About a month ago...
Lou, Micky and myself hit the road bound for the Northeast. We had big plans to ride some trails, hang out with some friends and make some new ones. To say the trip was a success would be a vast understatement. There are countless stories from the road that we will probably be telling our grandkids 40 years from now, and to fill in some of the blanks we've got some pictures.
A good portion of the trip was spent in Lowell, Massachusetts with some good friends. Louis met a Randy Mueller on a Faction BMX Magazine trip about 4 or 5 years ago. Over the past few years we've got to know Randy a lot better and have been up in his area a few times. Randy and his roommates Brent and Tim have a pretty sweet BMX house in downtown Lowell which was the launching point for our adventures for almost a week.
Handsome Tim and his beloved doggie (that dog is a maniac).
One of our adventures was the train trip to Boston. Our buddy John Riley was our tour guide for our day-long trip into the big city. It was Micky and Lou's first time on a train so the day started off with a little bit of excitement.
John Riley and Louis shooting the shit on the way to downtown Boston.
Micky on the way to Boston
If you didn't already know, Critical Mass was created to stir up awareness about bicycling in urban areas. A lot of folks rely on bicycles as their main form of transportation and are often overlooked by the majority of automobile drivers.
Critical Mass forces people to take notice of the bicycling community in their area by crowding the streets with bike riders. I've been to Critical Mass in Baton Rouge and it has been a blast. We've seen numbers up into the 100 range. But nothing could prepare me for what went down in Boston.
This was the staging point for Critical Mass. We had no idea how big it was about to get.
About 300 riders gathered in a main square in the middle of downtown. Shortly after we took off through the streets of a major city with a 1/4 mile long parade of bikes. It was unreal. Nobody was able to stop our parade and EVERYONE took notice. It was quite a surreal experience and all the riders seemed to have a blast.
Riders getting ready to start Critical Mass.
The next day was the jam at the Prison Trails. The guys at Prison have a sweet set of trails that have been running off and on for about 10 years. The conditions aren't exactly perfect but the locals there obviously put in a lot of time making the jumps work. Once a year they invite everyone out to have a good old time riding and hanging out.
Chilling at the Jam.
There was quite a crew out during the trail jam. Riders from all the neighboring towns and states showed up to ride. Our good buddy Justin Brace even made a trip out to the trails to see everyone. He seemed to have a really good time. In fact he smiled all day.
Justin Brace enjoying the perfect weather at the trails.
One of the locals stood out big time at the Prison Trails. When I first saw Rory Ellis I pegged him for a street rider; 4 pegs, no brakes, big Animal sticker on his bike. I couldn't have been more wrong. Rory tricked every set in the trails with crazy barspin variations and 360s all over the place.
Rory getting loose with a superman and the GRIZZ!
Another highlight of the Prison Jam was Randy Mueller going through the section on a 80's era Mongoose. The bike was super small and old but Randy got to it. Wildman indeed.
After the Prison Jam we packed up and headed north to Maine. I had never really hung out with the guys from Maine and I didn't know what to expect. Good thing, cause these guys were cut from a different cloth. The night we were there we went to a party in the woods that featured a half-mile muddy road to monster truck through, a quick hike through the pitch black wood, a fire pit that was 10 feet deep and 10 feet across plus a trampoline and rope swing in the middle of the woods. WILD.
The party in the woods was a blast and so were the trails in Maine. We showed up a little late in the afternoon and rode until dark. The Credence crew stopped through for a short time which was a real treat.
Maine trails
Louis with a tuck over the last hip.
Micky leaning it on the last set.
Big thanks to Derick, Pierre, Mike and the rest of the guys in Maine. We were only there for less than 24 hours but it was definitely one of the most memorable parts of the trip.
After Maine we decided to trek down to New York to meet up with Steve Crandall from FBM. After camping out at the halfway point we met up with Crandall at Baker's Acres. All of us were extremely excited about getting to ride the trails and hang out.
Louis cooking up a little bit of lunch at Baker's.
Micky was so excited to ride Baker's Acre's that he'll probably get this picture framed.
(I didn't have any riding pics from Baker's Acres but if you check the FBM site there are some posted on there.)
Crandall was nice enough to let us post up at his house for the night. After he was done with some computer work he bought us some Ole E and took us on a tour of Ithaca. No pics from that either but we got to see a sweet waterfall under a full moon. How romantic.
