Well Hey there.

So, Mikko has asked for some contributions to this here blog. Well it looks as if summer is winding down. The days are getting shorter and slightly cooler. So that means it's only a few weeks from the Minnesota Faction old school BBQ. Get ready for fun. We have some great sponsors this year. TONS of new and OLD school loot! So be there or your.... Well you will miss a good time. Hang'in, BS'in, and Ridei'n.

See you there!

BB

First Ave- Nov 15th- DRIVE BY TRUCKERS and THE HOLD STEADY

Yo, the Faction will be heading out to this double bill show at First Ave!

• Meet up @ the Hard Rock at 4:30, check out some rock and roll history
• Hit the show, hammer some Premiums
• After the show, visit O'Donnovans for a pint
• Take a cab/bike ride home!

Plan on some fun- The Hold Steady and The Drive By Truckers, love 'em or hate 'em, but both bands know how to put on a proper rock and roll show. People are not exagerrating when they say they have to take a day off of work after seeing The Hold Steady, cripes it does get ugly.

Buy your tickets soon, with this bill they are going to sell out fast.

Bicyclists to be first to ride on parkway past I-35W bridge

This article was in the Strib today:

"Organizers of the Minneapolis Bike Tour negotiated with the bridge's builders "so that they can use that chunk of road," Kevin Gutknecht, a Minnesota Department of Transportation spokesman, said Wednesday. That part of parkway, which has been closed since last year's bridge collapse, "won't be open then," he said."

The bridge collapse was really one of the most f'ed up things I have ever seen. I'll never forget standing on walking bridge and not seeing a single car on 35w and hearing the sounds neighborhoods on each end of the bridge.

That being said, this is great event, it's been cool to see the increase in the number of bikes on the road this summer.

-mikko

Freestylin 08 online. Again.

The 2008 Freestylin' book was taken off VBMX due to copyright concerns. Well our french pal at 23mag.com still has it up for downloading. Check it.
-Bill S.

Membership Has Its Privilages

Faction Membership Cards*

The Faction will be making membership cards** available at the BBQ. What will this card do for you? Well, not much, but you’ll get some style points for having one. The cost is FREE. As always, donations are always welcome but are not a requirement.
We’re whipping these things up in the next couple weeks, what we need from you is the following:

Name:
Nickname:
Hometown or Locale:

Email this info to minnesotafaction@gmail.com with Member Info in the subject

If you can't make it to the BBQ, your card can be mailed to you- just include your shipping address in the email.

* You may ask yourself, "But I don't know if I am a member of the Faction" or "How can I be a member?" Straight outta the Faction Handbook...

Q. Can I be part of the Faction?
A. It's been said before, but the Faction doesn't care if you were or are a:
has been
never was
sponsored
cosponsored
pro
loser
winner
forefather
expert
know it all
founding member
freestyler
racer
street rat
street urchin
hanger on
poser
nerd
stoner
OG
metal head
rich

poor
new waver
no waver
farm kid
outta towner
outta stater
city slicker
thrasher
flatlander
flatliner
no minder
no brainer
scenester
hipster

Bottom line is the Faction doesn't care at what level you rode BMX or even if you did. Hell, you don't even have to be from MN. We have more than a few peeps from WI and ND- not to mention all the bros from IL. And it's about hanging with people that dig BMX. As long as you are cool, or damn close to it, hang out with us. Bring beer. And don't be an asshole.

**These will be the same size as the Club Homeboy cards w/ member numbers

BOGUS! Olympics Rained Out????

Rained out in Beijing!!!!


But that didn't stop the Faction from getting together for a little bro down! Rodley, Psycho, Ditch, Smithers, FNG Matt, Todd "butterflies" Johnson, QBP Kyle, JC, Sheely, Steef, Sam & Jasper, Bill S, Stinkin' Pete Q and a TON of new faces all made it out.
Highlights:

• The Premium was flowing
• Steef appeared on what HAS to be one of the greatest Schwinn fireroad shredding 26'er ever
• Todd J 180ing the bunnyhop bar at height
• The bartender lining up pitchers on the table
• Checking out the vintage 3 bar Webco complete w/ coaster
• The fellas from http://generation-outdoors.com/ were hanging out and shooting some video and some pics

Quote of the night: "I punch kittens" Todd J (he really doesn't punch kittens, folks)

Bunnyhop footage from http://generation-outdoors.com/

Kyle:

Paul Smithers:

Bunnyhop winner- Tim. This guy could flat out FLY.

Todd Johnson:

Factionites:

Greg, holding court w/ the Webco King- sorry, the Premiums have erased my short term memory.


Thank you to Paul Smith for getting the ball rolling in less than a week and thank you Grain Belt for hooking us up with the best keg beer that I have ever had. And I know good keg beer when I taste it. Heh heh.

Happy Olympic Morning!

BMX made its Olympic debut yesterday with the Prelim rounds. Tonight is the Finals. You should definitely join the Faction at Champions Sports Bar and Grill in So. MPLS - Click here for the details: http://minnesotafaction.com/2008/08/its-offficial-grain-belt-has-signed-on.html

Anyway, last night's action prompted this e-mail exchange...

Smitty: Morning fellas… Can I have the privilege of posting about last night’s racing action on the Factionblog? Or were one of you already working on it?

Bill: It was awesome! I hope that team USA can survive the Semis to get all 3 in the Finals. That’ll be hard, with only 4 transfer spots & all 3 in the same semis. And hopefully Bennett can recover from that crash. Side note – did you check Day’s shoes, Gold Trickstar Nike Dunk clipless.Only complaints – so dang late & that idiot dude in the purple blouse before & after commercial breaks back in the studio.

