This piece of tripe was originally printed in 'Thrasher' skate mag in the U.S.A. It's dealing specifically with BMX but is pretty much about bikes in parks in general. Interesting to see people trying to re-start a fight that's all but non-existent these days...
BMX Jihad
"keep it in the dirt"
BMX. You don't need to say much more than that. Those three letters are the unholy trinity that will set off a round of grumbling among skaters and
conjure images of dented coping and chunked cement. And, of course, let's not forget the real kicker: cranium-crushing, rib-rattling, shin-splicing
collisions, far worse than any skater-on-skater slam dance.
Skaters and BMXers haven't historically had much beef with each other but now the situation is heating up. Battle lines are being drawn at skateparks across the country. A few months back we referred to it as 'The Gathering Storm.' Well, the thunderclouds are no longer on the horizon. They're upon us. And it's about to pour...blood, that is. There's only so many decent cement pits out there to ride. They need to be defended with your life. Show no quarter!
-----------------
Know thy foe
-----------------
Show no quarter? That's a bit much. The reality is things aren't so hot right
now between skaters and bikers but who really gives a shit enough to do
anything about it? We rode dirtbikes when we were filthy kids. We see these dudes at the park all the time and even give the occasional head nod and "What's up?" Things aren't that bad. You have to wonder if bringing the ruckus would even be worth it. After all, they just want to ride and do their thing.
Maybe we should cut our losses. Bygones be bygones, right?
Not so fast.
This is our gig. The terrain is for us. It's made for us. What about them?
Frankly, that's their problem. They're in their own world, we're in ours.
They're perfectly capable of taking care of their own business and doing
whatever it is they do. They can build dirt tracks, hit the streets, and,
sure, it'd be hard to blame them for poaching a skatepark now and then.
Hell, if they had something we wanted to ride we'd do the same thing. But they don't have squat except some mud mounds in the woods. Keep it in the dirt, boys. IF a mob of sky-hook dirtboarders started fouling up your scene you'd give 'em the boot. Same goes here. We're not being dicks for no reason, this is a legitimate beef.
Basically, skaters worldwide would love to have this collective conversation with skatepark BMXers- "Hey man, we used to cruise around on dirtbikes, too. Yeah, we did jumps and all of that. IT was fun, whatever, but the deal now is that we skate, got it? This is a skatepark. Maybe you guys could get your own special hours or ride somewhere else or something. We don't really care."
If you want to go anywhere beyond that sentiment, you better know what you're getting in to. When you step up and start yapping it could be like 'The shot hear around the world' in Lexington, Massachusetts that set off the Revolutionary War. There could be repercussions between skaters and bikers for generations to come, at least as far as your local park goes. These guys aren't just going to play nice. You puncture one of their tires, they'll puncture one of your lungs. If this feud progresses it will be the real deal with able foes. Just letting you know.
-----------------------
Transfers of death
-----------------------
General skatepark damage is problemo numero uno that most skaters have about BMX but we're going to deal with the T.O.D.'s first 'cause these really suck.
We don't mean 'transfers' in the strictest sense, either. It just seems that
90% of the time (when they're not sitting and lurking) BMXers are either
whipping around, building up speed to do a transfer or they just did one and are rolling away at the speed of sound. Yes, BMXers are fast. Probably because they're on friggin' bikes. Great. Good for them. Bad for us.
You criss, they cross- Boom. A full contact, blood-gushing collision and you're on the losing end. Your limbs get tangled, your shins get mangled. "Sorry, bro." The endless 'near misses' that happen every day suck in their own way. After you've eyed your line and scoped your surroundings you drop in only to get a set of handlebars whooshing by your ribcage or a peg missing your shins by an inch.
"Fuck!" It's unnerving. You're rattled, pissed. You knew what you were doing. You saw your line and it was clear. BMXers cover so much ground so quickly, especially when they're pedaling frantically to blast a transfer, that it's particularly hard to gauge these collisions. Near misses are the cause of the most unsavory verbal exchanges between skaters and bikers.
-----------------------
The damages done
-----------------------
You know what, we're not even going to get into this one too deeply. It's not necessary. Coping gets bashed, cement gets crunched and wood gets gouged and all slippery. It bites.
