Hunters and Gatherers

Brian. He wasn't actually at the Gathering , but he was there in spirit. He can 360 an early 90's mountain bike, no problem. If only I had a photo of my friend Hiram cleaning the legendary "Flying 'Ho" on similar vintage equipment.


Sean. Rode a Brakeless Fall Guy to 2nd in Expert!!! .


Me (Landon) .Mini Ramp Session.


Rob Lindberg. Loves Hot Chocolate. Likes the color blue too.


Charlie. Captain Lake Oswego. Briefly expelled from school for suggesting a "Zombie Holocaust" during Halloween.


Sean again. Modeling his brake-less Fall Guy. Likes the color blue too.


Horrible bail, or something amazing? Who knows at the Gathering...


A Grip of Fall Guys.


Me again. Getting through the big set. These where fun jumps with some good hang time.





"Just because you can, don't mean you should..."

It's been a couple weeks since this event, so what's to report?

Right off the bat, I'd like to mention Tonic Fab was fairly well represented for a couple afternoons in Renton Washington. This is a real change from the previous year, and I think it's fair to say The Gathering is a Tonic Fab mile marker of sorts.

Last year, Tony and I stood around with what could have been the only 2 Fall Guys in the world. We slept at my folks place in Olympia, barely rode, but managed to have a good time of it. If I remember correctly, it was a very introspective journey, with a lot of drive time, and seemingly nothing to talk about other than the details of our personal demons. During the event, we met an enthusiastic fellow who really wanted to ride one of our bikes in the comp. What the hell? We where stoked to see him ride one of our bikes. Neither of us had the confidence to ride in front of a bunch of people, and it was fun to watch him ride. Untill he knocked himself out in the Park Finals. That was frightening. We later sold him a bike, but only after he furnished us with a release from a doctor saying it was OK for him to ride. Sure, bikes don't kill people, but we couldn't have lived with ourselves if something horrible happened to him on our bike.

Anyway, over the course of the year we've managed to sell a few Fall Guys, especially in the PNW. Most Tonic riders from Portland and Seattle attended the Gathering, and rode. We are pround of this, because frankly, as far as I can tell everyone whose bought a Fall Guy at this point has been a hardcore of sorts. Speaking of riding, I was pretty determined to do some this year. Nervousness from spectators, or not. I assumed having a vendor booth would put me in a nice grey area which would allow me to ride without actually entering the comp. I had no intention to enter, but as entering was the sole condition of being able to ride, I decided to give it a go. The jumps looked really good, and as Softies Trail Boss Travis Erikson had a big hand in the construction of the dirt jumps, I felt it was the right thing to do. I entered Expert, but after realizing the line was huge to ride and I wouldn't get any riding time in, myself and Kyle Young (Transition Bikes owner, and one of the coolest cats in this industry) changed to the Beginner Class.

With less than half the number of riders in beginner, Kyle and I got plenty of time to session the jumps. Kyle hadn't ridden in a while, but was killing it. No foot cans, and bar-spins off the box....nice. Pretty soon the comp went off, and somehow I made it to the finals, and wound up winning. Completely unexpected, but what the hell, I'll take it, especially the wrestling belt trophy!

The Experts and Pros where really going off. Stand-outs for me include Scott Matual, Sam Miller, Ross Measures, and Kyle Ebbett. Scott's a seattle local, and just killed it. Big, smooth, and stylish...opposite tables, manualed the box, and huge cross-ups over the spine. Same thing for New Mexico Pro Sam Miller, riding for Addict Cycles. He just blasted everything bigger than anyone and didn't bother with the circus tricks. Ross Measures really cranked some nice flattie's and inverts too. And the same with Kyle Ebbett. Really nice riding.

People who love watching others nearly die had plenty to keep them occupied. I couldn't even watch the "Front-Flip-To-Back" guy. He had a death wish, and someone should have stopped him.


At 3 am Denny's can be a strange place. I don't recall how we got there, or anything except the following:

"Girl, your breakin' me off!!!!"

"Just because you can, don't mean you should!"


Needless to say, we didn't stay at my folks place, and had a very entertaining evening.

The next day at the Skate Park things really got nuts, riding wise anyway. Here's a short summary:

Phil Sunbaum: 2 (broken) thumbs up! Can you believe he rode with 2 broken thumbs, and I believe won? I think sticking your chainring on a rafter gives the back flip a new dimension.

Sean Masai: Rode a brake-less Fall to Second place in Expert! We where really stoked to see you ride...very original style

Lee Gilmore: Made Pro Finals on a Fall Guy. Half to wedge transfer was awesome.

Andrew Carpenter: 720's the box, 540's the spine, 180 bar spins the spine, and didn't even place top 3? What?

Robbie Wright: Pulled the trick of the night. I hope there's photos of that wall tap. That was nuts.

Sam Miller: Killed the park. Period. I forget your friend's name on the Specialized, but he rode brilliantly and should have made park finals, at least.

Shane Knapp: Another Fall Guy rider, rode REALLY WELL, and should have made park finals.

Thats it. Maybe not very good to read, but it had to be done.

Tommorow is the final night for Big Wheels. Ride, then eat pizza.

I don't know why I can't post photos now. We've got a few.

-Landon.