Screwed!

So this is the outcome of my surgery that took place Thursday...

Box Comp

Chuck and his crew from CT BMX are holding a box competition in a few weeks. I suggest you head down, shred the gnar, and support the shop. Good times are guaranteed with that crew! T and I will be making our way back from Rhode Island that day and plan on stopping in to check out the madness.

Road to Recovery

Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been nursing my bum thumb and typing lefty is a challenge. I had my surgery Thursday and it was a success. 2 screws were installed in my right thumb to re-attach broken bone and secure the joint. I'm stuck in a soft cast and sling till October 5th and then it looks like I'll be put in a hard cast and losing the sling. I owe a huge thanks to my good friend Erik who got me taken care of so quick. Lucky for me, Erik is an Orthopedic Physicians Assistant and hooked me up with Dr. Joyce, who in turn got me right into surgery due to the severity of my injury. I also owe my parents a huge thanks! I've been all doped up on very heavy pain meds since the surgery and I had doctors orders not to be left alone till I weened off to a lesser strength pain killer. T is away on business so my folks got stuck babysitting me for 3 days. So, I'm on the mend and with any luck will be riding sometime before Spring 2010.

The Lot Jump Jam

Sunday's jump jam at The Lot was off the hook! Lots of people showed up from all over CT. A huge thanks to Steve G. for letting us throw the event at The Lot. Good times for sure!!!

Lot Jump Jam Photos: CLICK HERE

Thumbs Down!

So September looks like it's going to be the sh!tty month of 2009. To start things off, Interbike begins tomorrow and I will not be there. This is the first time in 6 years I won't be out in Vegas for the show. Bummer! 2nd, I'm not racing CrossVegas or any other cross races this year. Lolli, Jason, and I had a blast last year at CrossVegas. Joy riding around Vegas in a Uhaul rental van...what could be more fun! Strike 3 is that I severely broke my thumb and tore my Ulnar Collateral Ligament on Saturday...rollerblading of all things! I don't know what hurts more, the actual injury or that fact that I did it rollerblading. Damn fruit boots! I'm headed under the knife on Thursday to have some pins, and possibly a screw, put in to fix my thumb. I hate surgery, but I'm confident because the doctor is amazing, and my good friend/college roommate Erik is an Orthopedic Physicians Assistant and he will be taking part in the surgery looking out for my well being. If anybody wants me to come shoot photos or video, feel free to contact me, I'm off the bike for 4-6 months!!!

Slaves & Strobes: Round 1

Borrowing some slaves and strobes from JBazz for the weekend. I played around last night trying to get the hang of the whole remote set-up, strobe placement, etc. Lots of riding is going down this weekend and I'm really looking forward to shooting a ton of film!

Slaves & Strobes Round 1: CLICK HERE

The Usual Routine

Another afternoon hanging out at The Lot.
Photos: CLICK HERE

We'll be back at The Lot tonight getting the place cleaned up and dialed in. Rumor has it the backhoe and bulldozer will be in action again so who knows what the end result will be?!?!

Lot After Dark

Arnwine, Blachura, and I rode The Lot last night well into the darkness. Dave opened his bag off tricks and was throwing down everything off the drop. We carved out 2 smaller dirt jumps, which are pretty fun. Trying to add a little variety to The Lot instead of the same old, same old. This weekend should be super fun!!!

Lot After Dark Photos: CLICK HERE

JBazz's Haven Photos

Jamison Bazinet got his photos posted from the after-hours Haven session with Ron Wilkerson on Tuesday night, go check them out: CLICK HERE.

Yeah Blanchara!

"Dave Blanchara gets some big air off the Highland double with a no-foot can. He was all over the park tearing it up with no-handers, 360s, and fluid style" (See photo below)

Props to Dave Blachura for getting some coverage over on VitalMTB. Dave rode in the Brodown Showdown at Highland a few weekends ago and apparently caught the photographer's eye. Must be that sexy blue TYRANT t-shirt!

Photos by Christopher Vanderyajt courtesy of VitalBMX.com

Legend In Town

Bry, Steve, and I killed some time at The Lot yesterday afternoon. After a little ghetto re-enforcement to the partially done bridge drop, Bry and Steve sessioned the new obstacle till dark. Pretty wild, that thing is scary! We headed down to Haven around 10 for an after-hours session at the park. BMX legend and 2 Hip owner, Ron Wilkeson, has been on the East Coast for the past week and he headed down to ride Haven last night. I'll be honest, there were only 9 of us in the park last night and that place is so fun to ride when it isn't congested and the lines are endless. Ron was stuffing himself into the oververt of the fullpipe with some monster carves! Jamison Bazinet was going to town with his camera, so I'm sure I'll have some great photos of the session from him in the near future. For now, check out the link below...

Lot & Haven Photos: CLICK HERE

Lot Work

A few of us met at The Lot yesterday afternoon to start making progress on the 3rd hit in the line, the TYRANT Drop! We couldn't of asked for better weather and the rain on Friday and Saturday made for some ideal conditions. Eric Davis worked hard as job foreman playing in the mud on the quad, 70cc, and in his WRX. Steve G. and his machines were a HUGE HELP, we couldn't of gotten any work done without him! We're about 75% done with the drop and hopefully it will be rideable this week. That thing is burly! Hope to hell you don't fall off the side!!

