This is a blog maintained by David Arnold (a.k.a. Mr. Murdo and Dave Skooter-Farm)
I have set this blog up as an online shoebox. It's somewhere I can put junk of interest to me, write down my thoughts, post old photos and maybe share my ideas and let people know what gets my motor running. Also a site which tracks the activities of SKOOTER FARM DIRT TRACK RACING.
Great day out at the DIRT QUAKE event I helped organise for Sideburn Mag last weekend. An unlikely mix of activities and hard to put a finger on why it was so good...Sort of a cross between a motorcycle race and a 70's Saturday morning kids TV show.
I was ultra busy on the day and didn't take a single picture. All these images are taken from various folks on the web, facebook etc.....hope they don't mind.
I'm indebted to the folks behind the scenes that helped to make this happen and to the racers for signing up for something that was an unknown quantity. It was a ton of hard work but I hope we can find a way to do this again, bigger and even better next year.
Just announced...this will be a doozie! Lots of stuff planned but top of the heap for me is the UK's first ever dirt track chopper race. If it's heavy, hard to handle and totally unsuitable for track use...then it's in!
Pics are from a similar event that took place in Finland last year
My good friend Tim Stamp had a VHS copy of this that we hammered when we skated in '83-'84.
ACTION NOW magazine rose out of the ashes of SKATEBOARDER magazine when the skateboard boom took a dump in 1980.
It was a last ditch attempt to stay afloat and the mag opened its doors to other action sports: BMX, roller skating, surfing, skimboarding etc. Unfortunately, this ploy didn't work out...it totally alienated the hardcore few that still skated, the lowpoint for me being a photo of someone on a horse down at the beach.
On a plus point, the mag did have a reasonable music content and it was quick to champion the LA punk scene. Lots of Circle Jerks, Black Flag etc as well as features on the big UK punk bands at the time.
The mag didn't last long and around this time a new, truly independent skateboard magazine was launched called THRASHER that drove the final nail in the 'Action Now' coffin.
The Action Now TV show was a self financed 30 minute showcase produced at one of skateboardings all time low points. By todays standards it looks nothing special but the skate footage blew me away. It was the only way to see moving images of the new 'bionic' skating that was starting to come through. particular stand outs are Neil Blender and Steve Alba....totally inspired by this, me and a few friends built STIFFNECKS RAMP.
I wish the rest of the show was on Youtube. Its been over 25 years since I saw it but I recall some good footage of Jeff Watson on his BMX in the Upland fullpipe and some early Bob Haro ramp riding.
Another idol of mine claimed by cancer at the age of 53. With her band X-RAY SPEX she really was a unque artist. I played the early singles to death IDENTITY, OH BONDAGE and DAY THE WORLD TURNED DAYGLO.
I met her backstage once in London in 1989 on a Youth of Today/Jailcell Recipes tour . She had Krishna beliefs and was friends with Y.O.T. vocalist Ray Cappo, a new Krishna convert. She came down to see what the current punk scene was like. I remember her being very positive about the gig...very sweet and soft spoken and not looking any older than she did in 1977!
He flew out to Copenhagen, Denmark with 12 other top English BMX racers.
They have privately rented the UCI SUPERCROSS track for the weekend. The track is ultra-gnarly......it's BMX on steroids.....super-hero stuff.....the stuff you see in an X-BOX game.
Unfortunately, Jake went down hard on his first attempt to take the fearsome first jump... a 40-footer. According to his Step-Dad, Roy... he did a massive, terminal endo..... landing on his head and breaking his collarbone.
the phone footage is shaky and doesn't show the impact....but it still sickens me to watch.
Over the last 8 years, we have watched Jake grow from a little kid "having a ride round" to becoming one of the most promising racers in the country. He will turn 16 in April, he's the 4 times defending British and National number 1 and is one of only a handful of racers on the BRITISH CYCLING TALENT TEAM.....grooming him to represent his country at the 2016 Olympics (he's just a few months too young for 2012 London)
I'm watching his progress "live" on Facebook....it's a bad break and he's been moved to another hospital to see a surgeon.
Jake is my hero...his first time on one of these "X-Games super tracks", only been there less than one hour, he has the balls to take a jump like that, fully commited, not knowing whether he will make it or not.
Unfortunately, today, it didn't go quite as planned, but knowing Jake like I do, if he had not broken his bones ..I'm 100% certain he would have dusted himself down and tried it again and again ..until he made it.
These modern, made-for-TV tracks make the tracks I raced on back in 1980-81 seem like pre-school.....I wouldn't even ride down that start ramp!!
I'm so proud of his achievements and if he wasn't so damn good at BMX I would have had him on SKOOTER FARM in the junior class in a heartbeat....I know he is in good hands but I am thinking about him....
BTW, Jakes bike sponsor is REDLINE ENGINEERING for those that know their flat track motorcycle history..a company formed by Linn Kastan....originally producing thoroughbred cro-moly race frames before sidestepping into BMX racing in the late 70's!
UPDATE
Jacob is now recovering from his surgery which involved a steel plate and pins. It's a complicated break, he splintered the collar bone into 4 pieces and has been told he can't even begin to do any physio for another 6 weeks. This means he will miss the first few rounds of the British BMX championship...which he's gutted about.
Unbelievable footage from 1997 of Billy and Tracy publicly deconstructing Billy's writings about their relationship in Billy's "novel" MY FAULT.
If you are familiar with the history between these two, then it makes compelling viewing.
The Evel Knievel exhibition was on display at the show. It all packs into a big trailer and is on tour throughout Europe for all of 2011. The blue leathers are the ones he wore for the Wembley Stadium Jump. Also on display was the Canyon Sky Cycle (complete with damaged nose cone) his XR750 he used for the jump over the tank of sharks, the EK Dragster and the Jet-Bike. The highlight of the exhibition was a skeleton showing all of Evels broken bones........I purchased an EK bathrobe!
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