Rob Dolecki, as well as shooting footage for etnies in the city.

Sandy Carson is still up in the Seattle area and has been riding a bunch--trails, street and a whole pantload of parks. He rode five parks in one day last week, which could be why he had a collision with a skater (boo hoo), almost knocking his ass out. Sandy has been clocking footage for the Federal video and is heading down to Seattle.

Nate Wessel is done building at Woodward camp and is heading out to go to a friendҒs wedding. Hes also getting footage for Baco 10. Nate is going to do some building at Area 51 skatepark in Appleton, Wiscosin as soon as they get their lease. HeҒs also looking into buying a new diesel Dodge truck.

Dave Freimuth has been home working on Baco 10
and riding a bunch for his own video part in it.

Brian Terada has been riding a bunch around home, looking for new spots and kinda taking it easy, shooting footage for the We The People video, due out soon. Besides that, Brian has been working at the Camarillo Bike Factory.

John Heaton has been riding at home in Toronto a bunch before the crappy weather sets in He went down to the La Revolution contest this past weekend in Rochester, New York and ran away with the win by doing some amazing stuff.

Jason Enns has been concentrating on getting new stuff to go in the new house that he will be moving into at the end of October. He has also been getting park sessions in before the bad weather sets in. Jason has two cover shots this month, one on TransWorld BMX and the other on Dig BMX.