FactionBlog

Have You Seen Him?

noreply@blogger.com (Bill S) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:36:00 +0000

Twas the Night Before the Faction Ride

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesota Faction) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 17:07:00 +0000

Ditch- June 2, 2007

The Faction Ride 'Em if You Got 'Em is almost here! I've tuned up Peg, my 1956 Schwinn Spitfire and took her out for a ride last night.

I dug out a few pics from a couple past rides, what a great time. I am ready to see some friends and tear it up a little. Who knows what post ride festivites are going down. Beer and fire sound good.

Here's to a safe ride tomorrow, may we see some cool bikes and have a good time in the city.

Minnesota Faction 2010 Ride em if you Got 'Em

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesota Faction) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:19:00 +0000

What: Faction "2010 Ride em if you Got Em"
Where: Meet at Calhoun parking lot, ride the Greenway, hit downtown, U of M, Grumpys, Lake of the Isles Etc
Who: Anyone with a bike and the will to ride it
When: Saturday, April 17th, 10:30am with a 11am start.
Bring crap to sell, people usually do. Rain or shine. Or maybe even snow. Or both.
Where do we start?: 3104 W Calhoun Blvd, Minneapolis, MN, United States, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy.
The theme: Ride around town, stop and have a burger and beers at Grumpy's and try not to get hit by cars. Totally casual.
Bonus: Steef will sign autographs as usual. $5.00 a pic.

Coming Soon: New Faction Stickers

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesota Faction) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:03:00 +0000

Yet another kick ass Faction idea:

Spring, Be Here Now.

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesota Faction) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:26:00 +0000

Spring Ride

There are years where it seems like Spring shows up, then one more storm hits just to mess with your head. This year seems different.

I am not claiming to be Punxsutawney Phil or Dave Dahl, but the promise of longer days and frigging SUNSHINE are on their way. As Factionites have been quietly building bikes and empire over the winter, the Faction machine has been whirring away. Before we know it, the annual Spring ride (details soon) will be here and we'll be packing up to head to Rockford to hang with all our BMX bros. We will also have a cool summertime event planned- but that's top secret.

The fall BBQ will be raging in September- 6 years. Hard to believe we're still going strong. You can't break the Faction.

It's my birthday and I'll ride if I want too!

noreply@blogger.com (Bosanova Bill) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:32:00 +0000

While technicly today Feb 12th is my birthday I decided to celebrate it a bit late. So on Saturday Feb 27th let's hit up Showcase skate park in Rodgers, MN for some BMX fun! 8 - Midnight?

No presents needed but I will take donations of slightly used socks.

http://showcaseskatepark.com/

Faction Skatepark action

noreply@blogger.com (Bosanova Bill) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:09:00 +0000

It's Bosanova Bill here and I'm inviting you all to the B-vile 3rd lair for an evening or afternoon of indoor riding fun! Date and time to appear here soon!

http://hstrial-3rdlair.homestead.com/2008_Burnsville_Pictorial.html

Faction Race Jerseys

noreply@blogger.com (Smitty) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:32:00 +0000

If you missed out when these were pre-ordered, I still have a few left and have put them up for sale in my ebay store. Hmmm...I still can't link, you'll have to cut-n-paste.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310191119052&var=&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Best Newspaper retraction Ever

noreply@blogger.com (Smitty) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:56:00 +0000

FREE GRASSO?

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesota Faction) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:25:00 +0000

In fairness to all involved parties and not wanting to monitor anonymous commentary, I have chosen to remove this post.

Faction Christmas Party- Toys For Tots Drive- December 12th

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesota Faction) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:10:00 +0000

It's Christmas time! A time for fun, friends and some BMXing in Rogers @ the Showcase!

We're going to have a bit of a cool twist this winter: we're going to help out Toys For Tots! With the tough times hitting families hard this year, we can't have little the shredders going without toys. So here's the plan: Bring a new, unwrapped toy (toddler and teen toys are esp needed) and the Faction will deliver said item to Toys For Tots. Any and all cash donations will be donated directly to Toys For Tots.

Events for the evening:

2009 Footdown Grand Championship

Lynyrd Skydyrd: Longest skid is back for the attack. If you don't run brakes, foot-in-spokes is accepted

The Totally Random Gift Swap: Bring an unwrapped gift, something that YOU'D like to receive as a gift, valued under $15. We tape a ticket to it. Everyone that brings a gift gets a ticket that will be drawn randomly. Gag gifts encouraged. Lumps of coal strongly discouraged.

