Thursday, February 28, 2008

Destination: Michigan


After another trip through Chicago that made me want to french kiss the business end of a twelve gauge, I arrived in beautiful Traverse City for the quick trip up to Boyne Mountain for the MWWSRA demo. To sum it up, it was cold. Never got above 20. Now, I have'nt lost my tolerance to the low mercury since moving from Vermont, but that does'nt mean I enjoy frozen boogers and numb ass.

Crowe kept things tolerable by manning the grill, as Brats and Beers are a key element of any Michigan outdoor sport. Lots of thanks go to the Ride rep one tent over, who brought his Wisconsin recipe complete with boiler setup for Brats boiled in Beer and Mustard. Damn.

Boyne has a lot of history to it, including having the first quad chair in the country, and still has a good, small feeling to it. Not to mention a great logo.

There is also a really nice hotel that they just built that has a huge waterpark in it complete with a Flowrider standing wave. I've always wanted to try it, but with a good cat trip less than a week away, I chose to keep my ass above my feet and my bones intact. I just envisioned a really bad scorpion to trunk removal via 2000 tons of water to water enema. I don't know about you, but I try to keep the water around my balls at a relatively low PSI rating whenever I can. Just a personal rule.

Weekly R&B Banger #34



Back in 97' Jermaine Dupri put together an album of some underground Southern artists from the Ghost Town DJs to the Gucci Crew. Bangin with beats reminiscent of a Two Live Crew song but with some R&B flava. These jams still kill it and always seem to creep up on a mixtape here and there esp on some B-MORE craze. So So Def ftw.

Mac Attack

Little Miss Sonya Thomas, all of 99 pounds, became the No.1 ranked competitive eater after killing a 9 pound burger in 48 minutes. Can't imagine the pile of Devil Dogs coming out of that lil' woman after that.

Good chomp, but let's see her inhale one of these:

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Afternoon battles.



So in a YouTube battle this evening, Brunstetter and I threw many punches. He started with the above, and I countered with the below. It's like nuclear war, no one over wins. Especially these rocket scientists.

Not Quite Chunky.


Tuesday, February 26, 2008

34th & 44th 2/27/08 9:30pm

Hot, Wet & Boring. Thought it was s'posed to dump today?

Up above Los Angeles...

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of doing a little recon work up in the San Gabriel mountains in the form of a trip to the fabled Mt. Waterman Ski Area. I had heard the name dropped here and there over the past few years in random conversation, but the conversation always seemed to end something like..."they just could'nt keep up and stayed the same as they were back in the day." While this would send most headed to their nearest snowboard obstacle/condominium supermarket resort, I was intrigued and knew I had to see these places.

Waterman sits high above downtown Los Angeles, at the top of California State Highway 2, also known as the Angeles Crest Highway. This road has also been called the Devil's Highway by bikers who face the curvy and treacherous 6000 foot climb that takes place in under 40 miles. The road is pretty crazy, looking a lot more like New Zealand than Southern California. It is one of the main places that cyclists train for the Tour de France climbing stages and is damn impressive. Anyone that complains about Southern California being all about pavement and traffic needs to see this to believe it. The desert valley floor gives way to chaparral and boulder strewn canyons, which morph into steep, alpine ridgeline systems near the top that rival any terrain that you would find anywhere in the Lower 48.

After a quick shot up the 5, and then the winding road up the Angeles Crest, I arrived at Mt. Waterman. Now when I say this place is roots, I mean it in the strictest sense of the word. One of the owners was directing traffic in the parking lot, the other loading chairs at the bottom. Roots. Rick and Bruce Metcalf are the guys who saved the resort from being absorbed back into the Angeles National Forest by coming up with the two million bucks to keep the lifts spinning. They have been coming up here since they were young and are keeping it going because they love the resort and what it means to people. Imagine that.

