1/29/11 - Back Blowing out Bama!

Weak Podium Attempt

Hello Blockaholics! Been a little bit since the last riding update. I've been puttin in work, but everyone has been slackin on the media side of things. I got some video I need to edit of a couple decent things. Nothing too spectucular so I'm not in a huge rush.

This weekend we decided to give the renewed legit spot a run for 2011! No one else wanted to make the trek(oh noes I can't drive 45 minutes to ride). So once again, It was me and my guinness sippin buddy Mike putting in work like a two bit stripper with one leg. Mike wanted to get serious for this year, so we did some "upgrades" to his bike. First on the agenda was to pull that silly upper off. I mean, c'mon Fairings? Thats soooo 2010!! Like Chaaah. Right? Not really, but he wants to progress and expecting to crash. The good thing is it made grinding down the steering stops on his 600rr front end WAAAY more managable. Now he can turn around like a motorcycle instead of an semi-truck.

Oh.. remember that shiny PMP -1 66T setup I had on "Project Budget F4i"? Well we went and slapped dat on his piece.

NOW RUN TELL DAT HOMEBOY!

Ok. Now that we look like a pack of squids. We hit the lot. The Irishman dialed in with lightning speed. Started locking down idle like a madman. Not quite comfortable dipping O's, but I think in the next month he will make me look like a Rookie!

Speaking of Me. I was just going with the flow, knocking out alot more consistent circles. Working on some NTH O's, knocking a few combos out here and there. I started trying to pull my Jolly Green Giant ass legs through to Podium(one leg standing on seat one over handle bars). Couldn't quite do it so I pretty much just put my foot on everything else.

Here's a few pictures:
You can check out the rest of the album by CLICKING HERE!






Just remember. To keep that pesky arm pump away, you need more Potassium in your diet. Make sure you eat your bananas. These ladies know the routine!



Lets KICK it!

A couple weeks ago in our session with the Birmingham guys, I had a stall go awry and took the edge of my 12bar into the ankle. It hurt like a mother, but mostly it scared me. We have all seen pics of people getting taken out by rearsets, pegs, bars, clipons. I didn't want to be "that" guy.. so that following Monday I ordered a set of those Shift Kickers!!!!

Cha Ching! Thats Money Kid!!!

I was a little hesitant at first, not knowing anyone who wore them and knew the sizing. Shift doesn't offer half sizes. I usually wear a 13.5 in most brands and occasionally a 13. So knowing the company I was buying from was good with returns I figured I'll try a size smaller and hope for the best.  A couple days later the sz13 Kickers show up.

Pulling them out the box, first thing you notice. These things are FLOSSY. Secondly, there is a nice ankle strap, quick tighten string setup, and plastic inserts in the shoe itself for protection. I put them on and they fit very nicely.. a little wide, but I'm sure that could be taken up by a thicker pair of socks(or doubling up for your northern snow birds). I took a stroll around the house and stood on the table just to make sure I'd be able to feel the pegs and brake pedel...ok maybe I just stood on the table cuz I paid for it, who gives a shit. ITS MY TABLE...

Rode with these for two sessions over the weekend. I must say they break in quickly and are very comfortable for a long day of riding. I grazed my ankle a few times but it always came with a nice peace of mind that there was some protection there. The sole seemed like it had a little better grip than my last set of sneaks, was able to get more traction for stepping to frog mid circle. I had heard bad reviews about the strap popping off on "casual bumps" but I was in these shoes for about 20hrs this weekend and only looked down once to see the buckle undone.

Very nice shoe, reasonably priced, and a great peace of mind to have. Also, I believe its becoming a requirement for some competitions to have over the ankle support. Maybe that was Shift's angle with these.... either way, great for the lot, the comp, or curb stomping that fool that trash talked you on the internet --Jay and Silent Bob style!

Shinko Podium - Extended Review Part 2

Whats up Wheelie goers. Blox Here. Just checking back in with a dozen or so sessions on that shiney Shinko Podium rear I put on weeks back.

