Fat BMX Magazine

Greg Illingworth Mongoose Edit from The Riot on Vimeo.

Winter Ledge Session from James Ivett on Vimeo.

This week, Miles hooks up with Justin Coble to put their 'Geese to work.  Enjoy!

Mongoose Australia's Vince Byron placed 6th in the Vert Finals at the Portland stop of the AST Dew Tour.  Check out what he had to say about getting into finals and riding with vert legends.

Training: I had been practicing pretty solid for the previous two weeks making sure I had the base of my runs planned out like so well, it felt like second nature. I think I was fairly confident going into this stop, having alot of my stuff dialed and all of my bigger tricks down on the resi ramp. All I needed to do was to put it together in one smooth run and keep the height to make it to finals.

I made it through prelims and into the final! I was stoked.... never had a I made it into a final for such a big competition. I couldn't get over the fact that I'd be competing with guys like Jamie Bestwick, Chad kagy, Steve Mcann and Simon Tabron. But I had to keep my head straight and keep everything rubber side down!

Thoughts during my run:
By now I was feeling a little nervous. I didnt think the crowd and the atmosphere would really change that much or have an affect on me, but it did! After we got on the ramp the lights went dark in the arena, and we were individually introduced. It definitely felt like I was part of something big! Almost a new competition. But I had to keep it together. I decided I'd do just as I did in Prelims and put in the stuff I knew I could do. The only difference was that I wanted to put everything in one run. For me, that was the only way I knew I could get the highest score. So when the announcer called my name I took a deep breath, head down and pedaled towards the ramp. Then my riding took over, with literally no conscious thought between tricks. I did my run pretty much flawlessly,  and I stayed on my bike which was the main thing.

Thoughts afterwards:
I was even more stoked! It was my first final and I just placed 6th. At the start of this year I didn't think I had it in me to ride this well in vert riding. But at least now, I have a bit more money to help me travel to the next competitions and stay over in the US a bit longer. Now my goal is to make the finals the rest of this season and maybe even a podium finish. That would be amazing....!

Mongoose Bikes, Schaefer Tracks and the City of Stoughton,WI have teamed up to build an all inclusive bike park to serve the greater Madsion, WI area. Located on the south side of Stoughton in an area called the Mel Bakke Bike Park the facility has been 3 years in the making. Originally the City had allocated the land for bikes because BMX riders were riding the local skateboard park.

The first portion of construction began in 2007 and involved pouring a concrete slab and building a series of wood ramps. Adjacent to the ramps sat roughly 2 acres of open dirt area which was never developed until recently when Mongoose and Schaefer Tracks teamed up to aid the City in the building of proper dirt jumps, a pump track and a skills park using 400+ cubic yards of dirt.

The bike park is not fully completed, but well underway and should be done this summer. The design is meant to have something for BMX and MTB at all skill levels making it a true bike park and not just a BMX park.

The City of Stoughton has run out of funding for the bike park and all the work provided by Mongoose Bikes and Schaefer Tracks was pro-bono with the aid of local volunteers. Much more is needed to make the bike park the best it can be as well as maintain it into the future.

Anyone interested in making a contribution of money or materials should contact Brian Baldis at baldis44@yahoo.com. More work dates will be arranged in the near future to complete the pump track and skills area. Signs will posted on the park gate with work dates and times as well as on the bike park portion of the City of Stoughton web page.

Directions from Madison: Take 51 south off the Beltline to Stoughton. Turn right on Page st. Go a couple blocks and look for a park on the right after a 4 way stop.

Team Mongoose rider Cam White was in Chicago for the first round of the 2009 Dew Action Sports Tour. Cam is the defending champion from last year so all eyes are on him this year. Cam put in a good day of practice on Thursday but was not too stoked on the fact that the dirt jumps were concrete. Sounds like there were a few storms coming into this event and the only way to get the jumps to stay together was to add some limestone which turned the jumps into cement. Since Cam was last year’s champ he got a free trip to the finals for Friday night. Cam wanted to put a solid safe run in on his first run of three so that is what he did pulling it clean with a 360 to Flip Turn Down and finished with a Suicide Truck Driver over the last set. That would put one in the bag but Cam knew he had to step it up to have a shot at the win so that is what he did. Cam dropped in for his second run with a 360 over the step down went for a flip to bar spin back flip but slipped pedals and would have to throw that run out. So it all came down to the last run of the night and since Cam went very last it was a pressure cooker up there for sure. Cam dropped in with a 360 over the step down he was looking for the flip bar to whip but got sent weird and pulled a flip bar to X-up to get through and finished with a double whip over the last set. At the end of the night Cam would slip to 12th place. He was not real happy with that of course but consistency pays off in a series like this so look for Cam to kill it in Portland Aug 13-16.

Mongoose riders Cam White and JJ Palmere are in Chicago getting ready for the first stop of the Dew Action Sports Tour.  Cam will be defending his Dew Tour Dirt Cup Friday night at 7:30pm.  He took a minute to catch up with the Dew Tour crew.  Check out his interview.  

JJ Palmere is new to the Dew Tour.  He was picked by Garrett Reynolds to join his street team along with Dennis Enarson.  This is a new street jam format the Dew Tour is testing out.  Should be cool.  Stop by the street course on Friday at 1pm and cheer JJ, Garrett, and Dennis on!

Check back with Mongoose.com or Vital BMX  for daily updates with Cam White and JJ Palmere and see how the weekend unfolds.

Team Mongoose rider Cam White was in Chicago for the first round of the 2009 Dew Action Sports Tour. Cam is the defending champion from last year so all eyes are on him this year. Cam put in a good day of practice on Thursday but was not too stoked on the fact that the dirt jumps were concrete. Sounds like there were a few storms coming into this event and the only way to get the jumps to stay together was to add some limestone which turned the jumps into cement. Since Cam was last year’s champ he got a free trip to the finals for Friday night. Cam wanted to put a solid safe run in on his first run of three so that is what he did pulling it clean with a 360 to Flip Turn Down and finished with a Suicide Truck Driver over the last set. That would put one in the bag but Cam knew he had to step it up to have a shot at the win so that is what he did. Cam dropped in for his second run with a 360 over the step down went for a flip to bar spin back flip but slipped pedals and would have to throw that run out. So it all came down to the last run of the night and since Cam went very last it was a pressure cooker up there for sure. Cam dropped in with a 360 over the step down he was looking for the flip bar to whip but got sent weird and pulled a flip bar to X-up to get through and finished with a double whip over the last set. At the end of the night Cam would slip to 12th place. He was not real happy with that of course but consistency pays off in a series like this so look for Cam to kill it in Portland Aug 13-16.

Cam White - Pro BMX rider from Mick Jones on Vimeo.

Cam White’s back in steamy Las Vegas getting ready for another great season.  Read what he has to say:

This past week or so has been pretty sweet. We have been riding every morning, dropping in around 7am trying to beat the heat but more importantly the wind. The weather has been weird lately and when I say weird I mean there has been little to no wind, so we have been riding a lot.

The yard is running dialed and Dane Searls is here again from Australia so we have been sessioning pretty hard. It sucks Lavs still isn't back from Thailand, but when he gets home the crew will be back to built up numbers and the sessions will be off the hook.

I built a new bike last week, retired my old bike, so I'm running all brand new parts with the new Legion frame. It’s dialed as. check out the pics.....

Headed to Nyquist's contest at the end of the month with Searlsy, Slayer and Nate B, should be a fun trip and I'm looking forward to that comp. Speaking of which, I'm gonna go cut some laps before the wind gets up. Word. - Cam

Well that's about all I got, so Thanks Cam

Cam White talks BMX, contests, life, the industry, Lavs, and more.

Miles interview

JJ bike check

 In the coming weeks you will be seeing JJ on a new frame and may wonder “what is that?”, well here is a sneak peek at the new Mongoose unnamed prototype he’ll be running.  Being a prototype things can change but for now we can tell you it is 4.5lbs of Reynolds 725 butted and heat treated cromo, 21” TT with fully removable brake hardware.  Simply put JJ said “its sick, I’m so excited”.

Read about what our Mongoose brethren down below have been up to!

Spinal Disorder Comp

China X-Games

Well, it's been a minute since I had time to sit down and write an
update.  I have been rushing all over Las Vegas doing all the final
things I had to do before I hopped on the plane to come back to
Australia.  It was about 3 days of work and sitting in Las Vegas traffic
for the most part, but now that it's all said and done I can kick my
shoes off and relax for a while.

The plane trip back to Oz is definitely a long one, but it was worth it
to walk outta the airport to a sign, Leonie (my sister), was holding up
saying, "Congratulations Cam White 2008 Dew Tour Champ...Welcome Home!"
And my dad Hess being there with the video camera.  It put a huge grin
on my face, that's for sure!!

It's great to be home in Australia, although I'm going to miss Vegas.
It's good to mix up the scenery and have some time here kicking it with
family and friends.  My dog Bullet was so stoked to see me.  He is
getting old, but hasn't taken his eyes off me since I walked in the
door.  He rules. 

This week is going to be pretty full on.  I'm  having a BBQ today with
some of the boys, followed by digging on the jumps tomorrow, then come
weekend time I have to go back to my school (high/college) for an
interview for some sports night.  It's going to be a lot of fun and stay
tuned for more updates and stories next week.


Word,
Cam

What's up everyone?

So this past weekend I was in Seattle for the LG action sports championships. It was downtown near all the shops and markets.

Anyway, street was first up and I wasn't going to ride. Only because I haven't ridden street since I injuryed my shoulder, but I decided to ride anyway because it's bike riding and it rules.  So after a fairly average run I ended up 12th with a smile on my face, bikes rule!

Now onto vert...seeing as this is my last contest ever as a mongoose rider,  I was looking to put in what I thought might be the best run I've ever done.  That was the plan anyway, but it wasn't meant to be.  As I was peddling on the deck of the ramp,  my chain snapped and it sent me flying face first into the ramp.   Where I layed  for quiet some time.  It was by far the worst crash I've had in a while - Even worse than when seperated my shoulder. It just wasn't my day. I had one run left so I went back out there with the same intention, but landed low on my first air and struggled with speed and height for the rest of my run.  Oh well.  I ended up in 4th place.  Super pumped!   What an amazing year it's been. 

A big thanks to all my fans for all your support this year.
 

I'm out,
Steve

Cam White's interview with FatBMX

So this past weekend we were in Orlando for the final round of the Dew Tour.  After getting 2nd last year because I slipped my pedal, I definitely wanted to give it my best this year to try and make up for it.  I was headed into the stop in 1st place and I need to pretty much podium to win the overall title.

So in practice the first day I jumped the last jump, didn’t even do a trick, and my hand wanted to slip off the grip and it sent me sling-shotting into the berm straight to my head.  Pretty much knocked me out.  I managed to get up like I was super tough and walk off the course.  I sat there talking to medical staff while my ears were ringing and my vision was totally blurred, but I trucked it out and managed to ride for about half an hour longer until the concussion sunk in and I was back at the hotel feeling like I wanted to die.  I shook off the concussion and managed to get back for the 6pm practice and do some more runs.

The following day was finals day, and I woke up feeling pretty good.  I went to practice and I wanted to knock out some big tricks so I was feeling good come finals time.  Well another crash in practice slowed me down a little bit.  I crashed a flip-bar to whip on the first set and smashed my hip.  Nothing serious, but still sucked.

Come comp time I was feeling ok and ready to send my runs.  I managed to pull off my first run.  It wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but it was clean so I can’t complain.  Now it was time for my second run.  If I pulled this off, I could have possibly wrapped up the comp, but, as always, hahaha, it didn’t go as planned, and I caught the barspin in the flip bar to whip not even on my grip and had to cheese that run. I wasn’t too upset but that meant it all came down to my last run.  If I pulled my last run, I could win the cup.  If I didn’t pull it, it was all over and was probably another re-peat of last year.

Well I was pretty determined to not that happen.  That was until I dropped in for a warm up lap and ended up having a gnarly collision with Rob Darden who was crossing the course.  Lucky nothing was hurt or broken on me or my bike and I was able to get up and run back up to the top of the roll in and do my 3rd run.  I was the last rider to go and I had to land this last run.

Well at the end of the day, I didn’t do what I really wanted to do, but I didn’t crash and I pulled off my run.  I couldn’t believe that I won the Dew Cup for 2008.  It still hasn’t sunk in, but is slowly getting there.
 
I wanna thank all my family for making the trip over from Australia.  I’m glad I could pull it off and make it a worthwhile trip.  Stay tuned for the next update. We have some exciting stuff coming up this week.

Cheers,

Cam

Simon Tabron has finished top 5 in every Dew Tour vert final since 2006. He is one of the most consistent riders on the circuit, and he came into Orlando 3rd in the points race. He wasn't going to leave without a trophy.

But the competition was fierce. Simon, Chad Kagy, Jamie Bestwick, and Steve McCann have battled it out for podium positions since June, and Orlando was no exception. Simon crashed a 900 in his first run, but came out swinging in his second by landing a picture-perfect 900 to make up for it. He added an invert, couple turndown 540s, and a flair over the channel to leapfrog over Dennis McCoy and land in 3rd for the stop.

The 3rd place Orlando finish locked him in for a 3rd place overall finish for the Dew Tour. Congratulations Simon!!

Please visit www.ast.com for more information. 

So after the Cincinnati contest, I drove to Woodward with my friend Zach Shaw to hang out with Chad Kagy for the week.  Monday I filmed for LG, putting together inserts for the LG Championships TV show and then on Tuesday I just rode at Woodward and got some much needed practice in! The rest of the week I chilled, caught up on sleep, did laundry, and all of that.  It's kind of hard to stay on top of things when you're on the road constantly so a week at a good friend's house can be invaluable!

On Friday Chad, Zach, and I drove 5 hours down to Richmond, VA for the FBM Ghetto High Air Challenge.  Basically it was a fun contest put on by Steve Crandall comprising of mini ramp, bunny hop, and high air, and best trick comps on a 'ghetto', $8 quarter pipe and roll-in set-up. The entire emphasis was on having a good time and riding bmx bikes, just good, old-fashioned fun.

The event was a lot of fun, just good times, riding with good people.  
The competition was pretty amazing, too. In high air, 3 guys managed to clear 9 feet out of the uneven ramp, made from left over wood and pallets.  Myself and Chad Kagy both cleared 9 feet but the win went to Garret Guilliams. In best trick, Chad and I both got carried away doing stuff that was too hard for the ramp! In the end, head judge, Mat Hoffman couldn't decide between us and awarded us joint first place. No matter what we did, the other one would counter with something at least as hard.  It was the perfect session with Chad and I willing each other on to pull harder and harder stuff.  It was the perfect day of bmx, all fun and no pressure and we followed it with a fun night out in Richmond.

After Richmond, I caught a flight down to Florida to have a few days to rest my various 'ghetto bruises' before the Dew Tour finals.  Finals (that I am pre-qualified for, take place on Friday night, which is also my birthday, so it should be a pretty fun day.  I can't wait.

That's all for now.  Wish me luck for the Dew Tour and check out this link to a story from the FBM jam.

Hey everyone,

This week has been really slow.  After last weekend at the ASA contest I didn’t reveal to anyone that I got hurt, so I’m sorry to tell you guys, but I separated my shoulder.  I didn’t post it at the time because I wanted to know what was really wrong.  As it turns out, it’s a grade-3 separation.  So I’ve been doing everything I can this week to get the strength back in it so I can ride the last stop of the AST Dew Tour.  But after rehabbing all week, I’m not sure it’s going to have enough strength to make it through a run.

Anyway, one more week and it should be a lot better.  It’s just been too rushed to be ready for this weekend.  That being said, I’m still not going down without a fight.  I will be riding vert only in Orlando.  It will be really strange competing in only one event, but I know I won’t make it through a weekend of three events.  So keep your fingers crossed that I can at least make it through vert.

I’ll keep everyone posted on my shoulder as things improve, but I’m hoping my intense rehab will have me back to 100% soon.

