The quiet early morning sun lit city is always enjoyable. No one is really awake yet, you have free rain to explore the landscape via bike or board, and you get to experience the transition from peace to hectic city hustle; hopefully over a good coffee with a friend.
I hope your week included some of this.
This shop is so rad! From the moment I took one step in the front door I was filled with all things Ride x Create… to include art work from The Bodega Negra.
Kyle and I were politely greeted as we entered Transit Bikes by Thomas. I introduced myself and talked a little bit about FOLLY, expressing that I was really into the Transit shop. Thomas talked to me about some cool stuff going on at the shop and in the area, as well as show me his sick All City machine! He had it decked out with everything it should be decked out with.
I’d say Kyle and I spent a grand total of about 10 minutes in the shop due to time conflicts, so I did my best to capture the shop as quickly as possible… but that doesn’t matter… WHAT matters is, if you’re in the Dallas area and looking for the best bikes/service in town… look no further; Transit Bicycle Co. are your people.
Fact: When I come back to visit the great city of Dallas I will be spending more time at Transit. Fact: They love coffee and the Ride x Create vibe. Fact: You will find the latest and greatest rad gear their. Them the facts.
Go to FOLLY x Film for more photos of the shop. I hope you’ll go check out Transit Bicycle Company for yourself. Cheers!
Dude!! Rode this sucker on some smooth and haggard mountain bike trails… IT PERFORMED LIKE A DREAM!!
I rode with 40 psi in the tires, starting on road, climbed the Monte Sano mountain (faster than I’ve ever climbed it before fyi) and hit the trails on top. Keeping the same tire pressure I rode impressively fun stuff. When I got to section I thought I should get off and hike… the thought hit me, “Time to test this bikes abilities”, and IT PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS!!! Seriously, handling was so good and smooth on some pretty rough stuff.
With all that being said… this bike kills on all levels. Go to FOLLY x FILM to check more shots of this guy in the woods.
Riding the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge is always fun. It’s more fun when you’re riding with these two dudes. I’ve been riding with Davis for many moons, but this was the first time riding with Greg. Greg knew a few routes on the Refuge I’d never ridden that nailed it!
Why am I posting these two shots? They are the first film ride x shoot I’ve done. My Yashica FX-3 Super is fully mechanical. I did my best to preemptively measure the distance I’d shoot these shots at and snap away. They turned out way better than I thought they would.
Go to FOLLY x FILM to check out more.
When you’re two dudes on a mission to capture the vibe on film, more than likely you’re gonna capture each other doing it. Love how these turned out.
So, it went down like this…
I emailed John Watson the week before I was gonna be in Austin letting him know I would love to get together for a ride x shoot sesh. He politely responded asking which bike I was gonna bring; The FaTRoB of course. Looked up airfare with a bicicleta and shook my head. So I decided to bring my board, cruise around, maybe just grabbing a drink with John, high five, and scoot about my business. Unfortunately John was tied up, our schedule got very tight, and we were gonna miss each other.
Kyle and I had just gotten to Austin, ate lunch, and started to cruise the street. Stopped at this one spot with busted signs to see if any good shots presented themselves when two swift moving hooligans came zipping around the street corner.
It was quite funny when I realized who it was. I noticed Lauren first, then John on his bitchin Rosko mountain whip. As they approach I say softly “Hey John, it’s Matt from FOLLY”. John and Lauren both stop seeming a bit confused, then I proceed to say “what’s up dude! This is random”, shake his hand properly introducing myself.
Lauren pedals about her way after John tells her he’ll be at the house in a second. We chat for a few minutes about his new workspace and that he’s about to depart to Portland for the AWOL x Poler reveal. Feeling that he’s got a lot to accomplish, like pack a bike and get his junk together for the trip, I ask if I can take a few shots before he leaves. He’s down of course, snap, snap… snap, “it’s nice to meet you in person man”, and away John went.
Why am I telling you this story? Not Sure really, other than I’m super amped on how this shot turned out.
The sixth post I posted on the blog at the very beginning of FOLLY identified John as an authority in the cycling world. His work has inspired me personally and professionally. It’s never a bad idea to show appreciation and maybe that’s what this is, but what I know without a shadow of a doubt is that someone needs to feed John a double cheese burger ASAP. That man is too skinny!
Cheers! I hope you enjoyed reading.
RIDE x CREATE
Photo by someone rad… not me, but found over at Pedal Consumption
Photo by someone rad… not me, but found over at Pedal Consumption
Dude… this is so solid! Pumped to see Katie Arnold crush it this year on this Stanridge Speed CX rad machine!
Kyle and I were headed back from a morning of meetings, riding, and shooting. On our way back to nab some lunch I see the Dallas skyline and inquire about getting on one of the roofs for a product shoot. Kyle says “hold that thought… I know a guy”. So… I hold that thought and no more than a couple quick calls later we’re cleared to go explore the Hyatt Regency building. Although the view was stunning, the location did not offer what we needed for the shot we were looking for. So we soaked in the beaming sun and the Dallas skyline on a rad rooftop location. Not bad at all. 
Make It Happen – Full Video from Make It Happen BMX on Vimeo.
“‘Make It Happen’ is a global BMX project by rider Greg Illingworth, filmer Will Evans and photographer George Marshall. Over 14 months Greg travelled the globe with a hand picked group of the world’s best riders. They all shared one simple idea – explore, ride, document. Destinations: China, Argentina, South Africa Riders: Greg Illingworth, Gary Young, Tammy Mccarley, Brian Kachinsky, Ed Zunda, Josh Harrington, Kevin Kalkoff, Paul Ryan, Ben Hennon, Matt Priest, Matthias Dandois and Maxime Charveron. The Make It Happen book and video are the culmination of their travels. Book by George Marshall Film by Will Evans Project management by Greg Illingworth Logo design by Rob Loeber Make It Happen is supported by: Vans, Mongoose, Monster Energy, Snafu, The Albion and Fox. makeithappenvideo.com”
SO GNAR!!
I’ve had the pleasure of visiting the rad state of Texas this week and chill with my main damie Kyle. It’s always refreshing to meet up, ride x think creatively for the future of FOLLY as well as with new folks and companies to make cool things go down. Between Austin x Dallas these creative meet ups seemed endless.
Below are a few of the hot spots Kyle and I have cruised around. We did our best to capture the vibe. There are a lot of locations I’ve left my iPhone memory blank only to fill rolls of film to be developed once I return home. Those will be the next level… I hope.
