The Beacon Bmx

Living in Austin the last three years, I’ve been on a mission to unlock the city’s secret spots.  With so many skaters and bikers here, there is never a shortage of new places to ride.  The problem is finding them.  Understandably, these unseen gems aren’t advertised.  Anyone who’s built a spot has dealt with the frustration of having their hard work toppled by some hooligan kid so it’s no coincidence these places are kept hidden.  I don’t mean to be cocky, but I’ll admit that I’ve become quite the iron chef of finding spots.  Sometimes finding the place is half the battle but thankfully video context clues, web forums, and Google maps have been a godsend.

With all that said, there has been one concrete wonder that’s eluded me for the last 2 years; The Alien Pod.  After watching S&M’s recent Blind in Texas video I made it a priority to find this place especially since I heard rumors of its days being numbered.  Two months later, after spending hours mindlessly searching skate forums I found 3 hints that helped triangulate its location.  I’ll spare you the trigonometry formulas I used, but there it was, hidden in the blurry pixels of Google Maps.

Intending to session the hell out of it, I got up early the next day and packed my bag with plenty of tools and water.  When I got there, this is what I found:

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Well, it’s really Chaparral, New Mexico’s best kept secret but who gives a damn considering it’s only 10 minutes from EP’s North East.  Ever since 2002, the El Paso area has had a hell of a time sustaining a legitimate set of trails but thanks to Isaac, Charlie, and Steve that’s recently changed.  Meet the Raptor trails.  I’m not sure if they named them after the disemboweling dinosaur to deter kids from smashing their manicured jumps to bits, but I guess it really doesn’t matter.  They could be called the Tampon Trails for all I care.  The point is that I’ll have something other than ditches to ride the next time I visit the motherland.

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Although expected, it’s been hot as hell this summer in Austin. Luckily if you wait until about 7pm the temperature drops around 10 degrees in the woods. With that said, I’ve been riding the Walnut Creek pump track quite a bit to escape the damn sun. There is always someone to ride with there. All of the dudes are really chill and are never shy to share dirty stories and beers between laps. It’s like summer camp but with way more shit talking. Anyway, while sitting there sweating my ass off yesterday, I got the bright idea to tape my iPhone to my bars and took a few laps. The outcome was reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project but it’ll give you a good idea of what this place is about. Enjoy.

I know, I know, it’s been ages since I’ve updated the Beacon but I’m looking to change that soon. Keep an eye out for more. Anyhow, I was browsing throught Demolition’s website a few days ago and came across a set of riding pics shot in EP. I thought they were just passing through, but it seems they’ve been there for at least three days and are sessioning hard. It’s cool to see El Chuco getting some pro traffic. Someone should point them over to the hook!

That’s a shot of Doyle at my favorite wallride ever.

This news may be a little old, but I came across it when I read about a similar story in Florida where a hacker changed a road sign to read “No Latinos, No Tacos”. Talk about keeping Austin weird.

There is an entertaining interview/pictorial about the man, the myth, the legend on ESPN’s site. Taj has been MIA for the last several months since his back surgery, but this article explains what he has been up to lately. You gotta hand it to Taj. Even when he’s not riding he is contributing somthing positive to BMX. I wish him the best.

I recently started riding trails again since summer seems to have graced Austin a bit sooner this year. Although I am in my late 20’s, I hastily learned that I’m not man enough to leap over consecutive dirt chasms without brakes on my bike.
Since some skatepark rat decided to pillage my bag, I found myself needing a new set of brakes. I happened to come across a cheap set of Fly brakes and couldn’t be happier with the purchase. My only complaint was that with my set up, the brake bolts protruded excessively and threatend to tear my pant cuffs a new asshole. While jutting bolts might not be sexy, through the years I have learned to let things like this slide.   Not Fly though.  Leave it to them to make the most innovative brake pad since the Mathauser.  Very cool Fly.  I can’t wait to buy a pair.

This will be a great one.  I couldn’t find the source, but I could have sworn I read somewhere that this will be the last contest at Ramp Ranch. Apparently they are moving to a different location.  And for all you pro-hoes, there should also be a good pro turn out since thishappens to land on the same weekend.  So if you find yourself in the Austin area and need something to do, you should try hard to make it.  I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

Update:  It turns out I read about Ramp Ranch moving locations on Facebook.  Here’s a link to the invite.  There will even be a girls class!  It’s always fun to watch girls shred harder than many of the dudes.

I always thought it would be cool to be chased by a cop on a mountain bike. Since some of those clowns can barely ride those things, I would envision gapping over something or grinding down a rail to execute the perfect E.T. style getaway (I don’t mean riding my bike in the sky with an alien in my basket, I mean this).
Anyhow, when I came across this article, I pictured cops being put through a BMX bootcamp in an effort to pursue and catch hoodlums. The truth is that UK police are trying to “connect” with the youth by riding similar bikes.  I give them an A for effort, but I hope I never look that awkward on my bike.

ODYSSEYBMX.COM » DAILY WORD

I came acrosss this on Odyssey’s website and thought it was too cool not to post.  Way back in the mid 80’s my cousin Steve was really into bmx.  I don’t remember much about those days other than what his bikes looked like.  They all resembled this one  so looking at it takes me back to my earlies bmx memories.   It seems The Bicycle Source is auctioning this bike for a good reason.  Check out the details here.