Steve

The Mongoose BMX freestyle boys are back in action for the 5th and final stop of the AST Dew Tour in Orlando.  The Dew Cup is on the line, but riders Cam White, Steve McCann, and Simon Tabron are all top contenders for overall podiums.  Check out the broadcasts this weekend:

Friday:
11pm-12am CST on USA--Recap of Park and Vert finals
**Cheer on Simon and Stevie in Vert!!  Simon is currently in 3rd and Stevie is very close behind.  It's anyone's game.

Saturday:
3pm-5pm CST on NBC--Dirt Finals
**Watch this main even LIVE.  Cam White is currently in 1st place.  Cheer him on and see if he keeps his top spot.
11pm-12am CST on USA--Recap

Check your local listings for exact dates and times.  For more inforation on the event, check out www.ast.com.

This past week has been top notch despite a couple of windy days!  The
temperature outside has been choice, and we have been riding the yard
every day.  Not a whole lot has been going on outside the BMX side of
things, except that my mum flew into town 3 days ago.  Its heaps good
having her here, and today we're taking her to the outlet mall, so she
can get her dosage of shopping. 


It seems to be another perfect day outside, so we'll definitely be
throwing down in the yard later this afternoon.  We also did some
digging on the windy days and changed up some stuff.  We moved a couple
of lips back and dialed in the run-ups.  The yard is pretty much running
dialed so the sessions have been heaps of fun.  Only one week until I
fly out for the final Dew Tour, and I'm pretty excited for it.  Stay
tuned for more next week.


Cheers!

Cam

I just got to Chad Kagy's house after driving 8 hours from Cincinnati. I
was there for the ASA vert contest this past weekend.  I flew in on
Tuesday and went to St. Joseph's Orphanage where we talked to the kids
before doing a demo at an outdoor cement park. It was definitely a lot
of fun hanging out with all the guys and girls and share my stories and
riding.

 
That night we went to Ollie's skatepark and rode with some locals - they
have a great vert ramp and an amazing mini ramp/bowl as well as a crazy
park set up. Thanks to everyone at Ollie's for making us welcome.

 
The next day was mostly spent filming segments for the LG Finals that
are taking place in Seattle 1/2 November. Not much fun, lots of hanging
around and waiting but it should be worth it by the time it's on TV!

 
So after riding some practice on Friday, competition day came around on
Saturday. I was feeling pretty good in practice and by the time the comp
started, I got a good run going. I made it through all of my stuff
smoothly before over-rotating a 900. It was a weird crash, my feet came
off half way through and I had to speed up the spin to get them back on.
This meant that I completely over-spun and had to jump off. No matter, I
had another chance in run 2. I dropped in for run 2 and made everything
clean but I had to ride a bit conservatively to make sure I got through
the whole thing. I got a score of 92.5 which put me in 3rd for the night
behind Stevie McCann and Jamie Bestwick, both of whom rode flawlessly.

 
I had a lot of fun at this event and it's always a bonus to get top 3.
I'm at Woodward for a week to get some riding and filming in before
heading to Virginia on Saturday for the FBM Ghetto Big Air challenge.

See what the 2009 Mongoose line looks like from the eyes of the media at Interbike

Vital BMX

What’s up everyone?  Let me think about this week for a second.  Okay, so first off, I’ve been getting into riding the race track here at Woodward.  After they had the race here, I just couldn’t help myself.  Go we’ve been having mini-races every night after we ride.  Good times!

Saturday at Woodward we also did a vert and street demo.  Let me tell you, the kids loved it!  They were screaming their lungs out!  It made the demo that much better.

Well ‘til next week!  I’m out…

Steve

Hey everyone,

Man, this past week was super exciting!  Where do I start? First off, MTV was at Woodward.  What where they doing there you ask?  Well I've been lucky enough to be a part of an episode on MTV involving Jamie Bestwick and myself.  Pretty cool.  Well for me, the coolest  part was they where filming from a helicopter. Getting a bunch of rad overhead shots and scenic background footage. I can't wait to see the final edited show. What else happend this week?  Oh, they had the Woodward race this weekend. So many kids showed up for the once a year race meet as well as the am park contest in lot 8.  Anyway it was an amazing week of bike riding here at Woodward. For all the results, hit  up the Woodward website at www.woodwardcamp.com

Until next time-I'm out,
Steve

Salt Lake City dew tour has been and gone. The week started with me
riding some practice and feeling really, really good. I rode practice on
prelims day and had a freaky crash, landing with my handlebars sticking
in my ribs.  I took a load of skin off my chest and bruised/ cracked some
ribs. Ouch, I have never been in so much pain in my life plus it made me
feel sick for about 2 days.

So finals day came around ( I was pre-qualified for finals) and I could
barely get out of bed. I started to get nervous, knowing how hard it was
going to be to ride. After some time with the amazing Dew Tour medical
staff, I was feeling a lot looser and started to ride the ramp a bit.
For some reason, i was really nervous, kind of unusual for me, and it
really got to me in my first run. I messed up on some simple stuff and
then crashed a flair to 900. By this time, I was really sore and really
mad. My friend Chad Kagy talked me down and got me to relax and I
managed to put in a solid 2nd run which moved me up into 2nd place
behind Chad. Chad blew his second run and Jamie Bestwick rode well
before sliding off at the end of his run. 

The results were read out - me 3rd, Chad 2nd, Jamie 1st. It was a tough
one to call but I was just happy to return to the podium after all of my
recent injuries.

To top things off, my team mate Cam White also took 3rd in dirt along
with Stevie McCann racking up a solid 5th place in vert.

The next day, I went to the Utah Olympic park to ride the Olympic
bobsled course for a Fuel TV feature. It was INSANE, 70 mph and 4-5 Gs
in the corners. Like going on a rollercoaster with an elephant in your
lap!!!! Unlike anything I have done in my life!!!

After the bobsled, I rushed back to the Dew Tour to appear on Fuel's Dew
Underground show which will be aired on September 21st. The show was a
lot of fun with lots of laughs involved. Be sure to check it out!

Next was a couple of days filming at various parks and spots around Salt
Lake, putting some web videos together. I'm stoked on the footage and
the photos that we got and can't wait to see them online.

So now I have a day off and then I'm heading out to Cali for some
serious R+R before driving to Vegas for Interbike.

That's all for now, until next time,
Simon

Pictures courtesy of www.ast.com

This past week we were in Salt Lake City for the 4th stop of the Dew Tour. It was a pretty big week, but it was a lot easier than the other stops cause we drove up from Vegas.  It’s only a 6 hour drive and having the truck with us made it way more easy to just go and do stuff instead of relying on taxis and what not.
 
I always get stoked for the Salt Lake stop of the Dew Tour--the jumps are always awesome and this stop certainly took the cake.  They were downhill, big floaters with a bunch of hips. I was pumped.

After my horrible ride in Portland I was on a mission to not make the same mistake again. I made sure I pulled all my runs this time, and I managed to walk away with the 3rd place finish.  I am super stoked and I am going into Orlando in 1st place, so let’s hope I ride up to par and hang onto that spot.
 
After the contest was all said and done we went and rode Tanner Trails.  They are super fun trails and it was awesome to just flow through and have a good time. Cam Wood has done so much work and made those trails amazing, so thanks to him for letting us ride.

After that session we went to Fairmont Skatepark for a ride. It’s a fun park and we sessioned for a good hour and a half. Following the big day riding, we went out to dinner with Steve Olpin and the guys and after finishing dinner around 10pm, we decided we would just mash out to Vegas that night. We were all stoked for our red eye road trip.  My friends Rob and Megan from Australia were with us and enjoyed the 6 hour drive. Rolling into Vegas around 4:30am I was so pumped to jump into bed and crash!

This next few weeks will be pretty sweet, lots of riding to do and get ready for the last stop of the Dew Tour in Orlando.  Stay tuned.]]> http://www.mongoose.com/fin/eng/bmx/News/Detail/598-Cam-Road-Trips-to-SLC 598-Cam-Road-Trips-to-SLC Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The 4th stop of the AST Dew tour kicked off yesterday in Salt Lake City, UT with Vert and Dirt finals back-to-back.  Team Mongoose Rider Simon Tabron returned to form – and the podium – with huge no-handers and inverts, a 540 invert, a floaty alley-oop 540, and a perfect 900. The triple threat Steve McCann also had a good night coming out on fire with huge double tailwhips and finishing with an incredible 540 tailwhip.  Steve would slip to 5th for the night and Simon would take the last step on the box in 3rd. 

Team Mongoose rider Cam White was feeling the big jumps in Salt Lake City which makes this his favorite stop on the tour.  His first run was a big one pulling his patented barspin to whip over the big set and finishing with a barspin to whip over the last set.  Cam laid down 2 other runs that left him in the 3rd spot for the night, and he is now leading the points race going into Orlando. 

For more news, photos, and videos check out www.ast.com.

Ricky Whitlock, Simon Tabron and musical guest Langhorne Slim and The War Eagles – Thursday 9.11.08

Today’s guest is pro surfer, Matix team rider and international wave chaser Ricky Whitlock. Plus, vert dominator from across the pond, Simon Tabron drops in on the Habit. To top things off, we have musical guest Langhorne Slim and the War Eagles treating us to some foot stomping tunes.  Ricky Whitlock’s sponsors include: Matix, Steve Boysen, Vitaminwater, Nixon, Electric, Sector 9, Bully’s Accessories and Sun Diego Surf Shop. Simon Tabron’s sponsors include: Adidas, Mongoose, LG, Steaz, Bell Helmets, and 50/50 Bike Shop.

On FUEL TV, tune in on Saturdays at 11:00am, 4:00pm, 7:00pm and 10:30pm ET (8:00am, 1:00pm, 4:00pm, and 7:30pm PT); Sundays at 11:00am, 2:00pm, 5:30pm, and 2:00am ET (8:00am, 11:00am, 2:30pm, 11:00pm PT), and Monday through Friday at 3:00pm, 6:00pm, 10:30pm, and 2:00am ET (12:00pm, 3:00pm, 7:30pm, and 11:00pm PT).

Had a great week in SLC, in the lead-up to the Dew Tour being here next week. I hung out at 5050 bmx in Layton and got my color transformation completed. My bike is now a work of art. It looks so stupid that it's awesome, like a rainbow, or something?!!!!!!!

Eddie, who runs 5050, asked me if I would ride at a stunt show they were having at Layton Mall. Why not, I thought, I haven't done a show like that in over 10 years. Back in the mid nineties, I used to run and ride in GT's stunt show over in Europe. It had been a while but I figured it would be fun.

So I showed up with Mongoose TM, Chuck Fallon, and had to throw my pads on as they were half way through a show. I raced out and had a bit of a shock, trying to ride a sketchy 9 foot quarter and a jump box with no warm up. Everything clicked into place pretty quickly, though, and within 10 minutes I was pedaling full speed at the quarter and blasting 9 or 10 foot airs as well as doing 360 variations and stuff over the box. I even did some flatland and let Matt Beringer jump me (he skimmed me!!!). It was pretty awesome to do this kind of demo and hang out with all the kids afterwards.  Check out www.5050bmx.com and look at the blog to see more pictures from the show.

Today, I rode street downtown with the SLC crew and had a blast. We rode some insane spots and drank a ton of coffee, always a good thing.  I crashed pretty good riding some banks and tore the skin off my hand (see pic), then I got blood all over my yellow grips and my phone and then I put a hole in my shin. It probably needs a stitch or two but it's all good. Putting hydrogen peroxide on everything was pretty funny! When I say funny, I mean painful. But still kind of funny!

Cool, so 3 more days and it's Dew tour time. I'm feeling pretty good and have some new tricks so, hopefully, it will go good, I'll have fun and I'll write a cool blog entry about all the craziness next week!

Can can picture courtesy of www.5050bmx.com other pictures taken on my (bloodstained) phone and bluetoothed to my laptop (damn, I'm techno!)

I've had a busy few weeks; after Portland Dew tour, I drove to Salt Lake with TM Chuck Fallon. It was a fun trip, 14 hours on the road, lots of laughs and some wild scenery.

Once I got to Salt Lake, I tried to rest my injuries a bit and decided to give my bike a color make-over. The purple frame is still there but EVERYTHING else has changed color. I guess the best way to describe it is like a bag of skittles, it's pretty wild. I'm interested to see everyone's reaction! Should be pretty funny.

I hung out at the best bmx shop in the world, 50-50 in Layton, Utah, where Eddie and the boys helped me get my bike fixed up. Good times for sure.

Last weekend, I took a little trip to L.A. to hang out with friends there and went to visit Stephen Murray at his house in Riverside. We had a bbq and caught up on all our news. He's doing really well and is in great spirits!

I went to Fuel TV to appear on the Daily Habit show so look out for that in the next week or so, not sure when it's on but I'm definitely excited about it.

After a few days at the beach, I flew back to Salt Lake, to Chuck's house, and we spent all of yesterday riding. We rode at one of my favorite parks, Fairmont in Salt Lake, which has a pretty gnarly vert bowl that I love riding. It's super scary but a heck of a lot of fun. Chuck took a bunch of pictures at the park and then we went and rode some street and he took more shots.

After a crazy big late lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, we went on a street riding mission last night. Chuck and I have been doing this a lot over the last few weeks, it's so much fun, just going out and finding spots to ride after midnight. I know that people think I just ride vert ramps but, I promise you, it's just not true. I'm thinking about only riding street from now on. Actually, that's a lie, but it's a fun idea!

So Dew tour rolls into town next week, I've got loads of things to do before that and I'm pretty excited. That's all for now.

Photo by C Fallon -  one of our 'reject' shots from yesterday's session but I still kind of like it, it's a barspin hop off a picnic bench.

So stop 3 of the AST Dew tour is behind us and I'm feeling the burn! I always like going to Portland, it's a crazy and original city and the girls in Starbucks always remember me from the year before!

Going into the vert final, I was feeling pretty good considering my X Games injuries were still bothering me and I had already flown around 25,000 miles this month. Add a mild concussion and a pretty hard crash the week before and I should have been over it but, no, I love riding my bike and I was ready to ride.

In my first run, I lost my momentum really early and had to fight through a sketchy run before crashing and ringing my bell AGAIN! 3 in a month, wow. No matter, I wasn't seriously hurt (although I added a sprained left hand to the recently broken right hand - at least I had balance!). I dropped in for run 2 realising that I just had to deliver a clean run for an easy podium (exhaustion and a crash had left Stevie McCann in 3rd but with a beatable score).   The exact same thing happened, I lost ALL of my speed 2 walls in, missing my pedal on a can can, but managed to pull it back together with some 540's, a flair to 900 and then an opposite flair. The score came in and boosted me up to 4th. No podium this time but not a bad result.

I now have a couple of weeks to get rested and healthy for the next round in Salt Lake.

I had a really good weekend in Portland and would like to congratulate Stevie, Jamie and Chad on outstanding performances on their way to top 3 finishes. These 3 guys are my friends way more than my competitors so it's good to see them enjoying some success.

That's all for now, I'm still in 3rd place in the points and time is on my side!

Simon

Wow!  What a weekend!  Not only did I podium in vert--3rd--but I managed to make all three finals again. I'm ecstatic!  And I pulled a new trick--truck driver to tail whip.  Pumped on that one.  So anyway, finally the weekend is done, and it's on to Salt Lake City!

Well, this past week has been really busy.  We left Vegas after no riding time due to 24-hour wind for over a week and headed off to good ol’ Portland for the Dew Tour.  A few days before we left I pinched a nerve in my back.  It sucked big time, but I got looked after by Nate (Berkheimer) and his girlfriend Ashley.  And I had it looked at by Tim Soder physical therapy.  After 2 days of treatment I was feeling good and ready to ride. 

After seeing the jumps for the first time I was heaps excited.  They looked big, fun, and had some technical parts to them also.  They were the best jumps we’ve had so far on the Dew Tour.  After riding practice on Day 1 I felt terrible on my bike.  I guess it was because I hadn’t been on my bike for a while.  I needed to do some work on my bike to get it up to speed, and by the time Friday night finals cam around, all was dialed in and ready to go.

Friday was a big day.  I had a Rush HD camera crew following me around all day.  I coached the kids at the Mongoose dirt demo course and also visited the kids in the hospital and handed out some free stuff.

