FATBMX Your Online BMX News Resource Since 1998

Alex Jumelin from France has opened up his personal website. If you want to know what the flatland pro from Paris has been up to, simply check out the www.alexjumelin.com website. It's got all his activities on it and that includes his shows, his contests, pictures of his friends and photo's of his other hobbies like snowboarding and fast cars.

Worth checking out for sure.

Sunday the 30th of October 2005 saw the opening jam of one of Europe's biggest(3400sqm)skate plazas!
The day started off wet and a little glum, come two O'clock in the afternoon and the weather had dryed out enougth for a good session and all that attended the jam were stoked. Good too see the work of some of Stokes most productive skaters has payed off! Too check out more about the guys behind the Stoked fundraiseres/plaza/stokes skate scene check out www.sketchy skateboarding.co.uk. There is some cool shit on this site including the design of the park and cool videos.

On the 3-4 of december there is a jam on a new format organised by famous french legend John Petit and the association TIME2RIDE. It’s located in ABBEVILLE, In north west of france, 1 hour from Belgium. The best french riders will be there with also Hannu Cools, Mark Koenig, Timo Mrukwia, Barry Kohne and many more. On saturday it’s amateur with a « flow test » and « best trick », for 2000€ worth of products dotations. Sunday is pro only with a battle and surprises for 2500€ prize money given to 10th first place.

It’s happening inone of the best french indoor park which has a lot of lines and good ramps (micro on top of quarter, volcano, mini with spine, fun and sub boxes, big wall...). There will be a warm tent to chill, eat, drink and watch the video premiere of the latest SHOOK and also « JOE KID ON A STINGRAY ». you’ll find also a SOUL table where you can subcribe and win a complete WETHEPEOPLE Bold, WTP videos and Props 58, tshirts...

Now what does [twenty] have to offer you this time? The Red Bull elevation contest to start with (cover). Justin Kosman went to Colombia for a BMX race and reports from there. Colin Winkelmann 1976-2005 R.I.P..  The Pump section alsways has a bunch of good (party) photos. Some people will hate it, the rest don't. X-Games 11. If you missed it, [twenty] fills you in with 2 pages of photos, results and some text. The Dexter Hub (Cheap Profile) is featured in [Showcase]. If you're in the hunt for a pair of shoes and you can't decide, this issue isn't going to help. They show 10 pairs which makes it even harder to pick one. Metro Jam Vancouver, check. NBL Grands, check. Brian Castillo in 500 different looks; covered. Find the Sean Logan [I.D.] (bio) on page 76. Mike "Hucker" Clark shows how to do a nosedive 360 on the next page. Robbie Miranda puts in his [two cents] on page 80. He's damn right. We're missing those days where you actually had mud on the BMX track and you had to put your leg out (MX style) in the first turn when you were going speedway style. Racers want it so smooth these days that you could actually ride a "10 speed" on the BMX track. Put the MX back into BMX.

BMX Plus december 2005
Ever noticed how the color of the font corresponds with the color of the cover pic in Plus!? This time it's the red of Ricardo Laguna's shirt that takes care of part of the content of the Dec. issue. From the cover you can tell that there is an X-Games report and who won the gold. 3 bikes get tested: Felt FUSE, Macneil WHITTON and the Diamond Back SHERMAN. There's an article called On the Move: Improve your flatland skills. For those who are stuck deciding what to give their best friends/loved ones for Christmas, the Holiday Gift Guide might actually help. The racing coverage in this issue of Plus! consists of the UCI World Championships in Paris and an NBL Race report. Colin Winkelmann RIP. Find the memorial jam report on page 10 and 12. The Nostalgia pic takes you back to a BMX race at Woodward Camp in 1988. That's Billy Griggs in the picture riding for Redline and sporting that popular numberplate that was screwed to the handlebars. Scott o'Brian talks about Flatland Worldwide. Tom Haugen's Free Agent bike gets inspected as well as Mike Parenti's Custom Giant. A flatland how-to follows. Really. Moving pics: nice still photos and a few sequences. A tech tip and the Parting Shot wrap up the December issue.

- Congrats to HARO UK rider Ben Hennon on his third place finish at the Backyard jam in the UK. Ben almost ran away with the best trick check by pulling a truck driver to tailwhip. That's a 360, a barspin and a tailwhip all in one.

- HARO's Chad DeGroot had a fun event (Baco-a-go-go Jam) going on at his Mesh Skatepark in Florida. If you really want to know what was going on, check the photos on: www.meshskatepark.com

Want HARO riders for '06?

Q: What kind of health care do you get as a pro-rider ? I have seen a video interview with Bucky Lasek and he said he always had a hard time convincing his insurance company that skating is a real sport.
A: I personally am not covered by any health insurance. I have always put my faith in God to keep me safe. I actually did have health insurance for about a year. It became a burden because every time I got hurt I went to the ER. But every time I went, I ended up being fine after a few short hours of pain. I still fit in the low income bracket, so if anything bad ever did happen, Medical is available. Medical is an insurance for income qualified homes.

Yo went 2 Vegas again 4 another trade show, this time it was 4 Monster Energy, myself & Wee-Man represented @ tha booth, check out tha banner Monster had @ tha booth & got 2 meet tha Harlem Globetrotters,  good times, thanx 4 tha support!
Much luv,
Thorne
Biker-N-Black ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yo dudes tha other day Eddie George from tha Tenn. Titans came 2 my ramp house 2 film his show, "Training Camp" I am N tha process of rebuildin' half of tha yard but tha other half is ridable right now.  So he brought a lucky winner 2 actually ride tha ramps as if he was N tha video game, "American Wasteland".  Cool stuff, B on tha lookout 4 tha show on G4 Network sumtime N December/January 2006, I will let U know 4shore tha air date when I know it.
Much luv,
Thorne
Biker-N-Black
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In an effort to help build the local programs at BMX tracks nationwide, SE Bikes has done the unthinkable: We have donated an SE bike to a track in EVERY state in the USA. And we even sent some up to Canada too! That’s right; over 50 complete bikes are being sent out this week from our worldwide headquarters in Philadelphia, PA. Keep an eye on your UPS driver as he may be overstocked with SE bikes!

We have donated these bikes with the intention that they will be used as “loaner” bikes for new riders coming to the track for the first time. If these new riders put in their first few laps on a race-ready SE bike, then we’re sure that they’ll get hooked on BMX. We know that the beginners of today are the experts and pros of tomorrow.

The following tracks were chosen to receive an SE bike: