Signal BMX

Not many names out there will recognize Scotty Clevenger. He made a huge impact on the scene of the south east. He was one of the first Pro’s I ever saw ride. Every time he, Mike Ritchey, Jon Moak, and Cory Muth came to our jumps all the ratty kids (I was one of them) went nuts! Scotty was invited to compete in the first “X” games (then known as the extreme games). This photo was taken by my Dad at the Play Clothing ramps in Winston Salem, NC. Steve used to live there. Further stories welcomed in the post section..

Since I’m probably the biggest fan of these “way back when(sday)’s” and I’m staying at Ryan’s house in Portland, he’s decided to let me do today’s post.  This photo was taken in Garner, NC at a spot called “Hoke’s” (Where the “pro’s” rode) by Ryan’s father and I believe it was the summer between 7th and 8th grade.  I have every reason to be smiling for this photo, I was just getting over a bruised kidney which had me laid up for 2 weeks and this was the first time I got to ride.  This session was really loose for me but Barrett was handling the “Pro” jumps with ease.  Not only was I jealous of his bike but his bike control in general made me envious.  You gotta love how certain trends come full circle; low top canvas Vans, big bars, and purple parts… all that and I’m back on a chrome bike. damn.  Thanks for letting me do this post! 

~Chris

Its crazy to think a photo from the 401 trails could qualify for a “way back..” post. It seems like yesterday Muth, Doyle, Will/David Stroud, Scotty, Mike, Jon, the Dexters, and countless others were all lined up to crank around the wooden berm(!) and take a run. Here is a tobogan over what might have been the box?

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Mike just sent us a few pics of his new ride. He’s testing out the frame that will come on next year’s Modus complete. We had it custom painted to match his Odyssey parts, so don’t expect to see it in this color. Do expect the removable brake mounts, cable guide, custom integrated seat clamp, and top-notch construction.

Lion’s park.. 2B homecooked shirt.. smooth style.. custom painted helmet with Calvin (w/o Hobbs)..  You know that can only be one person, Cory Muth. Raleigh’s Lions Park was where I first witnessed Cory’s speed and flow. I had never seen anyone ride a bike like Cory! Cory was a world class racer with the scars to prove it. Don’t ever give him a kidney punch; he’s only got one left. Ask him about the Worlds in Holland if you want the details. Bonus info: his grandparents painted the starting hill on this photo.

I checked out the new snake run (above) in Portland this week. definitely hits

Yeagle got back from his first trip overseas. He was filming for Anthem 2 in England.

Ardelean is healing up from some rib damage.

Bennett is living the summer life in Pittsburgh. trails..

Dave shaved off his rocker hair for the summer. then he went golfing!

perfect form. great photo. nice work Toby! 

This is another waaayyy back post. this was taken at “honda hill” in cary, NC. It was a place for bmxers and hellraisers to come rip it up. The land was supposed to be developed, so dozers came in and carved out a hillside in the woods. When the money ran out they abandoned ship and left a sweet place to ride. It had walls up to 30′ tall that we would ride up and/or down. This photo was taken on “the cliffhanger” where you would jump a steep 7′ lip and have to clear a gap of about 2′ to land on top. Basically a glorified fly-out step up. I spent all of my summers roasting in that deep, clay dustbowl. Its where I met most of my best friends–its funny to think about how many people from high school I never talk to, but I’m still tight with all my BMX bro’s from honda hill! 

summer is a great time to live in Portland. It totally makes up for the rainy winters. This weekend I went to see the Goonies at Pioneer Courthouse Square downtown. Pioneer Square is dubbed “portland’s living room” and they host a bunch of free events throughout the year. It’s also a good place to chill if you’re riding around downtown. Lots of crazy people watching as the MAX(train) unloads there. how’s your summer going? 

Our friends over at Dig like the Timber seats. We think you will too.

way back thursday doesn’t have the same ring as “whens(day)” trust me, I know this. But when you decide to use compressed air to dust off your computer keyboard, It might not function properly afterwards… oops! Moving on, this here is a photo of Kris’ first and last day of smoking. It was a fine Erie, PA night. I think we were getting ice cream and somebody found a cigarette. Why not smoke it?! Kris was involved in a heavy hitting BMX house for a couple summers. Doyle, Mike Szczezny, Aitken, and Bennett all lived the good life riding all day and laughing all night. Live it up boys!

Brian Yeagle has spent the last week cruising around the UK with Chris Doyle and Stew Johnson. The trio is filming for Anthem II and their travels have taken them to the Red Bull Empire of Dirt. This contest will be nothing short of amazing. Yeagle isn’t invited to ride, but has been riding the course. In fact, he’s been riding it brakeless. RideBMX has launched a new site and is delivering non-stop content from the event. There are some photos of Yeagle on here that are ridiculous. Think about the fact that he has no brakes. Check it out here.

The new Verde Timber seats have arrived. Available in two styles, Pivotal or Railed, in 3 different colors: black, white, or brown. Bike shops should call The Greenhouse BMX Distribution at (614) 777-0900. Consumers should call their favorite bike shop.

this was a couple falls ago (get it? falls?! sorry). I was having a good day, the weather was perfect, I felt good on my bike.. Normally I don’t go upside down. I have on occasion done the “backie” and felt the urge that day. It was a set of doubles with a long slow lip and I messed up my rotation and flipped waaayy too slow resulting in this image, and landing on my head/shoulders. I’m happy I can laugh about this photo now!

Toby Forte hails from the UK and is the newest member of the Verde Bikes family. Last weekend Toby put together the Protect Your Noggin Jam at his local trails in Decoy, Devon. Ride UK has some photos of the event here, plus TwoAnd8 have some more here. Last year Toby suffered a serious head injury, so he’s on a mission to raise awareness and funds for an organization called Headway. Hats off, or should we say “helmets on” to Toby doing something positive. Check out Toby’s Verde Modus here.

It’s been a week since we departed the big western states of Utah, Wyoming, and Montana. It’s about time for me to share some photos from the trip. We spent most of the time driving, riding and camping. Its crazy that you don’t hear/see more from that area; with all the great outdoors and concrete parks, why wouldn’t you? We got acquainted with local law enforcement regularly…maybe that’s why. They don’t take kindly to bicycles in their parks I guess. Thanks to Dave, Mike, Brian, and Rob for a great trip. You might see some photos in an upcoming DIG magazine. More photos after the jump.

Dave Thompson hails from Salt Lake City, Utah. SLC has an amazing local BMX scene which was put into perspective by the 50/50 shop video That’s It. The video features all of the established riders you expect when you hear Salt Lake City, plus some new blood. Dave is one of the many new riders coming out of SLC that makes That’s It a treat. Speaking of the shop, 50/50 just launched a new website that includes team bios and an incredible selection of great products (including Verde). Thanks to the entire SLC crew; especially Skier Jay and Elf for helping us get Dave on Verde.

Longtime friend and respected film maker Will Stroud rides a Verde Spectrum. He sent over this pic of him hitting a hip during a recent Levi’s® BMX filming mission to Barcelona, Spain. Will is one of us in that he works a lot more than he’s able to ride these days. You wouldn’t know if from this photo. Great style Will. Thanks to Ryan Fudger for handing his camera over to Corey Martinez to get this shot.