BMXTRIX - Story: i don't know anyone...

i don't know anyone....i just ride these days,

at least on the weekends, you can usually find me riding ramps at the skatepark here. for the few hours i can go until my legs cramp up and my arms feel like noodles. during the summer when it is warmer i make the drive down to Denver and enjoy the much larger parks there, but for now, here i am.

on sunday, i was cramped onto a very small platform waiting for my next run on the ramp with a familiar bunch of skaters and rollerbladers. i am usually the only bike riding the ramp, but every once in awhile someone shows up and makes me look silly. anyway...on this sunday i was the only biker when some kid asked me if i knew some guy from a neighboring town. this guy was a moster trails rider and does no handed backflips over 60ft doubles i guess. after he asked me i just said "i don't know anyone, i just ride." i smiled when i said it and he said, "oh, cool." and kept telling me about this group of riders and their trails. later someone asked me if i knew a bunch of guys in Denver since i ride there, but i didn't and had to answer the same way.

I don't know anyone, i just ride.

it made me start to think about why i ride and whether i maybe should know some of these people, but after some thought i decided that's not why I enjoy riding.

back when i used to play in bands and we were trying to get gigs at all the choice places in Minneapolis, you had to know everyone. There was one place where you had to know the booker pretty well, you even had to buy her coke (not cola) to get a show. but the whole scene was like that and it made for a lot of crappy bands getting shows because they were the ones buying blow for the bookers.

i always made sure i was in a band where someone else handled the booking because i didn't want to deal with that. i just wanted to play my drums, or bass, or whatever instrument i was playing. i never felt the need to live through someone else's name or achievements. i have never evaluated myself by who i associate with. i have always done what i wanted to do and tried to do it well. put energy into it so that i got something out of it.

i ride for a lot of reasons. it's fun, challenging, satisfying, exhausting, and i do meet a lot of cool riders. some humble me and some i teach. i have a few guys that i do know but no one will ever ask me if i know them because they can icepick handrails and i can do barspins out of feeble grinds. we're not that impressive.

i ride for me and not for the image. i have my bike because it is a good bike and i could afford it. it's nice and it gets the job done. i take care of it because it works better that way. i wear clothes that i bought at Target because they're cheap and i have to pay rent. besides, i'm always ripping my damn shorts on my seat anyway. i wear pads everywhere because i hate pain. i think of new things to try when i'm not riding. stuff that i think will be fun whether it's new school, old school or whatever.

i know this has all been said before, but i honestly ride because i like it. i try to impress myself, i try to push myself, i try to be honest about everything i do. america, to me, has always been about portraying some sort of image. whether it's some white suburban thing, impressing your neighbors, fake wood paneling on your minivan or making people think you actually take that leather filled Stupid Useless Vehicle off road. i own a freestyle bike and i ride the hell out of it. i own pads and they are almost worn out. i own a motorcycle that i ride on a racetrack occasionally and i own drums and a guitar that get played often. i use everything i own for its intended purpose. if i impress anyone it's through my own merits.

i don't know anyone, i just do what i do. i try to do it well. i have a good time and when i'm done i go home and relax.... simple.

i don't know anyone, i just ride