When I first put this tire on I was really not comfortable with its profile and it seems very stiff. I couldn't get dialed in at my usual 40psi so I ended up dropping it down to 32psi for the first 5 sessions. Tire reacts awesome, was having issues drifting it at this pressure because the tire is almost TOO STICKY for my liking. It was really taking alot to push it out on drifts and keep it going. But I will say  that it played to my advantage during all this cold weather riding. Never had to let it warm up, just out the gate and leaning over it was GTG! After about 5-6 solid sessions on this tire, a few fun rolling burnouts, about midcircle in the last session I thought my tire was going flat. I hop off and nope. Still 32psi. HOOooo crank that soulja boy...ok well it wasn't a soulja boy. More like a compressor. Superman'd that hoe back to 40psi and it dialed right back in.

Back in 40psi land, drifts were a dream it would break when I needed it to and stay sideways however long I wanted it to. This tire is MONEY! Well actually.. I wanted to hit on this point. Its not an expensive tire at all. Puts the beats on those Bridgestones and Dunlop! And I would say out performs them as well. Just as a test though I have a almost new BT015 I will be running in the interim of blowing up this PODIUM and a new one being delivered to my door. So there you have it. Shinko Podium's = DOwheelies.com stamp of approval!

On to a couple other things that gets our stamp of approval!

Griffy Stunt Products

On his way to Stunt wars my man Griffy rolled through to drop off my new radius cage w/ slider. Well here he is unloading the truck trying to find mine...

After a little bit of rummaging. We came to my beautiful black powdercoated cage! Thing looks so sexy with the slider in it. We did a little bit of work in my garage. Banged all the sliders into the 03/04 636 cages for him and mounting hardware.

03/04 636. Unfortunately they didn't make it to powder in time.



Here's the sweet f4i cage. As you can see there is no cross bar. Total weight is 9lbs!! Yes, you heard right TOTAL WEIGHT! The waterjetted teflon slider looks like a wet dream. Can't see the welds through the powder, but they are far from globby.

So as we are kicking it around the house Griffy has to do a little maintenance to get his bike ready. A little bit of traction pad here and there. He got a sweet hookup from Bill, tons of this HT Moto nonslip traction material. I think he has just about enough to wrap all his plastics in it. What do you think?

There it is folks. If you are interested in one of these cages. Hit him up. mailto:www.twitter.com/andrewgriffy !!
OH AND BE SURE TO CONGRATULATE HIM ON 8th Place @ Stuntwars !!!

FLIPside of doing work! - Part 2 - The PAYOFF!

Welcome back wheelie-goers! I was sitting at work today and forgot that last night the city council was reconvening last night do see if I was still allowed to ride at my legit spot.

I pick up the phone and it took me a few seconds to realize what the phone call related to and then it took me a few more minutes to calm down and start listening. This could be it, I could be official like a referee whistle. Or worse. This could crush the sickest stunt spot I've had. Its so close to my house and the lot is like the perfect size for a couple riders. As I start to focus in on what is being said "This is so and so from the town of so and so"(You think I would tell you were my spot is at so you could blow it up? Yeah. Not on your life).."the council met last night and have come to the decision that you can still practice up there".


WOOOOOOOHOOOOOO! Man, it paid off. So many times of trying to go out and get a spot, selling yourself over and over again, getting shut down. It is nice to have it come through, especially from a municipality. Almost unheard of! But wait..

There are stipulations: No Wednesdays & Sundays - we are in the bible belt and they don't want to hear the rippin and tearin while they are in church. There is probably two churches in ear shot. Understandable. If people want to come up and play basketball I have to shut it down and pack up - No one wants to get drifted into while huckin up an Alley Oop. This is also understandable. And lastly if I'm still riding down there next year just come back in front of the City Council annually. Gravvvyyy!

So there you have it folks. Put in a little bit of work outside of riding. And things will pay off. Just remember: You're asking something of them, you have to play by their rules. Dress to impress and be courteous, stunters have a bad rep and we all know that, you have to prove otherwise!

I wanted to close by saying thank you to the Mayor and the rest of the City Council!