Finally it was finals time.  The jumps were dialed as, but I wasn’t.  I was riding terribly.  I have no excuses as to why I was riding horribly, but I was.  I had the sloppiest first run I have ever had, and my second was much the same.  Coming into my third run I had nothing to lose as I was sitting close to last place, so I sent everything I had. 

I still cheesed on the flip bar to whip, but managed to land a triple whip on the last.  I finished the night in 8th place.  It was disappointing, but I didn’t crash, so it could’ve been a lot worse.  It was pretty much the craziest dirt jumping comp of all time.  With 1080’s, double backflips, flip whip to x-ups, and a bunch of other crazy stunts.  It’s scary to think of where our sport is going.

Luke Parslow won, and I’m pumped on that because he was pretty much the best ever and rode perfect all night.  Congrats puppa!  Well deserved mate.  After the comp we just chilled out and hit the hay.  It was a big week, and I was wrecked.  Now we’re back in Vegas, and it’s time to get back on the bike and get ready for Salt Lake City in 2 weeks.  Stay tuned for this week’s shenanigans!

Cam

Team Mongoose riders Steve McCann and current points leader Cam White both mad the finals for the 3rd round of the AST Dew Action Sports Tour in Portland, OR.  McCann came out firing putting together a solid run that ended with a no-handed 720 to turndown, but unfortunately in his second run he would take a hard crash on a 720 over the 2nd set that left him pretty sore for his final run.  Steve finished in 10th, but watch for him in Vert finals Saturday night!!

As the current points leader, Cam White went last in Dirt Finals.  He had a very solid run planned that would have put him in the mix for a top-3 finish, but he could not get the speed that he needed to off the first jump to pull off what he wanted.  His runs were still solid, and he pulled off a huge front flip and an amazing triple tailwhip to salvage some points for the night.  He finished in 8th. 

Both Steve and Cam are looking forward to the 4th round in Salt Lake City, UT in a couple of weeks. 

So, in the aftermath of the X Games, my life has been pretty crazy; a couple of extra days in LA before flying to State College/ Woodward to hang out with my friend Chad Kagy. No riding due a broken hand and finger. After a couple of days with Chad, I had to fly back to England to take care of some personal business. 5 days there and then back to the airport. This time to get 3 more flights to get back to Woodward.

I arrived back in Woodward feeling pretty exhausted after all of the flying and everything that I had going on.

Since being here, I have been riding, trying to get myself ready for Portland AST. Riding has been a mixed bag - my hand hurts a lot still so holding on can be a problem and it kind of puts me out of balance. Having said that, I have been using my time to make use of Woodward's amazing facilities, learning a couple of new tricks.

Now this is where things started to go wrong again.....I tried one of my new tricks on the vert ramp and ended up coming back into the ramp no handed with my handlebars backwards. I fell straight to head and my sore hand ( obviously!). After seeing stars for a minute, I managed to recover and laugh it off but I realised that I was too full-on. Need to back off and give myself a chance to rest and recover.

Oh well, it's been a strange month, not one of my best, but I still have time to turn things around. Hopefully my hand will be strong for Portland this weekend and I'll be able to make the best of it.

Attached is a picture of Chad Kagy and I hanging out with my countryman, David Beckham, at the X Games. David was super nice and a pleasure to hang out with. We talked about fish and chips, the Queen etc. Not really!

Simon

(Photos courtesy of Chad Kagy)

Liyun (Mary) Ma, a member of the Chinese Olympic BMX Team, will begin her quest for the gold in the newly added BMX Race event next week. Her bike of choice, and what she will be competing on, is the Mongoose Super Goose Elite.

Mary was born in Guangdong province, China and began her sports career in middle school when her potential in sports was recognized. In 2004, she was selected by the coach of the Guangdong Provincial BMX Team and became a professional BMX race athlete. Unlike most of her competition, she didn’t grow up racing or even riding a bike competitively. Her braveness,composedness, keen interest in this challenging sport gained her admiration from her teammates and her coaches. After four years of training she has earned a spot to represent her country in the Olympics.

Sponsored by Mongoose since 2005, Mary came to the US to participate in two training programs. She placed 4^th at the Worlds Championships in May, which earned her a spot to represent China during and Beijing Olympics Games.

This past week and a bit have been slow.  It’s been really windy here in Vegas, so not much riding going on which sucks.  But I’ve been getting my chill on out on Lav’s boat.  Been going out to the lake 3-4 times a week and doing some wake surfing.  Definitely a fun thing to do! 

I have a lot of mates from Australia staying at my house—like 5 of them—and we have been doing a lot of tourist things out at the Strip and chilling at the pool at the MGM Grand. 

Finally today it wasn’t windy, and we got a good session done in the morning until I crashed doing absolutely nothing on the hip after style jump.  I took it super hard on my right side, and now I have a ‘swell-bo.’  Good thing Lav’s yard isn’t rocky or I would of got some gnarly injuries.  Tisk, tisk!  Ha, ha, ha…

After the session at Lav’s this morning we went and rode Anthem skatepark for about half an hour in the 106 degree heat, then followed it by some couch time, and then an evening session at Lav’s.  We changed the last straight, so after 2 hard days of digging, we rode it today.  It’s a lot of fun with 2 hips and a little trick set at the end.  It definitely adds some flavor!  Next week is Dew Tour, so stayed tuned for that!

Cam

Hey everyone,

I’ve been recovering after X-Games and just fine tuning my bike after all the abuse I put it through.  So really not too much riding, but I did go to a wedding this week which was amazing.  And the whole family danced to “Superman that hoe!” which was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen!  Anyway, check back next week.  I’ll have something a little better.

Steve

Wow! What a week! From the Soul Bowl to X-Games, it’s been nothing short of amazing! X-Games—the big show. That’s what I like to call it. Lights, camera, and the odd, famous person here and there…

So Super Park was the first up, and let’s just say I fell in three of my four runs…ha, ha, ha…so 18^th isn’t too bad…ha, ha, ha…

There it was onto the Mega Ramp. I had such big plans for that contest, but sometimes big plans just ain’t meant to work out. But thank God everyone walked away alive and injury free. So after a flip whip and double tail whip, I ended up in 4^th place.

Now onto Vert! This is the event I was really looking forward to, and a new run format, that I feel like really helped the Vert contest’s energy. So in prelims I managed to make the 5-man final going in as 3^rd. After a really heated final with every trick known to man, I walked away with my first Vert medal. So happy! Third place and very proud.

Steve

Check out this footage from the Cleveland stop of the AST Dew Tour.  A group of lucky kids got their own private bike clinic with Mongoose's own Cam White!  For more information on the Dew Tour check out www.ast.com.

This is a tough update to write. X Games was this weekend and I had really big plans. I got into town early and rode some practice and was feeling good.

Saturday came around and it was competition day. I got to the Home Depot center and got myself set up, put my pads on, warmed up, rode the ramp for a little while. Just like last year, I was feeling great from the second that I got onto the ramp. I was going high, landing smooth and all of my basic tricks were feeling effortless.

So the prelim round began - 5 riders, 2 advance to the final. My main competition was Chad Kagy but there was also heavy talent in the shape of Zack Warden, Dennis McCoy, and Coco Zurita in my group so I couldn't afford to put a foot wrong.

I dropped in for my intro run and started going really high, did some big variations, did a big table 5 and a flair and then span a 900. I had big plans for the 900 in the finals so I wanted to get at least one clean one in prelims to ensure that I was warmed up. As I took off and started spinning, I remember hearing the 30 second time buzzer go off, signaling the end of my run (perfect timing!) and I remember spinning a little bit slowly so I sped up the spin and got ready for the landing.

The next thing I knew, I was being woken up by the paramedics. I learned later that I had under-spun slightly and crashed straight to my head and had been unconscious for 2-3 minutes.  I remember waking up and it felt as though I had been asleep for an hour! After a few minutes of checks, the paramedics stood me up and walked me to the medical trailer where they kept me for the rest of the prelims.

So that was it. X Games over as quickly as it had begun! Obviously, I ended up in 10th place and also received bruised ribs and shoulder and a broken hand and finger for my efforts!

Right now, I'm sat in LA reflecting on what could have been and hoping that my hand heals in time for the next AST stop in Portland. My head has been okay, no weird episodes or anything so it's onward and upward now!

This was my 10th X Games and I was hoping to make it a special one but sometimes things don't quite work out the way you hoped!

Oh well, roll on next year!!

Simon

(Photos courtesy of Chuck Fallon--BMX Team Manager)

BMX Vert at the X-Games never fails to disappoint.  The format this year was a little different.  The prelims consisted of 2 heats of 10 riders in a 10 minute jam session.  At the end of each session the judges chose 2 riders from each heat to advance to the finals.  The 5th finals’ spot was given to the rider with the highest score out of those not chosen to advance. 

Simon Tabron, usually a staple not only in Vert finals, but on the podiums, sustained a hard crash on a 900 a few walls into prelims.  He was knocked out for a couple of minutes, and the medics would not allow for his return to the competition.  He was feeling much better the next day, and was cheering everyone on in the finals.   Look for the return of Simon Tabron in Portland at the next stop of the Dew Tour in a couple of weeks.

Steve McCann had a great X-Games 14 showing.  He finished 4th in Big Air Friday night.  He was not able to keep it rubber side down on all of his runs, but was happy with his performance and to walk away from the event injury-free! 

Steve was looking good on the Vert ramp all week, and when it came time to put it down, he did just that.  He qualified out of the 2nd heat with Jamie Bestwick.  Steve executed solid runs during the final’s jam session—triple-catch barspins, double whips, and the new 540 tailwhip!  He was in 1st place almost the entire competition, but Chad Kagy and Jamie Bestwick came out swinging in the closing minutes.  Steve took home the bronze medal in Vert.  Great job, Steve!!

Steve McCann, the hardest working man in BMX, competed in his 1st of 3 X-Games events this weekend--Big Air.  This event had riders rolling in off of 50 or 70 foot ramps, soaring over a 70 foot gap, and launching off of a 26 foot quarter pipe.  The ride spans a total of 293 feet and has to be seen to be believed.  The competition was fierce with Big Air veterans Chad Kagy and Kevin Robinson giving the crowd a show, and 'rookie' Dave Mirra doing his thing over the big gap. 

Steve's first and second runs didn't turn out the way he had wanted, but third time's a charm.  He nailed a flipwhip over the gap and landed a double tailwhip on the quarter pipe.  That gave him a 90.00 and a solid 4th place.  On his fourth and final run he was going big.  He went for a 720 over the gap, but it just wasn't in the cards.  He held on to his 4th place with Chad Kagy getting gold, Dave Mirra silver, and Kevin Robinson completing the podium.

Be sure to catch Steve tomorrow in Superpark and Vert finals.  When does this kid sleep?! 

The tricks of Mongoose riders Cam White and Simon Tabron have each been nominated for the Playstation Pro Moment from the Cleveland stop of the AST Dew Tour.  Watch Cam's signature Backflip-Barspin-Tailwhip and Simon's No Handed 540 to Barspin here http://www.ast.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=122 and vote for your favorite or both! 

Vote as many times as you'd like before August 15th, and tell your friends!! 

Hey everyone,

What a week I’ve had already.  So I’v e been in Huntington Beach, CA this past weekend for the Soul Bowl.  What an amazing contest.  It’s on the beach, and there’s 300,000+ people a day there watching either surfing, moto, skate, or BMX.  And it’s just an amazing place to be when the sun is shining.

So anyway, the contest is in a vert bowl which is 12 ft deep and just one of the coolest things I’ve ever ridden in a while.  I qualified in 5th and felt good going into the finals because I had a little more practice in the bowl the day of the finals.  Anyway, it was a really tight contest, and I managed to finish 2nd behind Chag Kagy.  Congrats to Chad for riding so well.

But there was a High Air contest, and I wans’t going to let that one slip by me.  I love boosting as high as I can.  So when it was all said and done I finished 1st in front of Chad and Jay Eggelston.  Super pumped!  Check out some footage from VitalBMX  below.  Now it’s on to X-Games.

Steve

I've just had a pretty hectic month; after getting back from the Masters in Germany, I flew out to New York where Pippa, TJ Lavin and I were scheduled to appear on MTV's TRL show to promote the Stephen Murray tribute song 'Soldier'. We had a great time in NY, site seeing, shopping, eating in Little Italy.

On Wednesday we flew into Cleveland for the Dew Tour. the weather was really hot and humid in Cleveland which was no fun. Just walking down the street drained the life out of you! On top of this, my schedule was pretty hectic for Cleveland - aside from the usual riding and contest stuff, I helped organise for Stephen Murray to fly in from California and was scheduled to play 2 songs with TJ Lavin on saturday. This meant all kinds of rehearsals and stuff. Stephen arrived on Saturday around 10am and, after getting him settled in his hotel room, I grabbed some breakfast before heading down to the venue for sound-check. Sound check ended up going on until around 3 o'clock but we managed to do enough to feel comfortable for Saturday night's performance. Next I did a signing at the Stephen Murray 'Stay Strong' booth having missed my Mongoose signing because of the sound check (first time ever!). I just about had time to get my bike from the hotel before returning to the stage for the show.

We were all feeling pretty nervous but once I had my first song out of the way ('Tonight' which TJ and I recorded a couple of years back - check it out on my myspace page) I was starting to enjoy myself. TJ and I were joined on stage by Pippa, Cory Nastazio, and Stephen Murray himself and we did the 'Soldier' song which went down really well. Definately an experience that I will remember for years!

I came off stage, packed my guitar, put my pads on and jetted over to the vert ramp. I put my helmet on and had a practice run and then MY PEDAL BROKE!!!!!!!! Chuck Fallon and Eddie from 5050 (my favourite bike shop!) ran around and found a new pedal for me (Eddie's!) and I had another practice run. Then it started TO RAIN!!!!

After an hour or so, the rain stopped and we started the contest. Or we would have it it hadn't started to rain again! This time, there was about a 2 hour delay. Finally, around 9.30pm, they decided to start the contest. I was feeling pretty drained by this time and ended up crashing my first run. No matter. Run 2, I had to try and do something safe ( no new stuff) so as to not blow the whole contest. I did some big, smooth airs, a table 540 and a no handed to barspin 540 but nearly flipped over the bars on the landing. I had to re-start on the top of the ramp and then did a 900. I knew it wasn't enough for top 3 and figured I would probably end up pretty low in the placings so I was surprised to get 4th! Fortunately, team mate Steve McCann had a great night to get 3rd and, added to his 4th in dirt and Cam White's big win in dirt, we Mongoose boys had a pretty good weekend! I was pretty over-whelmed and tired after the contest and pleased to get my hectic week over with.

Next up is the X Games in LA and, as strange as it might sound, I'm looking forward to going to a contest and only have to worry about riding!!!!

Mother nature pushed the Vert finals back and threatened to shut it down all together, but the conditions improved late, and Vert finals took place under the lights.  The delay showed little effect on Steve McCann.  He was dialled and smooth and took home the 3rd place trophy.  Fellow Mongoose rider Simon Tabron had a strong 4th place finish.  

Great job to Steve and Simon in Vert!!

Click here to see Steve's 3rd place run.

Mongoose BMX Dirt rider Cam White took the top spot in the Cleveland stop of the AST Dew Tour.  Cam set the bar high on his first run and continued to build on it ending with an amazing final score of 93.92.  His winning run included his patented backflip-barspin-tailwhip and a front flip.  It was clean and smooth, and he made it look easy.  He's now tied for 1st overall with Ryan Nyquist going into the Portland stop.  

Fellow Aussie and Mongoose rider Steve McCann just missed the podium finishing in 4th.

Congratulations to both Cam and Steve!  You guys killed it!  Click here to see Cam's winning run.

The hardest working man in BMX is Mongoose's triple threat Steve McCann who made Dew Tour history this weekend by making the finals in all 3 BMX disciplines.  Steve just missed the podium in Dirt  on Friday getting 4th.  He'll represent with fellow Mongoose rider Simon Tabron in Vert Saturday, and he'll round out the weekend with Park on Sunday.  Check back for photos and videos of Steve from the event.   

