Above: The bonus photo of Mike Hucker Clark in 2016 at Hillfire. We opened this stepdown line just before he came to town and only Hucker, Russell and I jumped it and then it never really got ridden that much after. First run, Hucker jumped it. Second run, he supermanned it. Third run, he threed it. Fourth run, he oppo threed it, then threed the set after it.
Hucker is the man.
My snapshot of BMX in Canberra 2005 - 2024.
I have been lucky to be a part of the BMX community in Canberra from 2005 - 2024. I ran a photography exhibition celebrating Canberra BMX called "Crete And Clay". These were the photos I had in the exhibition.
A lot of the reason why I chose these photos was because I had a part in building the spots or they were very memorable moments during my time in Canberra.
Building spots has always been what raises my love for BMX. It's so gratifying to be a part of that with a community who gets it and I recommend any BMXer to build something to ride, no matter how small or big the project.
Enjoy the photos.
- Tyson Jones-Peni, Owner, Backbone BMX
Rhysty built a backyard trail line during a time when trails were getting dozed left and right; the Boneyard was a tight and fast setup that got all of us our trail fix until we eventually got the first Hillfire built. Winter morning session.
One lunchtime during the week, Rhys and I went to Belconnen skatepark to shoot a photo for an ad to use in 2020 BMX Mag - which was due that day. I shot a photo in the bowl and Will Gunn happened to turn up (he had the day off work). We asked him if there was anything he'd be keen to shoot for an ad, to which he casually replied "I could 360 that double set over there."
He pointed to a gnarly 7 flat 7 stair set at the other end of the park... We gasped.
"Are you sure? That's f-ing gnarly dude."
"Yeah, should be sweet."
He took one run up for a speed check.
Then jumped it straight once.
"I'm not gonna do that again, that hurt my wrists - so I'll three it next go."
He walked up the stairs with his bike, did the obligatory "Ready?" and then pedaled toward the stairs and floated the most perfect 360 down them.
We couldn't believe it, Will shrugged it off and lit a cigarette. There is only one Will Gunn.
Russell Brindley at the Hillfire Trails one morning. It was pretty standard for Rhys, Russell and myself to be up at the trails most mornings; the wind was not as savage in the morning and we all got used to riding pretty roasty sets sometimes as early as 7am.
Epic skyline at OG Hillfire trails, too.
Oppo table on "Halloween Hip" (named after us building it on Halloween).
Jason Watts with one of those incredible one foot table 360s over the jump called "P.B.O.D." at Hillfire. This was sometime in 2017. Jason really found his second home in Canberra during 2016 - 2019 and was always visiting. He loved this jump so much, it ended up becoming one of the slogans for Fast And Loose; Pull Back Or Die (P.B.O.D.).
Raine Turnbull and I named the jump this when we were originally building it back in 2011. Once we jumped it, we wish we called it P.T.S.D. (Push Through Still Die). It didn't quite have speed into it, or the yank we were hoping for. Many mods later and we fulfilled its namesake - which I think you can tell from how high Jason is going here.
This photo encapsulates Jack O'Reilly for sure. 4 pegs, but still loves ripping a table, and the smile on his face shows it. This was from a DIY spot that was built in Canberra in 2020 and lasted all but 6 weeks. It was an incredible spot though, hats off to the dudes who led the charge in building it.
Chris Doyle lived up to his legend when he visited Canberra for ACT Jam in 2017. Not only did he rip the jams in juggalo face paint, but he came to the trails and put on a show. I shot a photo of him tweaking a turndown 360 on this jump as well, but the 360 invert with Rhysty in tow takes the cake. This jump is the biggest in the line and Doyle made it look like easy work. I miss this spot.
Chris Harti with the moon boots strapped on tight! Harti is one of a kind in the amount of pump he can generate. I've never seen anyone go higher at a spot than him. Snail trails, Showtime jump, all the way up.
I started this spot called L.O.D. (Liberty Or Death) with the homies during COVID. It was only a couple hundred metres from my house and I'd just had a baby, so time was a little short. We managed to get a really fun line going in a few months and the intention was to ride them as much as we could. We also managed to have a lot of visitors come through in that time as well. Jason Watts with that decade/360 downside whip he does.