1/8/11 Session

The weekend was back again and it was time to bust out the f4eeezy and try to make some headway. Sunday was supposed to be nothing but thunderstorms so I put the word out. One of my old teamates Brian BeEasy was back in town from New Mexico, so it was going down in Pensacola. Then I get a text from some of the Birmingham crew,Beto & Beau, that they wanted to come back to the warm weather and make some whoolie blocks. In a matter of mere minutes what turned from a boring weekend wreckin alone has turned into a sick throwdown.

I load the bike up, roll to Pcola and scoop up the Irishman on the way. And its GAME TIME!
Day starts off pretty normal, everyone is taking some time to brush off the rust. Then out of no where Beto starts dialing in and puttin the stank sauce down! Busting out a ton a circle combos I'm sure none of us have seen him do. It was actually pretty frustrating because I was trying to step to Ralph Louie and kept stalling out, but he's over there in the cut knocking out NTH Ralph Louies.

Beto waving for the fans

I'm pretty sure he was mocking me..or maybe that was me just aggravated.  Then Beau comes knocking out some pretty sweet nose coasters. Man..I've been out of it too long.. this is some bull! So I figure I got to gain some of my rep back right? I'll roll a few out, they all go pretty good.
I started getting a little happy with the gas, rappin it out to the limiter. Got in touch with an old friend of mine, The names Shake, Head Shake. Ahh yes, still no stabilizer. So I chill out and back to the wheelie game. I ended up knocking out a couple Ralph Louie's in a row.

Optical Illusion. He rolled right past me.

Ok, So I have to stop there and say: ---Who - in 2011---actualy thinks a Freestyle Ingenuity cage is a good cage to learn circles on? **crickets ** crickets** Yeah. Thats what I thought. Well Mr. BeEasy was takin it far from easy whippin some seatstander O's, and slams down putting a hole in his stator cover. So he starts drippin oil a little, we push it to the side, throw some JB Weld on it. Later in the day he is coming in hot again and thats all she wrote......



Josh and Porter show up midday to throw down with us as well. Both rusty and coming out the gate like they been riding all week.
Long story short. Great session. Even with a little oil and some squid faking the funk. Heres the rest of the pictures:  Here

The Flip Side of DOIN WORK

Everyone always says "DO WORK" when you tell them your going to ride. I believe Chris "Teach" Mcneil has said this on occasion-"In Stuntriding- Riding is only 10%". Which this is totally right. From driving 500+ miles to a comp/show/event, swapping motors in driveways, talking with sponsors, promoting, editing media. A successful stuntrider is a jack(ass) of all trades. Which of course I am not.
But on to my issue, GETTING/KEEPING a Legit Stunt Spot.

I was under someone else's permission this last year to ride at a city owned parking lot. With it being the change of the year, people start checking little things like insurance/waivers and make sure they are covered for the next year, its understandable. During Redemption Week, as most of you know I was asked not to ride at this spot until I could talk to the City Council. Well last night was the town workshop.

Lets trace back a step, being mostly a nonshow rider I do not carry a blanket insurance policy(as probably most stuntriders won't as well, unless you are doing probably 40-100+ shows a year). I have a found a few liability waivers and tweaked them a little to my liking. You can find some here - Click. I would advise if you are not good with legal jargin to leave them be, they are pretty good the way they sit. So, I printed out copies for each of the city council members with an additional signed one for records. I copied my drivers liscence, and health insurance cards. I also had a small resume of shows & events I have ridden in as well as a few stunt pictures(Things that look impressive to people outside the sport, but also make sure you are wearing your protective gear-putting the proper foot forward). And well, I guess we are ready.

I came to the city council meeting right after work so I was dressed well. It was actually hard for them to make the jump that I was that guy that was always stunting down the road. The Mayor walks in before hand and I introduce myself. He was very excited that I had came to the meeting and came prepared! He is good friends with a local extreme motorcycle rider and understands what we are doing. We talked for a couple of seconds and then the meeting began. I sat quietly and respectfully as other issues were being handled on the docket. After an hour or so it was my turn - GAME TIME!

