10 questions with Jamie Goldman
nsmb: So Jamie, tell us how 2010 went down for the GOLD-man. Anything special or injuries, bent and twisted that stand out?
Jamie Goldman: Well, we all know that when you’re healthy at the beginning of a season and riding well, you expect a lot from yourself during the season. 2010 was going quite well, with a podium at every event that I went to, pre-injury. I was pretty stoked on my riding and even more so on staying healthy for the streak that I had. A crash at 26 Trix ruined the rest of my season.
Jamie Goldman throws a Superman seatgrab at Crankworx Colorado in 2007.
Left the comp with a broken collarbone and a surgery to be had. I was pretty disappointed in what had happened. My first comp back was Rampage and you can only image how stressful that was only having been riding a short while prior. Coming out of that alive was a great feeling. Ending the season with a 3rd at Andrew Taylor’s showdown felt really good.
nsmb: You’re from Santa Cruz, CA and moved to Bend, OR. Why the move?
JG: The move was for a few reasons. I was getting bored and it was time for a change. I had some money saved up and wanted to get into a house and take advantage of the recession pricing. I’ve always loved the snow and well… it doesn’t snow in Santa Cruz, and it’s really nice to have jumps in your backyard. 😉
Jamie rails his backyard berms. How much fun would that be to have a backyard like that?
nsmb: You have this cool house on acreage and can hit up your dirt jumps from your sundeck. Tell us more about your place.
JG: The house sits on five acres and it’s filling up with jumps. The more and more I have to deal with the dirt here falling apart, I start thinking about building all metal ramps. You can mix in bentonite, which is powdered clay, but that gets pricey and if you change the lip then you have to go get more every time. If I keep the lips mellow, I dont have too many problems but it’s getting hard to keep up on all the jumps that I have. Ramps may have to be the future of my jumps so I can ride more often rather than rebuilding all the time.
Not too much has changed about the jumps lately because my tractor broke, but my friend Kyle came over and helped me fix it yesterday so it’s on now! Im thinking about building a massive roll-in but I need to see how my neighbors feel about it first. It’s gonna be a little close to one of them. But it sure would be nice to have my deck back. Haha.
Tuck no hander in front of the house. Not only does he have his own jumps, he’s also got his own skid steer loader.
nsmb: Seems like Bend has become THE place to move to. You, Kirt Voreis and Sven Martin all call it home. Who else lives in Bend and what’s the biking scene like?
JG: The biking scene here is great. Hundreds of miles of trails, which are all legal thanks to COTA (Central Oregon Trail Association), are a great way to get out and spend the days. You can go ride for a whole day and never touch the same singletrack. I love it here. In the winter, it is pretty hard to get time in on the bike but I have been snowboarding tons and getting a lot better on the board. Believe it or not, it’s been helping me with riding a lot, too. It’s my favorite cross training slightly ahead of my moto.
There are a few younger guys that live in town that shred super hard. Carson Storch and Austin Aldrich come to mind. They both have ridiculous bike handling skills. They can both ride anything you throw at them, and do it with more style than you. Haha.
nsmb: You’re a mountain biker at heart, but like to use your hands for wood working and metalwork on your spread. What else do you do for fun?
JG: Yeah, I really love to build. That’s pretty much my motto. Whether it’s jumps, trucks, cabinets, furniture or anything else, I just love to make things. It’s a really cool feeling to see something that you drew up on a piece of paper come to life and work out the way you thought it would. It’s really my true passion. I was planning on going to school for general engineering before I got the chance to ride for a living. I really can’t complain. I get to do the two things I love all the time. I’m truly lucky that I have the support from all my sponsors. Thanks, guys.
Mr. Handyman, working and building the course at home in Bend, Oregon.
nsmb: When I visited you in April 2010, we worked on some of your backyard to get ready for your jam, Upside Down and Underground (UDUG). How did that all go down and who showed up? Doing it again in 2011?
JG: UDUG2010 was awesome. I had a great time and I feel like everyone else did, too. Hopefully, this year I can work out a few of the sketchy details like timing for the race and overall organization, but seriously, it went alot smoother than I thought. Haha. I definitely plan to do it again. It was great having everyone over. I think everyone will be stoked to see the changes I’ve made and the jam will go off this year for sure. Keep your eyes open for UDUG2011.
As you can tell, Jamie is a really serious kind of guy who doesn’t really like riding bikes very much.
nsmb: Jamie, what was your plan for the FMB Tour in 2010? How many events did you want to do and how did the events go for you? Do you like the idea of the FMB tour?
JG: I did a few events, just a lot less than I had planned due to the injury we talked about earlier. I think the series is great because it allows us to plan our seasons a lot easier. With dates up front, you can know when and where you’ll be throughout the year very easily. I think it’s pretty cool to have a number also. Mine’s not to great coming in at 19, but hopefully this year will be better.
I come from a racing background and that was always a big deal when I was younger. My ranking was something I always felt proud of. You work really hard and you watch yourself rise up through the ranks. It’s really cool for up-and-comers to see where they are weighing in at, too.
Jamie hitting the final drop at the Berrecloth Invitational for the win in 2008.
nsmb: I saw you at Red Bull Rampage, healthy and excited to compete. Was this your first Rampage and how was the event for you?
JG: Yep, I was a virgin at Rampage this year. I was pretty scared – not gonna lie. I will be much more prepared next year. I really can’t wait for it to happen again. It’s one of the coolest events I’ve ever been a part of. It was especially scary for me because I was just coming off of the collarbone and had barely ridden beforehand. I wasn’t very comfortable on the bike yet but I made it into the finals and was stoked about that. I’ll be ready to get some for the end of the world Rampage party 2012.
Jamie shows his big mountain style at Rampage.
nsmb: After the crazy weather, the pressure to qualify, how do you deal with that during comps?
JG: Weather always seems to come into play at events. You just gotta wait it out and play your cards when you get the chance. My comp got delayed a day and we ended up doing it at 9 am the next day so that we could make sure it wasn’t windy. It’s always a bummer to have to deal with weather but Mother Nature isn’t going anywhere so we gotta learn to work around her.
Dropping on the Rampage course. Soft landings are possible, but hard ones are a lot more common.
nsmb: What are your plans for 2011? Any contests or video shoots you can share with us?
JG: I am planning on having a slopestyle comp about an hour from my house at a motocross park that I have gotten permission to build on. No name yet and not even sure when the comp will happen but I can assure you when it does, you’ll wanna be there. It’s a perfect slope and I’m gonna make it how I feel slopestyle should be. Get ready, boys, and keep your eyes open. You’re not gonna miss this one!
I’ll also be working on a project with Solo Productions’ Mitch Cheek. I’ll probably film a lot of it out at the moto park. There is so much out there that I wanna build it’s amazing. I can’t wait for it to pan out.
Goldman on course at Rampage.
nsmb: Jamie, thanks for doing this and good luck in 2011.
JG: No problem, guys. Keep it real, nsmb! Go build something and shred it.
Is Jamie Goldman living your dream life? Do you wish you had your own backyard jumps, skid steer loader or home in Bend? Tell the whole internet, right here.
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