Congratulations to Mongoose athletes Steve McCann and Simon Tabron who were invited to compete in the LA X-Games in August.  Steve will compete in 3 events--Vert, Big Air, and Super Park, and Simon will compete in Vert.  Great job guys!

Hi Guys,

Just got home after the BMX Masters weekend in Cologne, Germany.  I had SUCH a good time, amazing event, amazing riding, amazing people, the whole thing was so much fun. The Masters is always my favourite event, it's the biggest pure BMX contest in the world and brings the best of everything together.

On saturday I rode prelims and managed to get 1st despite hanging front wheel on a 900 and falling head first into the ramp. Mat Hoffman named my lucky escape as 'trick of the day'! My second run was a bit smoother, helping me qualify in 1st.

Sunday rolled around and I tried to step things up a bit for the final. The contest was broadcast live across Europe and on the internet plus, there were at least 10,000 people there, watching it live. Things went pretty well, even though the ramp was a lot smaller than we are used to these days, and I managed to pull almost everything that I wanted to do. After hanging up on a 900 on saturday, I pulled away and landed flat instead on sunday! It was no fun but it beat crashing - 900's are soooooooo much harder on small ramps! The results were  announced and I was really happy to hear that I ended up with 1st place. This is my 3rd Masters title in a row!

So I'm pretty tired and a bit sore but definitely smiling after the biggest BMX weekend of the year. I fly to New York on sunday to take care of some promo for the Stephen Murray Soldier song that I worked on with my wife, Pippa, Cory Nastazio and TJ Lavin and then I head to Cleveland , Ohio on wednesday for round 2 of the Dew Tour. I've pre-qualified for the Cleveland final and will also be performing the Soldier song with TJ, Cory and Pippa. Busy, busy.............

Check out the video of the BMX Masters contest and check out the bizarre interview between me and Mat Hoffman at the end!

Hey everyone,

This week’s been really amazing…not because I’m riding everyday, but because I haven’t gotten a single concussion.  Ha, ha, ha…no, really…you don’t understand.  I was told if I hit my head again, I wouldn’t be riding for a few weeks, so keep your fingers crossed.

So anyway, most of the week has been spent hitting golf balls and chilling out at Camp (Woodward).  Riding has been pretty mellow, but all the tricks are still there, so I’m not too worried.  And I’ve still got 10 days of healing ‘til Dew Tour (Cleveland), so it’s all good in the hood…

Steve

Hey everyone,

This week's been kinda tough.  Riding just isn't happening right now.  I've been told after 4 concussions in just over a week that I need to chill out...which means gives my head a break.  I'm pretty bummed about it, but this is just part of what we do.  So I guess I'll be catching up on all the latest movies and enjoying a little break.

Steve

Got back to England feeling pretty tired and beaten up after our road trip.  Typically, I crashed pretty hard on the last thing that I tried, but it was pretty funny.  The video of the crash is really good, and I got up laughing, albeit, covered in dirt!

I rode my ramp today and, despite feeling a bit jet-lagged and sore, I rode really well.  All of my session buddies are away for the weekend so I rode the vert ramp solo but still got stuck in and did some stuff. There's something quite surreal about going 10 feet and doing flairs in an empty building!

I'm heading up to the Adrenaline Alley skatepark this week to ride with Zach Shaw, Ronnie Remo (British Mongoose vert rider), and Matt Fairbairn (Australian Mongoose vert rider).  We're going to have a session on AA's amazing vert ramp before heading down to London and flying out to Cologne, Germany for the BMX Masters contest.  The BMX Masters is one of my favourite events of all time - no other contest has such a good atmosphere as well as covering all BMX disciplines - vert, street, mini-ramp, flatland and dirt for ams, pros, and girls!  So, another exciting week ahead--lots of riding and hopefully lots of good times with good friends in good places...

Speaking of fun and friends - check out this picture that Scotty Cranmer sent me.  It's a photo of Scotty and Ronnie Surridge that they had put onto canvas and now hangs above the fireplace at Scotty's house where they both live.  It cost Scotty a whopping $1800 which seems like a pretty expensive joke but if you knew these 2 guys like I do, you'd appreciate the humour - enjoy!!!

This past week has been choc-a-block, in other words flat chat. Straight after the Dew Tour we went on the Mongoose Road trip.  We drove around in a soccer-mum van for 4 days riding street and parks.  It was a lot of fun.  Got some sweet footage and photos and had an all round tip top time.

After our road trip I flew back home Vegas.  The following day was my girlfriend Michelle's birthday.  We went to the pool at the MGM Grand, floated around in some tubes, hung out and about in the warm sun followed by some food at the pub/grill across the street later that night then hit the hay. 

Woke up the next day, drove to the airport, and picked up Adam Dodd from Australia.  Adam was here to film with Dane Searls and I for Fuel TV Australia and Sanitarium.  Adam has been over here in the USA and Canada filming with some of the big named wakeboarders and then came to Vegas to get some footage of us lads.  We had a big afternoon session at Lav’s backyard and then being Friday night it was time for Michelle's birthday party.

It was a dress-up party theme was the letter "M" for Michelle, and we had a lot of funny outfits walking in the door, one being Makaveli (aka 2Pac).  It was a fun, long, late night, but backing it up on Saturday morning. 

We went down to the Strip, did the whole tourist thing but with our bikes.  We went street riding on the Strip filming with Adam.  We got some cool clips mingling with tourists and having a run-in with security, but in the end had a lot of fun.  After that we went back to Lav’s and filmed some more in the yard.  It was another big session with Searlsy and I doing some trains and laps around the yard. 

Today (Sunday) it was a 7:30am wakeup, and dropping in off the dock at Lav’s by 8am.  I taped a Hi Def camera to my helmet and then did some fun stuff with that followed by some banger tricks with Searlsy then called the session around 10:30am because it was already 105 degrees.

After a  buffet breakfast at one of the local casinos we hit up a little skatepark on Silverado Ranch Blvd to do some more filming.  After that we dropped Adam back at the airport and now its chill time. Definitely a big week, but more to come as we have a 7:30am session on the cards for tomorrow...Stay tuned for more…

Cam

The BMX community was rocked to the core when one of its own, Stephen Murray, sustained a devastating spinal cord injury at the first stop of the 2007 Dew Tour in Baltimore.  The BMX family rallied around their fallen brother and has been tirelessly raising money and awareness for the Stephen Murray Family Fund through auctions and benefits like Cam White's Cam Jam ever since.  Stephen's longtime friends TJ Lavin, Cory Nastazio, Simon Tabron, and his wife Pippa collaborated on a song called "Soldier" with all proceeds going to the Stephen Murray Family Fund.  The song's video debuted at the Dirt Finals in Baltimore last week, and Stephen Murray, his wife, and their two young sons were in attendance.  The crowd fell silent as they watched.

For more information on the Fund or to make a donation please visit www.stephenmurrayfamilyfund.com or www.myspace.com/murraystrong. 

Mongoose Australia added another new face to the crew--Cam Pianta.  He's in the US checking out the Dew Tour circuit, and he went on a road trip with the Mongoose US riders Cam White, Steve McCann, and Simon Tabron.  G'day mate!  Glad to have you on the program.  Click on the link below to read a quick update from Pianta and see some photos. 

http://www.mongoosebikes.com.au/news/view.php?id=219

Check back for more photos and news from the guys. 

Congrats to Mongoose Flow rider Kyle Noble for getting 1st in Vert at the Free Flow stop in Newnan, GA.  Check out the full details at http://www.freeflowtour.com/news/detail/36.html.  Awesome job, Kyle!  Way to represent!

Mongoose BMXer Cam White is not only one of the best Dirt riders in the world, he's also one of the nicest guys you're ever gonna meet.  Cam, Mongoose, and the AST Dew Tour partnered with a local Boys and Girls Club in Baltimore to give 10 lucky kids the experience of a lifetime--a private dirt demo with one of the sport's best. 

Cam took the kids through proper bicycle safety, how to fall, and even how to roll in on the Mongoose interactive dirt course in the Dew Tour's Festival Village.  Each of the kids got a couple runs on the course, and Cam was right there to run behind them or pull them back up the ramp.  Sure there were some scrapes and bruises--this is BMX--but everyone got up smiling.  After the demo Cam signed autographs and posed for pictures.  Everyone had a great time, and the kids were in the stands that night cheering him on to his 3rd place finish in the Dirt Finals.  

Awwww...just gives you that warm fuzzy feeling, doesn't it?  Thanks Cam.  You're the best! 

(Click on the photo to see more.)

What’s up everyone?!  So the first stop of the Dew Tour turned out AWESOME!  Awesome riding, amazing people, and everyone stayed injury-free!  Now that’s a good contest…when you walk away.  Ha, ha, ha…

So Dirt was the first event for me.  I was totally feeling it, and I thought my runs were going to be flowing and smooth, but it just wasn’t meant to be.  I had two crashes both on 720s, which is my favorite trick.  It left me a little short of the finals!  Ha, ha, ha…well, 25th to be exact.  Ha, ha, ha…

Vert was next, and I was so excited to lay down a run and get the year started that I kinda blew it a little!  I still placed fairly well, but just didn’t get to do any of the tricks I wanted to do!  A crash in the first run left me having to wait to do all my new tricks in the 2nd run!  But I managed to gel a little, but just couldn’t seem to get it done.  Oh well.  Next time.

Now Park—this event is crazy!  Everyone in finals truly earned their spot.  And if you were there to witness the madness, you left that contest saying ‘Wow!’  Riders were doing 720s, 1080s, triple whips—you name it, and it was done!  After everything was said and done, I was left in 4th.  I’m happy and injury free.  On to the next stop!

I’m out,

Steve 

Okay, got the first round of the AST out of the way!  The whole event went really well - the ramp was great, the crowds were huge, the weather was good, and the riding was amazing.
 
I approached this one with a plan to try and keep my riding as simple and smooth as possible and just get a good opening result on the board. Some of the stuff I had planned to do didn't come out but I managed to do 2 consistent runs and take 3rd behind Jamie Bestwick and Chad Kagy.

Now that the first one is out of the way and my winter gremlins have hopefully been dealt with, I'm feeling really good and have a head full of ideas for round 2 in Cleveland.  An added bonus is that I immediately advance to Cleveland's final thanks to a top 3 finish.

Right now, we're in the middle of a Mongoose road trip.  We hit 2 great spots today, and I rode until I couldn't ride anymore but you're going to have to wait and see the photos and video. We're having a good time for sure.

Flying back to England after the trip and then I head to Germany for the BMX Masters, one of the best events of the year, so I'm pretty excited about that.

That's all for now,

Simon

Picture courtesy of www.ast.com

Last week was the first stop of the Dew Tour. I was looking forward to it, and come Friday night for the finals I was ready to throw down, I guess.  I didn’t have a lot of practice on the jumps, but still had to send my stuff.  The contest was gnarly. Everyone was throwing down and landing their stuff perfect.  I gave it everything I had.  I pulled my first two runs, but crashed a 360 double whip in my last run.  I bruised my foot pretty bad. I side of it is swollen and black and blue.

Straight after the Dew Tour we left and are currently on a road trip riding some cool ramps and parks.  GT’s Dave Dillewaard is here, but is hurt so he isn’t riding.  Simon Tabron is a shredder when it comes to anything having to do with BMX.  He can ride whatever he wants and destroys it in the process.  (Mongoose Australia rider) Cam Pianta is the same way, and don’t get me started on Stevie McCann.  His huge pocket air at the first ramp was amazing. Who knows what we’re getting into today…

Team Mongoose rider Steve McCann had a great day at the season opener for the AST Dew Tour in Baltimore, MD. Steve qualified in the 6th spot for today's finals even after suffering a mild concussion during Dirt practice on Thursday and a hard fall in Vert finals on Friday. McCann as usual came out firing with a huge 720 turndown up the drop and then fired a 720 no hander over the box straight into a massive double tailwhip. The rest of the run was full of bangers, and Steve took the number 1 spot for a bit. He then sat in 3rd for a while and was on track for another podium finish, but then Daniel Dhers had an amazing set, and Steve slid down the rankings to finish 4th on the day. All in all, a great weekend for our triple threat. 

(Photos courtesy of Chuck Fallon)

BMX Vert Finals—Simon Tabron 3rd

Simon had a great first run linking amazing tricks, but the flair to 900 was the banger that caught everyone’s attention.  He slid out at the buzzer with a hand plant, but the score was good enough to slip him into the #2 spot.  He was looking to bump it up on his second run, but he lost some momentum and had to stick to his first run score.  Jamie Bestwick and Chad Kagy would just sneak by him in the finals, so Simon got a solid 3rd for the season opener in Baltimore.

Steve McCann was also in the Vert finals, and he put together a solid first run but unfortunately slid out on a flair no-hander.  He still impressed the judges with a triple barspin that he catches after each rotation.  McCann's 2nd run was going good, but with the wind picking up a bit Steve decided to leave it for another day.  He ended up with in a very respectable 6th place.

BMX Dirt Finals—Cam White 3rd

As usual Cam was dialed and was a threat going into the finals.  Cam laid down a solid first run that slid him into the top spot going into the second round.  Cam knew he would have to lift the bar a bit to secure his spot.  He dropped in and pulled a huge barspin flip to tailwhip (the same move that pulled and won Trick of the Week for in Salt Lake City’s 2007 Dew Tour stop) and finished with a 360 whip to x-up.  He was still in 1st going into the third round, but after a crash in his final run he slipped back to 3rd for the night.

BMX Park Prelims—Steve McCann 6th 

Steve had a solid 1st run pulling a 720 no hander over the big box and several other difficult tricks.  He ended his run with a flip barspin. It was a great run that put him in 4th.  But after all of the riders did their 2nd run, Steve slipped back to 6th for the day securing a solid spot for the finals on Sunday. 

Be sure to check back Sunday night to see how Steve does in the BMX Park finals.

(Photos courtesy of Chuck Fallon)

Okay, my bike is packed and I'm ready to fly to Baltimore for the start of the AST Dew Tour. I'm kind of nervous but I've been riding well, I've done everything that I can to be prepared so I'll just have to wait and see how it goes. I'm shooting to beat my 9th place from Baltimore last year!!!!!!!!!!

I'm really excited to see my friend Stephen Murray. It's a year since his accident and his return will be a welcome one. I hear he's going to be on hand for some commentary and to launch his new 'Stay Strong' apparel line!

There's a story on www.fatbmx.com about the Masters contest in Cologne, Germany. The Masters is pretty much the greatest bmx freestyle contest of the year, bringing together all disciplines of freestyle for pros , amateurs and girls. I'm really excited to go this year ( I head to Germany after Baltimore) Click on the link to check out the story along with a cool picture of me doing a turndown flair.

http://www.fatbmx.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4838

That's it for now, wish me luck in Baltimore!!!!

Simon

Had a great week riding.  Feel as though I'm in full-flow right now. Sometimes (all of last week) I feel like I'm going through the motions a bit…I want to ride hard and ride well, but it just doesn't feel like I have my mojo.  This week, I definitely have my mojo.  I was having to lose speed to avoid hitting the roof at my ramp.  Scary, but a good feeling.  My new stuff is all working well.  Ready for Baltimore in 2 weeks, and I'm definitely feeling my magic at the moment!

In between riding, I managed to have a clear out at my house and sell a bunch of stuff at a car boot sale (rough translation - yard sale!)  I made a whole 240 pounds (almost $500) from old stuff that I don't need! Feeling good about that.

Another cool thing is that I got a new LG Viewty phone today AND IT'S PURPLE!!!!  You don't know how happy this makes me!!

So, lots of riding this next week.  I'm counting down to the start of the Dew Tour...

Oh yeah, one more thing, I started ordering materials for my new vert ramp so I'll finally be on a FULL SIZE ramp by the end of the summer - first time I will have ever had a full 13 1/2 foot ramp to practice on - things are going to change....

Simon

Attached pictures are courtesy of www.timelineskateboard.com.  I don't mean to milk the crowd surfing thing but check out how cool this picture is!

This past week has been kind of slow.  Not much has been going on.  The wind has been on and off, so when the wind is not blowing away we have been riding a lot.  Good long sessions…sometimes 2 sessions a day. 