From Ithaca we drove to Pennsylvania to hang out with more buddies. Everyone has heard about how good the trails are in Pennsylvania, and I'll say it again- PA is like no other place on the planet. People come from all over the world to ride the trials found in the woods of PA. Don't believe me?
Makoto has been coming over from Japan for about 8 years now to ride the trials.
We spent a couple of days in PA at the Hunk House where we drank beer, BBQed and trekked through corn fields in search of abandoned houses.
The garage of the Hunk House looked like this every night we were there. It probably looks like that every night.
A couple of beat up dudes in a beat up house.
Basement= Creepy
The attic of the house was pretty dark and scary. I really like this picture.
After our time in PA we headed west toward Nelson, Ohio. You're probably wondering, "Where the hell is Nelson, Ohio and why are you guys going there?". Good question. Nelson is in the middle of nowhere and we went there because it is the birthplace of Howard Marshall III, AKA Micky's hometown.
Over the last year or so I've heard quite a few stories about Nelson and I've been looking forward to visiting the place for quite some time. I must say I was not disappointed. Micky took us around his old stomping grounds including the infamous Nelson Ledges.
The Nelson Ledges looked like something out of Lord of the Rings.
The Ledges are huge rocks that are scattered about a hillside in the middle of nowhere. Being from Louisiana and seeing rocks that big blew my mind. There were waterfalls and caves everywhere, and we spent a couple of hours exploring some places that we probably shouldn't have.
Down inside the Ledges.
A nice waterfall at the Ledges.
While in Nelson we got to ride the trials that Micky grew up riding about 8 years ago. A lot had changed out there since the last time Micky was around and we all had a really good time.
Mike with a 180 lookback over the hip.
Lou footjam-whipping a landing at the Ohio trails.
One-footed flatty by Brock.
After a day or two in Nelson it was time for us to head South. We packed up and headed to Louisville, Kentucky for a night. The park wasn't really too crowded and we rode until 4 AM. After a quick nap at Leland's house we packed up and headed home.
I'd like to thank everyone we met over the course of the trip. This was honestly one of the best trips I've ever been on, and most of that is due to the long list of great people we met along the way. Thanks again guys for helping us out with places to stay and showing us a good time.
A good portion of the trip was spent in Lowell, Massachusetts with some good friends. Louis met a Randy Mueller on a Faction BMX Magazine trip about 4 or 5 years ago. Over the past few years we've got to know Randy a lot better and have been up in his area a few times. Randy and his roommates Brent and Tim have a pretty sweet BMX house in downtown Lowell which was the launching point for our adventures for almost a week.
Handsome Tim and his beloved doggie (that dog is a maniac).
One of our adventures was the train trip to Boston. Our buddy John Riley was our tour guide for our day-long trip into the big city. It was Micky and Lou's first time on a train so the day started off with a little bit of excitement.
John Riley and Louis shooting the shit on the way to downtown Boston.
Micky on the way to Boston
If you didn't already know, Critical Mass was created to stir up awareness about bicycling in urban areas. A lot of folks rely on bicycles as their main form of transportation and are often overlooked by the majority of automobile drivers.
Critical Mass forces people to take notice of the bicycling community in their area by crowding the streets with bike riders. I've been to Critical Mass in Baton Rouge and it has been a blast. We've seen numbers up into the 100 range. But nothing could prepare me for what went down in Boston.
This was the staging point for Critical Mass. We had no idea how big it was about to get.
About 300 riders gathered in a main square in the middle of downtown. Shortly after we took off through the streets of a major city with a 1/4 mile long parade of bikes. It was unreal. Nobody was able to stop our parade and EVERYONE took notice. It was quite a surreal experience and all the riders seemed to have a blast.
Riders getting ready to start Critical Mass.
The next day was the jam at the Prison Trails. The guys at Prison have a sweet set of trails that have been running off and on for about 10 years. The conditions aren't exactly perfect but the locals there obviously put in a lot of time making the jumps work. Once a year they invite everyone out to have a good old time riding and hanging out.
Chilling at the Jam.
There was quite a crew out during the trail jam. Riders from all the neighboring towns and states showed up to ride. Our good buddy Justin Brace even made a trip out to the trails to see everyone. He seemed to have a really good time. In fact he smiled all day.