After hiking most of the back terrain until the later hours, I headed down the valley a few more miles to the now abandoned Snow Crest. Formerly known as Kratka Ridge, Snow Crest was in it's heyday in the 60's and 70's until insurance and the rising cost and need for snowmaking put them under. All of the trails are still there, as are the lifts, although they are in bad shape. Definitely hikable, and there will be lines there until the late spring.

In between those two areas lies Buckhorn Ski Club. Buckhorn is tucked just out of sight from the main road and is maintained and operated entirely by it's members, mostly families from LA and Orange Counties that just love escaping for the weekend.

The main lift is an 800 foot harness rope tow similar to those used at the club fields in New Zealand. I ventured back and got the tour from Rod, the president of the club. He showed me around and gave me the full rundown of the history, showing me all of the topographical maps and some club history photos, including ones of the massive roof rebuild they had to do after the winter of 2005 when over 12 feet of snow collapsed the building to the ground.

Rod was a great guy, and explained that he started going up there when he first had kids, and that all of the families just enjoyed being out there so much that they dedicate their time to keeping it going until their kids can do the same. Needless to say, we are taking Eva out there for her first runs in early April...

More photos here.

Check out the Mt. Waterman website.

Pow (thurs)day....

Christian and I rode nearly a foot of fresh at Bear this past Thursday. Pretty surreal. Never rode the trails. Endless gullies and open pow fields, one of which dropped us off in the remains of the MDP junkyard park. Random. It pays to chase the weather.

Next time you are at Big Bear, see if you can find this run:
(Click to go bigger)

Good luck.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Right across from Disneyland.

The freaks come out at night.

Night Pager




Maybe after some serious psychotherapy will I be able to realize why I find it so gratifying ordering parts from Japan for my car that cost an ungodly amount compared to a US version, takes about 6 months to arrive, and is produced by never heard of companies such as Night Pager, Burn Up, and Dog House.

I think it might be inadequacies experienced as a young-un that I never quite got over. While the rich kids on the block had garages full of stretches of Tyco or AFX race tracks or rooms full of Star Wars scenes, such as Kevin Breen who had the complete Hoth set with multiple AT-ATs, Taun-Tauns, and Snowtroopers, I was at home with my single G.I. Joe figure "Snow Job" sitting in the middle of a comforter draped across the couch simulating a mountain where he was getting chased by Cobra.



Pizza Etang

44th St & 34th Ave 2/25/08 2:13pm

Saw in this one flick how this guy took a pic from the same corner, same time everyday for a few years. Thought it was a good idea,, but really whatevs at the time. But after witnessing the neighborhood crazy guy set up an 8 person tent on the sidewalk and hang out in it with his buddies in the dead of summer to the aggro cab driver taking off the door of a CL500 in a downpour; I thought it might be ok to try it out.

So here it goes...please welcome the corner of 44th Street & 34th Avenue. Nothing much going on today. We did get a new lightpost after a drunk driver tried to knock over the last one during the weekend.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Drainage.

SPOILER ALERT...If you have'nt seen the movie, don't watch this clip, but I knew from the minute that this scene started that this was going to be one of the greatest scenes in cinematic history. It's not the whole thing, but damn. The Oscar was more than well deserved for this one. I mean, this guy even walks a certain way the whole movie not to mention he has to beat the hell out of about 4 people (and they were all real beatings I guess) over the course of the film. Definitely in my Top 3.

Okay...

Carl's Junior is officially trying to kill people. First the 3000 calorie $6 Burger and now they have gone and gotten our old friend the Cap'n involved. Watch out for the soggies.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

20 units. 1.5 Million each.


-650hp 6.5L V12 engine.
-Accelerates from 0-60 mph in 3.2 seconds.
-Maximum speed of 211 mph.
-All 20 are already pre-sold.

I'm giving it about 2 weeks before I see one of these parked at The Coffee Bean in Laguna Beach.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Sunday, February 17, 2008

What a scene.


These are all pretty much right on. They should make a road trip game out of these, except instead of a road trip it would be to the mall.

Or you could just go here for unlimited backseat good times.

Get your mind out of the gutter.

Let's Motor.


