Tuesday, June 30, 2009

BOND : 06.27 : The Aftermath


The return to the Westside...

Not like that many of you knew, but I told several of you kids we'd be playing near Giant Robot over on Sawtelle. I finally scouted the maps late that night, and was destroyed to find a Police Dispatch near the end point of one. As of right now, those two maps (which looked REALLY fun) are indefinitely shelved until I can work out a deal with the Santa Monica PD. Yeah right...

Things turned out great though. About 50 people showed up, including some old pals of mine who aren't regulars but are well on their way. We had lots of new faces, and I'm pretty sure the nights run saw the greatest spread in regards to age. I fucked up and didn't get a chance to get personal, but a Dad brought his young kids out for the run. They were all super hardcore, and I'm pretty sure they had a great time. It was really great to see. You guys are welcome always.

Everyone loves the Gauntlet, except one household near Palms and Grandview. I think we startled them with some squealing tires and kids crashing through their foliage. I seen them at their window looking our nervously.
"We're really sorry, we're just playing hide and seek." I said to em.
"Not here you aren't." They replied.
Within 5 minutes about 15 people told me they were told the coppers were being called. I wasn't too worried about it, and as the last of our people rolled in, the Cops blazed up Grandview sirens roaring. They drove RIGHT PAST US!!! It was fucking hilarious. All 50 of us were standing there in the middle of the street, obvious as fuck, and they didn't give much of a shit.

We regrouped behind the liquor store at palms/centinela, and saw the cops again. Aaron, Quasada (in his fucking chroma green full body suit), and I approached them slowly and chatted it up. We gave them the scoop, told them that no one was trying to get into the liquor store, and they were off. I always try to tell any Police we talk to to "be safe tonight". Cause lets be honest, sometimes they're putting their life on the line... not often... but sometimes.

In all seriousness though, I want everyone to acknowledge how tight the Mar Vista Police are. We have NEVER been shut down by them... EVER. I've never had any problems with them, as opposed to SMPD. So the next time you want to tell that cop to FUCK off or whatever... if they are MVPD, say something nice instead.

It seemed like everyone LOVED "The Airduct" So that made me happy. I'm glad we got to try a new map. Measuring in at 1.5 miles, its the longest direct route map we have in our arsenal! The next longest "The Big Sleep AKA Bristol Farms" is 1.2 miles. So congrats to all of you that actually made it. The Airduct has a fucking gnarly stretch of road with no cover that I feel needs to be dubbed "No Mans Land". I'm also going to have to reiterate and get specific on our camping rules, as I heard several protests and actually witnessed it myself. Though in their defense, I believe they acted without malice. Tee hee hee.

Did anyone actually see Chris Quasada running through the streets in his green suit? I fucking missed him when we were driving. Shit was bonkers.

Thanks you guys for continuing to come out.
See you next month.

P.S. Does anyone give a shit about these long posts?

BOND : 05.16 : The Aftermath


A month late and a buck short...

The Return to your Roots Ground Zero BOND tour was a fresh breath of air. Nothing like reliving the glory days. Nostalgia, yadda yadda. Thanks to everyone who made the horrifying trek to San Pedro. Not many people made it out, but those that did proved their worth in spades.

We played a total of 3 maps, which just so happened to be the same 3 maps I played on my first run ever. The first map, "Ground Zero", was beautiful. When I played for the first time, we cautiously ran down Western on a huge hill, ending up in a expansive skin destroying thorn patch. I remember dragging my way through with my elbows military style with Dylan and Gus, eventually making our way to the neighborhood stretch. Shit was epic.

This time around I drove, encountering MANY exciting chase battles. Highlights of the night include busting my lady Pix, but losing her partner... only to end things off in a pedal to the medal chase down at the last 100 feet of the map. We narrowly missed him, David slamming full force into the concrete wall. No time to risk slowing down for safety sake. For Death and Glory. Also, several times on the map we passed a jogger clad in grey wearing a bright high visibility blinking safety light on his forehead running down the middle of the street. Only in the last few moments of the map did we realize it was one of the Godfathers, JUSTIN, who decided to go balls out and run clearly in the open. We tagged him in the last block of the map, but in my mind... he made it. And does anyone remember the fucker in the hatchback burning around the median doing personal time trials, nearly clipping several people?

The second map, "Home of the Sailors", was rad and went off without a hitch. The pitch black park at the center of the map was a great place to catch your breath if you were lucky enough not to get stabbed by gangsters. I believe David Ra's car, filled with chaser Luke Silas did not manage to catch a single person... correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember seeing fury in Lukes eyes... After that, a bunch of kids bounced, but there was enough hardcore folks who stuck around for the third... a ridiculous sprawling vista called "The Busy Bee".

I drove yet again as no one wanted to volunteer. The first 25 minutes we didn't see a single soul. It was quite contrasted to the first map where we saw plenty of action. Eventually we caught one person, but that was about it. As the time was called, we realized that one of our group was MIA. A few phonecalls later, and we realized that he was several miles away... in the EXACT SAME SPOT where some friends and I had wound up when we got disconnected from the locals and wound up horribly lost the first time I played. I don't think he was having fun, but it was the fucking perfect way for me to end the evening.

Thanks to everyone who came out. I hope we make it back down to San Pedro again. Thanks to Justin and Ivan for putting the time into making the official maps, and hosting everyone in their little town. Those of you that didn't make it, you're blowin it.

PS. I'm still looking for this camera. I believe it was left in someones car. Look for it, I'd really appreciate it.



PS. Did anyone read all of this shit?

Saturday, June 27, 2009

BOND : 06.27 - The Maps!!!

Shit guys, I'm really sorry about the last minute fuckup. I physically scouted the maps in person at like 3:30 am yesterday, and found the police station. I feel like an idiot... Instead, heres whats up.

First, The Gauntlet... backwards!

We're meeting up in the Whole Foods Lot across from our regular endpoint. Check the map for a little icon. Don't miss it! Then we'll move on to...

The Airduct

I finally got around to scoping it out in person, and after a few minor tweaks, I think its going to be really fun. We'll cross the street from the gauntlet, regroup, end get underway.

Again be sure to look at the little icons on the map. Theres some important info you won't want to miss. Be prompt motherfuckers. Lets try to start before 11 tonight huh?

BOND : 06.27 - Oh Shit!

I fucked up. The new shit i was scouting looked to be a good thing... except for the fact that theres a fucking police station ON THE MAP!

I'm scrambling to figure out exactly what we're gonna play right now, but since everything went to shit its gonna have to be some classics.

Please check your email again tomorrow afternoon. I'll try to have the nights maps posted by 3 oclock. Its safe to say we're playing mar vista.

Friday, June 19, 2009

BOND : 06.27


It is time goddamn it.

I owe you guys a follow up and pics from last months Ground Zero run. Thats coming soon, but for now lets look towards the future!

Lots of things going on that are exciting little ole me. I've succumbed to the darkside and joined facebook. Theres an official BOND group that I hope will enrich the community as a whole. It's an open network, so get over there and join.
BOND on Facebook

You also might notice that I've registered www.hideandseekwithcars.com. Its a husk of a site right now, but things may eventually get more legit over there. For now this is still the place to be.

If you kids have any other "fresh" ideas for furthering the BOND cause, shoot them at me.

Maps to come next week.
See you on the streets!