Little Ass

I have been unable or unwilling to write for a while. My old friend and fellow BMXer Eric “ ‘Ti-cul” Gagne has passed away as a result of a motorcycle accident.
Eric was a good dude, as all my Quebecois BMXer friends are. I met him in 1993 at the infamous Oklahoma BS contest that Mat Hoffman did the demo on the 26-foot ramp. A van-load of French-Canadian riders met a van-load of Western-Canadian riders. On that trip, Yannik DuBois, Stephane Lavigne, Pedro Dos Santos and Eric Gagne (or “Little Eric”, as he was introduced to us) met Dom Mach, Simon Barry, Rob Sigaty, The Warlord, and myself. Although I haven’t talked to The Warlord for awhile, all of those guys are still in my life. At least they all were.
Little Eric was the translation of “ ‘Ti-Cul” that was given to the Anglos. There are two sources for this: one is that there were two Erics in the Montreal scene in the early 1990s (one big, one small); the other is the literal translation – “Little Ass”. This is not to say that Eric was a jerk or an asshole. Not al all. More like a smart-ass. Mischievous. Silly. Fun.
Stephane Lavigne, JF Campeau, and myself went to Eric’s service this past Friday night. It was not merely a sad event, but also a bit of a celebration of his life. Lots of BMX pictures, and a framed GT Air Show jersey were prominently displayed. There must have been 150 -200 people there. And while there were tears, there was much more laughter and smiles. When your nickname is “Little Ass”, there are going to be some good stories to share.
And, indeed, Big Eric (former Hoffman Bikes rider Rick Maltais) came by to pay his respects to ‘Ti-Cul.

Everything must go!

It looks like I've sold my last BMX bike. That's three Solids gone in two weeks. It also leaves me with no BMX bike for the first time in 23 years. AND I have to wait until November for the new Heaton II to be available from MacNeil. Roughly two months without a BMX. Nuts. At least I shouldn't injure myself.
Luckily, I have a cruiser until then. Of course, others may deride my ride and call it an "Urban Assault" MTB, but I prefer the label of cruiser. Indeed, it is a 24" wheeled bike with a single speed set up, mostly BMX parts, and rides like a race cruiser. The fact that it also has suspension forks and disc brakes seems to cross some silly, subjective hardcore line, though. No matter: I'm old, and I need my transportation bike with a little boing and to stop NOW when I'm about to get doored. Besides, it has a Gyro, so it is a freestyle bike, right?
The link at the right, BMX vs. MTB, is a conversation about the merging of the two worlds between Robin Coope (Norco trials guru) and me (BMX buffoon). It's Robin's turn to post, and has been for about six weeks!

Head case

When I get to UglyAss Bikes HQ, the local Montreal skatepark, the kids start running for their helmets (or, at the least, they start explaining while they left them at home). I’m a big advocate for helmets for any type of bike riding: tricks or transportation. The first moment that I took helmets seriously was back around 1994. D’Arcy Saccucci was over at my parent’s house riding the backyard mini-ramp. After I flew out onto the deck after a run, D’Arcy asked: How much is your student loan? I told him that it was just under $12000. He paused for about a ¼ second, and hit me back with “…and you don’t wear a helmet?”
For D’Arcy, a $12000 investment in one’s head was worth protecting. This hit me as pretty insightful at the time, and I believe that my compulsive helmet wearing began soon after.
Of course, $12000 isn’t really that much money compared to what one’s head-health is worth. I now see it as stupid to ride a bike (that is, to put your head in jeopardy) without a helmet. Period.
Of course, the hardcore BMXer isn’t wearing his helmet nowadays. Why? Because he looks up to the pros (who looked up to their pros, who looked up to their pros, etc.) who aren’t wearing their helmets. Dumb 15 year olds become dumb 20 year old pros. A cycle of stupidity (no pun intended). Wouldn’t it rule if the pros of one generation took their positions as role-models seriously and acted responsibly, wearing their helmets because it’s the right thing to do?
Of the guys who do wear their helmets, there has been a shift over the last 15 years from open face motorcycle helmets, to full-face helmets, to silly skateboard-type helmets. I had a full-face ten years ago, when I was still pushing myself, and it saved me about ten times. I still have it, but haven’t worn it in five years.
My friend Pedro started Krusher ten years ago, and I switched to his helmets on his insistence when I moved to Montreal in 2000. Now that he is no longer involved, I don’t wear them anymore. Why? The Pro-Tec style helmet is not a high-quality design. The foam is crap. The good foam (as featured in normal cycling helmets), that disperses the impact, is the ruling option. Made to protect your head very well once (then you need to replace it).
Now I wear the Pro-Tec style shell with the good foam (a Vigor helmet, actually). The problem is, they are massive, and dwarf your head. So, although they are the accepted style, with the good foam, but look ridiculous (at least on me).
The solution for non-serious riding would be a roadie – mtn bike helmet. Good foam, WAY better airflow, lighter, but looks like something out of the movie Alien. But, functionally, free from pose, the solution.
So I guess I need to get one. Anybody else going to follow my lead? (I doubt it.)

