Owl, that you may think my or others comments on this thread are "elitist" is your opinion of people you don't truly know. We all used to [myself included] be able to post near any thought without being missunderstood. Every members personality quirks, shortcomings and attitute was clearly worn on their sleeve....at least I read it that way. Thats gone, or maybe I'm to lazy to keep up.

I accept the growth. It may not sound like I do, then again, you don't really know me do you? How one comes across on the internet can be clouded by not knowing or speculating the soul behind the typed words we share.

btw Gary, a few of the early guys did in fact "suck", thats what wood chippers are for

LOL

Man, I gotta get to Rockford this year!


Sorry again this stuff is new to me! Whats BTW

Fair enough, but I wasn't criticizing you Randy, & I apologize if it sounded that way. Do you not understand where I was going with that? I understand about the small group being tight, but isn't life more interesting with more people/ opinions/ stories in it. You wax nostalgic of the good old days when it was a small few, was it as interesting then as now? Were the stories/ experiences as plentiful as now? A small group is great, but eventually you will run out of things to say.

If I make it to Rockford this year (and that's a big if) I'm gonna buy my friend Randy a beer and drink a shot of Jack Daniels with him, even though I don't care much for whiskey.

Gary, btw= by the way...
I only know these abbreviations because I'm married to a very technical person. Thank God!!!
I would not be on a computer at all without her.
DD

by_the_way

In time we will all become in our own way the old group.

My BBQ is the same way. In truth We all want to get together to remember the good old times. Most of the riders do not want to be interrupted or bothered by those that were not part of it.

In ten years we will look back and remember how great it is now.

The future is sometimes unsetttling, some what uncomfortable and uncertain!!!!!
***With most of your outlooks*******
******Trust Me, It's going to be a Great Ride****

Owl, I certainly understand. My point would be defeated if I allowed myself to feel criticized...or maybe it only proves my point?

I think, even since I started coming on here, that there indeed is a problem tranferring what we (many of us) are thinking to what you are typing. In some (many) instances I type things only to re-read them & be annoyed at how I sounded in the post. I do, however, have no doubt about the stories you could tell about the early years around here, and the value of stuff back then. My final point is this, we all know that someitmes its a little clique-y on here, which is completely natural, you converse with those whom you have things in common with. But maybe we should all open up a little more to the noobs instead of treating them like they don't know anything because they are new. Then we all find more people we have things in common with. And, yes, the questions repeated over & over ARE annoying (especially the Z rim one).

true, very true.

>lets start here<

Right on Randy.

Awgeez Randy I still Love ya like a brother! people come and go here. I myself spent almost two years over at OS but something always drew me back here. I would show up here and not seem to know anyone. alot of the old crowd were spending less and less time here. but it matterd not to me. if I had something to say (even if it wasn't relevent) I would speak up. I just kep't up with my bikes and going to as many events as i could. it's all relevent really. Geez it seems my wife posts more than I do these days and she never knew what BMX was till she married me! I'm at work right now. I do the into post from home. with full orcisration anf four part harmony (and a spell checker too!)

As always. Your frendly neighborhood Sodbuster.

Cool Dennis and I tella ported to the Cafe and back!

Funny thing is. I know Randy is loving this. The Post is 1 day old, already 5 page, Ok 6 pages by now and he has Stu, Dennis Dain and others chimming in.

Oh ya life is ruff Randy.
LOL

If I can make to the Rock! You got yourself a free Beer.

I've been there from the beginning and was a member of roost. I get hammered on the racer board for my dinosaur- like old fashioned views that spew forth from me whilst under my shell, which btw has haro lightning bolt decals on it. I get hammered harder than a gate full of 300 lb 40 yr. olds who all have less that 30.lbs of air in their tires. But I hang with my antiquated views. BTW: Tony Ell was cool. I liked him. In Iowa they punish people hard for stuff, though. Just the way it goes. THERE ARE TOO MANY NEW SCHOOLISTS ON THE RACE BOARD! Go clip in and ride in traffic! { just kidding} But seriously, I really think it is an attitude thing and old school is in danger of going by the wayside, darn new schoolists. I have a lot of friends in the new school race scene and there really is some cool stuff going on in this century, but not as cool as what we had and somehow a lot of people seem willing to forget about it. "Pat Quinn is a dinosaur and lives in the past...." ...blah blah yeah right. At least I'm still alive, Anna Nicole.

