Text/photos: Kyle Carlson
In the last few years Portland, Oregon has been like a magnet for BMX riders. With enough skateparks, street spots, and rainstorms to satisfy most anyone for a lifetime, it’s no secret why the immigrants keep coming and the locals keep staying. A few cases, for example, are the cases of lifetime residents Ben Hucke and Caleb Ruecker, returning resident Eddie Cleveland, newcomers Ryan Mills and Ben (from the coast), and summer visitor KC Badger. They all have their own personal reasons for ending up in the City of Roses, and this is what they had to say about it.
Ben Hucke
Growing up in Portland had few advantages for bike riding. The only real advantage we had was Burnside skatepark. The crazy transitions and tight pockets made everything else we found fairly easy to ride. There were definitely quite a few disadvantages. The rain was a big one, so was waking up at 5am to ride Burnside. Waking up at 5am and riding bikes for ten miles in the rain was the worst.
I never decided to move away, though. I've had several opportunities but I chose to stay. Nowadays we get to look forward to two or three new cement parks each year. That alone keeps everyone coming back or not leaving, even if it means living in their parents' basement forever. The city is planning 19 new parks within three miles of downtown Portland in the next two years.
I'm cool with new people coming to town or even moving here. There's more than enough stuff here for everyone to get coverage or just have fun riding. It seems that the few people who bitch don't try or just don't ride together at all. Everyone else here remembers why they ride bikes—because it’s fun. And it’s even more fun in Portland.
Ben (from the coast):
I used to visit Portland every weekend for about six months, which I felt was completely necessary based on how good the scene was there. With my hometown being only two hours away, I wondered why I didn't just move here a year ago. The transit system here in Portland is great and makes it easy to get from spot to spot, but who needs the transit system when every major attraction (Goods BMX, Burnside, countless street spots, etc.) is within a 20-minute bike ride from the next? There are countless riders here, some visiting and some residing, all of which are friendly. This makes it easy to find someone’s couch to crash on.
Everyone is nice here as long as you're not stuntin' on fools. Portland has everything my hometown didn't, which was the direct reason for me moving here in the first place. Finding a job was the only thing that kept me from moving here earlier than I did, but with all of the riders having jobs it's easy to find connections.
Caleb Reucker
I live in Portland for obvious reasons. Portland is a badass city, not only to ride in but also to live in. Why do you think all of these BMXers are flocking here from all over the US? And, if I need a change of pace, I can travel to wherever the pavement takes me.
Portland definitely has its good’s and its bad’s. I think what's good about Portland is that it is home to all of these BMXers with different styles, tastes, and outlooks on everything they see. This makes for good fun. As for what's bad, this city is based on “groups,” as is every city. If you're not a part of one of the groups you can be made to feel out of place in your own town, but that's really up to the individual. As for myself, I feel accepted and at home no matter what town I'm in as long as there is pavement to ride.
With all of the new people coming to town, I get to see all these new tricks on the same things I grew up riding. It's refreshing to me as the same way it is to them when I go to their town. We all see something new in different cities that you may not have though of. That is a good thing.
Ryan Mills
Growing up in the desert will fry your brain into a confusion spiral, so I moved to Portland. I needed to relax in a green place with lots of white puffy clouds. I love to ride street and I figured Portland would be perfect; I misjudged the winter, though. Sometimes I think I would rather have close-to-no street riding in Vegas than no street riding due to rain and no sun in Portland, but then again, we all just kick it and chill out with each other, so it's chill.
When I first got here I felt welcomed by most of the locals, besides the ones that I felt and still do feel vibes from. While I'm on the subject, Burnside is just another skatepark. Get over it.
Hanging out with the boys is something I could do all day...and we do. We kick it and spit rhymes up in the Premium condo. Shit, even Glen Johnson kicks it.
Eddie Cleveland
Portland and all my boys are hittin, but I had to move to warmer California with my friend Jesse Whaley and my girlfriend Ashley to avoid Portland winter (rain) and chill in the hot sun of Southern California. Trying to ride in Portland after September is like beating a dead cow. California was good for a while... Chilling day in and day out in the never-ending sun with lots of my boys, terrorizing spots, getting blarded, and chillaxing until the southern scene just wasn't doing it for me. The Portland summer was right around the dead cow so we decided we had overstayed our welcome and we weaseled our way back to the Northwest where the scene is more like beating a dead cow. I always come back because there's no place like home. Live life to the chillest. Doi.
KC Badger
For the past two summers I've been coming up to Portland from my hometown of Scottsdale, Arizona. My main reason for coming out here was that two of my good friends, Ryan Sher and Travis Gardner, had just moved out here from San Diego. Also, I had always heard that there were all sorts of amazing things to ride and a really good scene to follow in Portland. And, of course, the obvious reason... it's not
120 degrees in Portland in the summers and it is in Arizona. I came up here last summer with absolutely no idea of what to expect, how the locals would be (I'd heard horror stories), what the actual spotswould be like, or how living in the city would be. I couldn't have been more psyched on this place. Aside from a few exceptions, the locals are all amazing; super welcoming and really fun people to hang out and ride bikes with. I feel lucky that I've been able to come up here and meet a lot of awesome people and make some really good friends.
Coming out here for only the summers pretty much allows me to have 80-degree weather year-round without having to live in So Cal.
Portland, as far as riding spots, is incredible. You can pretty much ride whatever type of stuff that you would like; really good street, some of the best cement skateparks in the country, and, if you're lucky enough to get the invite, what in my opinion are the best trails in the world are only a short drive away.
More than riding, my favorite thing about coming up here is being able to live with a few of my best friends. I don't work during the summers up here so its really like a break from reality; no school, no job, no stress—just two solid months of riding and hanging out. I plan on coming up here for as many summers as I can. Thanks to all the locals who let a few of us come up here and shralp your spots in the summer. Come out to Arizona in the winter, I'll return the favor.
