About/ Contact

I hate bikes began as a creative side project of Jason Van Horn, an Oregon native transplanted to the California Bay Area. Originally intended to be somewhat of a letter home to his former riding buddies letting them know about the great mountain biking in the Bay Area, it has grown to be a creative outlet, journal, and zine. It continues to focus on documenting mountain bike culture, and has evolved over the last two years to what it is now: a collection and archive of high quality riding photography and stories dedicated to essentially one thing: having good times with friends riding bikes.

After several years of living in San Francisco, I’ve returned to Portland, and brought Inga with me. We’re now 12 hours closer to Whistler.

To read the old mission statement, click here.
To read the mission statement from before that one, click here.

As for the name of the site- it’s a love/ hate thing. Those that get it, are in the know. Those that don’t: I hope you enjoy reading the stories and the pretty pictures anyway.

Contributors:

Jason Van Horn
Designer, Photographer, Writer, Skills Coach

email: jason{at}ihatebikes.net

Visit Jason’s Portfolio website

Bio: Armed with a fierce passion for anything with two wheels or a handlebar, Jason has been riding bikes of some form for as long as he can remember. There was a brief period in high school where bikes were replaced by skateboards, but he renounced his planking ways when he began college, when he discovered mountain bikes. Riding trails became his therapy, as well as his main reason to wake up in the morning. Initially a cross country rider and then later an cross country racer, he found that riding fast downhills and jumping off, over, and onto things made him happier than anything else. This lead down a slippery slope, when he took a break from school after a MTB road trip- his first pilgrimage to Moab.

He began his first stint in a bike shop as a mechanic at this time. After a season of wrenching on bikes, he returned to school in Eugene, Oregon, where he ended up riding more than he should have at the local BMX track, and on the local trails. Here he began to re-learn how to ride a bike (and paying his dues frequently in blood) with proper technique- first on a 24″ crusier, and then graduating to the real deal: a 20″ BMX. Time on a BMX bike honed his skills on the big wheels, and while he still owns a bike with little wheels, now he rides 26″ full time.  After ten years of riding bikes throughout the state of Oregon, he made his way south to San Francisco in order to pursue a career as a Web/ UI Designer.

In addition to freelancing as a Web Designer and Photographer, Jason also has begun coaching others in mountain bike skills. Unlike many other naturally talented athletes, he was not naturally gifted, and therefore spent countless hours breaking down technique, and watching bike videos in order to progress his riding to its current level. Time spent studying martial arts and the swing dance Lindy Hop also taught him how to teach others.

Jason rides an number of different mountain bike styles including Down Hill, Freeriding, All Mountain, as well as street, park and dirt jumps. While his favorite thing to do is point his bike down the trail, he also tries to use his bikes as transportation as much as possible in his day to day life. His favorite tricks are suicide no-handers, 180s, table tops, whips, no-footers, and tries to make his one-handers look halfway as cool as Hacksaw’s. His current goal is to learn no-foot can-cans, get his tuck no-handers on lock-down, and finally land a 360 clean.

Jason is a founding member of the newly formed Lower Columbia Bike Project- a coalition of cyclists in Clatsop County that have gathered to increase cycling opportunities in the Lower Columbia region near Astoria, Oregon. He is also a member of the Northwest Trails Alliance in Portland, Oregon, the SF Urban Riders in San Francisco, and has recently begun to work with the Westside Trail Federation. (WTF)

Jason is available for freelance web design and photography and is currently seeking full time employment in the Portland area. If you need web design, marketing and/or content development please contact me.

Follow Jason on Twitter
http://twitter.com/ihatebikes

Inga Beck
Editor, Photography Assistant, Marketing Outreach

email: inga{at}ihatebikes.net

Visit Inga’s Blog (under development)

Bio: Inga is a city dwelling mountain biker who purchased her first mountain bike 11 years ago.  She lives for the weekend when she is free to explore new technical trails, park and shuttle runs, and street riding. As a city dweller, she enjoys the freedom from car ownership and commutes via public transportation with her bike. She has worked as a Data Analyst for several non-profits. In addition to her addiction to bikes, she loves traveling, road trips, bodybuilding, surfing, yoga,  rock climbing, and fashion.

She is also a certified Personal Trainer and understands the value of exercise, nutrition and alternative medicine.  Several days a week, she trains and lifts with her friends in a gym.  She is a firm believer of weight training and wants to continue to educate men and women on the benefits of bodybuilding.
Inga’s favorite trick is a fat powerslide. She recently learned how to bunny hop, and is stoked on how much her riding and technically skills has progressed this year.  Her current goal is to continue to develop her emerging bunny hop skills and apply it to dirt jumping and downhill trails, as well as training for Super D events.

Follow Inga on Twitter
http://twitter.com/IngaBeck