Joyride 150 Tag

21 Jan

Posted at 20:42h in archive by

A decade ago, if someone had said that Canada would one day have a 100,000 square foot indoor bike park, you wouldn’t have believed them. Indoor skateparks were hard enough to keep going, imagine a bike only park with essentially 7 skateparks in one building? There’s no way.

A couple months ago, Joyride 150 had it’s 5 year anniversary. Not only did a 100,000 square foot indoor bike only park open in Markham, ON, Canada, it’s been successful enough to be open for over 5 years now.

Saying Joyride 150 has had a huge impact on BMX in Canada would be an understatement. The GTA and Ontario scene have grown enormously with the help of Joyride 150, having an amazing indoor park available to riders for the 6 months of the year where riding outside is not possible has been huge. Not to say it isn’t a ton of fun in the summer either.

One of the most amazing things about this park is no matter how many edits you’ve seen of it, photos, or anything else, nothing prepares you for your first visit. Walking into the building you slowly realize how humongous the park actually is, you quickly realize why people have traveled from across the world to shred this park. Same can be said about the layout, you can try and study it but until you ride it, you won’t fully understand it!

From the countless edits that have come out of Joyride (including Drew Bezansons legendary ones! 1 and 2), countless jams and just everyday sessions, we are very fortunate to have Joyride 150 in Canada. Some of the talentedCanadian riders we know today (Drew Bezanson, Brandon Webster, Mike Gray, Mike Varga, Ryan Eles, and more) have really benefited from riding Joyride 150 throughout the winters.

Below are  few photos of the overall of the park. As mentioned above, these photos do not do the park justice by any means, you have to ride it to fully comprehend it. If you’ve never had to chance to ride this place, it’s unreal, make the trip!

10 Jan

Posted at 10:22h in archive by
Mike Gray Joyride chillin'. Photo by Joel Fortin

Mike Gray Joyride chillin’. Photo by Joel Fortin

The first time I met Mike was at a tiny park in Elmvale Ontario. He rolled in, cruised around for a little bit and then did a huge 180 and snapped his head tube clean off. It looked pretty damn bad, but he didn’t seem too phased and instantly stood up and laughed it off. It was crazy. Since then Mike has made many moves, including getting picked up by various sponsors and making his way down to good ol’ California. For anyone who isn’t familiar with the dude, Mike is one of the best riders to have come out of Canada in the last few years, he’s made a name for himself by constantly producing ridiculous web videos, killing it at various contest, and just being a G. While he was back in the Toronto area for the holidays, I decided to hit him up to see what he’d been up to lately.

What’s good Mike, thanks for doing this interview! How you been?
Hey Joel, been good. Not totally healthy, I’ve had a pretty bad ankle injury for a couple months that is healing up well. Besides that I’ve been in good spirits and staying happy off my bike.

So first off how old are you, where are you from and where are you currently living?
22 from Newmarket, Ontario currently living in San Diego CA.

Mike Gray Toothpick. Photo by Joel Fortin

Mike Gray Toothpick. Photo by Joel Fortin

What first got you into bmx?
Riding the warehouse. A small indoor skatepark in Toronto. It was where all the local pros rode and it taught me that bike riding is all about having a good time with your friends.

You definitely have a unique style in the sense that you ride bigger setups than most people, what influenced you to start riding the way you do?
Thanks dude. I grew up riding with amazing people and I feel like we all influenced each other to go bigger. Sometimes I feel like a big drop is less gnarly than a flat rail … I guess it just depends what your used to and comfortable doing. I am stoked on anything dope.

Who did you look up to when you started riding? And who do you look up to now?
I looked up to Darren Berrecloth when I was a kid. Brandon Semenuk, Ryan Guettler, Colin Mackay, and of course everyone in Dave mirra freestyle BMX. The majority of my time on a BMX I have been looking up to Garret, Dennis, Chad, Simone, and pretty much everyone.