----------------------
Tricks of the trade
----------------------
Busting tricks on bikes or skateboards is just a way of demonstrating control. It's cool to see what you can pull-off without getting served. With that said, it's pointless to compare or judge the tricks of skating and BMXing, two vastly different activities. Nevertheless, BMXers do some goony stuff.
Blasting airs is understandable, no mystery there. But some of their five-minute-long wheelie displays, complete with handlebar twirling, are more like a circus routine. And those blunt things where they hop around on the coping are a real drag. Ledge peg-grinds are weak and are curiously reminiscent of 'blader boot slides. It's not clear why, they just are.
360s are OK but after watching a few of those its naptime. It seems that once BMXers are in the air, there's not a whole lot of options. Worst of all, they have the gall to call crankspins 'kickflips.' Ugh. However, credit must be given to some of those vert BMXers. They're bananas.
--------------------------
Forever and ever land
--------------------------
BMXers land everything. You could go an entire day at a skatepark festering with BMXers and not see one good slam. What gives? That should be part of the deal. Are all these guys super good? Not likely. We're not saying BMXing is easy or hard, either. We don't give a shit if it is or not. We're just saying everybody lands everything. The only time things get interesting, and when they actually gain skaters' respect, is when a BMXer gets served raw.
The 3,816th consecutively landed transfer may be tedious, but when things go bad for BMXers it can be pretty disastrous. Now we're talking. Nah, we're not rooting for you to get hurt but now we can see that you're at least playing the game.
Perhaps BMXers look at us clowns flopping around, missing more than we make. Well, our gig is the hardest thing in the world. Try it. Just let us know when you're going to do your first roll in. Do you have a good dental plan?
------------
Summary
------------
In all likelihood ain't a damn thing gonna change. They'll poach, we'll
grumble and life will go on. We were just stirring things up a bit here,
that's all. Of course, many of these BMX dudes are all right and get along
fine at your local cement obstacle park. Cool, no problem there. But if things aren't cool, it's up to you to handle the problem as you see fit. Think of it as a warfront on a park-by-park basis. Where we go from here depends just as much on our decisions as it does on theirs. Maybe they can just have altogether some of the shittier parks and we'll take the gems. Or maybe frontier justice will take hold. A survival of the fittest environment. Broken bikes. Broken bodies. Thunderdome. Are you in?
BMX Jihad
"keep it in the dirt"
BMX. You don't need to say much more than that. Those three letters are the unholy trinity that will set off a round of grumbling among skaters and
conjure images of dented coping and chunked cement. And, of course, let's not forget the real kicker: cranium-crushing, rib-rattling, shin-splicing
collisions, far worse than any skater-on-skater slam dance.
Skaters and BMXers haven't historically had much beef with each other but now the situation is heating up. Battle lines are being drawn at skateparks across the country. A few months back we referred to it as 'The Gathering Storm.' Well, the thunderclouds are no longer on the horizon. They're upon us. And it's about to pour...blood, that is. There's only so many decent cement pits out there to ride. They need to be defended with your life. Show no quarter!
-----------------
Know thy foe
-----------------
Show no quarter? That's a bit much. The reality is things aren't so hot right
now between skaters and bikers but who really gives a shit enough to do
anything about it? We rode dirtbikes when we were filthy kids. We see these dudes at the park all the time and even give the occasional head nod and "What's up?" Things aren't that bad. You have to wonder if bringing the ruckus would even be worth it. After all, they just want to ride and do their thing.
Maybe we should cut our losses. Bygones be bygones, right?
Not so fast.
This is our gig. The terrain is for us. It's made for us. What about them?
Frankly, that's their problem. They're in their own world, we're in ours.
They're perfectly capable of taking care of their own business and doing
whatever it is they do. They can build dirt tracks, hit the streets, and,
sure, it'd be hard to blame them for poaching a skatepark now and then.
Hell, if they had something we wanted to ride we'd do the same thing. But they don't have squat except some mud mounds in the woods. Keep it in the dirt, boys. IF a mob of sky-hook dirtboarders started fouling up your scene you'd give 'em the boot. Same goes here. We're not being dicks for no reason, this is a legitimate beef.
Basically, skaters worldwide would love to have this collective conversation with skatepark BMXers- "Hey man, we used to cruise around on dirtbikes, too. Yeah, we did jumps and all of that. IT was fun, whatever, but the deal now is that we skate, got it? This is a skatepark. Maybe you guys could get your own special hours or ride somewhere else or something. We don't really care."
