Words and Photos: Brian Barnhart
Eastside has become quite legendary in our humble niche of BMX trail riding and building. The jumps are sick, the locals rip, and the place attracts badasses from around the country, and the world. Returning as a visitor in 2018 to a scene that I was briefly a part of felt really awesome. The place has a draw that can not be denied, and although the jumps are some of the best I’ve ever ridden, it’s really the people that make Austin and Eastside such special places. Each local brings something unique to the scene, and although I wasn’t able to capture them all for this gallery, they are all burned into my memory as riders and individuals.
Like all trails, Eastside is ever evolving, with people coming and going and lines impacted by weather and schedules. I know there is at least one individual that all the locals miss. Trying my best to embrace the present experiences with the people that were there, I was smiling for two weeks straight. We had plenty of unforgettable sessions during my visit, and when I wasn’t catching laps with everyone, I was doing my best to capture the roast.
In my opinion, watching Matty Aquizap ride Speedball is one of the greatest things to experience right now in BMX. Table, Speedball hip.
Ryan Greene with a table on the Yolo hip.
Cody Martz, tabletop in the trees on QB Sneak.
Ashley Charles making the most of this jump at the bottom of the line.
Ever Peacock represents a young generation of shredders, a refreshing site in the woods. Here he boosts an extended one-footed table on QB Sneak.
Marky Tomasic has been spending the season in Austin, escaping the PA winter and doing turndowns like this one on QB.
You can see an undeniable influence in Ever Peacock’s riding coming from Clint Reynolds and Chris Hallman; not a bad combo. Huge kickout on QB
Tomas Kudrnac from Czech Republic was visiting for the week, bought a new Credence from Empire and killed the trails with moves like this one footed x-up on Mainline.
Matty Aquizap ripping a table on the Speedball hip.
Ashley Charles has embedded himself in the Austin scene over the last few years and gotten quite comfy flowing Eastside and Speedball.
I like this one because of Cody’s facial expression, he made it just fine.
Mark “Le Beast” Hall is always bringing the stoke. Table on the Speedball hip.
Chase Hawk came out for a session after some heckling from Lil Jon. Tabletop on Mainline.
Ryan Greene casually jumping the huge step-down on QB sneak
Marky Tomasic floating a one-footed table on the Speedball hip.
Tomas Kudrnac with a lookback on the Speedball hip.
Ashley Charles, ManualMike, and Cody Martz taking breather between laps.
Ashley Charles with another angle on the straight jump, max hang time.