My mate Chris Harti, who was here shredding from Australia for a few weeks, went home.  He was shredding Lav’s yard and Ricardo’s yard, but had a few hard crashes and banged up his face and shoulder.  Nothing major, but just needs a few days off the bike.

Cam Pianta has arrived from Australia and is staying here in Vegas until Dew Tour.  Tomorrow morning we’re gonna try and ride depending on the wind, so stay tuned for more info.

Cheers,

Cam

What's up everyone?!  So camp is now in full swing!  The kids have just arrived, and the staff at camp now have there hands full!  Let the fun begin...

For me this week has been pretty busy.  I've been filming with EXPN 360 for a feature that will run right before the X-Games at the end of July, so keep your eyes out for that.

Well anyway I'm out.  I've got the weekly demo to do at 3pm for the kids at camp, and I’m super pumped to see how stoked they are on all the pros at camp this year!

Steve

Mongoose.com caught up with Simon Tabron to talk about his riding, his travels, his music, and his rockstar debut in Brazil.  And scroll ALL the way down to the bottom to see his winning run in Brazil.

Mongoose.com:  The last time we talked you were in Dubai for the X-Games, and you ended up taking the gold home in Vert. That seemed to be the trend for you in almost every contest. You had a phenomenal season last year. What were some of the highlights?

Simon:  That’s a tough question.  I loved the international X-Games events--Mexico and Dubai--they were a lot of fun and really good places to have an event with a great crowd at each. I felt as though I rode really well at both of them, and I had a lot of fun.  Aside from that, the back to back 900’s at the LA X Games were a dream come true for me.  It would have been nice to get 1st, not 2nd, but that’s life!

M:  Yeah, you were totally robbed, but you started out 2008 with a bang crowd surfing after your gold medal performance at the X-Games Brazil.  You were like a rock star!  How did that all go down?  What was going through your head?

S:  I was focused on my riding but, as the contest unfolded and I got everything done that I had planned, I relaxed and started to soak up the atmosphere.  I have NEVER ridden in front of such a large and rowdy crowd!  As the contest came to a close, I was the last person on the ramp and I slid off on my last trick, a handplant.  As I walked off the ramp, the crowd started calling out to me so I went over to say hi and shake some hands.

Before I knew what was happening, I was being ‘group hugged’ by the front row so I said “Pull me up!” and some guys on the front row pulled me up on top of the crowd barrier. I let myself fall into the crowd and they carried me off on a sea of hands! It was pretty surreal and completely spontaneous, definitely a once in a lifetime thing. I smile every time I think about that. It was nice to feel the love from the crowd and to try and give some love back!   (**Check out a video of the crowd-surfing Simon at the end of this interview.)

M:  That's awesome.  You’re quite the jet-setter—X-Games Dubai, X-Games Brazil, X-Games LA, all the Dew Tour stops, the LG competitions…I’m sure I’m missing some in there—and you fly back home to the UK after every competition and train there.  Is there a difference between BMX in the US vs. the UK?

S:  Yeah.  BMX in the UK is not so serious.  We just ride and have fun without any tensions. I love to travel and meet different people from different cultures because I feel as though I can learn from them and, hopefully, become a better person.  The UK definitely keeps me grounded and that’s very important to me. 

In America, there’s sometimes a lot of hype and pressure around what we do and it’s good for me to escape that and remember that it’s just bike riding.  The other thing is that I head off on every trip with a fresh perspective and renewed enthusiasm.  That helps me to make the most of each trip.

M:  The first stop of the Dew Tour is a couple weeks away in Baltimore which is pretty much the kick-off to the US competition season.  As you ramp up for the events, what are you most looking forward to?

S:  Probably just getting the first one out of the way and getting into my groove.  I don’t really have any big expectations for Baltimore other than to go out and begin the Dew Tour.  I’m doing everything I can to be ready for it and that’s all I can really do.  I try to approach these things with an open mind and limit my expectations because anything can happen.  Last year I crashed and got 9th at round 1, but the year before I won the first one. We’ll just have to wait and see.

M:  Last year you pulled the first and only back-to-back 900s at the X-Games LA.  Should we expect to see that combo at all this year?  Do you have any other new tricks or combos up your sleeve?

S:  Yes, yes and yes!  Hopefully, I’ll get to pull the back to back 9’s out.  I have new tricks and I have new combos.  That’s all I can say, you’ll have to wait and see!

M:  Let’s plug some of your other, non-BMX related projects because I know you’ve been working hard on your music.  Rumor has it that you and the misses along with TJ Lavin collaborated on a song to benefit the Stephen Murray Family Fund.  How did that come together and how are fans able to get the song? 

S:  Stephen Murray is an old friend and his cause is very close to my heart. My wife and I were and still are pretty affected by all that has happened to Stephen.  In the aftermath, last year I was playing guitar, playing a tune that I had written.  My wife Pippa came in and asked if I had written a song around the tune and, when I said no, she asked if she could try.  We sat and worked for about 10 minutes and she came up with lyrics and a melody to go with my tune.  We recorded it and I sent it in an e-mail to TJ with the instructions “Check out this tune.  You’ll know what it’s about and, if you like it, you know what to do.”

He understood perfectly and got straight to work producing the track.  A month later, he played me the full track and then another month later, the completed track, including Cory Nastazio’s contribution.  We were all pretty blown away with what we had done so we set about trying to find a way to make it work for Stephen.  We’ve been working with Stephen’s support team and with TJ’s record company and the track called “Soldier” is going to be released later this month with all proceeds going to Stephen’s fund.

When something terrible happens to a friend, it’s hard to know what to do.  We’ve just tried to pool our skills in a way that will hopefully help as well as spread the word about Stephen’s story. 

You can check the track out at http://www.myspace.com/herostephenmurray and find information about the release date and everything that’s going on.

Mongoose.com would like to thank Simon for taking the time to chat with us.  And if you missed it the first time here's Simon lighting it up in Brazil.  You know how Germans love David Hasselhoff?  Well, Brazilians love Simon Tabron.  Check it out. 

(Photo found on Pinkbike.com.)

Had a very busy few weeks since my last update. My wife, Pippa, and I took the opportunity to have a little break before the contest season fully kicks in. We went to Dubai and sat by the swimming pool in 100 degree heat and generally had a great time!

I came home with my batteries recharged and got right back to riding, before we headed off on another trip, this time to London for Pippa's sister's wedding. It was a lot of fun, held at a country manor-house. If you've ever seen the movie 'Four weddings and a funeral' you'll know what I mean.

So, since the wedding trip, I've been getting ready for the first Dew Tour in Baltimore. I'm feeling great, riding-wise, I'm in good health after my winter of injuries and I'm excited to get out and compete!

Hey everyone,

This week’s been pretty mellow, but next week is going to be crazy!  Woodward Camp (in Pennsylvania) opens up on Sunday!  All the kids will be back for the summer!  I can’t wait!  You know the bike riding session will be off the hook!

In other news I have a new trick!  Nothing special, but I was pretty pumped on it.  It’s a truck to tail whip.  Anyway, I’m out!  Check back next week for summer stories!

Steve

For the last week not a lot has gone down as far as riding goes. I don’t know if it’s just because I’m in the middle of the desert or if it’s windy everywhere, but Vegas for the past week has had this nagging, annoying wind that doesn’t seem to disappear.  I was watering the yard at 7:45am yesterday morning, and by the time I had my pads and helmet on, the same annoying wind came through and ruined my session.  We still had a ride on the resi sending stupid things which was fun, but it has nothing on the flowing mini-style line in the yard.  I didn’t even get out of bed this morning.  I looked outside and gave up.  Hopefully at 6am tomorrow there is no wind because that’s when we have locked in the session.  Good times in the early AM.

Apart from the wind situation, we took a day trip drive down to San Diego, hung out for a little while, then drove back to Vegas.  Along the way we picked up (GT Bicycles rider) Dave Dillewaard, who unfortunately has a broken wrist.  It was heaps good hanging out with Dilly here in Vegas for a few days.  They all went out on the boat and got their chill on.  I stayed here and tried to ride. Didn’t happen. But apart from those games we have also been playing a bit of tennis.  Not a bad sport if you like to run and keep fit.  Even Lavs came out for a few games, even though his leg still hurts a lot and he can’t run.  He gets out there in his flip flops and has a go.

That’s pretty much all the news from this side of town.  Breakfast time! : )

Cam

Feel as though I've been tired since I got back from Brazil but I've been riding a bunch and learning tricks. I had a good session at my ramp and then I drove 300 miles to a ramp in Corby (UK) to ride with a friend of mine, Zach Shaw. Zach took a bunch of cool pictures and I've  included a few. It was pretty crazy, I drove 300 miles ( 61/2 hours...), rode for 4 hours, went for pizza and then drove 300 miles back home ( 4 hours this time, driving through the night=no traffic!). I finally got home at 3:30am! I slept yesterday after my mission and then went and rode my ramp today. I'm on a bit of a trick learning mission at the moment and I'm not going to let anything out of the bag other than to say my plans are coming together.
I'm heading to Dubai on wednesday, go and have 10 days in the sun and relax before crazy contest season starts in just over a month.

Redbull Elevation is one of the best dirt jumping contests to go down each year.  For the past few years the contest has been held in Whistler, Canada, but this year was the first time it was held in Guadalajara, Mexico.  I had only ever been to Mexico once, so I was pretty excited to go back and ride this comp.  The best thing about this contest is that the jumps are always amazing.  Huge downhill trails is really what the contest is based on.

When I rocked up and saw the jumps I was pretty pumped although they didn't seem as big as they were in Whistler.  They were all pretty steep booters with some good hips, rollers, and berms.  After riding both lines in practice, the long and low line was the bigger line of the two and was my favorite.  I decided I would probably just ride this line in the comp.

So when prelims came around everyone rode super good--Dane Searls killed it along with Rob Darden and of course the big guys like Nyquist and Bohan rode amazingly good doing huge transfer 360's and what not.  Brian Foster was out there doing massive 3 transfers and huge whip-outs bringing out the trail boss side of things and he rounded out the top 12 for finals. I was pretty freaked out when I was told I qualified in 2nd.  I hadn’t really thrown out anything big except a flip whip on the last, but that's the good thing about elevation.  Its just as much about trail riding as well as big tricks.

I woke up during the night thinking about the contest.  I was kinda nervous knowing that I was going to throw down everything that I had.  After all it's the best comp all year so its worth sending it. Come to finals time.  The course was dialed and the Mexican people really put on a show and took the contest seriously.  They had guys there with drums, and dudes marching with rifles and singing the national anthem.  We also got to shake the hand of the governor fella of the whole area.  That was a pretty big treat and it was good to see how much the crowd and the Mexican people appreciated the contest and enjoyed it.

While this was all going down there was crazy security everywhere and a police helicopter flying over head.  Once all that settled down it was time for finals.  I didn't really watch much of the contest; I was more sitting out the back with a lot of my tricks going through my head, but I did see some crazy stuff go down.  Rob Darden doing 720's is always a treat; Dane Searls 3-whipping the last set was one of the biggest things I have ever seen; And Ryan Nyquist's 720 transfer which one Trick of the Contest and just wait till you see it!  It should of won Trick of the Year.  Hucker did a double backie, Dennis Enarson and James Foster both did triple whips--so dialed.  Brian Foster is the man when it comes to whip outs and huge 3 transfers.  TJ Ellis killed the course pulling out every trick pretty much ever! 

I had 5 runs that I wanted to do.  My first run was a little sketchy but got through, and I managed to pull my last 4 runs.  I couldn't believe it at the end of the day and because I hadn’t really watched the rest of the contest I didn't know what to expect when they read the results, but to win Redbull Elevation has been a dream of mine and to actually go out there and get it done, it still hasn't sunk in to be honest.  I think it’s going to take a few days, or maybe even a week.  Thanks to all the people involved for holding such a good dirt jumping comp.  Can’t wait for next year.

Cam White

Hey everyone,

This week was pretty awesome.  I was in Vegas.  Nothing to do with BMX, though.  I was there supporting my Fusion Energy teammate Chad Reed, who after a long 16-race series, is now the new Supercross Champion.  Good job, Chad.  You killed it!  I’m glad I was there to witness it!

Anyway, on the BMX side it’s back to riding.  It’s not long now til the Dew Tour starts, and I can’t wait.  It’s going to be awesome!

Steve

Congratulations to Mongoose Aussie rider Vince Byron for getting 5th in both Park and Vert finals at the Asian X-Games.  Good on you, mate!  Check out the full story here.

I went to Sao Paulo, Brazil for the X-Games last weekend, and the whole trip was pretty amazing.  After an 11 1/2 hour flight from London, my friend Zach Shaw and I arrived at the hotel and then went to check out the venue. We were pretty exhausted after flying through the night but rode a little bit and caught up with everyone.

By the time we rode prelims on Saturday, I was still pretty jet-lagged and the lack of sleep combined with the heat, humidity, and lack of good food added up to me feeling terrible.  I barely had the strength to pedal across the ramp so I started to get a bit nervous.  My first run was horrible, and I ended it by crashing a 900 but somehow went into second place.  By the time my next run came around, I had nearly passed out and was going to just skip it, but Zach Shaw convinced me to go ahead and just do a mellow run.  It worked out and I went into 1st place, qualifying straight to Sunday's final, which meant I avoided having to ride all of the extra elimination rounds.  Big relief.

I went back to the hotel and stayed in my room until the next afternoon.  When I got to the ramp on Sunday afternoon, I was feeling a lot better and, after a few practice runs, felt like I was back on my game.

The final started and it quickly became clear that I had a big task on my hands - Zack Warden was riding amazingly and dropped some serious bombs in his first run - barspin to tailwhip, bike flip, windshield wiper, double whip.  Zack is a really good friend of mine, and I was so blown away by how well he was riding that I couldn't really think what to do.  I got through all of my regular tricks and had a pretty solid start and then someone pointed out a kid in the crowd holding a big sign saying '900'. When I looked at him, the crowd started freaking out at me so I dropped in and did a 9 about 8 feet, straight into a flair, the first time I'd done that line.
 
After that, I tried another line I've been chasing for a while--a flair into a 900--and was really happy to pull it.  As the 10 minute jam clock ran out, I dropped in one last time and did a handplant.  As I was getting off the ramp, all the people at the front of the crowd were calling me over.  I went over and they all started hugging me so I climbed over the barrier and jumped into the crowd and got carried off on the sea of hands.  It was pretty funny and a once-in-a-lifetime experience to do some genuine crowd surfing!  Especially as the crowd was the biggest and loudest I have EVER seen at a contest. Check out the video from EXPN Brazil--it shows some riding highlights and make sure you check out the crowd-surfing at the end!  (Scroll to the end for another video from the event.)

During the mayhem, they announced the results and I won the contest which capped things off perfectly!  So, after a sketchy start, my trip ended up being a lot of fun and, after the Brazilians treated me so well, I can't wait to go back next year!

Simon

Check out this interview with Simon from the X-Games Brazil.

Hey everyone,

So I’ve been in China for the last week (for the AST China Invitational), and boy was it a good time.  Well…most of it was a good time.  Let’s start with me missing my flight.  That part sucked.  So after missing my flight and the first day when everyone went to the Great Wall, I finally met up with everyone for dinner and drinks.

Day two of my trip was spent at the event which was really cool.  The venue was in a bull arena, and so many people were pumped to see us ride.  For us bikers, it was just a demo, but man, was it a good demo.  Check out the photos to see what I mean.

The only tourist stuff I got to do was the Forbidden City.  Check out the photos.  The place was awesome!

Well I’m out,

Steve

Last week has been pretty fun.  I went down to Monterey, California to do some shows at the Sea Otter Classic.  My boy Jose and I drove down there late on Wednesday night and met up with Bo, who didn’t answer his phone to tell us where to go at 3:30am!  So after a rough night we woke up early to go ride. 

We had 4 days of shows to do with 3 shows a day.  I don’t really mind doing the shows.  At least I’m riding my bike everyday!  The first 2 days were fun.  It was super cold and windy, but we got the shows done. The 3rd day we were there, it was about 40 degrees and the most miserable day ever with crazy winds and dust going everywhere, so we didn’t do any riding that, day but did go bowling.

