Old Riders....But not "Old School"

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Old Riders....But not "Old School"
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flag badbadleroybrown
Posted: Mar 27, 2024 at 8:33 Quote
swan3609 wrote:
badbadleroybrown wrote:
Unless you like the beach and you're on the beach, Florida is just a sauna filled with rednecks.


...and f*ck pants... I avoid them at all costs. There's maybe two dozen days a year that I don't wear shorts.

Unless my wife is dragging me to the beach, I am in pants.. Even when I ride my bike. 9 times out of 10, I am in DH full length pants until it's 100F+. But I just don't ride after that point. I've done many a road ride in 3/4 length kickers or full on DH pants..

And I resent the redneck comment. lol

Jesus Swan, I feel traumatized just thinking about riding in pants, that's just a recipe for overcooking the balls... that's probably how you ended up with twins lol
flag MrHyak
Posted: Mar 27, 2024 at 9:31 Quote
adm750 wrote:

edit: lived in Florida from the late 80's until we moved north in 2002. Longwood, Altamonte, Oviedo, Winter Park areas.

I was just north of you in Lake Mary, but only lived there for 2 yrs. After Siemens bought Stromberg/Carlson I ended up moving back to WA (Seattle).
flag swan3609
O+
Posted: Mar 27, 2024 at 9:42 Quote
badbadleroybrown wrote:
swan3609 wrote:
badbadleroybrown wrote:
Unless you like the beach and you're on the beach, Florida is just a sauna filled with rednecks.


...and f*ck pants... I avoid them at all costs. There's maybe two dozen days a year that I don't wear shorts.

Unless my wife is dragging me to the beach, I am in pants.. Even when I ride my bike. 9 times out of 10, I am in DH full length pants until it's 100F+. But I just don't ride after that point. I've done many a road ride in 3/4 length kickers or full on DH pants..

And I resent the redneck comment. lol

Jesus Swan, I feel traumatized just thinking about riding in pants, that's just a recipe for overcooking the balls... that's probably how you ended up with twins lol

Specialized DH pants actually have great inner thigh vents to keep nuts cool.. But no matter what, any riding pants breath better than the double thick work pants and leather boots I work in every day.. With Chonky sold, my next work truck is going to have working AC, so I'm stoked on that.
flag mysticmountainadventures
O+
Posted: Mar 27, 2024 at 10:48 Quote
The swan is wise..... nice lightweight riding pants are the dream for some riding zones like kellogg... when it's scorching hot and there is more moon dust in the air than on the ground, i'd way rather be wearing a light pant than have that dust caked onto my skin like a sweaty gritty nastyass silt suit
flag adm750
Posted: Mar 27, 2024 at 14:40 Quote
MrHyak wrote:
adm750 wrote:

edit: lived in Florida from the late 80's until we moved north in 2002. Longwood, Altamonte, Oviedo, Winter Park areas.

I was just north of you in Lake Mary, but only lived there for 2 yrs. After Siemens bought Stromberg/Carlson I ended up moving back to WA (Seattle).

ha small world...!

What did you do for those guys ?

I used to sell component electronics for a distributor out of Miami (our office was in Maitland...) back in the day. We definitely sold some stuff to Stromberg. Wink

My forte was mostly military and aerospace shit. Lockheed (incl. Space Shuttle), ISS, GE Aerospace (big parts list for the radios in the aerostat balloons off the keys...). Harris Corp, and a bunch of other spacecoast players.

I worked with Martin Marietta (down off the Beeline Expressway....) on the Apache Longbow program. Long before that, some guys from that facility had started this sports car club based out of that complex. We'd run these kick ass autocrosses in those big parking lots - and around the perimeter of the facility on weekends. Now, I'd been racing down there for years but we never really talked work. One day you're listening the race announcements and the Martin guys are coming over like "hey, are you so and so by chance ??" and I was doing the same thing to them. LOL.
flag sterlingmagnum
Posted: Mar 27, 2024 at 16:32 Quote
More importantly what 80’s punk band mrhyak?
flag onemanarmy
Posted: Mar 27, 2024 at 17:20 Quote
obee1 wrote:
I'm off to Florida tomorrow. Good times ahead

I'll be out there next month.
flag onemanarmy
Posted: Mar 27, 2024 at 17:44 Quote
d-man wrote:
onemanarmy wrote:
Speed and Style was fun to watch.

I'm a big fan of Billy. He's just a good dude. I had the pleasure of meeting him and working with him a couple years ago. Good kid. Good family.