Many congratulations go out to my big sis Pam over there in Florida who just dropped in on a new Mini Cooper convertible. She could'nt deserve it more, she has definitely endured some automotive horror stories over the years. Here is a highlight reel:

-First solo mission to Buffalo in Mom's Delta 88 resulted in minor sideswipage of a old car whose driver (who was 90 if he was a day) just did'nt understand that we NEEDED to get to mini golf in a damn hurry that fine Buffalo afternoon.

-Terd Brown Ford Marquis that looked like it was painted with rollers and paintbrushes. Oh wait, it was.

-Perfectly round hole in the back of her rear window when some University of Buffalo hooligans threw a bowling ball through her window while it was street parked overnight. Owning the situation, Pam decided to leave the bowling ball in the car as ballast for more traction on the treacherous Buffalo streets for the rest of the winter. Take that frat fucks!

We are all real proud of Pam for stepping up and buying something she wanted and is going to have a blast in. I can already see her motoring through Orlando with the top down, making every trip a good one. Happy motoring!

Friday, February 15, 2008

Log roll.


Since we try to keep it somewhat classy over here (although some would disagree), I'll let you click through to this gem that Brusven (of course) sent over to me this afternoon. I can't help but agree.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Destination: Mammoth


Another week, another on snow demo. Rented a Prius to save on mileage expenses, and made some great time on less than $40 worth of gas. Impressive and the thing has some power. Saw all of the California retail heavyweights, and had some fun on the mountain at the same time.

Evan and I checked out the Mammoth Ski Museum Monday night, and let me tell you, there are some treasures in there. The New Yorker cover display was sick, they had an original painting by Ludwig Bemelman that was unreal.



Later that night we did dinner with the Active crew at Whiskey Creek, which, as expected, was entertaining to say the least. Thanks to Tall Todd and Brent for picking up the tab.

Tuesday, Tern, Evan and I headed out to Chair 9 to do some laps, and took a little detour to a nice open corn field with a hike out through a housing development. The hike was'nt very pleasant with the 60+ degree temps, but it was a good little adventure. It's so different riding here than anywhere else. Pretty much it will dump in feet, never inches (check out the snowbanks in the collage), and then be followed by a solid 4-5 days of the best weather you've ever seen. A huge change from rain riding in Stratton.

Dumping in Irvine.

Click to go bigger. You can see snow from my desk in Irvine. Fuck you Al Gore!

Harsh.

30 minutes or less.



Something tells me the baked college kids wondering where their pizza is might not use this. Definitely a good idea, but automatically sending you a text message when it gets there would be even better, oh wait, that's called a doorbell.

Order some up.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Friday, February 08, 2008

Don't Front on Flip Brunch.

HellaFlush.com



Ask a Filipino friend what the yellow bucket is all about and get your culture shock moment of the day.

"It's for what?" STOOPS!!!

Charm School

Going to VT is always a trip. It always seems like time stops and you learn how to really relax. Pine & Fireplace smoke replaces Dog Shit & Garbage Juice, Maple Syrup replaces Franks Red Hot, and the people well...there are assholes everywhere.

Especially in our favorite sandwich shop that is one of the biggest draws for our trip. There's this jerk-off hippie that seems to piss us off everytime. Our alias names are always a good pay-back. From Freddie to Gil to Carlos, we're the ones that can leave laughing.

Despite some wet conditions in the start, we had a great time. It's so true that the company you keep can determine your trip. Big thanks to D.Block, A. Nigpatora, & S.Kelly esp for bringing Premium Grade Snacks all the way from Buffalo.

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Redemption.

Anywhere else 4" of new would be no big deal. At Stratton, it makes a
world of difference.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Get It Shorty.

This creepy character was the gate guard at our place. Presumably placed so no non-residents would park there for the easy access to the resort, it almost kept us from coming in and out everytime. We did have a laugh remembering the 80s classic "Mannequin", with that woman from the Sex in the City craze.

Is that Arsenio or the guy from Ghostbusters?