FATBMX Your Online BMX News Resource Since 1998

To be honest, we had not ridden dirt at the Sugar Hills all winter. With some shaping (and no time to test) during the week, we were hoping that things would work out for the mini-FAT-JAM. It's a good motivation to fix the trails up as you are inviting people to come ride and they're expecting something rideable when they show up.

With months waiting for sunshine it was the MINI FAT JAM to start with the good weather, so the party started at 3 p.m. instead of 9 p.m. I was surprised to see a poster taped on the Mini ramp says that OJA had a band playing that night: LUPU NEGRU. Never heard of the band so I thought it couldn't be any good cause they booked them only a couple of days before but when Corné visited my shop he said he was at a Lupu Negru concert the day before and it rocked so I might got it wrong.

For the second year in a row the Backyard jam is an indoor affair. The series of three is divided over three indoor spots in England. Round one took place at the BIC in Bournemouth. Paul and I had left in the Vito on Thursday evening. We opted for the ferry so we could bring all the beer we wanted and had a place to crash in case we needed it. England is an expensive country. Diesel is more expensive than gasoline so we luckily filled up the tank before we started driving on the left side of the road. We gained an hour on arrival in Dover but were too tired to make it directly to Bournemouth. We threw all the bags on the front seats and installed the fishing stretcher and mattress in the back of the van. Luckily it wasn't cold and the night went by quick.

This contest was created in the beginning of the year, I always looked for the best for BMX and all disciplines, Flatland deserves respect of everyone. Then we did something to show the potential of that. In my simple opinion, people who follow BMX nowadays sometimes forget this highlighter discipline, THE FLATLAND.

Having USA PRO's coming over for a contest in Holland is not a yearly thing. In fact it was the Worlds in 1997 since the top of the PRO's were in the country of hookers, beers and weed. This didn't impress the Dutch scene cause I saw 2 empty stands on one site of the arena on Saturday Pro day but who cares, the ones that were there enjoyed it and the ones that missed it will regret it for the rest of their BMX lives.

FAT Paparazzi in da hizouse Some things you cannot explain, you should have been there to understand what was going on. If you're boring and go to sleep early with a cracker and a bottle of water, don't expect to understand all the stories from the wild ones in the morning.

- The BMX track at the UCI training facility in Switzerland was being completely re-done. Before the dozers took the track down UCI's own BMX coordinator Johan Lindstrom got a chance the jump the pro doubles on his YZ motorcycle. At least he can say he jumped the doubles! No worries, a new track is being built and also some BMX trails will be added. - Ruben Alcantara's prototype Terrible One frame is out now. It features the Spanish bottom bracket and will be put to the test in a few days. Dave Mirra is riding a 2005 prototype Mirra Pro frame that looks a bit like a T-1. It will most likely come with a Spanish BB as well (mid-sized at least).

At FATBMX we like to party. There's no secret about it. Meeting up with everyone at night to have a good time is an important part of going to a BMX event. If the partying is good, at least it was worth it going the contest for that. The contest might suck but hanging out together can save a lot of things.

Just recently we learned that the most famous and professional starting gate in Europe, used by the Valkenswaard BMX club Lion d'Or (Worlds track), has been taken away and has been replaced by a uni starting gate. In 1986, Ponypark Slagharen had a special starting gate built on advise of Gerrit Does and made by Hans Croes of the Waalre BMX club. It concerned a gate, designed by HONDA MOTORS Japan engineers and used during the I.BMX.F. Worlds on Suzuka circuit in Japan - 1984.

The MacNeil video Edited by: Stew Johnson Rating: **** Time: 40 minutes Riding: Mostly Street / Dirt / Park The MacNeil team are one international bunch. Over the years Jay Miron has traveled all over the world and met lots of killer riders. Some of them are making up the MacNeil squad. With so many talented riders on board it is hard to make a DVD fail. Tough part is to get the right amount of footage from every rider to finish the video. It took a while to collect all the tapes and many different filmers were used on the MacNeil video. The editing was left up to Stew Johnson who is one of the best in the field. If his name sounds familiar to you but you don't know where to place it, think Props, RoadFools and you get an idea of the clean-cut smooth and clear editing.