Nothing fun about this, but in April, FBM BMX legend Mike Tag was diagnosed with cancer and is currently undergoing treatment. Mike has no health insurance and can't work so it goes without saying that he could use our help. I have one of Mike's signature FBM Night Train frames, which was a gift from my friends Sean Newton and Brice Herron. I think I can speak for both of these guys in that they will be okay with me selling it on Ebay to raise money for Tag. The funds from the sale of this frame will go directly to the Mike Tag PayPal fund. You can donate directly to help Mike out as well.

Totally Stupid checklist.

Sitting idle as a unit of transport. This baby wants to wheelie walk.

"man, if I learn to weld, I'm going to widen all the bars I cut down in 2003 back to where they were..."

ARE BETTER.

There are so many classifications of motorcycles and most of them are lame: Street tracker, Bobber, chopper, bar hopper, Bagger, Cafe Racer, Cruiser, Digger, Whateverer. Mine defies all categories except "shitty old motorcycle".

more or less.

All aboard the Reading Rainbow. Who would have thought making a double a big roller would fuck up the line? Dave does...

starting to really hate spaghetti

May Day. Finally got to hit some jumps, a month plus later than the last two years. A month of not riding at my age is like a year for a 15 year old. Dog years. Hit this new set for the first time, white knuckled as always with a brand new jump. Six years ago today I took myself out hitting a jump for the first time. Scary as hell and a real wake up call. I faired much better today but I did nose bonk the landing pretty good the second time through. My jumps aren't even big by modern standards but they do the trick for my old ass. The flow is all I need and I can't wait to get further down the line....

Still feels free to me

You just don't get that much cool stuff in the mail anymore. I used to get so stoked on zines or little care packages of random stuff from the likes of my friend Lew (often addressed to "Satan" or "Nazi"--I can't believe a lot of those envelopes were even delivered). Once in awhile though, something really good comes through the 'box. Out of nowhere, an anonymous looking envelope from Phil Rase showed up with these gems inside. A gold mine of early 70's motorcycle photos and information. So cool. These are no Ebay score either, each mag is stamped with the name "Ken Rase". I never got to meet Phil's father, but I know he was big into custom motorcycle wheel-building and well know for his skills. Phil, I can't tell you how touched I am by your thoughtfulness. I tried to call to tell you, but all three of the phone numbers I have for you are kaput?

Victory bars, circa 2009.

This roadside attraction is about two miles away from Kzoo Skate Zoo. You have to wonder if the people who built this sketchy ramp ever stopped at the real skatepark just to see what a real ramp looks like? Either way, I love seeing homebuilt ramps in yards along the way.

My old VW, spotted twice in the same day, once by my wife and once by my friend Bill. Pretty sure it's my old van at least.

Right.

Besides family and work, the two things I spend the most time on are my jumps and my motorcycle projects. The jumps are looking good but Step-Mother Nature has not been very co-operative in regards to riding them. This motorcycle is looking better but driving me nuts at the same time. Back to the electric drawing board. It was running great the other day but something is causing a battery drain. Probably something in the worm's nest of wires not-so-cleverly hidden between the headlights. Fuck it. I'm playing video games.

Photo taken this morning. Good God man. Brand new set, begging to be lept over. These look small in this photo but that landing is 6+ tall.

Another fine Davey Cooperwasser edited joint. Click the Vimeo button to see it full-sized.

Shine on you crazy Femco.

Steve Crandall at his therapists office getting some heavy issues off his chest. Shout out.

I love the internet.

I don't remember "ScareCycles" but damn, they are incredible.

Birdland is finally taking shape. Progress is slow due to time constraints and wacky weather. I hit a new and improved jump tonight after much deliberation. The first few of spring are soooo sketchy.

The best shit ever.

A warped perspective is usually the best to maintain.

New spark plugs and it's runnin' hot!

This dog was really mad at me.

Keep your ass dry.

All show and no go makes Scotty a dull boy.

I need a new camera. Bad.

I stuck these weeds in this landing to measure my status as I stacked dirt. The flowers are six foot plus and I built to within a few inches tonight after a few days of dealing with frozen ground. The crazy part is that it seemed to be completely thawed a couple weeks ago when I started digging but froze again during the extremely cold days and nights of the last week. Ice age.

A minor milestone in welding. A bowling pin with a cap on it.

Stay True.

Anti Hero is my favorite skateboard company for a reason. If you've never seen Repo Man, this graphic series won't mean anything to you. Find one in every car, you'll see.