The Mayor gave me a quick introduction to the rest of the council and asked me to explain what it is I do and would like to ask of the city. I first explained my personal life, job, where I lived to show them that I was apart of the community. Then explained riding experience, people I've worked for, charity rides, etc. So once they were comfortable with me. It was time to tackle the real issue. I believe they wanted a blanket insurance coverage(which I beleive the other extreme rider may have. still undetermined). So I methodically went through the waiver and hit on all the key points. Yes, I know this is dumb and dangerous - If I destroy any of my stuff yeah I got it I'm stupid. If I die, Yes, I am an idiot. Points taken. Another point that I made which is in some of the waivers is accidental damage to their property. That it legally bound me to fix it, as I would do anyway. I went on explaining how I already sweep/leaf blow the parking lot and pick up trash. In conclusion, I thanked them all for their time and consideration. The Mayor finished off with a few small questions, stated that he would love for me to ride for their Kid Fest sometime, and gave me a small nod and smile. Thanked them all again and was dismissed.

So the wait begins. In a week or so they will make a decision on whether or not I can still ride. But this my friends is how you go about getting/keeping a legit spot.
The work when your not "DOING WORK".

Redemption Week Day 4 - The End.

This session was supposed to be epic. Its the first sunday of the new year, sunny not a cloud in the sky, temp is around 59 deg(an upgrade from most of the week), and I was going to have someone to ride with!

I wake up to a text saying - "Sorry bro, I woke up late and didn't load the bike". BANG HEAD TO WALL. It pretty much killed all motivation. I hung around the house and noticed NOT A SOUL was out in the neighborhood.

Couldn't let my whole week of riding end this way. Plus, I told myself, I have to unload the bike out of the truck anyway right? Can't let it sit out side with a garage right there. So here I am unloaded, with idle screaming in my quiet neighborhood. I clutch right up, bikes a little cold, I'm coming in hot on cold tires. Oh yeah, buttery smooth circles right out the box. Clutch, Gas, Repeat!! Knocked out a quick little session in the neighborhood and no one was the wiser. I would have to say its not the epic end to R.W. as I wanted, but it definately was a good closer. I'm now comfortable on my new bike and starting to be where I was a year ago when this motor after motor disaster started. Its going to be a busy new year and hope my new handy dandy motoscooter can stay together for it!

 

Also, To keep everyone better informed I have started a facebook page. You can add it @ www.facebook.com/do.wheelies Thanks for checking up and see ya soon! Holla BLOX!

Redemption Week Day 3

Welcome back fellow wheelie lovers. Today was set with high hopes and a couple main goals to focus on, but Mother Nature had a different idea. Roll up to the new legit spot, unload, and start warming up. Everything was feeling right today - Drifting was back, huckin up some sweet stoppies on a cold tire, banging out consistent O's out the box!

I'm getting pumped and putting some aggression down into my riding again. Then a torrential downpour was unleashed on the parking lot! I'm talking about mid circle I could feel my socks swell and water filling my shoes! Too late to stop now. I rode until I got tired and then took a break.

My company showed up. ATL Rider Matt from Adrenaline Boyz was near town and heard I was riding. Well, this super cool guy comes in and blows my legit spot! haha, ok. That may not be how it happened.

I have permission from the pastors at this church, but I guess the head pastor was there and with both bikes revving and buzzing around the lot(or the fact that Matt's bike was loud as shit). The pastor came ripping out of the church yelling and screaming tell us to get out..think he dropped a H E double HOCKEY STICK or a DAMN. UGHHH Son, I know you aren't doing this?! Two legit spots in one week? BULLSHIT! Hoping to salvage this spot we load up. As we are pulling out the lot he comes out and apologizes that it wasn't very christian like and we can ride some other time when he isn't there working..right...

I had one "not so legit" spot in mind we rolled to. It was three things: Big, Wet, and Slick. Usually this is a GREATTTT COMBO! Today not so much. I had a blast riding, Matt got a little aggravated with his bike, but over all it was a good sesh. Sorry guys I didn't get any video/pics because SOMEBODY has dropped the ball. I won't point fingers though. So I'll try to make up for it with this:::