Titanium!

Perhaps I am the most hypocritical with regard to titanium. If I had to write a policy or position paper on the matter, I would be against it. There is no way that the kids need it. It costs maybe ten times as much for a ti axle as a chromoly one. And anybody who is learning their way around a BMX needs to run the strongest, most economical parts. BMX is already too expensive, and the cost is too prohibitive for all but middle-class kids (that is, the kids that come from middle-class homes but pose as lower class kids). Titanium amplifies this problem. A decent complete bike with three piece cranks and a brake that works (chrome rim) is about $600 CDN. The most expensive BMX would be over $5000. The most expensive skateboard is probably $200CDN. You can get a dope skateboard and $400 worth of posing clothes for the same as a cheap BMX!
So I shouldn't run any titanium, right? Heck no. I'm 34 years old, with a destroyed body from BMXing for 23 years. I don't fall off anymore, because I've aquired a bit of a skill set, and I don't push myself. Plus, a lighter bike makes my back feel better when I'm climbing up stairs while carrying it. So my new bike will have all the titanium I can get.
So it's wrong, but right for me.
And although I can get free parts from many companies, the titanium versions don't get flowed. I even had to buy my ti MacNeil pegs. So that is wrong too.
I'll just sell my old bike and use the money to buy titanium parts for my new one! (Kinda like getting flowed ti parts?)

...but you kids don't need it.

sold out

I`ve sold two of my three custom Solid bikes in the last week. Usually, I give the bikes away when I`m done. Something has shifted in my thinking though. I think I`m allowed to sell the stuff I get for free after a certain amount of time. Not sure how long yet, though. And it seems that it is OK to do it if the money made goes back into my BMX life or at least toys. One of the two went towards getting a new cruiser for a dear friend, the other (my third "Vancouver" bike) was sold to simplify my life on the one hand (less bikes), but hypocritically, to finance guitar #4.
The point of this is that I haven`t really figured out where I stand on this. There has been a shift though.
As my free stuff runs dry and the industry`s budgets get tighter, I think I can trade up on getting new stuff that I now have to pay for. The titanium stuff ain`t cheap. Even at wholesale.

BMX isn't really that cool

My essential problem with BMX freestyle is more my problem than BMX's: that is, I don't think BMX is an alternative or "other" activity anymore. Perhaps it never was. Still, it felt like not-hockey for a long time. Now, dare I say it, it is worse than hockey? Name a more masculine culture/sport? With apologies to the 14 women who entered the Vancouver Metro Jam's "Girls" class, this truly is a sausage party. Why on earth would a young woman be interested in participating in the activity of BMX freestyle? Well over 99% male. And the males are increasingly of the jock / Maxim magazine mentality. Horrible.
Freestyle emerged as not-racing, and culturally became outside mainstream cultures. Now, post 1995 Extreme, the young males that would have been into hockey / football / baseball in the 1980s are drawn to the extreme culture of BMX freestyle. So, we have middle-class suburban types that would have laughed at us in the 1980s as the core participants of the culture. Weird.
Of course, perhaps the biggest thing 30something riders that run BMX freestyle nowadays keep forgetting is that it is a culture for 15 year olds. And what 15 year old is going to listen to an adult (even if the adult in question is somewhat diminished by their 23 years of BMX). And to be honest, should they?

Back again for the first time...

Ronin is gone. But I'm not.