Years and years (and years) ago my brother & friend used to make fun of trials riders and their stupid little hopping around "tricks." Today, trials rider Danny MacAskill is easily one of the best riders I've ever seen.

There's a new video of him, and not only does it feature some of the most amazing bike control you'll ever witness (the dude will rockwalk drop-in off of anything!) but it's beautifully shot and edited.

All those kids doing wheelies & skids on fixed-gear bikes need to learn better tricks. Come on, "Quicksilver" was almost 25 years ago!

My friend and all-around good guy Rick MacDonald organized a flatland jam in East Bridgewater this weekend. There was a good turnout of riders (more than I expected) and it was great seeing friends I haven't seen in years, not to mention meet new people.

Of course, I took photos of the riding — highlights can be viewed on Facebook, but I also put all 150+ photos on Shutterfly if you can't get enough.

Dick Maul's Bike Shop held a contest at Skater's Edge in Taunton, MA today. It was great seeing some old friends and a lot of fun shooting BMX again (it's been a long time). Here are some shots from the contest:

I forgot to post it here, but In The Gnar (a site about BMX, among other things) wrote a nice review of my old `zine/site, eWire. You can read the article here.

A short documentary on Circle A Cycles featuring my brother, Brian:

Growing up riding BMX, Freestylin' magazine was the shit -- very cool, informative, great photos. Every month we couldn't wait to get the new issue in the mail. I just found out that a very limited edition Freestylin' Retrospective Book was recently published and from the sounds of it, it's nearly impossible for us old-school riders to get our hands on a copy. But thanks to the interweb, at least we can see it online. It was also pretty cool to see one of my `zines in the book (page 123).

Get your own - Open publication

Rapha (a cycling clothing company) interviewed eight of the top custom frame builders in the U.S., including Circle A Cycles (where my brother is a builder).

Custom frame building is both a science and an art. It is an ever-evolving process of geometry, wizardry and psychology, all brought together in an effort to understand the specific wants and needs of an individual rider. Few builders get rich, few even get famous, but every builder holds a special place in the hearts of the cyclists for whom they build. Every frame is a labor of love. At it's best, it's a perfect combination of builder and rider.

Read the interview with Chris Bull and Brian Chapman here.

You old BMX `zine makers out there (both of you...) might get a kick out of seeing the old issues of FAT Magazine -- the original printed versions from the 80s and 90s -- making their way online. Issue 16 has a few photos I took of Jim Cavanaugh and Rich Upjohn (page 15) and a mini-review of my old `zine (page 74).

A shirt with some really old school BMX:

I finally got around to putting my last riding video on YouTube. "Wire: 1989-1995" is a best-of compilation of the four videos I made during those years. Until now it's only been available on VHS, so rather than make a DVD version that nobody wants to buy I'll just put it online for free. If you like old school New England riding (especially flatland) you're in luck:

I don't really ride any more but I can still appreciate it. This video of Scotty Cranmer takes skatepark riding into videogame territory...

Someone in Japan took part of a video I made ("Losers of the Year"), edited out all non-flatland stuff, dubbed some rap over it, and uploaded it to YouTube. While I'm not exactly thrilled that somebody used my video without permission and added their own music to it, what the heck...the video is over 10 years old.

If you like circa-1995 BMX freestyle riding, I uploaded a bit of my video to YouTube:

I haven't seen my old riding friend Keith McElhinney since he moved to Pennsylvania, but he's clearly been doing a lot of riding at Woodward. At the Dew Tour's 2006 stop in Denver, Keith pulled the world's first ever front flip flair (which he has named the lawn dart) -- check out the video.

Update: Another video at the Dew Action Sports website.

Update #2: Keith's lawn dart won trick of the week on dewtour.com, getting him $5,000 in the process. Congrats, Keith! (And you're welcome for the votes...)

I'm pulling the plug on one of my sites: New England Flatland will no longer be updated, and will now just be an archived site. Thanks to all the riders who supported it!

Bill Keaggy, the guy behind my favorite riding `zine from the old days (it had such an amazing design, done before computer-generated layouts were common), has posted some old-school BMX photos of himself and others on Flickr.

This site has some flatland photos from the Final Exam Jam (covered here on eWire), including a cool kickflip hitchhiker shot of Brian used for the title graphic.

There's a proposal for a $1.1 million 40,000 square foot skatepark to be built under the Zakim bridge.

"It's definitely going to put the city of Boston on the map of skateboarding," said Jon Evjy, 21, who works at a Commonwealth Avenue skate shop called the Underground.

Naturally, I assumed that bikes would not be allowed in this new park. However, there might be some hope, since a member of the design committee is a BMXer:

It could draw thousands of skaters and BMX bike riders from around the country, sparking tournaments and national attention. Jody Stoddard, 34, a BMX rider and member of the conservancy's design committee, said he's taken road trips to skate parks in Toronto and upstate New York, and can see Boston becoming an East Coast skater haven.

Only time will tell. (Also, time will tell if the park eventually becomes a level in Tony Hawk Pro Skater 6...)

Brian (my brother) continues to make the local papers regarding his part in a local documentary about flatland. This time it's the Brown Daily Herald and the Fall River Herald News. (Links to previous news articles can be found here.)