Random drawings from the Faction Prize Vault will be happening as well.

Where: Showcase Skatepark, 20401 County Rd 81 ~ Rogers, MN 55374

Who: Anyone on 2 wheels

When: Saturday, December 12th- 5pm-10pm

Cost: $12 to ride the parkDinner: Pizza Party $5 per person

2009 Black and Blue BBQ- A Thank You!

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesota Faction) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:22:00 +0000

Shad Holland pic by STRIKE

Now THAT was a proper BBQ!

I can’t believe how much fun the 2009 BBQ was. It was so rad to see everyone again as well as some new faces, we had a great turnout on Saturday. The day started a little cold and rainy but the weather held out and everyone was super stoked to be checking out some old school machinery and sharing some old school memories.

A HUGE thank you to this year’s event sponsors: Red Line, Props, Kink, Hoffman, Jive, Flatland Fuel and Odyssey. The Faction supports the companies that support old school BMX. Very cool to see the faces of everyone when they would win and we certainly appreciate all that these companies do. What’s REALLY cool is seeing kids running the parts they won at last years event. The new schoolers were out in FORCE this year.

And thank you to the Factionites that help make all this happen: Bill Anstedt (sponsorship, logistics), Bill Sympson (Skilz contest awards), Rich McGillivray (Secretary of transportation) Gregg Strike (photographs) and Matt Kirkwold (Setup/teardown). The Faction events run smooth because of all the help behind the scenes.

Most importantly- thank all of the people that made it to the event, YOU are the reason why we continue to grow each year and why the Faction is so cool to hang out with. Old school BMX is alive and well in Minnesota!

Link to the Gregg Strike gallery

See you in 2010; planning is already underway!

-Mikko

For sale: Iconic Grain Belt beer sign???

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesota Faction) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:56:00 +0000

I could totally see this being in my back yard. Hell, I could see this in my FRONT yard:

Time to start a little Faction Fundraiser...

See you @ the BBQ!

2009 Faction BBQ Sponsors!

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesota Faction) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 02:06:00 +0000

We will have HUGE product giveways throughout the day at the Faction BBQ and the Skilz winners will all go home with some serious prizes.

Without the generous donations from Red Line, Props, Kink, BMX Addicts, Jive,Flatland Fuel and Odyssey none of this would be possible.

2009 was a great year for the Faction. Many new friendships were forged, many laughs were had and it's going to be one heck of a party @ the BBQ once again.

Never heard of the Faction? Wondering how you can be part of the Faction?

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.
And if you're 21, bring beer.

BMX Hall of Fame opens in Chula Vista, CA

noreply@blogger.com (Smitty) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 04:26:00 +0000

OK, lately I have been amusing myself by posting some fake news type of posts. This one is no joke - though it almost seems absurd and surreal to those of us who grew up with BMX totally outside the mainstream of the sports world.

This weekend saw the opening of the BMX Hall of Fame at the US Olympic BMX Training Center in Chula Vista, California. This is a very big deal in my book. I applaud those involved who made this thing a reality, and I hope to visit the center some time in the not-too-distant future. (Before the USOC decides the money they are spending on the place could be better spent on Judo, or Fencing, or Water Polo.) Kind of ironically, I am sure my retired parents will get to visit it before I do...they typically winter at an RV Park in Chula Vista.

A shot of the awards ceremony, courtesy www.BMXmania.com - Go there and check all the photos.

And take a look at this video from Ben Joy. Thank you Ben, for giving up part of your weekend to edit a video for the rest of the BMX Community to enjoy.

Sorry, I can't seem to embed the video or make the link work. You'll have to copy n' paste...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pph49mYF4I

STR 1

noreply@blogger.com (Smitty) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 04:00:00 +0000

Am I the only one who finds it mildly amusing that Fit has a new bike model called the STR 1?

I will say that they are decent looking bikes, though they look nothing like an STR-1 should look. Here's the real STR-1:

And in action. Note how the twin downtubes carry through under the BB shell. But you already knew that was what separated an STR-1 from a Quadangle.

Complete Disclosure: MirraCo on ESPN.com

noreply@blogger.com (Smitty) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 11:39:00 +0000

I dug this interview of Jim Ford (ex Haro exec, current MirraCo CEO) over on ESPN's BMX site.

Gotta hand it to Mark Noble for asking the tough questions.

Q: Which of the whole line would you ride straight out of the box?

A: I personally wouldn't ride any of them...

