John Parker goes down for the count after getting tangled up in a body varial during the Dew Tour stop in Louisville, Kentucky Mark Epstein
John Parker's BMX Blog
Aug 01 2006 / Los Angeles, CAMan, the more contest there are the harder any one is to be special. Three days after this wreck my head is pretty clear and I think i know what I need to do. I'm off to the X Games to ride for my tenth place spot and enought money to cover the cost of the plane ticket I already bought and cover some bills I have from the last X Games. I hate to say it, but I can't imagine having a wonderful performance there.
Back to the LG event. It was pretty packed and had a good vibe. Typing is difficult so chech out lgactionsports.com for the full story. Good riding and a good vibe with a lot of underground and big name talent is the best way to describe Birmingham. Tony Hawk and Mat Hoffman were there putting on a heck of a jam.
I've got two days to mentally prepare for X Games. Hopefully my hand is better so I can at least give you a good read of the event.
I got to ride for fun a bit this week. Not that riding isn’t usually fun, but there is a difference between riding at camp with a few friends and flying around the world to ride in a contest. I’m spending the next few days getting ready for the Action Sports World Tour and for the X-Games.
I have to say, Chad Kagy is a serious vert rider. It’s taken a while for people to stop thinking of him as a park rider, but there is no doubt what he is about. I wish I could tell you the tricks he is working on. The X Games best trick contest is going to be good
I’m just now starting to think about contest runs and half the year is over. The last couple days I’ve been playing around with some old 540 variations; no handed and table top. Man, I gotta get my act together.
That’s about it. I’ll drop you a line before/during the LG comp.
A couple notes on the contest: Kevin Robinson always rides best under pressure. After flubbing a barspin in his first run, he came back to kill it in his second run for third. Jamie proved he doesn't need to be training 24/7 to do well at a comp. He still took home second. Simon Tabron switched up his runs with big flairs, fives and a 900 to cap it. All that after knocking himself silly in practice.
---wear your helmet........parker
--parker
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When you qualify first, there is only one way to go. Down. The pressure got to me. I couldn't take it. I fell apart under the stress. I lost my grip, my focus. AHHH....Well it wasn't that bad. I got bumped out by Simon Tabron and slid into second. I wanted to use my first run to put together a best possible run. In this scenario, I start with a no hander to late barspin right off the roll in. Had I landed smooth on that, things would have only gotten better......... So after I recovered from a nose dive first trick, I struggled through the rest of my first run. The only way to make up for that was to play a safer more conservative second run and try to recover in the standings. So I did.
Not a bad way to start the contest season I guess. It definitely woke me up for the Dew Tour next weekend. Until then.....................hasta pasta. ---parker
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Action Sports Tour Richmond, VA
June, 17 2006
You know the law of least effort? Well sometimes good things happen when you just don't have the energy to give it all you've got. But first let me complain a little bit.
It's a five and half hour drive from State College, PA to Richmond, VA. We made it in 8!! That's got to be a new record. And it's a great way to cap off a long week of riding and filming for the ASA Action Sports Tour. We have a Sophisticated RIder Magazine booth at this event, so instead of setting up the day before like most well organized individuals, we did it early Saturday. Then, I sat in it most of the day with my nice red sun burn and all. It was hot. I was tired. Did I mention that my son Jack gave me a nice cold two days ago?
Okay, so I wasn't too excited about riding the comp. Luckily for me there were only 10 riders in the prelims. And only 10 guys get to qualify. Hmmmmmmmmmm... That means no pressure, except for the desire to put on a bit of a show for the crowd. This is a good way to start the contest season; sort of ease myself into the hectic schedule that awaits on the Dew Tour. Anyway, to get to the climax of my story, I qualified first. I don't want to get overly dramatic, but I did manage to do a couple tricks I've been working on. I did a decent nothing in one run and a decade. Those are a couple new ones I've been working on. SImon Tabron was looking dialed and smooth. He does nice 540's, which anyone can tell you. Koji Kraft did his quick but sweet runs. Tom Haugen and Jay Eggleston were looking dialed as ever.................. You'll have to watch it on OLN if you want a full rundown. Tomorrow is what counts anyway.