Lot Work Photos: CLICK HERE

Full House @ Haven

Wow, Haven was PACKED last night. I've never seen so many riders there for a regular session. Walking in you would of sworn there was a contest or pro demo going on...the place was infested with teenie boppers! After 1/3 of the masses cleared out at 9 the late session went down till 12:30am. The bowl was getting sessioned pretty heavy and Arnwine was looking super comfy on his bike. I think the week off due to sickness did Bry good! Bry got his Canadian nosepicks back, was almost getting his tables inverted, and pulling some nice pedal stall variations on and over the spine. T was riding the bowl for a long time with Jamison Bazinet and the 2 were looking really smooth. T was getting the hang of pumping the tranny's as I was barking orders that she wasn't allowed to pedal in the flat bottom :) She's going to be popping out of the coping in the near future! I'm pretty sure most people would admit that the highlight of the night was watching Chris Childs flair the smallest transition/wedge in the park...in addition to blasting everything else throughout the night! Go look at the photos...bonkers!!! Another super fun night at Haven as expected!

I have to send a shout out to Macisco for flowing me some new Odyssey Pro Race forks. Sweet! Thank you!

Haven Photos: CLICK HERE

A New Edge

Congrats to TYRANT's own Jake Lineberry, Bryan Arnwine, and Dave Blachura, all 3 riders are now getting hooked up from Cutting Edge. Ryan Howard approached me about starting a TYRANT/Cutting Edge BMX Team, and I was really stoked, but I had to respectfully decline. TYRANT has its roots planted deeply in the BMX community and I wouldn't feel comfortable showing "complete loyalty" to only one shop when there are a lot of great shops in New England who support the BMX scene. I'm psyched for the guys and psyched that Cutting Edge is looking to step it up in the BMX community and I support all of them 100%! I'll be shooting photos of the guys riding at various events which will be turned over to Ryan for Edge ads, the shop website, Facebook, etc. This is a great opportunity to gain each rider and Cutting Edge a little more exposure out there in the BMX world. Go check out the Edge's site and Facebook!
Thanks Craig & Ryan @ Cutting Edge!

Team Cutting Edge photos: CLICK HERE

In Case You're Busted

I don't want to jinx anybody, but we all get hurt riding from time to time and some injuries require an ER visit. We've all had a hellish experience waiting in an ER for hours upon hours cause the place is mobbed with sickies, drunks, and awaiting in-coming ambulances. If you're riding in Middlesex County and you happen to get hurt, check out MiddlesexERtime.com to see which of the 3 local ER's you can go to without worrying about major wait times. The sooner you're in, out, and fixed up, the sooner you are on your bike!

TYRANT/DropOut Labor Day Session

I met up with Macisco, Tom Burke, and their buddy Matt for a Labor Day park and trails session. We rode the Guilford Skatepark in the afternoon and the place was empty, except for swarms of bees. Trying not to get stung between each run wasn't my idea of fun. A huge thanks to the a$$holes that tipped over the port-o-let and trash cans and sprayed soda and juice all over the park...you're the rejects that are going to get the place shut down! On a positive note, we had a great time riding and the guys were going off. The DropOut guys hadn't ridden Guilford before and were having fun on the various ramps and obstacles. Late afternoon we headed up to Middletown to ride The Lot. The place was super dusty, but a ton of people ended up showing up to hang out and the session was really fun. Burke landed a dialed 360 whip off the first jump, something never done before at the The Lot. We had a brief scare at the end of the day when Macisco (riding the jumps brakeless) didn't get his hand back on after a 1 handed table and went over his bars head first into the lander. Mike bounced right up with a small scrape on his face, a nice shiner starting, a swollen forhead, and 1/2 the dirt from the lander on his clothes. Ouch! Yesterday was an ideal way to cap off the 3 day Holiday weekend and say goodbye to Summer. Lots of riding, lots of friends, lots of fun!

Labor Day Photos: CLICK HERE

Backyard Ramp Jam

Tiny TYRANT had a little backyard ramp jam yesterday and Arnwine, T, and I stopped by for a bit. The under 20 crowd was going off boosting huge airs and throwing down trick after trick. Damn kids! Thanks to the Begin's for their hospitality and letting us come terrorize their backyard. After the ramp jam the 3 of us headed over to the Newington Skatepark for a few hours. The park was pretty crowded but we had a good time bombing around the place. Another fun day of riding!

Ramp Jam Photos: CLICK HERE

Academy CLOSED

I threw up a post back in July about Academy Skatepark letting in bikes after several years of banning us. I heard through the grapevine that the owners apparently realized that BMX could bring them a fair amount more income each week...hence the reason they were charging BMXers $20 to get in. Looks like it was too little, too late...the park CLOSED for good on August 10th. Bummer! That street course was pretty fun, glad I got to ride that place a few times.

1st September Session

A bunch of us met up a rode the Wethersfield Park last night. It was in the low 70's and sunny...ideal riding weather! Steve Morse was going off boosting over the roll-in hip and bombing mach speed lines/gaps in and out of the bowl. I don't think I've ever seen a rider session the bowl so heavy in all my years riding Wethersfield. Blachura was out rocking his new Sinister frame and Bern helmet, gotta love sponsors! Arnwine was trying a big whip to flat over a plastic jersey barrier. I don't think Bry landed a clean one, but he was really damn close and I'm sure he'll get it next time. Either way, it was burly! The session ended with some pissed off father showing up to the park and getting in a kids face who mouthed off to his son. Word to the wise...all the young kids talks sh!t at the park...including your 12 year old son! Everybody just needs to keep their mouths shut and ride their boards/bikes and have fun. This grown man was really about to fight a 15 year old kid...so lame! That's the kinda BS that is going to get the park shut down! After Wethersfield, Arnwine, Steve, and I rode a little street in Middletown. Typical Spear Park session...ledges, manuals, and crack heads cheering us on. Priceless! Fall is almost here and the daylight is disappearing fast, get out and ride!!!

Wethersfield Photos: CLICK HERE