Each night we were there we went bowling at the bowling alley. I scored a 120, so I was pretty pumped.  That was my best score, and I suck at bowling pretty bad.

The last day was nice.  Sun was out, bit windy, but still got the shows done.  Then it was a nice long drive back to Vegas getting me here at around 1:30am.  Next for me is Elevation on the 8th of May, so from now and then the session will be going down at Lavs!

Sweet as,
Cam

So now I’m back in America after one really long flight.  It’s good to be back here in Vegas and see all the boys.  Last weekend we had the extreme thing contest.  It was a lot of fun.  Good seeing everyone again and the comp itself was really chill and laid back.  Except for the wind, everything else was sweet as.  I finished 2nd too, so I was stoked on that.

Since the comp I haven’t been doing much.  Just chilling and trying to catch up on some sleep.  We haven’t been riding Lavs yard much because of the good old Vegas hurricane-strength winds.  But we did have an awesome session yesterday.  Lavs hasn’t touched his bike since his crash in Orlando and yesterday he dealt with the pain and dropped off the drop off and hit the resi.  He even flipped it.  I was so stoked. He killed it.  So its good to see him back on the bike.

Today we’re going to the local Roberto's taco shop, getting a feed, and depending on the wind, hopefully riding our bikes.  That’s it from me till next week,

Cheers,

Cam

I've had a really good week, riding nearly every day. It's been pretty cold (it snowed today!) so I've been riding indoors at my local park--some vert riding, some park riding, and a bit of ramp building (helped out with the new volcano).

Been loving my riding.  Everything's feeling good, but I crashed pretty hard today--hit my head really hard and took an elbow in the stomach which was unbelievably painful.  I couldn't breath for a good minute which was pretty scary.  I'm expecting to be pretty damn sore for the next few days.  I have to get myself to calm down as I've had the throttle fully open a lot recently which is why I keep getting hurt.  Oh well, no pain, no gain, no new tricks or something like that.

I booked my trip to the Brazil X-Games this week.  I'm pretty excited as it will be my first time in Brazil, and international X-Games events are normally pretty laid back and fun (unlike summer X-Games). I also had to have a bunch of vaccinations for the trip so my arm was swollen up for 3 or 4 days.  More pain, more gain.

I've included a picture of me riding my ramp on my new purple Shield and some old pictures that a friend sent me this week.  They're both 540's from 1992 when I was 18, riding for Hoffman Bikes.

Okay, that's it.  I'm sore and tired of typing...

Photo credits - Mathew Dyer--old picture; Chris Hickson--purple Shield picture

What’s up everyone? Well, this week I’ve been out in California.  I rode the awesome Hawk ramp in Vista, then made a trip out to Woodward West!  It’s pretty amazing. They have made quite a few changes since I was there last, so I was pretty pumped to ride all the new lines that were in the hanger!  Anyway, now I’m back in PA in State College. Till next time…Peace!

Steve

My local park, Mount Hawke in Cornwall, held their annual Easter Jam last weekend.  When I showed up at about midday, there was at least 300 or 400 people there already and tons of good riding going on.  I caught up with some old friends like Ian Morris who was there with his United Bike Co team of Corey Martinez and Nathan Williams, and I helped out a bit with some judging for the amateur street and mini ramp comps.

I rode vert for a while and ending up shooting pictures with a friend of mine, Northern John, who works for Ride UK magazine, as well as being an amazing street rider.  John lives in the town where I grew up so we have all kinds of inside jokes and funny stories.  I like hanging out with him a lot.  I don't think John has shot vert pictures before but he got some amazing shots.

By the time we were done on the vert ramp, I was pretty exhausted but decided to enter pro street which was just about to get started.  Fortunately, being a last minute entry meant I got to go last so I had a few minutes to get my breath back.  To be honest, I don't know why I entered.  I just thought it would be fun, but I had no idea what to do.

We had a 30 minute jam, and I tried loads of lines and tricks for the first time which ended up in lots of crashes, but I kept getting away with it and just laughing at myself!  In between all my crashes, I managed to pull no-handed and barspin 450's over the big hip, and I pedaled full speed at everything as well as doing some barspin stuff in the 'street' part of the course.  Honestly, it was the most fun I've had in ages!

I went for a wall ride to no hander and just bounced off the wall to flat. My friend Mikey, who was announcing, said "Simon Tabron showing why he's a vert rider"! It was pretty funny.  The whole day was really good, and I saw some amazing riding, especially from Corey Martinez who had original lines and hard tricks all over the course.

I've included a few photos and, if Northern John gets round to sending me some vert pics like he promised, I’ll post them as well.  Click here for Dig Magazine's write up.  Alright, that's it for this week, back to being a vert rider!

(Photos courtesy of www.flickr.com--No Hander 450, Dig Magazine--Toboggan, and Toby Gresswell--Can Can)

Hey!  What's up everyone?  This week has been pretty mellow. I took a pretty good crash the other day, so riding this week has been a little painful. I think I need to see the chiro because something is for sure out of wack!

So anyway I've been working on my new bike a lot this week. Pretty pumped on this bike, let me tell ya. It's super bright…probably even brighter than the last orange beast if that’s possible! Anyway I'll put some photo's up as soon as it's done!

Steve

I've had a busy week…lots of riding. My knees aren't restricting me much now so I've been able to let rip on all my tricks. Some stuff still tweaks my knee a bit and hurts, but I can live with it. As long as I'm riding, I'm smiling.

I've picked up where I left off on learning some new stuff. I was half way through learning a few tricks when I got hurt so it's good to start working on them again (This is all very secretive, isn't it?!!!)  I'm not saying anything until I learn them!

I've been loving the stereo in my new car (and I've been loving the new car!)  I’ve been pounding the Pixies, Amy Winehouse and Elbow all week.  Speaking of which, I found out this week that my sister-in-law is friends with the singer and the bass player in a band I really like called Elbow, so I'm going to get to meet them and go and see them play. I always like little perks in life like that!

We're having a contest at my local park, Mount Hawke in Cornwall (that's England...) next week so I'm helping out a bit with judging and organization.  It sounds as though a lot of people are planning on showing up so it should be a fun weekend. I might even enter, not sure yet!

A good friend of mine, Khaled Termanini, sent me some pictures that he took at the Dubai X Games, just before Christmas. I've included some with this little blog - there's a turndown 540, a big fat can-can and an x-up invert. Hope you like 'em.

I resigned with my oldest sponsor, Adidas Shoes, for another 2 years and I'm putting a deal together with a drink company called Steaz. Steaz is super cool because they make organic energy drinks using natural ingredients and green tea.  I really like their stuff and feel good about promoting their products because it's actually good for you, unlike all the other nasty, toxic 'energy' drinks out there. I think you have to go with companies that you believe in...

Okay, that's it for another week.....Simon

Hey everyone,

Just got back from the The Clash at Clairemont benefiting Grind For Life which provides financial support for cancer patients.  I was pumped that skateboarder Andy Mac invited me down to help out, and I can’t wait to hear what an impact we made.  Hopefully we raised a bunch of money that can be put to good use!  All the big time vert skateboarders were there as well as BMXers Jamie Bestwick, Kevin Robinson, and Dennis McCoy. 

All in all it was an amazing event, and I can’t wait to help out next year!

Steve

What a week!  I started riding again after all of my knee problems.  I started slow but was going 10 feet within a few runs. It's funny…the best thing about getting hurt is how magic it feels when you get back on your bike.  I've ridden like a maniac for the last 2 days and, as a result, I'm really sore again!

This may sound weird but riding injured kind of improves my style. Because I'm not bothering with tricks, I'm just enjoying flowing and blasting and I've been doing more simple stuff like tire grabs and toboggans.  I'll take this over barspins and tailwhips any day!

Aside from being happy to be riding again, I'm also really happy to get my new '08 frame. It came last week, so I built it up and rode it the next day. There are some subtle differences from my white Shield frame - it's purple, it has removable gyro tabs, it's a whole pound lighter (just over 5 pounds now), it has smaller dropouts and it uses Sanko tubing with tapered stays. It rides great and the extra weight loss means that my bike comes in at just 23 pounds now - amazing.

So, all in all, it's been a great week - riding again, new tricks, new car, new bike - I'm a happy boy!

Simon

So this past week has been very interesting and kinda busy!  My mate Tim and I started off the week with a drive down to Junee Skate Park.  It’s a small country town about 3 hours from Canberra, and they have an amazing skate park right across the road from this local pub.  Most small towns don’t even have a skate park, let alone one that’s worth a 3-hour drive!  It’s definitely a lot of fun, and we sessioned that and a few other parks nearby for the day and then headed home.  It was a nice little road trip, and it was good to get out of Canberra. 

Tim and I went on another little road trip today to this tiny little town on the highway out near the Snowy Mountains called Berridale.  It has a little park there, but it’s really fun, so we sessioned that for a good 4 hours, then headed home.  I’m loving these road trips!  I wonder how many I can do before I leave on the 26th?  Hmmmmm…

As for the weekend, I’m off to Melbourne with some friends.  We’re there until Tuesday morning, and we’re going to do lots of fun stuff like 10-pin bowling and even lawn bowls.  If you guys don’t know what lawn bowls is, it’s a game for old people that is awesome, so check it out!  Until next week, keep on riding that bike!

Cheers,

Cam

Hey everyone,

Well Dennis McCoy just left town.  What a week!  We did lots of riding.  And Dennis had some great stories from past years of riding.

In other news, I just got my new frames.  You kids are gonna be stoked!  They weigh in at 5 pounds 3 ounces, so pretty sick.  The complete bikes rule this year!

Anyway I'm off to California this week!  I'll check back in soon.

Steve

Well this past week has been pretty good.  I've gotten back into a routine, so that means catching up on some good sleep and getting stuck into the riding.  The jumps still aren't going from the damage caused by the Jam, but I have been riding a lot of skateparks and hanging out with the local kids.  Its been a lot of fun. 

Fellow Australian Mongoose team mate Tim Fountain is back on his bike after some broken ribs, so we have been sessioning Gungahlin Skatepark.  Its good to have him back to 100% because he is definately a shredder. My other mate Joe just spent a bunch of money on a new bike, so he has also been riding.  It almost reminds me of old times--spending 6 hours a day riding the local skatepark with all the kids asking you to do a backflip.  Good times!  Raine Turnbull has also been hanging out even though he has a broken wrist, scaphoid to be exact.  Not cool, but he has been taking some dope photos, so look for them in the future.  

Well that's pretty much all the news from me this week.  I have some things coming up this week that are going to be fun, but I guess you will have to wait until next update to find out what they are! :)

Later,

Cam

No riding this week because of the knees.  My left knee (the most recent injury) has started to feel a bit better, and I can sort of walk okay now.  My right knee gave me a bit of a surprise.  I got the results of my MRI scan from the doctor and it turns out I did NOT tear the ligament. I have some inflammation and tendonitis which made it seem like it was torn, but it's not.  That's a big surprise and a big relief, so I definitely don't need any surgery.  I'm thinking I can ride in a few days so I'm getting excited.  Two weeks off is too much.

To kill my boredom, I've been test driving cars this week.  I decided it's time for my 10 year old wagon to go, and I wanted to get something newer and more fun.  I tried out a Volvo XC90(boring), VW Touareg (dull, boring), Porsche Cayenne (stupid, pointless), and I finally settled on a Range Rover.  Check out the pictures.  I love this car!  It'll carry 5 people and their bikes in comfort--heated seats, TV, DVD, etc!!!

Gonna go and work on my bike now, get ready to ride.

Later,

Simon

G'day g'day!!

Well it's not long now until I head back off to the USA, so I have been trying to ride everyday, but the bloody wind and rain--which we have had over the last 3 days--makes it hard to do anything.  Last night we invited a bunch of family and friends over for a BBQ to discuss the Jam and eat a lot of food because for the next few weeks everything is going to be super busy.  With everyone going away, it will be the last chance I get to see them all. 

It turned out to be heaps of fun and a real chill night.  We ate a lot and sat back in the hot tub.  Not much more you can ask for!  As for this up and coming week, I have some stuff to knock out in the foam pit, weather permitting, and then just planning my trip back.  Its going to hopefully be an eventful week with a lot of stuff getting done.

Stay tuned!

Cam

What a week!  After tearing the PCL ligament in my right knee about 6 weeks ago, I crashed this week and injured my OTHER knee!  Unbelievable.  I've been working on getting my flairs higher, but I kind of forgot to flip on this one!  I jumped off just as I landed and my leg bent in totally the wrong direction and I heard a 'snap' from my knee.
 
So another visit to the emergency and x-rays showed my knee to be in perfect order and an examination found that I hadn't torn any of the ligaments.  My knee had tried to dislocate but then it SNAPPED back into place.  Despite this and the other knee injury, my doctor says that, because my knees are in good, strong shape, I'll be back to normal in no time.

So after a couple of weeks, rest and I should be back on my bike.  To say I'm relieved is an understatement!  It's funny, I'm riding great at the moment and loving every minute of it, learning stuff and working up to stuff that I want to learn.

I'm killing time by working on some music stuff for TJ Lavin's next Lavs Lab album.  Basically, I write and record music and then I send it to TJ who samples it and produces it into a hip-hop track.  I guess it's the next best thing to riding.

That's all for this week from the recovery couch!

Simon

Hey everyone,

Big week coming up!  My boy Dennis McCoy (DMC) is coming into town.  That means the vert session is going to get wild.  Dennis has been around forever and is always super fun to ride with!  And he's always someone that you can learn from too. Kids remember this--the more riding years you have under your belt, the more you know!  Dennis has been ruling for longer than anyone, and will for many years to come!  So if there's anything you're having trouble with and he's around, be sure to ask him.  He'll have the answer for sure.

Steve

This week, I took a trip to Dubai with my wife and then, since I got back, I've been riding every day.  Basically, nothing is going on right now with contests or anything so I'm just riding my bike and having fun!

Later,

Simon

Congratulations to Cam White for winning dirt at the BMX Games in Sydney, Australia this past weekend.  Cam came in with a busted and bruised ankle from a crash earlier in the week, but he sucked it up and put on a show.  Awesome job!  Check back for more details and photos from the event.

(Photo courtesy of VitalBMX.com)

In cooperation with CPSC, Mongoose issues a voluntary recall on the Mongoose Alleycat Coupler , model #12-PF250. 


Click here: RECALL_PRESS_RELEASE.pdf



Acrobat Reader is required to view all documents. Get it here

Hey everyone!

So I was in Dubai for the X games earlier this month. What a crazy place Dubai is--indoor snowboarding, malls that are bigger than anything I've ever seen, four wheel driving that's out of control, a belly dancer in the desert, and beaches with no waves! So anyway, the place is a trip! You have to go there to see what I mean!  It's truly is a work in progess, but by 2015 it will be amazing!

The contest was awesome, and team Mongoose truly represented.  Simon Tabron came in first with flawless 900s, and I double-whipped my way into second place for the weekend! It's been a crazy year. Thanks everyone for the support. We'll see you in 2008!

Steven

Mongoose vert riders Simon Tabron and Steve McCann found themselves on the top of the podium again over the weekend at the Dubai Games.  They got first and second respectively.  It's been an outstanding year for both of them.  Well done lads!!  Let's hear what Simon had to say about the event.

Stevie was amazing and smoked everyone, but I couldn't let him take me in front of my '2nd home' crowd! I honestly feel as though I rode better than at any event this year on my way to the win, and I attempted back to back 900's again but slid off on the second one. Never mind, the job was done and my 2007 contest season is finally over!

I promise this will be the last time I bore you with contest updates for 2007, and I would like to thank you all again for your support this year.

Simon

Action photos courtesy of www.fatbmx.com & flag photo courtesy of www.expn.com

Dubai is hosting the X-Games this weekend, and Mongoose riders Steve McCann and Simon Tabron will be making the trip.  Although this will be Steve's first visit, Simon fell in love with the city a couple of years ago and now owns a home there.  He was kind enough to give us a little culture lesson and share some personal photographs.  Don't say you never learned anything from our site!!

Mongoose.com:  When and why did you first travel to Dubai?

Simon:  The first time was in 2005 for the ESPN X-Games event.