OK, so maybe that would have been a better question for the company's co-owner and namesake, Dave Mirra.

http://espn.go.com/action/news/story?page=mirraco

Here's Dave.

Chopper Bikes finally make it to Wisconsin

noreply@blogger.com (Smitty) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:02:00 +0000

A development years in the making, a Chopper bike has been spotted in Wisconsin this weekend. The Wisconsinite seen below seems intent on setting a new standard for Ape Hangerdom.

Ignaz Schwinn IV, great-grandson of the founder of the Schwinn Bicycle Company, and currently a low-level employee in the marketing department at Pacific Cycle, had this to say of the chopper sighting: "We've been hoping that Choppers would eventually find some footing here in Wisconsin. Choppers do represent a viable alternative for kids and adults who have no BMX skills."

Now that choppers have been discovered by the Cheesehead populace, it is presumed that another invasive species, the Fixed Gear bike, will also be spotted in the coming years.

Your 26" rims ain't nothin'

noreply@blogger.com (Smitty) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:52:00 +0000

Nope, what you need is 28" inch rims, m'boy.
Spotted in Brooklyn Park.

The OFFICIAL Faction theme song.

noreply@blogger.com (Bosanova Bill) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:22:00 +0000

"Seeing double at the Triple Rock" By NOFX

Faction welcomes new Minnesota transplant

noreply@blogger.com (Smitty) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 23:19:00 +0000

A new local resident was recently welcomed into the Minnesota Faction. The 39 year old moved to the Twin Cities in August, thanks to a new job opportunity. "I'm a little worried about the upcoming Winter," said the F*cking New Guy, Brett. "I've spent some time in Wisconsin, but I don't think the Winters there are anything like Winter in Minnesota."

Originally hailing from Mississippi, FNG Brett grew up racing in the South. "I started out on a Blazer in 1981. Didn't have that very long before it broke. Then I was on a Rebel, Johnny Reb model, in 1982. That was a sweet bike, I had Steve Shobert autograph it at a National at Gilley's in Texas. After that I got a co-factory deal on a Rebel General Lee."

Brett continued recounting his racing stories. "I was chasing NBL Points, hitting all the War of the Stars races I could. But my dad wasn't real supportive. He coached a little football."

Brett had to make a choice in 1984: Racing or football. "It was real tough. I loved my old man, but he just couldn't see that BMX would get me anywhere. I told him, 'Dad, Brian Patterson made, like, $150,000 last year.' He said 'OK, we'll see how much he's making two years from now. And does anybody give college scholarships for BMX?'" Brett didn't have a comeback for that one. His dad continued, "You focus on football, get a scholarship, and get an education degree. That way, if sports don't work out for you, you can always get a job teachin' and coachin'."

Brett grudgingly gave in. "Heck, racin' wasn't much fun anymore anyways. Rod Miles and the Haney Brothers were going Malachi on me pretty regular. So I sold my Rebel bikes and gear, and with the money I bought a Trickstar. It was pink."

He found freedom in Freestyle. "I was able to keep riding, but I didn't have to spend all that energy chasing points. Gave me a little more time for lifting weights and throwing the ball around." But it wasn't all smooth sailing. "I got a little shit-talking from the good ol' boys around town, for riding that pink bike. But I didn't care. I have always felt my legacy was mine - it was what I think of it. I didn't care what anyone thought about the color of the bike beneath me."

Like many freestylers of his era, Brett and his friends put together a team to do shows. "We were called "Rednex Trix Team". We did shows at the county fairs. And let me tell you, every county in Mississippi has a fair."

The summer of 1985 was a big one for Brett and his friends. "There are 16 weekends from Memorial Day to Labor Day. We did shows on 14 of those weekends. We took my buddy's ex-stepdad's bass boat trailer and we built a quarterpipe on it. It just had a big hinge and the ramp flipped backward when we needed to transport it. That was about the smartest thing I ever thought of. I don't think anybody else in the world would ever have thought to use a boat trailer like that. And we had a wedge ramp that had the confederate flag painted on it. That won over a few people in the crowd who didn't like my Pink Hutch."

But Labor Day in 1985 signaled turning point for the hard-working freestyler. "I was quarterback for my old man's football team. He was great, he put up with a lot. But I sprained my wrist trying a 540 for the first time at our last show of the year. Daddy went nuts on me when I got home. 'You are our starting quarterback! How are you gonna play with your wrist like that?'"