Yesterday was the first day of spring and I got some work done on Birdland. I wanted to be done with the berm upgrade by now but time is tight. I just came in from working out there tonight and dialed the lip in pretty well that you see in the top of the frame, but damn, it felt more like the first day of winter out there. My hands are frozen.

I'm constantly inspired by the exceptional craftsmanship of my friend Kim Boyle and his BCM projects. Although I fall about a mile short in my attempts, I'm fairly satisfied with my progress of late....

I love magazines and I really love me some Dice magazine. Besides some of the extra-silly articles wasting space that could be devoted to otherwise kick ass motorcycle (car/tattoo/occasional skateboarding), Dice never disappoints. The latest issue features a cut out cover which can be assembled into a miniature oregame cardboard coffin tank. Sick!

Working on Birdland every chance I get. The moon and this fire provided enough light to get some work done two nights ago. It didn't occur to me until just now how creepy those two logs sticking out the bottom of the fire look. Damn.

James Stewart with the best Henderson ever in his qualifying heat. James got wrecked on lap one in the final and was definitely hurting. Get well soon.

Click the "fall 10 early 11" to go to YouTube and see it full sized...

A good dude shot by a good dude. Levi Brown by Sean Newton. 3 of Ought 11.

Double trouble. Or double to avoid trouble? Confuse a deer? Steer clear?

I ain't skeered.

Cobras 77 Lifer Davey Cooperwasser edited this great promo for Max Schaaf's new Van's colorway. Click the Vimeo button to watch it bigger and better.

Later boys.

In deep.

I remember skating this kinda crappy particle board vert ramp in 1984 and my friend Lew telling me about this "sponsored skater" who had just moved to Kalamazoo (to go to WMU). His name was Bill Fergusson and he was indeed a sponsored skater and he ripped! Fast forward six years and this same dude was still in Kalamazoo and was opening his own skatepark, the "Kzoo Skate Zoo". I rode my bike at Kzoo tonight, 21 years later, and wished Bill happy birthday on the way out. As Iwalked out the door, my mind started racing with so many memories, one after another. I went to (I think) his 26th birthday party and I barely knew him. Not long afterward, he gave me a part time job at Kzoo, then right after that, a part time job at the shop he ran, Piranha Alley. I didn't work at the park for very long before becoming full time at Piranha Alley, where I stayed for six years before becoming a sales rep. I have a thousand memories of so many funny things, a few bad ones (mostly involving shop lifters) and good times. Just yesterday I took my son Dylan to skate a little bit and he climbed into the circular shirt rack in the pro shop to scare me. Pretty funny for a three year old but the time that I came walking back into Piranha Alley with my lunch and Bill jumped out that exact same rack, he startled the fucking shit out of me. I pointed out what Dylan was doing yesterday and Bill, who was putting a board together for a customer, just chuckled. He couldn't stop laughing that day in the mid 90s. I'm laughing thinking about it now. That job really paved the way for everything I do now and I thank Bill for giving me the opportunity. More than that, I'm just glad we're friends.

Living in the limelight
The universal dream
For those who wish to seem
Those who wish to be
Must put aside the alienation
Get on with the fascination
The real relation
The underlying theme

Living in a fish eye lens
Caught in the camera eye
I have no heart to lie
I can't pretend a stranger
Is a long-awaited friend

I do some stupid shit but this one ranks right up there. I'll give you a taste of what it's like to live in my mind.

Last night, in the barn, I dinked around endlessing with wiring and made little headway. In positive contrast, I mounted a new headlight, connected it, relocated the switch and got stoked. After all this electrical action and not running the bike, the battery was starting to wane "Better charge this battery and tomorrow I can maybe try to start this mofo".

Fast forward 18 hours and I flipped on the light switch. Nothing. Turned on the key. Nothing. I looked at the battery, with the charger clamps still connected, and the above is what I saw. Red is negative? I'm an idiot. The $30 mis-connect. AND I swear I was totally sober.

Trails is shouting! I absolutely cannot wait to get back at these. If I can stay on pace with the last two years, we're talking just over a month away. Yeah, yeah, yeah.....

Did my first fork rebuild on Sunday and was surprised to see this prestigious stamp on the extended legs that were on the Yami. Unfortunately, I saw this as they were coming off. Get it low, bro. So pissed that my kickstand--my first legit welding accomplishment last summer, is going to have to be modded now.