But Rojo is my boy. I've been watching that kid ride since he was like 14 or so. He's kind of the last of the great Aptos kids. The last of guys that remember what it felt like to build and ride the Post Office. I pushed for Bell to sign him when I worked there. I pushed for Marzocchi to sign him. Stoked that Leatte picked him up. That company is pushing hard right now.

That 2/3 match up was sick. Pene got lucky to make it as far as he did so I felt pretty good for Meech in the finals. Riding was so sick to watch. Pretty crazy that a dude doing 3/4 combos was running faster in one lane and barely behind in the second lane than a world cup dh racer.

Quite the drama with the slopestyle riders, weak move imo. The riders should have dealt with their grievances before the event. The only reason they have a job is because of the fans and they have now disappointed many who travelled to watch. They Also pissed the organization off who does all the work so the riders can show their skills. Might find out they are not as valuable as they think....

I don't really blame them. It's not like they didn't talk about it and just bailed. They've been asking for the same thing for a long time and leading up to the event they were still talking and negotiating. Crankworx has refused to accommodate any of their requests so the riders stood together. From what I've read and heard their requests are reasonable.

The bike industry is in the tank. Lots of these companies are pulling back on paid sponsorships in favor of product sponsorships and paid content on project basis.

Slope is a unique event for them as it's the only one that has a prequalified and chosen group for "finals". They know who's coming and they market them. They control content. Etc.

They're the draw.

Rampage gets appearance fees (should be higher). They also get catered food. Etc.

Sounds to me like the riders are using that as a basis for their requests.
flag mysticmountainadventures
O+
Posted: Mar 27, 2024 at 21:32 Quote
the athlete's ransom approach was asinine

impressive that cw responded with the professionalism and tact they did

don't care if they do a quintuple front flip, complete loss of respect for those kids
flag MrHyak
Posted: Mar 28, 2024 at 5:40 Quote
sterlingmagnum wrote:
More importantly what 80’s punk band mrhyak?

More alternative 80's then punk...

https://theblazebrigade.bandcamp.com/
flag MrHyak
Posted: Mar 28, 2024 at 6:21 Quote
adm750 wrote:
MrHyak wrote:
adm750 wrote:

edit: lived in Florida from the late 80's until we moved north in 2002. Longwood, Altamonte, Oviedo, Winter Park areas.

I was just north of you in Lake Mary, but only lived there for 2 yrs. After Siemens bought Stromberg/Carlson I ended up moving back to WA (Seattle).

ha small world...!

What did you do for those guys ?

I used to sell component electronics for a distributor out of Miami (our office was in Maitland...) back in the day. We definitely sold some stuff to Stromberg. Wink

My forte was mostly military and aerospace shit. Lockheed (incl. Space Shuttle), ISS, GE Aerospace (big parts list for the radios in the aerostat balloons off the keys...). Harris Corp, and a bunch of other spacecoast players.

I worked with Martin Marietta (down off the Beeline Expressway....) on the Apache Longbow program. Long before that, some guys from that facility had started this sports car club based out of that complex. We'd run these kick ass autocrosses in those big parking lots - and around the perimeter of the facility on weekends. Now, I'd been racing down there for years but we never really talked work. One day you're listening the race announcements and the Martin guys are coming over like "hey, are you so and so by chance ??" and I was doing the same thing to them. LOL.

I tried to answer this post but I get a response saying I'm being blocked for posting banned words? I don't get it.....this is the second time this has happened. Is there a list of "banned words" somewhere on this site so we know why we are being blocked?.
flag badbadleroybrown
Posted: Mar 28, 2024 at 7:22 Quote
onemanarmy wrote:
I don't really blame them. It's not like they didn't talk about it and just bailed. They've been asking for the same thing for a long time and leading up to the event they were still talking and negotiating. Crankworx has refused to accommodate any of their requests so the riders stood together. From what I've read and heard their requests are reasonable.

The bike industry is in the tank. Lots of these companies are pulling back on paid sponsorships in favor of product sponsorships and paid content on project basis.

Slope is a unique event for them as it's the only one that has a prequalified and chosen group for "finals". They know who's coming and they market them. They control content. Etc.

They're the draw.

Rampage gets appearance fees (should be higher). They also get catered food. Etc.

Sounds to me like the riders are using that as a basis for their requests.

