Vintage Ben Joy. Rockin the DG 26.

White guy with a mullet and a fro? Yup, Classic Ben Joy on his Moosegoose.

Ben Joy and Jay Graves on the original Riverside Doubles. Classic 26" rides.

Powerlite Nats at Riverside Park. Pro Cruiser Main. Brent Patterson with the sleek low style and our own Ben Joy with the "I'm going to flatland" pose.

TOO COOL!

Is it the years of alcohol abuse beating up my perceptions or are those bars taller than the current cruiser norm?

Thanks. Not a mullet, but more true to The Brady tradition of a fro or perm. Mine was natural.

Elvis - I ran KOS bars but have one of those silly Saber plates with UNI number. Jay ran regular 6" bars.

Last shot has Denny Davidow watching in his TW jersey. I rarely did well at big races as I would get totally pysched out by the factory pros.

[ March 04, 2006, 11:29 PM: Message edited by: BenOr ]

Nice shots Ben, you were a stud for sure! Hangin' with Brent and Jay was no easy feet. Is that Riverside track the same a Clackamas?? If so, I raced there for a couple of Nats. But the doubles out of the first turn were HUGE!!!!

BTW, I want a JT plate like Jays. I need one for my Bassett. If stumble on to one Ben, please let me know.

[ March 04, 2006, 10:40 PM: Message edited by: Thumperpilot ]

Do I see a bikini in the background of that Moosegoose shot?

Thats what I'm talkin' about..

My Ben Story.

I remember when I first joined this internet bmx group, back then there were maybe 20 guys who all seemed to know eachother pretty well. Not sure where I first came across Ben Joy, coulda been at Dans, Mentomy or the original old school bmx....but I knew his name from back in the day, he was someone real, everyone else was just an internet name. The group was generally very friendly but Ben was always the best, Ben always set a great example, plus I just loved his bikes and his old website. Is that still out there?

Fast forward about 3 years, my 1st trip to Rockford. I was so damn excited, I was checking in at the Hampton desk, the first guy I saw that had to be with the group walked up behind me, I knew it was Ben but It felt weird to instantly recognize somebody I'd never met. I just turned and said Hi. Ben said, hey Randy, how was your trip.

He made me feel like an old friend.

A few years ago Ben was selling one of his original P.R.O. decals on ebay. Recalling that Ben was one of the original members of the P.R.O. class I bought it and begged him to sign the back, he was reluctant but finally gave in. It's in my photo album, backside showing.

Ben is tops in my book

Bring back the fro!

DAN

I've known Ben since the late 1970s and consider him one of my true friends. I remember him ripping it up on his Mongoose and his Pro Line in the late 1970s and his stints on the Moosegoose and all of the 26" cruisers in the early 1980s. If I remember correctly, Ben is about four years older than me so I never raced him on 20" bikes.

I pulled this shot out a few years ago and remember Ben saying, "Damn, I don't remember ever racing you" My title to this early 1982 photo is "The Changing of the Guard" as this is when the 24s became popular and the 26s faded out. I am on my DG 24, Jay Graves is on his 26" Kos Kruiser and Ben is on his DG 26.




Ben is probably the single most helpful person I know of when it comes to collecting and trading our vintage BMX bikes and parts. Many times I'll get an e-mail from him saying he has a box of stuff that he wants $50 for. I'll PayPal him and he'll drop it by or I'll pick it up and there are always cool things in that box.

I also have to thank him for his communications that put me in touch with an old Factory Uni teammate, Lisa Grossman. Ben had called Lisa's mother back in 1999 looking for vintage parts and in their conversation had mentioned that he was still in touch with me. Lisa ended up e-mailing me that Christmas and we actually dated for a few years after that.

Ben is the one that told me to check out Roostbmx.com in 1998 and to post on an old message board back then. That turned into OldSchoolBMX.com which morphed into VintageBMX.com. Ben and I flew out to Rockford to meet up with some of his Internet friends for the MidWest Nats in 2000. It was just a handful of us hanging out (Kevin O'Donnel, Jason Leikam, Scott Towne, etc.) and that is what turned into the Rockford event we have these days.

I can honestly say, without Ben Joy in our lives, things would not be as cool as they are these days.

Here's to you Ben!

[ March 05, 2006, 04:57 PM: Message edited by: Ken Pliska ]

First time I ever met Ben was back in '98 at the ABA Fall Nats in Lake Perris, CA. He and a bunch of othe rold schoolers hada get together. I remeber knowing pretty much everyone but Ben at that time. It was cool to meet him and get to know his history over the last several years. Ben in a First Class guy and a great asset to BMX to this day.

Now about the visor you have Ken, is that yet another rub-off from DY??? I always remember DY having a visor evry similiar to that. Another Oregon thing perhaps??? What's the scoop. BTW, you are looking very DYish in that photo. The left hand lever has been noted also. LOL!!!!

Thanks for the pix ken!

[ March 05, 2006, 01:26 PM: Message edited by: Thumperpilot ]

Pliska was so good they didn't even issue a number that low

Hey Ben do you still have the 26 DG? those are some real cool shots,thanks for postin Ken.

Very cool Bill Walters leathers and that Moose is too cool, I raced mine a few times and leaned very fast that wasn't the F&F to be fast On the cruiser bars of us who have been involved with the sport a long time rember a time when there were no real cruiser bars unless you used motocross bars (like some of us did in the early days

[ March 05, 2006, 11:51 PM: Message edited by: byron ]

Okay, someone commented on the bikini in the background of Ben's Fro shot. This is from the same day without Ben's helmet in the way to see the real eye candy that day.

Let's just say it was very "educational" for us to race on a track that was right next to the most popular river in the area at the time.

I met Ben few yrs ago and he's one of the coolest!!! He's a DG freak as well as me, he did so many favors for me, built several rims for me, alot of feedbacks on my builds. Scored parts for me. I am honored that Ben is a friend of mine.
Ben's fro is long gone but his sons got em now!


RIP Riverside track, one of my favorite. fast track!


Ken, that jump ^ , that one is my favorite in 84 , they made it much taller, I remember Darrell Young doing some tabletops over that jump after the races, no helmet , it was BAD ***!!!!!!!!!!


Also I am honored to know Ken Pliska.

Nice Torker you have there Pliska. You like look like you're running a BenFro starter kit in that pic. hehehehehehe.......... Thanks for the pix, keep them coming.

[ March 06, 2006, 08:44 AM: Message edited by: Thumperpilot ]

Thanks for the thread, but did it have to include the dude in the Speedo? He must have came all the way from the west side becasue no east sider would wear a Speedo.

Did the gal next to him lose here lower suit?

Ken is 4 years my junior, so when he was coming up, I was fading out as I finally quit my junior year of college. You can not argue that he kept it goign all these years.

Thanks for all the kind words.

Yes, Ken had a full head of hair.... and still does.

[ March 06, 2006, 10:33 AM: Message edited by: BenOr ]

quote:

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You like look like you're running a BenFro starter kit in that pic

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I believe Shannon (Thumperpilot) just coined a new term. The "Benfro".

That is some funny stuff.