I said, "Dad, don't worry. I will find a way to play." The following Friday night, Brett was 21 for 26, throwing for four touchdowns, all left-handed. "After that, I knew I my riding had gone about as far as I could take it. I decided that pushing myself riding wasn't worth the tradeoff to what it might do to my football."

The Pink Trickstar sat in the back of the garage, collecting dust. Brett went off to College in 1987. He got that football scholarship that his dad hoped for. But BMX was never far from his mind. "After I settled in at Southern Miss, I went back home and got that Trickstar. I got a lotta funny looks pedalling that to class. But I loved it." But his senior year, his Trickstar was stolen. "I didn't lock it. Everybody knew who's bike it was. I didn't figure anybody had the nads to take Southern Miss's quarterback's pink bike. But somebody did, and I never saw it again. At that point, I decided to get a mountain bike. They were looking pretty cool. I got a neon yellow Haro."

Brett tried to forget about BMX as he focused on furthering his football career. He pursued some opportunities for playing professionally in Atlanta, and then in Green Bay, WI. "Green Bay was pretty fun. I felt at home there among the good ol' boys. And every year at Training Camp, they had this tradition where kids would loan their bikes to the players to get from the locker room to the practice field. This jump-started my love for BMX again. I always grabbed a BMX Bike to ride on. I about gave Coach Holmgren a heart attack one time when I pulled a backwards rubber ride on some kids' Dyno. But I knew what I was doing. It was a DeTour, and both the brake levers were in the right spot to support my feet." Coach was not impressed however, and in his next contract, Brett was forbidden from riding BMX bikes of any kind, at any time.

That contract couldn't stop him from collecting bikes though. In his offseasons, he scoured the bike shops and pawn shops of the towns of Mississippi, trying to recreate the bikes of his youth. "I found a NOS Rebel General Lee frame in a shop right in Hattiesburg. And then I found a cracked Blazer. I had Rod Miles weld it for me. He's a good shit. Then I needed some parts. Who do you suppose had the all the parts I needed? The Haney brothers. They didn't exactly cut me any deals, but hey, money talks, and I have a few bucks in my checking account. Then I needed a Trickstar. I kinda put the word out, and then one day UPS shows up at my door. NOS Trickstar frameset, in the box. A gift from Juan Mattos. I also had to have a DK General Lee. I mean - come on. It's like they designed that bike just for me."

It was tough having the bikes of his youth around, but not being able to ride them. But Brett was able to occupy himself with other pursuits. "I got me a nice John Deere, and I got a lot of grass to cut." The John Deere kept him busy until 2008. "In 2008, when I retired from football, the main thing I wanted to do was get back on a BMX bike. I had occaisionally seen what guys like Dave Mirra and Brian Foster were doing in the X-Games, and I knew I had to get the feel of airing it out on a BMX bike again. When I retired, it was on. I rode street, I rode parks. I spent a lot of the daylight hours in the summer of 2008 using that John Deere to push dirt around. With the help of some locals, we made some of the sweetest trails there ever was in Mississippi." But some of his new young friends there also were members of the High School football team. "They talked me into throwing them some passes to get ready for football season. One thing led to another, and I was feeling the urge to get back into football." This time however, he would not give up riding.

"I told Ted Thompson (Green Bay's General Manager), I was coming back and this time I was bringing my General Lee. After he found out that my General Lee was a bike and not a '69 Charger, he was not happy." Days stretched into weeks as Brett stayed firm in his insistance that he be able to ride BMX, not only at training camp, but also during the regular season. Ultimately, Ted blinked first in the negotiations, and he traded Brett's rights to the New York Jets. "I thought we could make it work" said Eric Mangini, the coach of the Jets. "I thought that the focus would be on football, and if he would just go on a ride occaisionally with Ralph Sensi and Bob Scerbo, well, that couldn't be any worse than one of our other players enjoying a night out at a club." Mangini even took extra precautions to make sure the situation was a positive one. "I reached out to Russ Bengston. Russ has worked with pro athletes before. He knows how to mix hardcore riding with professional sports. He steered Stephon Marbury back into the game after Marbury let the BMX/Basketball thing get a little out of balance for a while."

It did work for the Jets, up until about week 12 of the 17 week season. But Brett confesses "I was riding the Brooklyn Banks with Russ. And I slammed pretty hard on a footjam tailwhip." His throwing arm was damaged. "'Not a big deal' I thought. I'd been here before. I'll just throw switch." The Jets went 1-4 over their last five games with their left-handed quarterback, missing the playoffs.