I think I know where Randy is coming from being that I was a member on the old board and back in the menotomy days. Maybe I am wrong but it seems to me that alot of the newer guys post as if they have a chip on their shoulder which having been around since the begining I have a hard time understanding since most of the older guys have been there and done that anyways.
It was alot closer knit back in the day so to speak which is one of the reasons that I post very little anymore. It seems to me that alot of the newer guys seem to think everything is a contest to see who has the most or the rarest stuff. Early in the collecting game we admired someone for finding something rare nowdays it seems as if alot of guys are full of envy and greed. Most of the older guys on here have bought sold and had again and resold more than most would dream of having not that is a contest but just facts.
It Is great that the board has grown the way it has over the years and all of the new faces and stories but the main reason most of us are here is our true love of the sport and the memories .

i like the growth of the board but also like my memories of the way the board was when it was smaller.

both ways are fine with me and most of the people are great. if it wasnt for the growth we never would have discovered bangos!

and to be honest the bango is all that really matters.........

I think I know what Randy means. To me, the bummer about this site being so huge is going to Rockford every June and knowing only a small fraction of the people there. Or talking to a fellow member in the days following Rockford and finding out that someone you've wanted to meet from the board (whom you've emailed/traded with/bought/sold to) was there and you never knew it! Also, I could do with a little less drama...but menotomy had it's share of that too. Viva la BMX!

I like the progression of the board, when "WE" have the #1 board on BMX period, it is bound to grow.

One thing though is I am completely burned out on any collecting whatsoever. I think it was ebay that did that to me. I remember everyone saying, man, do you think we will ever see one of those again? Or whatever happened to him, etc. Now its like we have pretty much seen just about everything and a true hunt has more to do with money then maybe just actually saying, hey, I found it!

I also really liked the old honor system that most of us used back then. First thing you did was send the item to the person, then after the person had item in hand, a price, a reasonable price was negotiated. Then it was no big deal with money, just send it whenever you get around to it.

I came to this site a few years ago once my interest in BMX found it's way back to me. Most of you see me trolling the cafe. However, I spend just as much time in this forum.
I rarely post here because I am too busy reading and learning from all the variety of collectors, restorers, and racers. I am not familiar with the site prior to member 101, but I am very thankful for the contributions of everyone here.

As an old timer I can relate to what Randy is saying. I truly miss some of the old timers daily posts and what they had to share with our once small community.

The one thing that brings us old BMX’ers together, no matter what city, state or country we lived in. If you were a neighborhood wanna be, local BMX’er, or a full on big time factory racer it’s our love for the sport of BMX, and all the people that are and were connected to it………. So to that I say welcome the old and the new alike! Racer, Free Styler, Hard core street thrasher, you are here because you are, or were connected to the outstanding sport of BMX!


Your guys Rock!!!
Rodney Miles

It never ceases to amaze me that the $15 I spent to buy a domain name in 2000 would grow into this.

I couldn't have done it without the design genius of Rick Thomas and my friend for life, Hal Marshman.

I also want to thank each and everyone one of you for making VintageBMX what it is today, a vibrant community of people who have a common bond, BMX.

See you all in Rockford!

Bill

No thank you. I love this place, i'm here nearly everyday!

Hello everyone...I want to thank Bill, Hall and Rick for this site, it is truly a great place to come visit. I have read all the pages on this thread and I see many peoples points and respect each persons opinion agree or not. There is something for everyone on this site, new old does not matter. There are enough choices and if you cannot find a place well you can creat a thread and make it what you want. That's the beauty of it all..I have made some solid friendships here, gotten back in touch with people I have not spoken with for years and all because 3 guy's loved BMX enough to put their time and enegry into something they believed in. If not for them we could not agree, disagree or post pictures of our families, friends..It's connecting with people that all have a somewhat common ground, if your not down with the z rim question well change the channel..I love this place and hope it will be here for years to come..Oh yeah, I even met guy who calls himself the internet's genius on here and he's a real stand up guy.

Keep up the good work Bill, Hal and Rick..Thank you!

GH

[ February 18, 2007, 01:29 AM: Message edited by: Greg Hill ]

Well said Greg.

#69 reporting. I don't post much these days but I make sure I visit this godly site every once or twice a day.

I'm a newer member but an older racer. I hope in 20 yrs I can get on my cruzzer, rip down the hallway of the assisted living facility, slide into the media room, punch in VBMX and all you guys are still here......RIDE-ON

Randy -

The gatherings at my place, you, cornfed, tony Ell, Gino, N20, Kerry, 26 incher, race_inc, Morey, Jason L, raddad, Phil, raybeard, Mux, pit bikes on the half pipe @ Rockford, bikes setup in the basement, Tony trying to put 110 psi of pressure in a tuff wheel, neighboorhood cruises, the haunted house every year.....

I could go on for hours..





