City Boy

A local bike activist brought in some copies of Urban Velo magazine to the shop the other day. They were left over from a documentary on the Portland cycling scene, which I didn't attend. After leafing through the 5" by 7" mag, I came to the realization that I cannot relate to urban cycling at all, and I'm kinda glad I didn't attend the movie premier. That might be surprising to hear, coming from a kid who considers himself a bike enthusiast, but I have my reasons.

First, while I love living in a city due to a relative abundance of people, things to do and sheer convenience, I'm a country boy at heart. I grew up in a fairly rural environment and while I'm still a novice to road cycling, I don't really see city riding as very enjoyable. I mean, I do it; using a bike as a form of transportation is usually more convenient and much healthier, and cities are way more BMX friendly than anywhere else, but as far as actual cycling is concerned, I'd rather avoid it. The backwoods are where it’s at. Fewer cars, (generally) better conditions and full fucking throttle. Having to watch the lights and avoid potholes is a pain in the ass. Pretty girls are a great distraction, but when I'm on my bike, I'd rather just concentrate on speed. I'm not one to meditate or discuss spirituality, but I guess I see road bike sessions as a time for introspection. If I want to think, I can. If I just want to go fast, that works, too.

My second reason for not relating to urban cycling is a general distaste for cycling “culture” in general. Again, this sounds extremely hypocritical coming from someone who has worked in the bike industry for close to a decade, and has been heavily influenced by BMX for even longer than that. But even my passion for BMX has its limits; there are few people I ride with that I spend time with outside of riding. As years pass, I find myself relating less and less to BMX as a whole, and while I’m getting more into road cycling, I feel absolutely NO connection to that culture. Maybe it’s because a lot of the riders who come into my shop are more consumed by WHAT bike they’re riding than where and when they ride. That happens in all forms of cycling, and yeah, I love my own bike as well, but I’d rather ride a rusty pile than stare at a carbon masterpiece.

In all honestly, most of this sentiment stems from my feelings towards fixed gear riders, which I see as the most fashion-conscious group of fair-weather riders that has ever existed. I almost see “urban velo” culture and fixed culture as one in the same. When I’m on my bike, I just want to ride. I don’t want to play bike polo. I like coasting. I hate “tall bikes”. I have no desire to take part in Critical Mass rides. While I’m all for upgrading road conditions for cyclists (as Albany is incredibly undesirable to ride in), I would rather ride alone that join the bi-pedaling masses. A bike is a bike is a bike as far as I’m concerned. Just leave me alone while I’m on mine.

Party of One

I've always found comfort in solitude. As a child, I was never a fan of group projects in class; I would rather do the work myself. In my early teens, I abandoned team sports and found BMX, where your progression and enjoyment was not partially determined by the actions of your teammates. Even now, I ride alone more than ever. It eases my mind, and I don't have to wait for anyone.

However, solitude can create alienation if not doled out sparingly. Lately, I've spent more and more time by my lonesome. I've become more awkward in social interactions, I interact less with my coworkers, and my relationship barely has a pulse. It's not healthy to keep to yourself constantly. The camaraderie of digital peers cannot recreate the rapport of good conversation with close friends and cold beers. I'm making an effort to reintegrate into my social circle, but this has proven difficult. Not really sure why. My main guess is clinical depression, something I've struggled with the past few years. There are plenty of times when I can't or don't relate to the lives & activities of my friends, but instead of dismissing the disconnect, I need to just enjoy the interaction and stop worrying about my own interests and problems. I also have a somewhat strict daily regiment, from work to eating to when I sleep and everything in between, which I need to start breaking. I've finally accepted my fate and begun to take anti-depressants again, and hope I can begin to locate salvation in the form of generic Prozac.
At this point, I really have no other choice, because the other option is pretty grim.

Wah.

Postage Paid

I think I finally stopped caring about BMX magazines.

It’s hard to admit that. One of the things that got me into BMX was being given an issue of SNAP in order to buy a Hoffman Taj from Dan’s Comp. Once I was immersed in the culture, I picked up every magazine there was. Didn’t matter that BMX Plus! Was geared towards 10-year olds, I still bought it. UK magazines? If I couldn’t find them locally, I’d call up the mailorders and get whatever I could. I remember making a couple big orders from Taj’s BMX Media site when that was still running, as that not only had my European favorites, but also carried zines from around the globe, which were generally tougher to find than the infamous Dave Young Tylenol footage.

At 25, I feel like I’ve taken in more than enough BMX media. I work a pretty boring desk job, and I get to spend numerous hours trolling the Internet and catching up on BMX gossip. I don’t necessarily think that the Internet has killed BMX due to topicality; I think it’s moreso due to saturation. Take a look at BMXfeed; there are some days where half of the featured sites are just linking to other featured sites. By the time Dig arrives in my mailbox, I’ve filled my mental quota for taking in BMX trivia. Not to mention the fact that most of the articles being written are pretty goddamn boring. Shit on the consistency all you want, but there hasn’t really been an entertaining mag since Faction. JPR wasn’t one to bore you with trick lists, nor would he leave out the sordid details of most sketchball road trips. Billy Hank Riesing wrote in a similar style; he might’ve babbled a bit more, but none of the articles were dry or repetitive. Jeff Stewart, who wrote for Ride UK while still under the watch of the Nobles, was another writer who seems to have vanished from the BMX landscape. His stories were always adventurous and had the feel of a Keuroac novel. Your average 15-year old lacked the mental capabilities to really appreciate that type of writing, and I guess that’s the downfall of most BMX media. There are plenty of adults who ride, but with their former editors now under the helm of ESPN, even Dig and Ride UK are getting unbearable. Magazines now lack any grit or substance. The interviews are boring, road trip stories shed minimal light on foreign cultures or interesting occurrences, and editorial content is tame at best. Maybe I'm just burnt out. Maybe it's time to stop clicking the links.

Speaking of ESPN, I did a series of interviews regarding BMX companies doing custom frames. Check them out if you’d like: FBM, Solid, the ever controversial Standard, and S&M. I did these to highlight the fact that it’s still possible to get an “adult” orientated BMX bike. It might not be a Sunday cruiser, but it’s not a Taiwanese frame with a 6” standover height, either. Custom frames are pretty common in the road and MTB worlds, but they’ve been pretty scarce in BMX. It’s a great option for those of us who don’t want our bikes to look like toys. The links never made it onto the Come Up, but I don’t mind; they wouldn’t really have been reaching their target audience, anyway.

I might actually try to update this thing more. Look for an Internet-themed article soon.

-bk

PS – check out In The Gnar!