This just gave Brett more time for riding again. But that right bicep was a problem. "I just couldn't get the pump I needed to throw 360's. I was landing them all at about 270. So I knew I needed surgery." He got the surgery and was ready to ride again. This time though, he knew he was done with football.

"I'd had enough. Seriously, I am 39 years old - 40 in October. I do not need guys like Albert Haynesworth grinding me into the turf."

But Minnesota Vikings Coach Brad Childress got his cell phone number. "Chili, he kept calling. And calling. Said I was the missing piece - they had all the other pieces of the puzzle in place. I seriously thought about getting a new cell phone just to stop the calls. I even called my boy Rick Thorne - I knew him from the county fair circuit back in the day - but he told me he just couldn't hook me up. He's hanging on by a thread over there at Boost Mobile."

"I watched the Vikings' first pre-season game and I just had to laugh. Chili was looking sick on the sidelines. It wasn't 15 minutes after that game finished that my phone rang again."

"I had had some time to think about it, so I said to Chili, 'Get me Zigy.' And when Zigy Wilf got on the phone, I said 'Here's the deal. I will play for you for one year. You will pay me 12 million dollars, we will win the Super Bowl, and that is going to get you your precious new billion-dollar stadium funded with the Minnesota legislature. And then, you will sell me the Metrodome for one dollar. Zigy said 'Done. I will send my plane to pick you up.'"

"I am planning to build the mother of all bike parks in that dome. No skaters allowed. And my new bros in the Faction will ride for free, all time."

Thanks Brett. But you're still the F*cking New Guy. Go get me a Grain Belt Premium.

Minnesota Faction 5th Annual Black and Blue BBQ- Ride and Shine

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesota Faction) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:42:00 +0000

This is going to be the most relaxed BBQ yet, expect maximum chill time w/ your bros.
- RAIN OR SHINE
- Bike Awards: Rat Bike and Faction Choice
- Skillz Contests: Footdown, bunnyhop and the ever popular skyd challenge
- Ride to follow- Minnehaha Parkway Cruise

Date: Saturday, October 3, 2009
Time: 9:00am - 4:00pm
Location: Bloomington Public Skatepark
Street: 90th and Portland
City/Town: Bloomington, MN

Links to the past BBQs/Rides
More details to come!

BMX in skate parks survey

noreply@blogger.com (Bosanova Bill) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 02:01:00 +0000

http://www.ppolnews.com/?id=85244&keys=BMX-Bikes-Belong-Skatepark

Naked man

noreply@blogger.com (Bosanova Bill) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:28:00 +0000

Some dude was arrested for preparing for a nude bike ride. Be forewarned the Picture does show naughty bits.

http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2009/07/cyclist_exposes.php

What color is your toboggan?

noreply@blogger.com (Smitty) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:55:00 +0000

Lost a friend last week. I've known Jason Whittier since 7th grade, and he married a great friend of mine, they had two kids together, same age as my kids. 8 years ago he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Twice he beat it off, through surgery and chemo. Twice it came back. He couldn't beat the tumor this time, but it wasn't for lack of trying. And it sure wasn't for lack of positive attitude. Here's Jason, writing last December 15, one week after his third brain surgery:

I just can't wait to see were this ride takes me next! It's kinda like my "spirit dream" I had. Brittany and I were looking at these relaxation cd's that I got. I like the native flute ones, one was called spirit flute and she kept calling it spirit dream, so she said something about me having my spirit dream. This was before my surgery and stuff last week. And by gosh I did have a spirit dream heres how it went. I was at the peak of the Himalayas and on one of those old tabogans and I was sliding down, right on the edge of the mountain, snow was flying all over and it was like a scene from Indiana Jones or Ice Age or something, twenty seven thousand feet, that would be a long sled ride. Anyway I must have had someone riding with me, they were behind yelling in my ear saying "you might has well jump off now, we will never make it, You might has well quit while you can" and I remember looking down the mountain and there was this long curvy trail that went on forever and it looked pretty rough but everytime the guy would suggest that we jump I would tell him that I was going see were this trail took us, I said "I am going to ride this sucker right to the end". That was my dream and I could probably explain every image in it and why it was there, but I think from that moment on I re-affirmed that no matter what "I am riding this sucker right to the end!"

Jason, you rode that sucker. God bless you, and in Jason's memory, give us all the strength to take our own toboggans back to the top for another run while we have the chance on this earth.