One of my unforgetables....

I always had two groups of friends - BMX and school. They were so different (and so was I, depending on the group), that they never mixed. My school friends and I were very tight, but they never saw me race. One time, just before I quit racing at age 18 or so, they came to a big local in Miami. There was a very hot open class series going on, and I was not doing well at all.

I knew they might never see me race again, so I tried to get pumped, but it wasn't until my bud, Mike Crehan grabbed my handlebars and yelled at me, "You are going to win this!" (or something like that), that I magically (and illogically) believed I could do it. When I got on the gate, my school friends wanted to cheer me, but that would not have been "cool", so they shouted out an inside joke. I was stoked.

The gate dropped, I popped, and I ran like I was prey. Never saw anyone. That was definately a high you can't buy.

non-racing:
meeting bob haro and hanging out with pete loncarevich at the '79 nationals in Lansing, Mi. Capital Area Supercross was huge back then and I waited for what seemed like an eternity to beat some of the top 10 experts in the country. 2 weeks before the race I blew out my ankle and couldn't race. Bob drew a killer Grab-On kid character on the back of my Nationals t-shirt, then encouraged me not to give up. Pete taught me about the mental side of racing....I as bummed because none of the class could even come close to my times! I remember chucking my stopwatch in digust and Pete told me about channeling my negative energy and coming back faster than ever.

Racing:
Going 2 years straight without even losing a moto. The competition was not as big as in the late 70's, but I missed a bunch of races and still won the season championship in 13 expert.

I was a little younger than John Tomac but remember placing just behind him in an open class.

non-racing:
meeting bob haro and hanging out with pete loncarevich at the '79 nationals in Lansing, Mi. Capital Area Supercross was huge back then and I waited for what seemed like an eternity to beat some of the top 10 experts in the country. 2 weeks before the race I blew out my ankle and couldn't race. Bob drew a killer Grab-On kid character on the back of my Nationals t-shirt, then encouraged me not to give up. Pete taught me about the mental side of racing....I as bummed because none of the class could even come close to my times! I remember chucking my stopwatch in digust and Pete told me about channeling my negative energy and coming back faster than ever.

Racing:
Going 2 years straight without even losing a moto. The competition was not as big as in the late 70's, but I missed a bunch of races and still won the season championship in 13 expert.

I was a little younger than John Tomac but remember placing just behind him in an open class.

clmiller-

That wouldn't have been the infamous "King of the Wheels" series at Homestead, would it? Semis in open class every Saturday - great stuff. Remember the "$1000 purse" final? I think Shader won it.

How about the great "dual slalom" comps at Oleta?

Ken Robison

Kenny,

Yeah, that was it. Used to travel 100 miles to Homestead for that, picking up Crehan and or Reardon on the way. Troy Irving (the South African rhyno) was the man to beat then, but there was also J.Bruno, Wild Wade, Adam Johnson, and I forgot his name (the guy from Miami who supposedly got killed in the hurricane - untrue).
The main was always around midnight. Then, an hour playing around at Burger King, and the drive home, in bed by 3AM! I remember falling asleep at the wheel like 10 times in one trip and running over hundreds of snakes sleeping on Krome Ave. Were they real??

I talked to Troy about 5 years ago. He's was doing well and is a cop in South Africa. Dangerous place to be a cop for sure. Crehan posts on here, not sure if you knew that or not.

Everyone I've met as an adult I've compared to Troy and his parents. Chris, was that Ryan Phillips you weere thinking of? I also remember Timmy Judge raced a few of those races, mainly the early ones. And don't forget the swarms of gnats and mosquitoes there.

CHris, Bill Prince posted that you had something to do with the Japanese and the Olympics? That's a cool gig.

Ken

remember when they redid boystown and it had that long left handed front straight into a double into a too small first turn.they had a fence over the first turn for everyone to hit when you were pushed over.semi to a main to get pushed over the turn,but everyone stayed to watch older cruiser-open-20 mains because you were the **** just for making the main.

having my son introduced as a second generation racer at his first race.made me feel proud and...uh...old...in a vintage way.

having my son introduced as a second generation racer at his first race.made me feel proud and...uh...old...in a vintage way.

I remember that redesign at Boystown. THe jump going into the turn was a double on the inside with no way to manual and a table on the outside. I also remember Bill Green catching a lot of flak for having too many jumps. I remember him explaining to parents that the jumps were actually safer because speed caused bad wrecks. Fast forward to today's tracks. I wonder if he's seen any?

Remember the Donald Simpkin's line down the third straight. I remember him moving cones just so he could hit it right.

1983 or 84 Jaime Burrows and i took the profile trailer from ST.pete ,fla. to california .WE stayed with the rupe's and raced on a week day at the legendary "downs " track ,rode the fire trails and went cruising the strip. then raced the magic mountain race . what a trip !!

