The Low Down on the Box Jump
Posted by Landozine - 22/06/10 at 05:06:21 pmAlright. First off I need to apologize for keeping everyone in the dark about the box jump progress for the past couple of weeks. Nothing has been set in stone and I have been waiting for the city to get back to me on a crucial issue. So to fill everyone in, here is the low down.
This project has been in the works for almost 2 years now. When it was first proposed, the plan was to build a wooden box jump similar to what would be ridden in a contest environment (the only way to pitch to a city, legitimize it through competitive terms). We raised the money, and bought the wood. We started building the ramp and then when I went to the final meeting where we were supposed to discuss the grand opening, I was instead informed that last fall (well after we had started raising money and gotten the ok from the city) risk management specialists changed city policy so that wooden ramps were no longer covered under the city’s liability insurance.
So at the last minute, we had the carpet pulled out from under our feet. Luckily though we have councillor Bob Monette in our corner. Bob argued with parks and rec trying to see if there was some loophole in which we could build the ramp anyways… unfortunately there wasn’t. This is where we’ve been at for the past couple of weeks. I haven’t made a public announcement because Bob assured me that he would look into it and see if anything could be done. He understands that we raised a significant amount of money and that the community really went above and beyond to get this done and he was not going to let us be disappointed.
I’m happy to say that we are no longer at a stand still. I was informed by Councillor Monette’s office today that we have found an alternative option. Apparently the company that designed the rest of the orleans ramps is going to do a custom build job for us, with our specs. Thats the good news. The bad news is that this ramp is going to cost 15 000$. I’m not entirely sure of the details as I am meeting with Bob on Friday to hammer out the final game plan but things are looking good. I believe that Bob has found a slush fund from which to pay for the ramp with. As to when this ramp will be implemented… I don’t know. Could be as early as August, could be as late as next spring. But the good news here is that we are going to get a box jump.
Once again I want to thank everyone for their support in this ongoing affair. I will keep everyone posted on the developments Friday.
A Fathers Day BMX Road Trip
Posted by Roland - 22/06/10 at 01:06:59 amA Fathers Day BMX Road Trip
Napanee, SandBanks, Trenton and Belleville
More Matt Comeau
Posted by Prashant - 21/06/10 at 07:06:23 pmHere’s some more flip cam goodness from Matt Comeau. The quality is a little choppy, but the riding is creative.
Throwback Thursday
Posted by Prashant - 17/06/10 at 08:06:42 amThis week we have another installment of Throwback Thursday brought to you by Frank Krul. If you remember the last one he contributed, you’ll remember that Frank has a great collection of vintage BMX photos and history to the Ottawa area. Click below to check out some more photos and captions.
Continue reading Throwback Thursday…
Want to pet my monkey? Don’t be a racist!
Posted by Landozine - 16/06/10 at 02:06:13 pm
Hey Everyone! I’m calling in favours here. My girlfriend Melanie is in a contest right now where she could win an all expense paid trip to go and volunteer in Africa for a week with Red Rose Tea. This is a super cool opportunity, once in a life time, but she needs our help to make this happen. Please go and follow this link and vote for her. I know I’ve already asked alot of you to do this, but the voting round was re-set and so everyone can vote once again. Please go and do this. I have a vested interest in it of course, as she said she’d bring me back a monkey from Africa. Hopefully one of the delicious ones too…
It seriously takes 2 seconds. Vote from every e-mail address you have. And make sure to click the confirmation email they send you afterwards or it doesn’t count.
TFA Edit #2
Posted by Prashant - 16/06/10 at 08:06:51 amColin posted another fun edit with mostly Orleans locals. This one has a great surf vibe to it.
Funeral For a Friend
Posted by Landozine - 14/06/10 at 12:06:57 am
Last night saw the celebration of over half a decade of DIY BMX. After years of leading the hardcore BMX scene in Montreal, Ugly Assed Bikes is closing their doors. Liam Mulrooney, the park’s owner/operator and general all around badass explained that UAB was not closing because he had tired of working 24/7 and sinking thousands of his own dollars into the park; instead the park is closing because the building has changed hands and the new landlords have upped the rent to an impossible figure.
Continue reading Funeral For a Friend…
Nostalgic Friday
Posted by Landozine - 11/06/10 at 12:06:22 pmI meant to post this up last night in the spirit of a Throwback Thursday, but ended up forgetting. So today we can have a Nostalgic Friday. Many of you young shralpers are too new to the scene to remember this, but around 5 years ago Joe Mamma’s threw an event called ‘Freuben’ and it was awesome. This was held at the height of OSP’s existence. The ramps were pretty fun, the titanic multi level useless street section had not been built yet, and Ottawa’s scene was blossoming. Its actually kind of funny, none of the riders in this video are even riding in Ottawa anymore. Remi is out of the game, Ted is a dad out west (but im sure he’s still ripping), Dave McCaig is a travelling man, Freak got deep into the gay porn industry in MTL, and Jeremy Deme is out west running the show.
Take a look at the video, I found it on a DVD while packing up my apartment along with a bunch of other old videos, so expect to see them get posted up here soon.
Freuben Amateur Finals
FilmKit 2010 – Video Setup
Posted by Roland - 07/06/10 at 11:06:53 pmDespite the fact that I’m some sort of computer geek I really don’t score very high on the gadget index. Lately though, I’ve been thinking about getting a decent camera setup… While I was in Seattle I thought maybe it was time to pull the trigger so I walked in to the first Best Buy I saw to pick up the Canon Rebel T2i.
Canon Rebel T2i
Sweetness…. Continue reading FilmKit 2010 – Video Setup…
TFA Edit
Posted by Prashant - 07/06/10 at 09:06:51 amCall me slow, but I still don’t really know what TFA is. Nevertheless, here is a fun edit from Colin with plenty of Orleans locals riding their park, the Gloucester park, an underground parking garage, and a backyard ramp. It also features a fakie surfer to slider.