“Youthful Memories and Riding Art”

Sam Lawson….Oak Wood Trails….Photo: Shajn Raines

Trails have always been my favorite type of riding. I’m not sure exactly what it was that drew me to it; thinking back it seems rather serendipitous seeing as I was exposed to every discipline of BMX from the get-go. I have fond memories from the summer after seventh grade of a neighborhood kid sliding a VHS tape of the very first BMX film I saw -- “LOW FAT 2” -- into the VCR. The film was from an era of videos in the early ‘90s where every discipline of riding was present. Street and flatland were right alongside ramp and dirt riding with a touch of competitive racing in there as well -- a far cry from the discipline-specific videos of today. I was mesmerized and downright infatuated by the acts performed for me for the first time on my friend’s television. A light bulb went off in my head, and I remember clearly thinking I wanted to do that. Looking back at the memory now, the activity itself (BMX) clearly had everything I was looking for as a budding, hormone-ridden, angry youth with a disdain for authority and a growing desire to pursue something outside the norm. BMX was rebellious, artistic and, most importantly, physically demanding. Something I realized later in life was a guiding compass to quell the growing aggression in my brain. I remember being glued to the screen, speechless, and, though almost drunk with intrigue, I do remember right away being drawn to anything dirt-jump- or trail-related from the video. Not from previous experience, however, but that it just spoke to me. Every aspect of it: the way the bike moved through the air, each rider’s individual style and aesthetic, the terrain and jumps that would compose each individual set of trails. These are what started to and still keeps my attraction going well into my late 30s. The first video I personally owned was the Ride BMX film “Thunder.” Apart from all the amazing sections, great soundtrack and, of course, the giant channel gap across the pond in
England, I for one could use more Marvin Lottery riding content in 2021 this video would have a major impact on me. There was one part in the video that forever changed BMX for me, and that was the “PUSH and POSH” section. 
I’m not sure if it was the smooth riding; lush, green foliage; or, for the time period, perfectly cool sculpted jumps with their wet, dark-orange soil that drew me to the trail’s calling, but that section most certainly solidified my ongoing love affair with the dirt waves. I remember going to our local jumps immediately after watching to start reconstruction of our little trail spot nestled in the woods behind a small house in the town of Plympton, Massachusetts. Our spot was a far cry from the sea of jumps I saw in the video, but I wanted to have a spot of my very own that was just as cool. Although most of the locals quit that year, and I did most of the digging solo, I was able to get one PA-looking line stacked, packed and ridable that season. I even cut chunks of grass out of a nearby yard and transplanted them to the backs and sides of the jumps to give it that POSH feel. I felt like I was making headway, until tragedy struck and within the following year they were plowed for yet another cul-de-sac. My dream was postponed as I set out to pedal to other trail spots in other towns to find a new home. I was lucky, as there were the famous WB trails only a 45 minute bike ride away, and they became my local spot with a handful of other devoted trail rippers of that era. Sadly, the quitting trend continued in the years to come and most of the locals stopped riding, moved or moved on to doing other activities, such as surfing, college and everyday life. The trails were destroyed, yet again, after a greedy, redneck neighbor of the trails cut 40 trees down on town land to make his yard bigger, crushing and destroying the jumps in the process. Fast forward to today, and once again I have found a home at the PineWood Trails -- where I couldn’t be happier. Multiple locals gather to ride and build jumps of all shapes and sizes, all of likeminded goals and ideas, not to mention being accepting of your ideas even if they don’t see your exact vision. There are more “let’s try it out” conversations rather than heated trail-local
arguments, which is refreshing and somewhat unheard of in comparison to other trail spots. A “put your money where your mouth is and dig if you want to make that feature” is the general attitude and vibe down at PineWood. Most importantly, without ever a single discussion about our own personal trail look or influences, we all share a common “keep the jumps as dialed as possible” attitude with the whole crew. This attitude results in not only really fun jumps to ride, but also jumps that look like pieces of art rather than just commonplace piles of dirt to hurl yourself toward. While walking around PineWood the other day, my mind was catapulted back to a high school ceramics class taught by a Mr. Sarrento. He was known to be a no-nonsense, no-bull-shit type of teacher who would grab desks with rude high school students still in them and slide them across the slick, sealed cement floors of his giant ceramics studio when they weren’t paying attention. I loved his outbursts, very entertaining indeed, if you weren’t on the receiving end, but more importantly, I loved working with clay. Scoring a piece to join it to another, creating what I saw in my own mind. It reminded me, in a way, of the very first aspect of BMX that I fell in love with: Trails. Like in Mr. Sarrento’s art class, the trail riders and builders all over the world who spend hours upon hours at their trail spots every year will most likely agree with this statement: Trail riders create pieces of art to ride. A perfectly sculpted dirt jump is no different than a perfectly sculpted vase. Both are created for a reason; both are artistic and beautiful. Riding and building trails are one of the only disciplines in BMX where the creation is made for one main
purpose, and, as well, is a piece of art all on its own. So next time you find yourself at a new trail spot, whether you’re a trail rider or not, stop, take a moment and look around at everything that the locals have created -- the jumps themselves, the decorations, the drainage, etc. They all tie in to make a full experience. Take a moment to look around and appreciate the ridable art gallery
you’re about to drop into. Happy laps everyone.
-Words: Shajn Raines / Editor: Luke Hayden

Brandon Christie….PineWood Trails….Photo: Peter Jamison

Nate Caron….PineWood Trails….Photo: Sam Lawson

Cody Diggs….Scituate Trails….Photo: Vic Bettencourt

Mike Pomerleau….Scituate Trails….Photo: Jonny Nemecek

Step Up Main Line….PineWood Trails….Photo: Mike Pomerleau