cool bike trick video

[tsteele999]

Saw this link on Fazed. I especially like the one in a park with a big semi-circle that he rides the whole way around.

I hate guys that make stuff like this look so easy.

http://www.gougoule.com/bonus/corey-martinez.php

[jks9199]

The guy is doing some great stuff -- but a lot of it was stuff that causes problems. I'm not trying to be a wet blanket, but when you do a lot of those tricks in strip malls, parking structures or school playgrounds -- it pisses folks off. It damages the hand rails or edges of the benches, for example -- and I have to suspect that the semi-circle thing was some sort of memorial or monument; I can't imagine too many other reasons for it to be built in those circumstances. Kinda disrespectful, huh?

It's not really any different than the roadies that blast stop signs (one got lucky the other day; if I hadn't been busy on something else, I'd have stopped and ticketed him) or the yahoos that go out there right after it rains and tear up trails...

Jim

[themonkeyman]

Man, that guy is amazing. All that stuff looks so fun to ride! Imagine if you put that guy on an MTB... freeride would progress at an even faster rate (if that's even possible!) :)

Awesome vid--Graham

[jabberwocky]

The guy is doing some great stuff -- but a lot of it was stuff that causes problems. I'm not trying to be a wet blanket, but when you do a lot of those tricks in strip malls, parking structures or school playgrounds -- it pisses folks off. It damages the hand rails or edges of the benches, for example -- and I have to suspect that the semi-circle thing was some sort of memorial or monument; I can't imagine too many other reasons for it to be built in those circumstances. Kinda disrespectful, huh?

It's not really any different than the roadies that blast stop signs (one got lucky the other day; if I hadn't been busy on something else, I'd have stopped and ticketed him) or the yahoos that go out there right after it rains and tear up trails...

Jim

And now for the counter-point ;) (well, not really, but the opposite perspective..)

I was a skateboarder for over ten years, which in terms of legality is similar to what you see in this video. When I started skating in the early 90's, there was nowhere to skate. Parks were non-existant, and almost all townships and counties had ordinances expressly forbidding skateboarding. I was once told by a police officer that there was no where within 200 miles I could legally ride my skateboard unless I owned the land (Not even as transportation).

Imagine, if you will, if mountainbiking was in a similar situation. Imagine that there are great trails all over the place- you see them driving around, walking to work, when you go shopping- but you aren't allowed to ride any of them. There is nowhere to legally ride within 200 miles of your door. Not only can you not ride on the trail, but you cant ride anywhere. Thats the situation that skateboarding (and bmx) grew up in. Hence, neither culture really respects whether something is "legal" or "right" or not.

Im not trying to justify it, just explain it. At least nowadays parks are becoming far more common (although most towns seem to think that skateboarders are made of money, charging upwards of ten bucks a day to ride public skateparks. Why are skateboarders seen as a revenue source while most other sports are free?) And Jim, I feel for you. If I was a police officer, chasing kids off store parking lots would be pretty low on my list of things I want to do. Ive dealt with more police officers in my life than most serious criminals probably have, and I cant remember any of them ever beeing happy to see me. :)

-Chris

[gaz]

I could do all that. If I wanted. On my Ellsworth. Clipped in all the time. I just choose not to, so as not to show all you amateurs up...*

I'd have to agree with Jim tho. Riding around on the skate parks and the empty pools is one thing, but the stuff in public places gives biking a bad name. And for some reason, layfolks seem to lump MTB and BMX into the same category. In terms of a counter-point to the counter-point, we DO have that sort of situation, where there's loads and loads of lovely trails that we can't access - it's called the NPS, where MTBs are banned, but horses are no problem, and do more damage to the trails. (I was out at Hemlock Overlook today in Clifton, hiking with my girfriend, and made the mistake of hiking one of the paths designated for horses... MAN, was it in a state)

There were a couple of scenes in there where he was ramping off what looked to be a kids' jungle gym, and another where he ramped up and bounced off, a piece of sculpture. That sort of stuff does cause damage. And if I were at the Korean memorial, which that horseshoe shaped thing reminded me of, and some guy just shot in, did a loop along the wall, and shot off... as much as I'd admire the ability to pull it off, I would be pretty annoyed at it.

* I couldn't even keep a straight face writing that - I could only imagine the laughs it got from other people reading it!

[jabberwocky]

I could do all that. If I wanted. On my Ellsworth. Clipped in all the time. I just choose not to, so as not to show all you amateurs up...*

I'd have to agree with Jim tho. Riding around on the skate parks and the empty pools is one thing, but the stuff in public places gives biking a bad name. And for some reason, layfolks seem to lump MTB and BMX into the same category. In terms of a counter-point to the counter-point, we DO have that sort of situation, where there's loads and loads of lovely trails that we can't access - it's called the NPS, where MTBs are banned, but horses are no problem, and do more damage to the trails. (I was out at Hemlock Overlook today in Clifton, hiking with my girfriend, and made the mistake of hiking one of the paths designated for horses... MAN, was it in a state)

There were a couple of scenes in there where he was ramping off what looked to be a kids' jungle gym, and another where he ramped up and bounced off, a piece of sculpture. That sort of stuff does cause damage. And if I were at the Korean memorial, which that horseshoe shaped thing reminded me of, and some guy just shot in, did a loop along the wall, and shot off... as much as I'd admire the ability to pull it off, I would be pretty annoyed at it.

* I couldn't even keep a straight face writing that - I could only imagine the laughs it got from other people reading it!


To clarify, in principle I agree with Jim, and I probably wouldnt want people biking or skating at a building I owned. I am just pointing out that, when everything is illegal anyway, you kinda stop caring (at least skateboarding. Im not sure about bmx bikes. You can probably ride them anywhere you can ride a bicycle, but Im not sure.)

To be honest, very few bmx riders or skateboarders ride anything as public as a memorial. The vast majority of where I rode was out of the way places. Public stuff is usually an instant bust, so skaters tend to try to find out of the way stuff where they can be left alone. Skaters also tend to be a tight-knit bunch, and stay in the know about where they can skate and not be bothered, and where someone is going to get pissed. Believe it or not, most (that I knew, at least) try pretty hard not to piss anyone off.

And trust me, mountainbiking is nowhere even close to skateboarding. I probably cant even legally ride my skateboard through the parking lot to my car. I agree, however, that it probably hurts the public perception of bikers a bit to see stuff like this, which is a shame, because its sick.

-Chris