Smitty: Ahhh, you did know that the Dude was a lady, right…LOL. I didn’t notice Day’s shoes. Damn, he has the course wired though. I’m not expecting much of Bennett today…how in the hell could you run that track with a racked up shoulder?

Mikko: I could do it.

Smitty: Somebody wake Mike up…he’s obviously still in REM sleep…

Mikko: LOL, I would pee my pants on that hill.

Bill: That was Huge. Did the chinese lettering on it spell out HELL TRACK?Those gaps! You can just roll over a grass gap! And having to completely sky over the girls berm - wow.That first turn was always intense as well. I don’t know how Bennett can comeback from that crash and make top four. The competition is gonna be hard & you have to stay on the gas the whole way.Any one know if the women’s will be aired? And I’m fairly sure she was a dude. Seriously. :)

Smitty: Yes, I am expecting that they will show all the semis for both the Men and Women tonight, as well as the one lap, no crap Mains.

Bill: Mains is one lap? No motos for points like the Quarters & I assume Semis?

Smitty: The way I understand it from viewing the schedule is that Semis will be run like the motos: 4 riders from each Semit transfer to Main based on total points. And then the schedule calls for only one “Final” lap. Which kind of makes sense to me…it is more in the Olympic tradition than a “total points” Main which runs 3 times.

Bill: Man, that final Main will be intense. I may pass out.

Smitty: I’ll check to see if Champions has a defibrillator!

Brian P's Summer Slam No. 4

Yeah! New Jersey Faction brother Brian P outdid himself AGAIN at his 4th annual Summer Slam. For those of you that don't know Brian, his garage is basically a time warp. It's set up just like an old school bike shop with display cases, parts, posters, stickers etc. He also has one of the SICKEST old school collections on the face of the earth. And he runs the most killer old school BBQ there is.

The best thing about BP is that he is one of the most reality based old schoolers out there. His collection makes most people lose their mind, but fortunately this guy knows what's coming up and going down.

Will there be a Faction crew out there next year? Time will tell...

Pics:

Guav

Props to:

Olmypic Coverage Starts Tonight!

Can I get a big hell yeah?
This is going to be great! 20 years I have been waiting to see BMX in the Olympics! I can remember reading in BMX Plus! that the Olympics would be a reality someday and that day is here! Time to grab my old M sized jersey, my open face and some bars from the garage and yell at the screen tonight.
Primetime coverage starts at 9pm on NBC

If you can't wait and are jonzing like mad, click this link for interviews w/ the riders.

Don't forget the Faction Party tomorrow night, happy hour @ 5pm. If you are a noob to the Faction, show up- you'll fit right in. By the end of the night you'll be in the gang.

The Return of Skinwall Tires?

It's about frigging time someone had the kiwis to revisit the skinwall tire. This has been on the radar since June, but I talked with a source today that said, "(Odyssey has) it in production. Distributors have part numbers in their system. So I would expect it soon..."

It's been said the Chase (think the RL Edge) tire will be available in 1.75 skinwall too. Odyssey has had their crap together for the last few years and still is coming up with trick stuff.

As long as they don't repro the Leading Edge seat they'll be fine. Heh heh.

Grain Belt Beer....

...Comes from here.

That's something that my wife and in-laws used to say as kids. Along with some coordinated hand motions.

But we in the Faction love Grain Belt Premium. And now Premium loves us back!

The deal on the beer at our Olympic party is that between 7-9 PM, when the racing is ON, we will be able to buy a wrist band for $5 and swill the Premium straight from the tap!* Well, maybe you should use a glass. But still! Ain't that grand!

*Please check yourself...we want to see you back for the Black and Blue BBQ next month.

Faction Archives?

Before the Faction blog, there was a quaint little webpage where we'd post pics from various rides, the past 3 Old School BMX BBQ's and other random crapola. These pages are not lost, they are stored elsewhere on the interlinksweb. Click the "Past Faction Events" on the right to check out the past pics!

24" Pro Performer? WTH?

Whoa... Knight Bike Company did a Red Line retro squareback a while back that is pretty cool, but a 24" Pro Performer? That is sick- it even has a coaster tab. That is if you are balls enough to run a coaster...

"Here is a the prototype of our latest retro bmx 24" frameset project. We're sure a lot of you recognize this design. It is a tribute to one of the greatest freestyle frames from the 80's and the rider who rode it Eddie Fiola. It now needs to go get powdered and built-up. Will post pics once the bike is done. These framesets will be built in a limited run and be available soon. Has threadless integrated headtube, mid-BB, 990 brake mounts, also coaster brake tabs too! If you are interested in one let us know."

They make a few other retro parts, but there is also RetroBMX for that stuff. :)

Grain Belt and the Faction Olympic Party

It's offficial, Grain Belt has signed on for the Faction Olympic Party... rock out with your Primo out.

Faction Olympic Party!!!

The Faction is going to be meeting up to celebrate BMX in the Olympics! How can you join in the fun? Read on peeps!


The Time:Wednesday, August 20th, 6:30-9pmish or whenever we leave


The Location:Champions Sports Bar & Grill (right off 35w) 105 W Lake St Minneapolis, MN 55408 612-827-4765

• Bunnyhop contest w/ some swag from RetroBMX thrown in


• Big screens


• All the Premium taps you care to drink from 7-9pm* for a $5 wristband!
  
• Full menu


• Rocking time


• Pictures with Steef ($6.00)


• Factionites going nuts as BMXers haul major ice in China
  
• Ideal time to discuss your plans for the 4th Annual Faction BBQ!

*keep 'er in check if you're driving, chaps.

Special thanks to Paul Smith for pulling all this together in the last 48 hours!!! Props brother!

Join us for a night of good times, laughs and welcome in some new members!