Checking out my buddy Charles' new truck for earning ABA Pro #1, then watching him and my Dad trying to figure out how he was going to pay the income taxes on all the money he won that year


ahh, the good old daze..

While I have many fond memories of the old days racing and freestyling, they were spent up in Ontario, Canada. That meant about 5 months a year being able to ride, and viewing all of our heros from the pages of BMX Plus and BMX Action.

But fast forward to Interbike 2002, and the Ride NORA cup / Ramp Up The Jawn reunion at The Hop bar near the strip in Vegas. Hands down this had to be one of the biggest parties ever with all the biggest stars of our sport from all the eras in one place at one time. From "Dizz" Hicks, to Van Homan, to Hugo Gonzalez, to Mike Parenti, to Stu Thomsen, to Mat Hoffman, to Gary Turner, to Ceppie Maes, to Perry Kramer, to Dennis McCoy, to Bob Haro, the Plywood Hoods, over half the entire Skyway team... you get the picture. At 33, this was the first time in my life I had seen many of these BMX legends in the flesh. And it was the absolute bomb to get to talk to them and get to know them as something more than a picture in a magazine.

I doubt I will ever see the day again with that many old, mid and new school riders all kicking back and enjoying each others' company in one spot. Not to mention my Ramp Up The Jawn "Vision Streetwear" style shirt that has the signatures of everybody I could lay my hands on that evening...

Eric

Nice story Brut....

Like so many other people, the list could go on a while. I guess one of the more sentimental memories was my first 15X win. There was a kid who I called "orange pants guy". I never did know his name, but I could not beat him for ****e. Then one day afer discovering I could squat over 300 pounds at the ripe age of 15 I figured I needed a bigger front sprocket (Never actually added up the numbers, just figured the stronger your legs were the bigger gear you needed). I started running a 47-16(from 44-16) combo. I was up against orange pants guy about two weeks later. I knew I felt faster, but was still figuring the second place trophy had my name on it. I smoked him out of the gate, put my head down and cranked untill I saw the finish line judge. Orange pants guy was out of sight and I figured he burned me again. Lo and behold, he was crossing the line as I was catching my breath! I beat him by a good 20 feet. I walked up to him at the sign up window as we were picking up trophies and stuck out my hand with a friendly "hey man, it was nice to finally win one..you`ve been making me work too hard this year!". He shot me this really sour look and didn`t say anything. he started racing open class all the time because I didn`t have enough wins yet. What a buster...

82 IBMXF Dayton OH 16x 6th place

2 That stand out for me:

#1
84 Ironman Classic Howell NJ. Before going I was warned that I would have to race against Butch "The Weasal" Loyd and that the competition would be like an NBL National. I made the main along with The Weasal, Paul Prestis, Mark Zalewski and Gibby Graner (all good National guys at the time) and felt I did not have a chance in hell....My father saw I was nervous and took me aside and told me that "some buddy has to win it and there is no reason it can't be me" not very deep but it worked...Won it with a holeshot!!! That day gave me the confidence to go up against anybody. I did go on to win ABA Nationals and run top 3 at NBL nats.

#2
JC Armory. 1st Moto of 15x riding for Factory TNT, just a silly little single points race. Competition there was always pretty good but this moto sticks in my head as the closest thing to a perfect race I ever had. The gate dropped and I remember looking over and it seemed like I was 3 bikes ahead instantly, then 6 by the first jump. The world was moving in slow motion and I just destroyed everybody effortlessly, it was such an incredible feeling. I guess that is what people mean by being in the zone..I will never forget that feeling. In retrospect, maybe I jumped the gate....

Good thread
Kmart

mine would have to be when i was 12 i won the npsa grands at my home track in cape coral ,fla. and gettin the #1 plate that year.uhm to be young and fast again the good old days

My favourite personal moment was finding out how to swing my bike into a Tabletop & ride away neatly from it , it was like hearing the sound of one hand clapping.After the my first Tabletop I kept on going & pushing it till I snapped a spoke on my rear tuffwheel on heavy landing from a 1 handed Tabletop.After that getting quality airtime became an addiction , that you would go anywhere to find & try anything to get a fix.

Public Glory , sharing some space on a national BMX magazine cover with a Global icon.


Best Memories of all , hooking up with a friend or 2 & going out for a ride , it was always an adventure , never knowing where you'd end up. Meet up with other ppl on BMX bikes , strangers throwing glass bottles at us on the streets , riding skateparks or river jumping. A day out on BMX bike was always a blast. No cares , no worries , just living the life....


glory days.