Justin Brace enjoying the perfect weather at the trails.
One of the locals stood out big time at the Prison Trails. When I first saw Rory Ellis I pegged him for a street rider; 4 pegs, no brakes, big Animal sticker on his bike. I couldn't have been more wrong. Rory tricked every set in the trails with crazy barspin variations and 360s all over the place.
Rory getting loose with a superman and the GRIZZ!
Another highlight of the Prison Jam was Randy Mueller going through the section on a 80's era Mongoose. The bike was super small and old but Randy got to it. Wildman indeed.
After the Prison Jam we packed up and headed north to Maine. I had never really hung out with the guys from Maine and I didn't know what to expect. Good thing, cause these guys were cut from a different cloth. The night we were there we went to a party in the woods that featured a half-mile muddy road to monster truck through, a quick hike through the pitch black wood, a fire pit that was 10 feet deep and 10 feet across plus a trampoline and rope swing in the middle of the woods. WILD.
The party in the woods was a blast and so were the trails in Maine. We showed up a little late in the afternoon and rode until dark. The Credence crew stopped through for a short time which was a real treat.
Maine trails
Louis with a tuck over the last hip.
Micky leaning it on the last set.
Big thanks to Derick, Pierre, Mike and the rest of the guys in Maine. We were only there for less than 24 hours but it was definitely one of the most memorable parts of the trip.
After Maine we decided to trek down to New York to meet up with Steve Crandall from FBM. After camping out at the halfway point we met up with Crandall at Baker's Acres. All of us were extremely excited about getting to ride the trails and hang out.
Louis cooking up a little bit of lunch at Baker's.
Micky was so excited to ride Baker's Acre's that he'll probably get this picture framed.
(I didn't have any riding pics from Baker's Acres but if you check the FBM site there are some posted on there.)
Crandall was nice enough to let us post up at his house for the night. After he was done with some computer work he bought us some Ole E and took us on a tour of Ithaca. No pics from that either but we got to see a sweet waterfall under a full moon. How romantic.
From Ithaca we drove to Pennsylvania to hang out with more buddies. Everyone has heard about how good the trails are in Pennsylvania, and I'll say it again- PA is like no other place on the planet. People come from all over the world to ride the trials found in the woods of PA. Don't believe me?
Makoto has been coming over from Japan for about 8 years now to ride the trials.
We spent a couple of days in PA at the Hunk House where we drank beer, BBQed and trekked through corn fields in search of abandoned houses.
The garage of the Hunk House looked like this every night we were there. It probably looks like that every night.
A couple of beat up dudes in a beat up house.
Basement= Creepy
The attic of the house was pretty dark and scary. I really like this picture.
After our time in PA we headed west toward Nelson, Ohio. You're probably wondering, "Where the hell is Nelson, Ohio and why are you guys going there?". Good question. Nelson is in the middle of nowhere and we went there because it is the birthplace of Howard Marshall III, AKA Micky's hometown.
Over the last year or so I've heard quite a few stories about Nelson and I've been looking forward to visiting the place for quite some time. I must say I was not disappointed. Micky took us around his old stomping grounds including the infamous Nelson Ledges.
The Nelson Ledges looked like something out of Lord of the Rings.
The Ledges are huge rocks that are scattered about a hillside in the middle of nowhere. Being from Louisiana and seeing rocks that big blew my mind. There were waterfalls and caves everywhere, and we spent a couple of hours exploring some places that we probably shouldn't have.
Down inside the Ledges.
A nice waterfall at the Ledges.
While in Nelson we got to ride the trials that Micky grew up riding about 8 years ago. A lot had changed out there since the last time Micky was around and we all had a really good time.
Mike with a 180 lookback over the hip.
Lou footjam-whipping a landing at the Ohio trails.
One-footed flatty by Brock.
After a day or two in Nelson it was time for us to head South. We packed up and headed to Louisville, Kentucky for a night. The park wasn't really too crowded and we rode until 4 AM. After a quick nap at Leland's house we packed up and headed home.
I'd like to thank everyone we met over the course of the trip. This was honestly one of the best trips I've ever been on, and most of that is due to the long list of great people we met along the way. Thanks again guys for helping us out with places to stay and showing us a good time.