These two statements are mutually exclusive... Their requests are not reasonable, because the industry is in the tank... and the larger economy in general.

f*ck these clowns. They get paid to do shit they'd be doing for free, for fun, without the organization support and sponsorships they have in place. This is nothing but a generation of shitheads growing up with commie propaganda trying a union approach to stack their pockets while grossly misjudging the timing and their value. f*ck slopestyle in general, it's a niche that really only appeals to a small segment of riders... among mountain bikers in general, the number of people who can, will, or even want to do or watch all the flippy dippy twisty whippy shit they do is a single digit percentage. I hope they shut down slopestyle and send these shitheads packing with their commie union nonsense. You wanna negotiate, call your sponsors and work a new contract... but holding an event hostage and f*cking over fans isn't how its done. Let 'em be broke and starve and learn what their commie bullshit really brings.
flag badbadleroybrown
Posted: Mar 28, 2024 at 7:24 Quote
MrHyak wrote:
I tried to answer this post but I get a response saying I'm being blocked for posting banned words? I don't get it.....this is the second time this has happened. Is there a list of "banned words" somewhere on this site so we know why we are being blocked?.

Pinkbike is just a shit website and it does that every now and again... I've gotten that message many times and tried to post nothing but "hello" just to see wtf, and it'll still tell me I'm using banned words. The Outside overlords aren't keen on free speech and prefer broken content moderation to open posting.
flag sterlingmagnum
Posted: Mar 28, 2024 at 9:30 Quote
MrHyak wrote:
sterlingmagnum wrote:
More importantly what 80’s punk band mrhyak?

More alternative 80's then punk...

https://theblazebrigade.bandcamp.com/

Cool shit. My quick few seconds of preview reminded me of Agent Orange.

I’m diggin in deeper later. Selah is killer. Good friend on mines mom was raising hairless mexican dogs out a a big ranch out there for years.
flag revolver26
O+
Posted: Mar 28, 2024 at 14:46 Quote
badbadleroybrown wrote:
f*ck these clowns. They get paid to do shit they'd be doing for free, for fun, without the organization support and sponsorships they have in place. This is nothing but a generation of shitheads growing up with commie propaganda trying a union approach to stack their pockets while grossly misjudging the timing and their value.

I can speak to this situation with some firsthand knowledge as my son was one of the riders. Your assumption that “they get paid to do something they’d be doing for free…” is not accurate. Many of these riders are not paid and actually incur a significant loss just to attend. Individual athlete sponsorship in mountain biking has dried up. My son works construction to fund his ability to compete at the highest level of slopestyle. These riders show up to the competition out of love for the sport and for anyone who enjoys watching. Even if the riders could break even, it’s a hard pill to swallow when they are not listened to or valued by the event organizers.

Beyond athlete sponsorship, you have to consider event sponsorship, how that money is being thrown around, and the economic benefits that Crankworx generates. Looking at the NZ event alone, Crankworx has brought in tremendous money to the area through hotels, restaurants and broader tourism, as well a job creation (according to the Rotorua Lakes Council, Crankworx has brought in $34.5 million NZD over the last 9 years, an estimated 44 to 60 full time jobs per year to the region) . The local government has contributed $1 million annually to Crankworks Rotorua because they see a positive return on this investment. Yet the male riders still can’t get a banana on site.

Why should the athletes participate at a financial loss when no one else is expected to?

Without these guys putting themselves on the line and sending it like champs, there is no marketable enterprise to squabble over. Unless the sponsors and organizers make sure these guys are well taken care of, everyone involved and the whole sport fails. Kudos riders, for standing up and being willing to shut the circus down until their reasonable demands are met.

I also think that it is important to note that the riders action didn’t come out of the blue; the riders have been trying to engage with the Crankworx organization for years. In the riders own words “time after time we’ve either been ignored, denied or simply not taken seriously which has left us with no other option but to make a point the only way we can.”

As for “f*cking over fans”, in no sane world can I see how paying out of your own pocket and taking a financial loss to compete in an event, that generates significant financial benefits for each host region, and put on a show that is seen around the world by millions, is selfish on part of the riders.

The reality is that the event organizers have created a global, festival style event that many of the slopestyle riders can no longer afford to participate in. There is no longer any meaningful sponsorship money available to many of the riders. Unless you are regularly on the podium, the riders simply can’t afford to be flying around the world. This discourages and even prohibits new talent from entering the sport. It’s is not a sustainable model for slopestyle. I personally fully support the riders actions and hope that promoters, event organizers and the industry as a whole can do better going forward.

 


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