What is a typical day in the life in Cali for you?
If I’m healthy, it probably starts with a park session at one of the many local parks in the SD area, and throughout the day probably find me hangin’ and filming with the homies. Maybe go surf and play some ping pong and eat some delicious sandwiches.

Who do you ride with out there?
My roommate yuungfern, Dennis, Christian, Connor, Chris Martinez, Josh Rosengreen, Glen, Blake Peters, Doeby, Joey, Demarcus and all the locals! Theirs a lot of dope crews all over the city.

Mike Gray. Photo by Joel Fortin

Mike Gray. Photo by Joel Fortin

Where did you travel to this year and what destination was your favorite?
Favorite place was Malaysia for sure. Going on a journey to the other side of the world with a few friends/riders that I look up to so much, everything about the trip was ideal and surreal.

What are you into outside of bmx?
Family, Girls, Good food, music, surfing, hanging with friends, having a good time.

Well I think that’s it! Any shout outs?
Thanks for this opportunity Joel, you’ve been killing it lately.
Shout out to everyone that supports me: Joe, John, Colin and everyone at Haro Bikes, Brian and Joey at Demolition Parts, Jerry Badders at Vans. Cam and Howie at Sensus, My Parents and all my friends.

Follow @mikegraybmx on instagram

15 May

Posted at 19:34h in archive by

BIKP-140500-SKETCH-03_USE

Ever wonder who the man behind the indoor bicycle only park in Markham, Ontario (Joyride150) is? In a world where it has become easier and easier to talk the talk, Mark Summers walks the walk. Mark has had a passion for cycling most of his life and through Joyride 150, he has allowed many more to share this passion. Bike Mag have an interesting interview with Mark here ; from taking his wife on a bike ride on their 3rd date, to his 69′ Nova, and beyond, this is a very interesting read put together by Colin Field. Joyride 150 has done great things for the GTA BMX scene and on behalf of anyone who has ridden Joyride, thanks for keeping us sane all winter Mark!

27 Mar

Posted at 09:58h in archive by

Drew Bezanson - Action
For anyone who’s ever wished they could have the opportunity to ride with Drew Bezanson, this Saturday is your chance! Joyride 150 are hosting the Nothing But Fun, Drew Bezanson invitational Red Bull event and you have the opportunity of riding with Drew and friends (Anthony Napolitan, Mike Hucker Clark, Tyler Fernengel, Michael Beran, Brian Hunt, Morgan Wade and Dean Cueson). This should be quite a time, even if you don;t plan to ride, I can only imagine the kind of things this crew of guys will be doing in the big room. The jam starts at 1pm, click here for full details.

10 Mar

Posted at 10:44h in archive by

Chris Silva spent a quiet afternoon at Joyride 150 recently and pieced together this interesting solo edit. It’s not often that this park is visibly this quiet, so he went to work with some pegless rail moves, wallrides, and some new whip maneuvers for himself. Can you feel it?

Filmed & Edited by Peter Almeida
Song: The Fat Boys – Can You Feel It

12 Jan

Posted at 12:40h in archive by

An evening at Joyride with Chijioke Okafo and Chris Cadot. We started filming at 7pm, with the hopes of getting 5 clips each, all was said and done by 9:50pm, with 10 minutes to spare before closing. Winter is what you make of it and although nothing beats riding outdoors with your buds, we’re fortunate to have places like Joyride in Canada to keep us occupied over the winter. Thanks to Chi and Chris for making this happen!

Filmed and Edited by Jeremy Deme.

21 Oct

Posted at 09:36h in archive by

markit_premiere_poster_web

It’s been one hell of a year for videos. With the Cult video at the start of the year, Deadline just recently, and now the Markit DVD. They premiered it at Austin, TX this past weekend, and now Ten Pack Distribution are bringing it to Canada and we’ll get to see it for the first time this Saturday, October 26th at Joyride 150. It’s $15 for the session after 7:00pm, and the video starts at 8:00pm. There will be a jam in the street room and you can pick up a copy of the DVD at the premiere. If you’re in the GTA make it out for what should be one hell of a video. Check out the Facebook event here, and we’ll see everyone there.