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Man, the COB took place last night. It was nuts but we had to leave for the party straight away so the update had to wait. I’m in the bus right now on the way to the airport. It was a short night, let me tell ya. Some made it straight to the 7am shuttle bus but the 2 hours of sleep felt good. The Circle Of Balance is a unique event. Basically 18 top pro flatland riders get invited to ride the contest of their lives. This time it took place in Tokyo, Japan after the two previous editions were held in Oberhausen, Germany.

By being invited I mean the real deal; flight paid for, hotel paid for, prize money guaranteed, riders package from sponsors (including custom COB stuff from Carhartt, a Sony MP3 player and Casio G-Shock watch) and a good party to end the whole thing. Judges, media, DJ’s, MC’s and “opinion leaders” flew over as well and together you had a good flatland crew together. 

Los Angeles based clothing company Lavar proudly presents its first series of customized t-shirts in collaboration with pro rider/artist Jim Bauer. During the course of the last 6 months Jim first designed the Lavar print and then treated each shirt with a combination of dye, bleach, LA sunlight, paint, needle and thread, and whatever else he could think of.

The Mutiny x The Shadow Conspiracy frame kit Collaboration project is about to hit the streets. All fine retailers world wide should have these limited edition of only 200 kits by March 15th. They are also releasing a limited edition Shadow x Mutiny t-shirt that will be dropping the same time as the frames. Click on the picture to get a better view on the frame.

The new day has started and we just had some breakfast. We got this flyer of a German jam and realized it's happening today. Good thing we're 9 hours ahead over here in Japan. So if you're close enough to Rollrausch in Wermelskirchen you can still get there today and don't forget to bring your sleeping bag as it's an open end jam so you can sleep in the office or in the park when you're ready to pass out. Doors open at 3pm.

Today the brackets were drawn for the Red Bull Circle Of Balance flatland contest in Japan. 6 riders were automatically seeded according to their previous COB results. There was a full day of practice and some rehearsals took place for the sold out show tomorrow. The battle system will leave one rider as the winner. After the draw today, the 6 groups are looking like this:

Japan is a good place if you're looking for some exclusive shoes. Some models are made specifically for the Japanese market and that's the case with some of the VANS shoes we ran into in the Shibuya area.

If you have a Vans shoe fetish, drool over these photos. I'm sure there is a pair in there that you've never seen before.

Now check on that flight to Tokyo.......

Sidewall Distribution, the exclusive distributor of Hoffman Bikes and SMPL BMX in the US, is pleased to announce the addition of SNAFU to its growing portfolio of leading BMX components, apparel and accessories for Independent Bicycle Dealers. Says SNAFU co-founder Harold "McGoo" McGruther of the Sidewall alliance: "Sidewall and SNAFU are a perfect fit. When Sidewall founder Mark Owen worked at Hoffman bikes, he was among the first product managers in the business to spec his complete bikes with SNAFU components. Mike Collins is SNAFU's brand manager. Before joining SNAFU, Mike and Mark were OKC neighbors and co-workers at the Hoffman Sports Association, the organization that brought BMX and freestyle to ESPN."

This one is for the old school BMX-ers out there:
-WHEN: Saturday Only - May 12th
-WHERE: Oak Creek BMX in Roseville, CA. During the ABA NorCal Nationals
-WHO: All Vintage BMX collectors are invited!
-WHAT & WHY: Bring your bikes to display, meet other collectors, swap & sell parts, and vote for “Best Bikes of Show” in multiple categories, or just take a stroll thru memory lane. 

It's a little too much for the Albes site but we can make it work here on the FATBMX pin-up section. We don't believe the dude is going to be happy with this but, whatever. Don't look at the guy, look at the girl. Her nipples are covered. Kinda.