Mongoose.com:  What were your initial reactions to the city?

Simon:  I was amazed by the cityscape--so many incredible buildings.

Mongoose.com:  Was there a major culture shock?

Simon:  A little bit, but I knew what to expect. It was actually a lot mellower than I had imagined.

Mongoose.com:  What made you want to purchase a home in Dubai?

Simon:  I like being here so much, and it was a very good way to invest my prize money for the future!

Mongoose.com:  What are your favorite things about the city?

Simon:  The incredible mix of cultures and styles. There's always so much going on and so much energy. It's like nowhere else on earth.

Mongoose.com:  What are your least favorite?

Simon:  The traffic and the dust/noise from all of the construction.

Mongoose.com:  Is there a large BMX community? Where do you ride when you're there?

Simon:  There isn't much going on here for BMX yet, but there's a big skate community. Dubai has three skateparks with plans for more. BMX is catching on now, since we've been coming here with the X-Games and you can buy Mongooses here now!

Mongoose.com:  What is the one thing that you need to do every time you visit?

Simon:  Go shopping! The tax-free shopping here is legendary.

Mongoose.com:  What do you think are the major misconceptions about Dubai and the United Arab Emirates?

Simon:  People often associate the Middle East with the war in Iraq and all that, but it's all a world away

Mongoose.com:  If you had to create a tourism slogan for Dubai, what would it be?

Simon:  The only limitation is your imagination!

**Click on the image to see more photos of Dubai.

Photos courtesy of Simon Tabron:  Simon, his wife Pippa, Sheikh Hamad, and his falcon; Simon's apt building; Burj-Al-Arab 7-star hotel; Gold-plated, life-size horses outside Al-Qasr hotel; city-scape; Jumeirah Mosque; Burj-Al-Arab hotel & beach; Dubai Creek; map of Middle East.

Be sure to check out Mongoose Dirt BMXer Cam White when he stops by Fuel TV's The Daily Habit on December 4th.  Cam finished the AST Dew Tour in 2nd place.  He also won the Dew Tour Playstation Trick of the Week at the Salt Lake City stop.  He'll be talking about his successful 2007 season, his Hillside Dirt Jam with proceeds going to the Stephen Murray Family Fund, and what to expect from him in 2008.  Check local listings for air times. 

Hi Everyone,

The last big US event of the year, the LG Action Sports World championships, took place in Dallas last weekend. After an exhausting year, I was able to put in two solid weeks of practice at home to prepare for the event and, I'm pleased to say, it paid off!

I didn't hold back at all and came out with a barrage of my hardest tricks in my first run of the finals, but unfortunately, I took a fall at the end attempting a flair straight into a 900--something never done before. No matter. I found myself tied for 3rd place with teammate Stevie McCann after the first round knowing that I still had more in the tank. Using the same run that won the T-Mobile event in Berlin last month, I managed to break the tie with Stevie in Round 2 and also move ahead of Chad Kagy into 2nd place.

In the end, though it wasn't enough to beat Jamie Bestwick, but I was more than happy with the 2nd place finish.  Here are the rest of the results.

1 Jamie Bestwick Derby, England
2 Simon Tabron Newquay, England
3 Chad Kagy Gilroy, CA
4 Steven McCann Melbourne, Australia
5 Jimmy Walker Gilberts, IL
6 Koji Kraft Addison, IL
7 Jay Eggleston Denver, CO
8 John Parker State College, PA
9 Zack Warden Ofallon, IL
10 Kevin Robinson East Providence, RI
11 Jorge Jovel Tela, Honduras
12 Tom Stober Woodward, PA
13 Jason Branham Chicago, IL
14 Danny Williams Phoenix, AZ
15 Ronnie Remo Portsmouth, UK

So I have one more event in 2007, the X Games in Dubai 6-8th December, and then it's time for a bit of R&R!!!

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your support throughout 2007. I've had the best year imaginable and can't wait to build on it in 2008!

Very best regards,

Simon

The LG Championships were held in Dallas, TX this past weekend, and Team Mongoose riders Steve McCann and Simon Tabron rolled in to put the finishing touches on already unbelievable seasons. Prelims were held Saturday and things went pretty well because both riders made it through to the Vert finals the next day. Steve McCann also road street on Saturday but just missed the finals by one spot, but that was okay because it meant he had more energy to focus on Vert.

The 2007 AST Dew Action Sports Tour wrapped up this past weekend in Orlando, Florida, and for Team Mongoose it was a dream season with all three of the team athletes in the mix for the Dew Cup Championship.  

One of the biggest surprises of the tour was Steve McCann’s debut on the vert ramp. Steve had been thinking about riding vert for some time, but just thought he needed a bit more practice.  Good friend and vert legend Jamie Bestwick urged him to sign up, and the rest is history. Steve came out firing, finishing 4^th at the first stop in Baltimore. He continued to improve, and he found himself within the top 4 spots for the rest of the season.  Steve finished the year in 3^rd place overall just behind teammate Simon Tabron. Steve also made history by being the first BMX rider to compete in all three events—Dirt, Vert, and Street. He truly is a Triple Threat.

Simon Tabron, a veteran in the vert world, had one of the most successful seasons of his career winning contests all over the world. He made history at the X-Games in LA earlier this year by pulling the first ever back to back 900s. Simon won the vert contest at the Dew Tour’s second stop in Cleveland, and stayed on the podium for the rest of the tour. He finished the Dew Tour in 2^nd place just behind Jamie Bestwick.

Last but not least is Cam White, Mongoose's Dirt contender. He had an amazing season as well! Cam is as dialed as they come, and he is always pushing the limits of what can be done on the bike.  At the 4^th Dew Tour stop in Salt Lake City, Cam pulled the first ever barspin back flip to tail whip which was also voted Best Trick for that stop. Cam finished the tour in 2^nd overall just behind dirt legend Ryan Nyquist . 

Mongoose would like to congratulate these guys on an awesome season and thank them for their hard work and dedication. Great job!  

(Cam White photo courtesy of www.vitalbmx.com)

Hi Everyone,

I went to Berlin, Germany last weekend for the T-Mobile contest that was televised live across Europe on MTV.  It was head-to-head style, and I had to win 3 rounds in order to make the final showdown against Chad Kagy.

Chad went first in the final and, as we only had one run each, I was able to see what he did before I rode and try to step it up accordingly.  I was really happy to get the nod from the judges and win the event with Chad taking second place honours.  Check out http://www.fatbmx.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3444 for a full recap of the event and check out the video below from http://freecaster.tv/.

I'm home for a day and then off to Orlando tomorrow for the Dew Tour finals!

Best regards,

Simon

(Photo courtesy of www.fatbmx.com)

The members of our Mongoose/GT/Schwinn BMX Freestyle Team were cruising around Utah in an RV a couple of weeks ago, and VitalBMX.com was there to catch all the action.  Not only did the guys hit a bunch of skate parks on their trip, but they also stopped to do an autograph signing and visit a local dealer--5050 BMX.  Check it out!!

(Photo courtesy of:  www.VitalBMX.com)

The people have spoken.  Mongoose dirt rider Cam White's new trick--a barspin tailwhip backflip--that he showcased at the Salt Lake City stop of the AST Dew Tour is a winner!  The polls were open from September 24th to October 1st, and viewers were able to watch all of the videos from the other 6 competitors, but Cam's innovative combo and the trick's level of difficulty was hard to deny.  He rocked it.  Congratulations Cam!  You deserved it! 

(Photo credit: www.vitalbmx.com)

Check out Mongoose.com's interview with BMX Dirt/Vert/Street rider Steve McCann about his bike color choice that's creating a lot of buzz.

Mongoose.com: Let’s talk about the bright orange bike. What was your motivation for the color?

Stevie McCann: Well it started off as a cool colour I wanted to do for X-Games.

Mongoose.com:  What has been the reaction from the other riders and from the fans?

Steive McCann:  Well all the kids seem to love the colour, and the other riders..it's growing on them!

Mongoose.com:  Are there any drawbacks to having such a recognizable bike?

Stevie McCann:  I don't think there are any drawbacks.  It's just cool that the kids can put a bike with the rider!
 
Mongoose.com:  What’s next? Are you going to stick with this bike for a while or change it up?

Stevie McCann:  I'd like to stick with it for a while, but we,ll just see what happens!

Hi everyone,

I began my trip in Portland, OR where I took 2nd place in the Dew Tour. Next was Phoenix, AZ for Round 1 of the LG World Tour where I took 1st place. Then it was on to Mexico City for a gold medal at the X-Games. Next was a visit to Denver to see my friend Stephen Murray who, as many of you know, is recovering from a spinal injury. Flight number 12 of the trip was to San Diego where I took 1st place in Round 2 of the LG Tour before returning to my base in Salt Lake City. Whew!

During filming for our roadtrip in Utah (which went great, incidentally), I injured my hand quite significantly. This later turned out to be a fracture in my knuckle.  With round 4 of the Dew Tour only 3 days away, to say I was stressed would have been putting it lightly! However, the Dew Tour medics pulled out all the stops for me and taped my hand in such a way that I could ride relatively painlessly. Game on!

I ended up with 2nd in Salt Lake City which leaves me in a guaranteed podium spot for the Dew Cup year end results! There's still a slight chance I could win, as well as an even slighter chance that I could slip to 3rd! Roll on to the finals in Florida!!!

Well, I'm happy to be home for a couple of weeks before heading out to Berlin, Germany for the T-Mobile contest, prior to the Dew Tour finals in Orlando, FL 4 weeks from now.

That's all for now. Time for some R&R!!!!!

Simon

(Photo credits:  Chris Woodage)

Simon Tabron and Steve McCann both had amazing runs this past week at the fourth stop of the AST Dew Tour.  The finals were held in the afternoon and hundreds of people filled the Energy Solutions Arena to watch it all go down.

Simon broke his hand earlier this week during the BMX team road trip but that wasn't stopping him from trying to take the Vert lead.  His first run was filled with amazing tricks including his signature 900 which put him into first place.  He slipped into second after Jamie Bestwick's awesome run.

This is Steve McCann's first year riding Vert and he is proving himself as an all around amazing rider.  He currently competes in BMX Vert, Dirt and Park!  Stevie's smooth riding and flawless tricks snagged him the third place win!

Mongoose is very proud to have two riders on the podium this weekend!

Photos to come soon.

The BMX Dirt finals were held in Salt Lake City on this past Friday night.  Mongoose again had two riders in the finals ready to prove that they should be on the top spot.

Cam White, who is currently number two in the Dew Tour points standings, was ready to get into the action.  He has been working on a new trick and pulled it off during his second run.  It is a flip barspin to tailwhip.  Since he is the first one to ever pull that off, he gets to name it.  Cam pulled off a solid second run but unfortunately it wasn't enough to keep him in first place.  Cam came in a close second to James Foster.

Steve McCann was also on hand to show his stuff. Steve put in three solid runs including his signature 720 and no-handed 720.  Steve was in first place but slipped down to 4th which is still an awesome spot to be in considering the level of talent and crazy tricks being pulled, all to get that top number one spot!

Photos coming soon.

Hi everyone!

The LG World Tour had it's latest round in San Diego this weekend and Mongoose had another great contest. Stevie McCann came in 2nd, and I took the win in the BMX vert contest, replicating our results from the first round in Phoenix.

VERT BMX FINALS RESULTS
1.Simon Tabron
2.Steven McCann
3.John Parker
4.Koji Kraft
5.Jay Eggleston
6.Austin Coleman
7.Mike Mancuso
8.Danny Williams
9.Ben Snowden
10.Tom Stober
11.Tom Haugen
12.Tony Campos

The event was a lot of fun, held on the beach and enjoying large crowds. Stevie and I both had a great time and rode well on our way to first and second! This was my third weekend in a row on top of the podium. This season is turning out to be one of my best ever. Here are my results so far:

DEW TOUR BALTIMORE--9TH!! ( hey, we all have a bad day!)
BMX MASTERS COLOGNE, GERMANY--1st
DEW TOUR CLEVELAND--1st
SOUL BOWL HUNTINGDON--2nd
X GAMES LOS ANGELES--2nd
DEW TOUR PORTLAND--2nd
LG PHOENIX, AZ--1st
X-GAMES MEXICO CITY--1st
LG SAN DIEGO, CA--1st

CURRENT DEW TOUR STANDING--2nd
CURRENT LG TOUR STANDING--1st

So, next up is our media trip this week followed by the Dew Tour in Salt Lake City. After that, I head back to England for a couple of weeks, then Germany for the T-Mobile event followed by the Dew Tour finals in Orlando. Hopefully, I can keep the momentum rolling...

Best,

Simon

Hi everyone!

Check out an interview with Mongoose's Simon Tabron on the AST Dew Tour site!

www.astdewtour.com/modules.php

(Photo credit:  Fat Tony--bmxonline.com)

Hi Everyone,

The Mongoose team had another great weekend at the LG Action Sports event in Phoenix:

Stevie took a solid second place in the box jump event as well as an even more solid second place in vert! I can't believe what a good year he is having!

I took the win in vert with Kevin Robinson rounding out the top three. Overall, it was a great weekend with a really high standard of riding and it was great to have two Mongoose riders on the podium - again!!!!!

Check out this video from www.vitalbmx.com from the LG event in Phoenix last weekend.  It's got great footage of Stevie Mccann and I on our way to 2nd and 1st respectively!!

All the best,

Simon

(Action photo credit: Jared Souney--Lat34.com)

One of the most exciting BMX riders on the scene, standing apart in comps from the rest by slaying it on dirt, street and vert. Mongoose rider, Steve McCann rolls into the Habit. Steve takes us from his early days riding bowls in Australia to his current place as one of Woodward’s most impressive resident pros. And, pro BMXer Robbie Morales takes us on a BMX time warp at the “30 Years of Radness” bash. Plus, fellow bike bomber Scotty Cranmer gives us a tour of his indoor BMX park. Steve’s sponsors include: Mongoose, Bell Helmets, Right Guard and Woodward.

Team Mongoose rider Simon Tabron put in one of the best rides of his life in the BMX Vert competition at the X-Games 13 in Los Angeles, CA over the weekend. Simon linked together an amazing first run with huge 540 tricks and his patended 900 to put him in the top spot. Simon wasn't finished yet though. In his second run he rolled into BMX history by pulling off the first ever back to back 900 to 900. The crowd jumped to their feet and Simon was thrilled to pull off the trick and take home the silver. Congratulations to Simon on an amazing night!

Team Mongoose rider Steve McCann was one of the only six athletes in the world competeing in the X-Games Big Air contest. Steve was ranked #1 in prelims going into the finals. There he put together five solid runs including a flipwhip over the 50 footer ramp to a double tailwhip. He shot to the top spot early on and was only passed by the legend, Kevin Robinson. Steve was in very good company on the podium to receive his silver medal. This was his first X-Games LA medal but certainly not his last. Congrats Stevie!

Team Mongoose rider Cam White put in another amazing ride in Dirt prelims in Cleveland, the 2nd stop of the AST Dew Tour, to land himself in the finals.  Once there, Cam came out firing with a flip to turn down over the first set, then a truck driver to x-up over the second, and finished with a huge front flip.  In Cam's second run he upped it a bit, pulling a huge flip tail whip over the first, then double tail whip, and finished with a dialed 360 tail whip.  That run was enough to put him in the top spot for most of the competition.  Cam would slip back to 4th after the third round, which is a great result and it keeps him in the points for the Dew Tour Cup year end standings.  Awesome job, Cam!

Later that weekend, Mongoose riders Simon Tabron and Steve McCann took the vert ramp by storm.  The vert finals were held off until Sunday night because of the windy conditions in Cleveland.  Steve McCann, a relatively new competitor in vert, impressed everyone with his tailwhips, no-hnaded flairs, and 540s.  He placed 2nd in only his second Dew Tour vert showing.  But the night belonged to Simon who pulled out a perfect no-handed to barspin 540 to clinch the top spot.  He's no stranger to the podium, though.  He took 1st in the Louisville stop last year.  Way to go, Simon and Steve!