If you never won a race , tropy or title , bitd , don't worry , winning a trophy title etc was nothing compared to the adventures we all had , " just riding around."

JB

Amen!

Buckle

Back in the day the guys from the U.S.A came to Australia and raced at Windsor bmx track. Watching riders like Greg Hill, Stu Thompson, etc. etc was something i'll never forget.
Beating Dean Crisp and the rest of the pro class once. It was a best 2 out of 3 pro race for a car...a restored hg holden. My only pro win in 2 years.
Most recent has been a days riding with 1 time world freestyle champion Luke Fink.... allso rode with the Macneil team at Kuraby sk8park...that was cool!!!

a few...

Nomination to the ABA Hall of Fame

Carrying the American Flag three years in a row at Rockford during the parade lap

Phone call from Skip Hess in 1975 when he asked me to be on the Mongoose factory team.

2nd place Team Trophy at this years GRANDS! Still the worst team in America!

But the very best highlight would have to be the great friends I have made during the years!!!

Great stuff Jetninjablack, Love the shots. Hows my shorts ! I'm wearing the red boardies leanin against the trailer.
I dont have any pics of those days!
Can you send me any you have? Please!!!!

My highlight was meeting Oz and then seeing my picture in BMXA. WM

Hmmm... I'd say my 15 minutes, well, more like 30 seconds of fame involving bmx was when I was on Americas Funniest Home Videos back in 1988. I was riding an "Invisible halfpipe". Basically a rope hanging from a tree branch, with a tire at the bottom. You then put your arms and upper body through the tire and pedalled. Worked like a pendulum.

Actually have a clip of it at here:

http://bmxfreestyler.com/video.html

Jeff

I have so many great memories from the BMX ACTION years that it's just not possible to select one as being the best (although reading and answering DEAR WIZ letters, making up stories about Capt. Cosmo, covering races, watching guys like Greg Hill and Richie Anderson and Doug Davis and Jason Jensen and Stevie Skibel and Derick Garcia race...AND being friends with them, and witnessing the unbelievable things BMXers and freestylers were doing are a few things that jump out right now).

But a fairly recent thing that ranks with the best of those great old memories is when I got on VINTAGE BMX and was told of the impact BMX ACTION magazine had on a lot of you guys when you were kids. Back then I knew I was doing my best and I believed the magazine was really good and I was really proud of it, but I just had no idea!

That was like winning an Oscar for past achievments. No, it was better than that. More real, or more human or something.

Add Rockford 2005 and you've got a couple memories that I'll be remembering until the end of my time here.

So, thanks for the memories, you guys.

[ December 05, 2005, 08:30 PM: Message edited by: Oz ]

P.S. Oh yeah...and when I came up with a really cool photo.

My first "best memory" would be my very first national. My fourth race ever. I was scared to death. We piled into my dad's green and white Ford truck with a topper. Went to Florida, not sure what city. It was 1978 feb WOS. I was 13, running in the 14 novice. I'm on the gate with guys that had been racing for quite a while. They had jerseys and everything. I was wearing jeans and a gray sweatshirt with some cheesy borrowed helmet.
I won every moto wire to wire. I have some pics where second place was not even in the frame. I got the biggest trophy I had ever seen. I was hooked.

Getting your cool photo's in BMXA & signed by the Pro's when they were racing here in Australia between moto's was a hobby of mine at the time , PK , Greg Hill , Darryl Young (with a broken hand or wrist) to name a few , a personal message & signature made a good photo even better

This may not be a highligh but it turned out to be damm funny incident after it played out.
I made a goof of myself doing my first TV interview for a national afternoon kids TV show here , Simon Townsends Wonderworld (for all the Australian ppl ) They did 2 takes of the interview & showed the worst one.(TV ppl are Evil) After it aired the first time I got the usual ribbing you get from kids at school + at the race track , it went away after a week or 2.

Fortunately or Unfortunately pending on who you were , that segment got _heavily_ replayed in the "best of shows" they played over that summer's school holidays. I was oblivious to all this extra TV air time I was getting as no TV's where around us over the holidays.
But
The first week back at school after the holidays finished I had 5 teachers "complain" to the class that I had managed to "haunt" them all thru _their_ summer holidays , they were all looking forward to a well deserved break from me & I kept turning up on _their_ TV set in the afternoon once or twice a week during their summer break.
Not technically a highlight , but it was good to know that I had (somehow) turned their TV into a game of russian roulette & that the hammer fell onto a live round quite regularly as they watched.

JB

Jeff S, they played that clip of you in the "invisible halfpipe" not long ago on our funniest home videos. I was watchin the bike tryin to work out what it was. Small world it is.
Jetninjablack, I remember that segment very well.
Quote, "what do you like about girls racing bmx?"
your answer, "oh , it gives you something to do between races"
hahahaha I wet myself when they played that. Funniest thing on tv at the time.!!