If you want to go anywhere beyond that sentiment, you better know what you're getting in to. When you step up and start yapping it could be like 'The shot hear around the world' in Lexington, Massachusetts that set off the Revolutionary War. There could be repercussions between skaters and bikers for generations to come, at least as far as your local park goes. These guys aren't just going to play nice. You puncture one of their tires, they'll puncture one of your lungs. If this feud progresses it will be the real deal with able foes. Just letting you know.
-----------------------
Transfers of death
-----------------------
General skatepark damage is problemo numero uno that most skaters have about BMX but we're going to deal with the T.O.D.'s first 'cause these really suck.
We don't mean 'transfers' in the strictest sense, either. It just seems that
90% of the time (when they're not sitting and lurking) BMXers are either
whipping around, building up speed to do a transfer or they just did one and are rolling away at the speed of sound. Yes, BMXers are fast. Probably because they're on friggin' bikes. Great. Good for them. Bad for us.
You criss, they cross- Boom. A full contact, blood-gushing collision and you're on the losing end. Your limbs get tangled, your shins get mangled. "Sorry, bro." The endless 'near misses' that happen every day suck in their own way. After you've eyed your line and scoped your surroundings you drop in only to get a set of handlebars whooshing by your ribcage or a peg missing your shins by an inch.
"Fuck!" It's unnerving. You're rattled, pissed. You knew what you were doing. You saw your line and it was clear. BMXers cover so much ground so quickly, especially when they're pedaling frantically to blast a transfer, that it's particularly hard to gauge these collisions. Near misses are the cause of the most unsavory verbal exchanges between skaters and bikers.
-----------------------
The damages done
-----------------------
You know what, we're not even going to get into this one too deeply. It's not necessary. Coping gets bashed, cement gets crunched and wood gets gouged and all slippery. It bites.
----------------------
Tricks of the trade
----------------------
Busting tricks on bikes or skateboards is just a way of demonstrating control. It's cool to see what you can pull-off without getting served. With that said, it's pointless to compare or judge the tricks of skating and BMXing, two vastly different activities. Nevertheless, BMXers do some goony stuff.
Blasting airs is understandable, no mystery there. But some of their five-minute-long wheelie displays, complete with handlebar twirling, are more like a circus routine. And those blunt things where they hop around on the coping are a real drag. Ledge peg-grinds are weak and are curiously reminiscent of 'blader boot slides. It's not clear why, they just are.
360s are OK but after watching a few of those its naptime. It seems that once BMXers are in the air, there's not a whole lot of options. Worst of all, they have the gall to call crankspins 'kickflips.' Ugh. However, credit must be given to some of those vert BMXers. They're bananas.
--------------------------
Forever and ever land
--------------------------
BMXers land everything. You could go an entire day at a skatepark festering with BMXers and not see one good slam. What gives? That should be part of the deal. Are all these guys super good? Not likely. We're not saying BMXing is easy or hard, either. We don't give a shit if it is or not. We're just saying everybody lands everything. The only time things get interesting, and when they actually gain skaters' respect, is when a BMXer gets served raw.
The 3,816th consecutively landed transfer may be tedious, but when things go bad for BMXers it can be pretty disastrous. Now we're talking. Nah, we're not rooting for you to get hurt but now we can see that you're at least playing the game.
Perhaps BMXers look at us clowns flopping around, missing more than we make. Well, our gig is the hardest thing in the world. Try it. Just let us know when you're going to do your first roll in. Do you have a good dental plan?
------------
Summary
------------
In all likelihood ain't a damn thing gonna change. They'll poach, we'll
grumble and life will go on. We were just stirring things up a bit here,
that's all. Of course, many of these BMX dudes are all right and get along
fine at your local cement obstacle park. Cool, no problem there. But if things aren't cool, it's up to you to handle the problem as you see fit. Think of it as a warfront on a park-by-park basis. Where we go from here depends just as much on our decisions as it does on theirs. Maybe they can just have altogether some of the shittier parks and we'll take the gems. Or maybe frontier justice will take hold. A survival of the fittest environment. Broken bikes. Broken bodies. Thunderdome. Are you in?