Gangs Of New Jersey Jon Coen for EXPN.com
When did everything become so "dirty?" In the past few years, the accompaniment of the filthy adjective with the name of a city, state, or region has served to bolster said area's cred—"The Dirty Jerz," "The Dirty South," "Dirty Diego." It's all very cute, but there is a town on the famed Jersey Shore that has a history for being seedy, decrepit, and quite run down. Asbury Park was dirty before it was cool and is a fitting place for Red Bull to drop Down & Dirty, an event that is bringing BMX heavies out of the dark shadows this weekend. Anne Coen One of Asbury Park's many decrepit seaside structures. Asbury Park was the perfect Seaside retreat in the early part of the 1900's. New York City families could travel by rail to Asbury's beach, boardwalk, theatres, and amusements. But fires, race riots, and an expanding Jersey Shore tourism market brought a demise to Asbury. It rang as deep as Springsteen lyrics. This once proud city by the sea became the East Coast's version of Dogtown. Skeletons of abandoned buildings stood between classic architecture that was falling to the ground. But like all good "dirty" places, there was an element that thrived among the ruins. Asbury Park became home to artists, tattoo parlors, and fringe dwellers. Venues like the Stone Pony, the Fastlanes, and the Saint became legendary. Skaters and BMX riders found a haven among the rubble and swimming pools. The much-loved Casino Skatepark existed briefly, thanks to a motorcycle gang, in the once-famous Casino Amusement landmark. courtesy of Red Bull The once proud Asbury Park Casino will soon get down and dirty. Though realtors may tout the rebuilding of Asbury Park and the criminal element is largely cleaned up, the gangs returned to Asbury this week—not the Bloods and the Crips, but bicycle gangs from all over the world. Down and Dirty is highlighing Asbury's grittier aspects, allowing riders to get busy on a one-of-a-kind street course, including an articulated bus and an NYC cab with ballistic rails and jersey barriers. In the great tradition of street gangs, the dope "peddlers" will compete in teams, with squads rolling in from around the globe. Jersey boy, Van Homan, representing Team Pirates, has actually seen the inside of a jail cell in this rough town. "The Casino has a lot of fond memories for me. After the skatepark (inside) closed down, we used to sneak in there all the time to ride the bowl until we got arrested. That sucked," he recalls, "Lots of good pool sessions too. It was sad to see the best pool I've ever ridden get torn out. And I remember some good shows at the Stone Pony." courtesy of Red Bull Tom White, Tyrone Williams and Edwin De La Rosa take a slight pause in ripping to catch up on their text messaging. While Homan is considered by many to be a Philly rider, he has the Garden State Turnpike running through his veins. He recently opened a core-only BMX shop, called Two by Four in his hometown of Pennsville. He was just out slaying Asbury's streets last week. "I don't know what's in store," admits Edwin De La Rosa, "and I kind of like it that way. All I heard was that it was sketchy." De La Rosa came up on two wheels in Brooklyn, New York City (...where they paint murals of Biggie...) riding sans breaks through the grit. He, Vinnie Sammon, Ruel "Wormz" Smith, and Tyrone Williams are repping Team Zoo York. "But I'm down with that. That's where the good spots are, where it's sketchy," he adds. courtesy of Red Bull Brooklyn's Edwin De La Rosa grinds a dirty feeble down this Asbury ledge. De La Rosa isn't a contest jock, but this event is bringing him and the other OG's out of the competitive woodwork. Louisville's Jimmy LeVan hasn't competed in four years. You may remember him as the hellraiser who was scolded when he gapped out of the course into an uninsured area at X Games IX. "It just sounds like fun," says LeVan, riding for Team Electronical, "I competed for a long time, but I was just over it. This one seems interesting because I heard the course is so whacky. There used to be that awesome pool in Asbury and the guys that are riding sound like fun dudes." So fun, in fact, that when legendary English ruffians, Bas Keep, Dan Lacey, Robin Felon, and Bruce Crisman heard about it, they rallied and flew across the pond to get dirty themselves. The riders have been in town for a few days, sussing out the course and the city by the sea. The real gang warfare happens on Sunday, when there's $10,000 on the line at the Asbury waterfront in that gorgeous old Casino. ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com