I'm going to get a few more good pics, and catch up with you after the finals...........Hopefullly things work out well if I put a little more effort in.
later tater......parker
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One of the most exciting things about bike vert riding, and the reason I got hooked on in the first place, is the never-ending list of variations. You can always push yourself in a new direction, add to a variation, or put a new spin on an old trick. I first started trying the body varial in 1993. Go up in the air, let go of your bike, spin around, get back on and land. It quickly became obvious that it wasn't going to be that simple. The first few tries my bike went bouncing out into the dirt about 30 feet away. I would have given up a lot sooner had I not actually gotten my hands back on the grips that first day. I tried a couple more and then spent the next week walking on my toes to avoid bruised heels. It went like this for the next 13 years. I'd try a couple now and then. I rode away from quite a few, but never right. Either I'd have to touch a foot down, or I'd slip the pedals. More often than not, I'd end up a tangled mess on the flat bottom.
I all but gave up on this trick until moving to Woodward about a year ago. I still wasn't completely focused on learning the trick that I had dubbed a "Draino,” but I knew it would always bother me not to finish something I started. The beauty of having a foam pit to jump in to on a regular basis is that you can play around with a trick and still be able to ride the next day. After the 2005 contest season, I decided that if I was ever going to do it, now was the time. This time I quickly went from the foam pit to the resi-ramp. A resi-ramp, if you don't know, is a wood ramp covered with 16 inches of foam and then a flexible plastic layer. It doesn't make crashing injury-proof, but it is a lot more forgiving. I did two or three on the resi ramp and then committed myself to a photo-shoot with Jared Souney for an upcoming interview. I probably should have spent another week or two on the resi, but sometimes you have to call yourself out with a deadline.
The video speaks for itself. It took me four tries to roll away. The first try brought back a lot of memories; memories of crashing and bruised heels. Sometimes you make a conscious decision before you even roll in. Either you're going to roll away or keep trying till it hurts too much. I'm not sure I had another try in me, so I'm glad this last one finally worked out. This is the first one I can claim as "pulled." Hopefully it’s not the last.
Watch John Parker land the "Draino" for the first time.
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Nothing can get you prepped for contest season like a hundred young riders
crowded around the ramp waiting to see you ride. Yep, Camp is open. It's
not a contest or a show, but there is energy in the air. You can't help but
to ride your best.
It's Wednesday, and the vert ramp is packed. Robinson and Kagy are back
from some demos. Pro skaters Anthony Furlong and Mike Frazier are here.
Inliners Mark Englehart and Shane Yost are rolling around. Biker turned
commentator, Kennan Harkin, is here for a little bmx vacation. The top
names in FMX are around for some secret pre-season Dew Tour training
session. There is definitely a good vibe on the streets of Woodward.
The best thing is all the new faces. Vert has been a lonely endeavor for the
past few years, but judging from all the young guys on the ramp, that is
about to change. Its good to see new guys pushing it.
The countdown is on. Two weeks to Richmond and three to Louisville. All I
have to focus on now is getting ready for contest season. I'm taking a
couple clips of tricks I'm working on today. I snapped some pics for you to check out in the mean time.
Pro skaters Anthony Furlong and Mike Frazier relax on the vert ramp.
It's hard to see but there's a dirt quarter in there for the Motocross guys to hit
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June 5, 2006
Contest season is just around the corner. It sneaks up on me every time.
All winter I'm focusing on the next trick or session and then BAM!.. the Dew
Tour pops up or Whack!... there's an ASA event. I felt like I was just
getting in the contest groove when the season ended last year. Like a new
years resolution gone sour, here we are again; cramming before we get
jamming. (sorry but that's funny)
That's not to say I haven't been riding. I've actually been learning a bunch
of new stuff and finally did the trick thats been eluding me for 10
years -- the body varial. Hopefully that wasn't the first and last one. (you
can check it out at http://sophride.com/)
There's a difference between putting together a good contest run and laying
down a couple big tricks. That's were the "training" comes in and all the
fun gets a little more serious. You can tell the whole crew here at
Woodward is thinking the same thing. Kevin Robinson, Tom Stober and Chad
Kagy have all been stepping it up in preparation for the first Dew stop in
Louisville. I won't spill the beans, but everyone has got some new moves.
These next couple weeks are important...................
- Parker