Mine wasn't a racing highlight and will seem very minor to most but to me it is right up there. Probably because it came at the most unexpected time. I'd been trying to do a rollback into a 540 spin for ages. At the local school there was a perfect bank to roll up and then let gravity take over and start rolling backwards. I'd probably get a 360 in most times and the foot would go down.

Then one day during a break in racing we were gathered around a small flat patch of cement probably no longer than 8-10 metres and a few metres wide. Decided to just push backwards on the bike and try one and bang, around I went for the whole 540 and rode away from it. I doubt if anyone else saw it but I surely knew I'd finally done it. Probably had a grin from ear to ear.

Oh, and there was the time when some little kid (I was about 13 at the time) asked for my autograph. Obviously mistaken like so many others have been.

James

Interesting thread for sure.

I considered big wins. I considered big jumps. I considered building our new home track (which was a great one). There was so much good from it.

But I think, without a doubt, my best day, and best memory ever in BMX happened this summer.

We showed up at an amazing new school racetrack. We proceeded to the registraion window to sign my 9 year old son up for ABA, and fit him with a loaner helmet, as I watched him taking in all the splendor.

I had an Old Scool ride with me to stay mobile with him, which proved pricless. Seeing his wide eyed awe on his first trip up to the starting gate, watching how it all worked. Watching him take in every jump, and berm, on his first lap around the track. Watching him anxiously pushing his bike up the starting hill for his second lap on a real BMX track. Having him pull his sweaty helmet off so that he could explain to me how the "Pneumatic starting gate" worked, and get something to drink.

And it only got better from there. Seeing his name on the moto sheets, and explaining the transfer system to him.

And the cute kid that came racing up to me out of nowhere, and skidded to a stop next to me, never taking his eyes off of my OS bike....and said "DUDE!"....And then paused and looked up and said,... "I mean MAN.".......er, "I mean, SIR."....."WHERE DID YOU GET THOSE BLUE TIRES!???".

Passing my son's loaner helmet back into the registration building after the race, literally dripping with sweat.

Hearing the "registration gal" ask him, "Did you have fun?".....and his answer. "Yes".

That was indeed my best day in my BMX career.
Ted

Now that's a great highlight, one to cherish for sure! I keep imagining a similar story that will hopefully occur in a couple of years. I have twin boys who will turn 4 in January I hope to get the training wheels off early this spring!

[ December 06, 2005, 03:16 PM: Message edited by: Walter Holda ]

Keep em coming this is a great thread!

Glad to see this thread make it back to the top.....great stories guys and gals!!!!!

Daaaaaaaaaang bro's. Mines almost not worth writting compared to all these posts. I grew up in Aurora Illinois and in a poor family. My paper route supplied me money to build my first Race Inc. Races were far away so I hardly ever raced but the trails in the woods a few blocks away were my second home. The summer of 80 was the time for me. Not a pacticular event or nothing to special but rather my personal "highlight." That year I got real good at doing "table tops," spin tricks in the streets, bunnyhops. We would have about 5-6 guys on the side of the street and one would do some sort of trick and the others would follow and give it their best. Developed some good friendships in those days. Names like Ted Weiss, James MaCulley, Rich Stasco. Names that probably will never be posted here again. Just a bounch of kids attatched to there bikes like another leg

mine bitd would be racin in the us with dirk and denny davidow,that was a dream come true.

now my highlight is every time I go racin with my 3 boys who show the same love for bmx racin as I did when I was a boy,heres a pic from a few weeks ago after our state titles.

to the top

do clinics back in the day and getting emails 20 years later thanking me!

traveling meeting riders from all over- its like we are all bros!

checking out photos like the one right above!

summer at randy moores house!

Highlight: Hearing my name over the loudspeaker while I was in first place.

Lowpoint: Hearing my name over the loudspeaker and hearing that I was on the bubble, followed by "Oh Stinson just got passed for the transfer spot"

camel...Chris Miller???? I think it's you. WOW long time bro. Chris you helped me win more times than I can remeber. With your coaching I was able to achive my goals. I'm not sure if I ever told you this but THANK YOU for helping me win National # 1 in 86 (my highlight of bmx), I had moved back to Mass about a month before the NBL grands, Chris would call me and train me over the phone. He taught me how to race my race in my mind over and over before I ever set foot on the track. In my mind it already happened, I just had to go take it. Chris and I were on the same team when we met (WP Racing), I jumped around from team to team but his friendship and training always stayed with me. PM me when you get a chance. Crehan

[ February 25, 2006, 10:31 AM: Message edited by: Mike'Ultimate Sin'Crehan ]