Team Mongoose rider Cam White put in another amazing ride in Dirt prelims in Cleveland, the 2nd stop of the AST Dew Tour, to land himself in the finals. Once there, Cam came out firing with a flip to turn down over the first set, then a truck driver to x-up over the second, and finished with a huge front flip. In Cam's second run he upped it a bit, pulling a huge flip tail whip over the first, then double tail whip, and finished with a dialed 360 tail whip. That run was enough to put him in the top spot for most of the competition. Cam would slip back to 4th after the third round, which is a great result and it keeps him in the points for the Dew Tour Cup year end standings. Awesome job, Cam!

Simon's own words...
I won Vert at the Masters event in Germany this weekend! It was such a cool event with thousands of people attending every day and a massive European TV presence. I had such a good time and rode 3000 times better than in Baltimore which was a big relief. I pulled out all of my new tricks, winning qualifiers and then finals. Australian Mongoose rider, Matt Fairbairn, took 2nd place with Mat Hoffman ending up in 3rd.

Vert was the finale event of the weekend and went down really well. I just can't tell you how good this event was!

Below is a link to the results page.
http://www.bmxmasters.com

The GT team visited the Port Hueneme Navy Base this past Saturday the 19th.  It has been 2 years since the team was at Port Hueneme, but crowds haven't forgotten what a day with the team is like. Look for the team to be back in 2008!

The Mongoose freestyle team headed down to Camp Pendleton to perform for the worlds finest military and their families. Strong, energetic crowds gathered to watch the team perform 2 demos and sign lots of autographs. The team heads to Port Hueneme next weekend.

Hey Everyone,

Well I was in China for the past week. What a place. Shanghai is awesome! The reason I was there was for the Asian X Games and to compete in my first real contest in Vert - well the first contest in Vert where I was airing higher than 7 feet.

It went really well, and I was super pumped about how I rode even though I crashed my first run and just couldn't seem to make it happen on my second. Overall I think I'm going to be giving Vert a big shot over the next few years.

The Street competition was fun as well. I rode really well, and I ended up in 3rd place. Some of the stuff that went down was a double whip on the 10 foot, a 720 no hander on the spin, and I flip whipped the spin for the first time. Super pumped about that!

Until next time,

Steve

The Mongoose freestyle team joined the final stop of the AMA Supercross in Las Vegas on Cinco De Mayo. Several thousands of fans crowded the demo area for the bmx freestyle shows for one of the biggest weekends of the year in Las Vegas.

The Mongoose freestyle team headed up to Fair Oaks, CA to perform for the Cinco De Mayo crowd. With 2 teams going this weekend the Mongoose team was busy busy.

The Mongoose freestyle team visited the Pacific Cycle offices in Madison, WI and performed a 4pm show.  Lots of kids joined the staff of Pacific Cycle for the festivities.  The team members really enjoyed the day hanging out with the people of Pacific Cycle Madison.

The Mongoose freestyle team headed up to Oshkosh, WI in support of a weekend long bike sale. The winds were gnarly but the team charged thru it and performed for around 150 people each day. People in Oshkosh look for the team to be back July 4-7 for Sawdust Days.

Steve McCann was just in Joplin, Missouri to compete in the Jomopro Jam. Out of 41 riders Stevie placed 2nd - Congrats Stevie!

Stevie also got the title of RideBMX Best Trick Winner(7 Riders Total) by running a 720 no-hander-to-turndown. Nice Job!

Check out his run at:

http://www.bmxonline.com/bmx/video/image/0,27679,1610688_78_1,00.html

The Mongoose team made a special trip out to the mid-mid-west to perform at the 2007 Razorfest. The team drove thru a days worth of snow and sleet to sign a few autographs but hey, its all for the kids eh!

The Mongoose bicycle freestyle team was in Monterey California April 12-15 performing in front of growing crowds at the Mongoose compound. Every year the crowds are bigger and more into the shows. Rain did kill one of the days but all in all the event was way rad. Look for the Mongoose team at the Sea Otter Classic in 2008.

The Mongoose Freestyle Team rolled up in Bellevue, WA for two days of bmx shredd. Day one was full of promise with sunny skies and an awesome group of people at Joes awaiting the teams arrival. The team did one show but the crowd was strong and despite some heavy crashes everyone was stoked. Day two's dreams were shattered by clouds and drizzling skies. Taco Del Mar was rad tho and the team sat inside of Joes from 11am until 2pm signing autographs and shopping haha. The team is heading down to the Sea Otter Classic next for four full days of shredding son.

What's up everyone?! This week was massive. All sorts of stuff going on. First off, I just got done filming for the Patent Musuem in Washington.Should be really cool when it's all finished, and if you ever get the chance, you should check it out. It should be ready in a month or so.

Secondly, I'm off to China at the end of the month. Pretty stoked about it because I've never been there, but I'm really not looking forward to the flight.

Finally, so many people were at Camp Woodward this weekend, including a lot of little kids for the weekend getaway. Weekend getaways are awesome for the kids because they can come with their parents. Or if you are over 18 you can come up to camp on your own. Anyway it's always a good time.

Until next time, I'm out.

Steve

The Mongoose freestyle team made the journey from Los Angeles to Dallas this past week for the AMA Supercross. 15,000 fans circuled through the pit area at the legendary Texas Stadium and at some point Im pretty sure they were all at the Freestyle demos. People were way stoked as they filled the area completely surrounding the demo area. The team is heading to Seattle now but Supercross fans look for the team to be back in action in Las Vegas May 5th.

The Mongoose Freestyle Team joined forces with the Monster Truck Show in Las Vegas last friday and saturday. The crowds rolled in and filled the stunt show area with raditude son. In-between the demos the pro riders helped coach kids on the interactive dirt course. Check the schedule for upcoming events to get stok-ed.

Hey everyone! It's McCann. Sorry it's been awhile since I've written in, but I've been busy riding. The Germans have invaded Woodward. Tobias, Andy, Ben--there's a whole crew of them, and we've been shredding everyday. It's been amazing. Those boys know how to ride, that's for sure. Anyway keep ripping. I'm off to another insane session.

Steve

The Mongoose Stunt Team visited a Charity festival in Phoenix March 9-10. The enthusiastic crowds were blown away with radness son. Look for the Mongoose Stunt Team coming back to Phoenix soon.

Hey guys!

The Vodafone X-Air Contest was held in Wellington, New Zealand the
other weekend and as always, it's a killer contest--so laid back,
awesome atmosphere, and good riding. The only bad thing about
Wellington is that it?s the windiest city in all of NZ. For the
dirt contest, as always, the wind was out in fine form, but due to the
location of the jumps being right next to a building and in between
some big grand stands, the wind swirled and was really gusty. Sometimes on the first jump there would be no wind. Then on the next run there would be a huge gust of cross wind and you would nearly smash yourself every go. The finals were postponed a
whole day due to the conditions, but we got it done on Sunday
afternoon. It wasn't really any better, but we had to get it done, so we rode.

Apart form the wind, the jumps were awesome. There were just 3
straight jumps, but they had a lot of pop to them so, they sent you
super high. Some of the local guys rode awesome in the contest pulling out some amazing runs. Corey Bohan laid out some super clean style and big superman seat
grabs. Luke Parslow was flip whipping and front flipping on his way to 2nd. And I was lucky enough to just scrape it through for the win.

Apart from the cold weather and the wind, X-Air is one of my favorite
contests, and I was stoked to be apart of it again this year. Thanks to the guys over there for putting on such an awesome event. As for me, I'm home after a fun holiday in NZ which included bungee jumping and cool things like that. I'm just going to be riding the yard, getting it dialed in, and getting on my game to bring back to the USA this year.

--Cam White

Hey guys,


February 3, 2007 was the date of the first ever Hillside Dirt Jam. First off, I'd like to send out a HUGE thanks to everyone who made the day possible.  When I first thought about having a jam in my backyard I never thought it would be as much work as it was, but all in all, we pulled it off.  From the feedback I was given from spectators and riders, I couldn't have asked for a better result.

The Jam was for the children's charity, Camp Quality (http://www.campquality.org.au/), which helps kids and their families that are affected by cancer.  We had a few of the kids out for the day, and with a live DJ, a BBQ, and the best in the BMX community hitting fast big downhill jumps, it sure was a good day for everyone.  The weather on the day was a little windy, but nothing that stopped the riding and fun as my paddock filled up with about 500 spectators and about 40 riders.

Here are some highlights: Australian Mongoose rider Andrew Gul was on fire as he launched huge backflip, no-handers on the last jump and a massive superman seat grab on the big hip.  Vegas local Ricardo Laguna was out and riding in the Australian sun too.  It was good to have him finally over in my backyard instead of me riding his backyard all summer!

At the end of the night, the Cam White Hillside Dirt Jam 2007 King of the Hill trophy went to Dane Searls.  Searlsy, who won Best Trick at the Redbull Elevation contest in Whistler, BC was out to prove he isn't joking around and was pulling off huge, clean double whips on the hip, and he also did an old school no hander to tailwhip on the last jump.  Searlsy pretty much rules anything that has big jumps, and with awesome style and individual tricks, he found himself the 2007 King of the Hill.

At the end of the day, after 5 months of hard work and after spending nearly $20,000 on my backyard, the event went off without a hitch. I'd like to send out another thanks to all the companies and people who helped out with the event and thanks to everyone for the generous donations.  We raised more than $2,500 for Camp Quality.


Cam White

Hello all,

Last weekend (3rd Feb. 07) saw the Cam Jam BMX dirt jump event held at Mongoose rider Cameron White's home in Wamboin, Canberra.

Not much to report in the way of results as this wasn't actually a comp, but some great riding was going down in the hot and super dusty conditions.  Cam had dug a dirt park in his parents' front yard, and they are easily the biggest BMX dirt jumps ever to be built on Australian soil.  A lot of credit has to go to Cam and his parents for all the time/effort/money that they put into this.  It really is exceptional.

The event was held for charity Camp Quality (http://www.campquality.org.au/) and money was donated through a BBQ and raffle.  We donated a 07 Brawler as the raffle prize, and every kid who attended was issued with his own Mongoose Tee. The crowd was small but there was considerable press coverage.  Channel 9 (Nationwide broadcast) did a prime time news item on the event and the Sydney Morning Herald did a feature too. The event was also covered by all the BMX press and was filmed for FUEL TV (in both Australia and the U.S).

It was a great Mongoose showcase, with our riders totally dominating. Cam White was displaying his usual jaw-dropping style--he didn?t fall or even wobble once all weekend!! And Andrew Gul was hot on his heels with huge no-handed back flips. Andrew is definitely heading for the big league. Tim Fountain showed up, and even with a knee injury, he managed to float through the massive jumps. AM rider Daniel Taylor recovered from a front-flip injury in the foam pit in time to style his way through the set a few times. These guys are super-human! Even with injuries that would hospitalize the rest of us, they can still take on the biggest dirt.

Overall it was a mellow affair in favor of the riders. As we were tidying up the mess the following morning, I overheard Cam describing what he has planned for Cam Jam 2.

Look out?..!!!


Phil Townsley
Gemini Bicycle Centres

The Mongoose Freestyle team performed in the Supercross pits at Angel's Stadium on Saturday. The team was there promoting the Dew Tour which is entering its third year on the scene. The vibe was sick and everyone was doing work. Mat Sager (fresh off a broken ankle) is healed up and showed it with plenty of technical lip tricks, 3whips and 720s over the box jump. Ross Oldow kept it legit with double whips, suicide double trucks, and a big phat front flip at the end of the second demo. Look for the Mongoose Freestyle team at the upcoming San Diego Supercross on February 17th!

The 2007 BMX Games were a lot of fun. I like the contest because it's so laid back and casual. It was windy all day so after a short delay they decided to run it anyway. Everyone battled it out in the wind and got it done.
The set-up was just three jumps and the third jump was a hip to either side. They were not very big which worked out OK in the wind.

The highlights for me were seeing two of my close friends bust out some new tricks. One was Cam Pianta who pulled his first ever front flip no-hander mid-section. And not only did he do it once, but four times, all perfectly.

The other was my good mate Tyson JP who busted out his first ever front flip, also mid-section and rolled out clean! It was a fun day had by all and it was good to catch up with the the guys that I see over in America. Dave D-waard rode good as always and busted out the best ever 360 inverts in the games and Colin Mackay rode smooth and finished in 3rd.

I took home 2nd and Ryan Guettler took home 1st. All in all it was a good contest. Stay tuned for next weekend as the first ever Hillside Dirt Jam kicks off.

Cam White

The Mongoose Freestyle Team performed in the pits at the AMA Supercross in San Francisco California. 15,000 people filtered through the 2 bmx demos performed by the Mongoose Team promoting the Dew Tour, which kicks off in June. Check the schedule for more AMA Supercross events!

Mongoose dirt and street rider Cam White is putting together the mother of all Freestyle BMX Jams on February 3, and the event?s proceeds all go to charity.

The Jam starts at 4 p.m. on February 3 in Wamboin, Australia ? 20 minutes from Canberra, Australia?s capital city. All proceeds made from the Hillside Jam?s BBQ and bike auction will be donated to Camp Quality, a charity to benefit children with cancer.

?I?ve been wanting to put together a big jam like this for a long time,? said White. ?It?s been a big job, coordinating with the city, bringing in the dirt and the tools -- basically creating this thing from scratch. But it?s going to be a lot of fun and it will help kids that really need help.?

The BMX element consists of massive downhill jumps, fun lines and transfers built from 30 tons of dirt and a big deck roll-in. Think Red Bull?s Whistler contest but better. Cam has personally built all of the jumps so they are guaranteed to be the best.

Not only will the biggest names in BMX be there ? Guettler, Bohan, Dillewaard, McKay and the Vans America team, to name a few ? the event will be publicized in by the majority of Action Sports media in Australia. BMX Press, BMX World and Fuel TV will be covering the non-stop action at the event. To keep the mood jumping, the event will also feature performances by live DJs and an Aussie hip hop band.

Interested? Better book that flight now, and shoot Cam an email at camsdirtjam@gmail.com for more info on the event.

Mongoose has been setting trends and popularizing cycling and action sports for more than 30 years, and continues to grow and prosper with more than 40 models of BMX, trail, freestyle, jumping and mountain bikes. The Mongoose line of products also includes skateboards, scooters and bicycle parts and accessories. Check Mongoose.com for the latest information on Mongoose athletes, products and news.

The Mongoose Freestyle Team performed in the pits at the AMA Supercross in Anaheim California. 15,000 people filtered through the 2 bmx demos performed by the Mongoose Team promoting the Dew Tour, which kicks off in June. Check the schedule for more AMA Supercross events!

Well guys, this week has been awesome. New Year's was a rockin' good time and I'm glad 2007 is here. 2006 just wasn't happening for me so I'm happy the New Year is here.

I'm going on a golf trip this week. It's down on the beach with a few buddies from school. Then I'll be going to Rye to ride this bowl with an egg-type thing in it. You can get completely upside down in it. It should be a good time.. There's also this awesome rock jump down there about 35 feet high off the water. I love cliff jumps!

Until next time peace,

Steve

I had a very busy time over Christmas and New Year's catching up with friends and family. I went down to Cam Pianta's house for New Year's. Michelle and I stayed in a tent due to full capacity at Pianta's house. Camping was so much fun until his chickens, cows and roosters woke us up at 4am everyday. Overall it was an awesome time. Lots of dancing and silly games went down with an Australian themed costume party. There were costumes such as Ned Kelly and Mrs. Pianta went as a Vegemite Jar. It was a good time indeed.

Off the party and play up scene, the backyard is slowly getting there. I've been a bit sick lately so it has slowed down construction and not really much help from anyone else has made me a bit behind schedule. I still have to finish the jumps, ride them in, re-build the foam pit and build an entire mini in three weeks. Think I can do it? Maybe if I had a group of friends come over and work their butts off for a day, not just 15 minutes or half an hour. We could probably get it all done...but where could I find this group of so called "helpers"?
I will get it done. Michelle has been on the shovel as much as I have and that's saying something isn't it. A girlfriend that drags you into the paddock to build your BMX jumps. I'm one lucky guy right?

Hmm, well all this typing and talking about digging has made me tired. I'm going to go sit on the couch.