I'm here for the long haul, but I also remember what it was since '02

[ February 18, 2007, 07:59 AM: Message edited by: PEP ]

Hello all , sure it is sad to "lose contact" with friends ,this happens in all aspects of life even in the real world ! you loose contact people you grew up with ,they move away ,get married etc ,people migrate .i do not post on here alot and somtimes what i have posted i look back on and think that came across wierd, that is not my intention all the time(lol) ,i tend to read more than post ,i find it great to read the thread about the barbi and all the old riders organising a get togetha after all these years ! i also find there is always somthing great to read on all the different sections i thank the old members for this great site ,please dont feel left out or disrespected , you guys rock can i also take this opertunity tho thank GINO for his help in the past even though i am a "newby" my name is Mark i used to race in south africa in 80s ,ill post a pic up thanks for the great site



this is me and jackie last year ,camera date always wrong ,lol



this is me at a bmx demonstration in south africa in the early 80s on a kuwa



i also like building up old bikes my latest build phaze 1


i still race bmx however i will not be racing this year in the uk as i have just had a hernia op and it is not very nice ,dont strain yourselves a hernia op sucks

[ February 18, 2007, 09:40 AM: Message edited by: the DIRT SKIRT ]

Pep.. where was that picture taken from?

Elgin BMX track, 1st annual Pep's midwest militia gathering, 2001

That's the year you made the shirts for us.

Been reading some of the comments and some of them are pretty amusing. They remind of the guys that talk about how the old tracks were better, friendships were tighter etc.


I came here 3 years ago; sure, I'm not a new person but not part of the old crowd. but even then the sentiment that the sport/hobby was getting too big, too impersonal was very prominent.

I found out different. Older members like Ben Joy, Sodbuster, Bill C, Cruiserking Tim, BND and even the initiator of this thread Randy extended a helping hand and in most cases, friendship. (My apologies on those who I forgot) Most outstanding would be Dan Goins who I hold responsible for me staying here. He offered advise at first some killer parts later but right from the begining: friendship.

While the above might reinforce the argument about the old-guard, I did almost leave because of a couple of the incidents with the same "low number" members. Again, Dan Goins saved the day.

But my good experiences with members is not limited to the old crowd. "Newer" People like Cheez, S Brothers, Sidehackguy, Keep-it-warm, Criscobath, Jeremy, BMXmom, Oz, Spike and even newer members like Manyaxes (Ray Macaulay) and Ted Carl come to mind. Top-notch people and good friends. (Again, my apologies for ommisions) This hold specially true of my fellow "fluffer" Johnny Johnson. The guy goes way back in BMX, has been friends with many of great racers of this sport well before the internet was popular, was a very good racer himself and has proven to be an exceptional friend.

My long winded point is that the sense of community is still active. Only you can make yourself felt out or out of touch with the community. I'm still making physical friends as well as Internet buddies like TONE and Elvis. People are still helping out, still sending parts to get repaired without fear of losing, still having personal gatherings (thanks Rick and Patti Twomey,) still hooking up people with deals (Thanks PK) and most importantly still establishing new friendships or renewing old ones.

The good old days of VintageBMX are now

[ February 18, 2007, 11:15 AM: Message edited by: Reilley1 ]

well said, rickie.

gino, thanks. everybody is correct about this: this is the best bmx board, though, regardless of bickering and attitudes and stuff. I have seen a lot of people come and go but it's still here and still the best, thanks to all.

p.s. the tim cook museum thread [alone] is reason enough to call this place brilliant. schneikeees.

Here ya go guys,
Check the message board ......lol
Click here --->OLD SCHOOL BMX
Enjoy!
Rod

i came on mid 2001 and had lurked for sometime before --- was #1397 if i remember correctly --- and was a pretty avvid member till 05 when for whatever reason " I " got booted for getting physically threatened (death that is w/guns no less) by a newbie pretty local member/ebay stalker that was allowed to remain, who ironically has since been connected to further/multiple issues with other members as well as personal/legal encounters .... hmm go figure, common sense would have anyone guess it was personal, but i'll spare ya of all those politics

rod, that is some cool stuff but most links to the old content do not work when I click, funny stuff though, thinking about the old days of early internets bmxness.

Maybe a vet pro fourm for old-timers? I dont think vint. should exclude but maybe give some options for the vets.Just some ideas dont take anything I"ve said personally.LATER

sure, put us in a special room, maybe we could eat pudding and watch Judge Judy all day...

LOL, too bad Matlocks not on anymore.

Mark, are you sure you came on in 2001? I joined in Feb. 2003 and I seem to remember you joinng shortly sometime before or after that. I could be wrong.

Anyway, I lurked for sometime too (everyday at work, lol). In fact, the main reason I got a computer that year was to eventually get on vintage. Cruiserking, Scotty Raynes and Pat Quinn were the main culprets.

[ February 18, 2007, 10:27 PM: Message edited by: pk ripped ]

ripped: don't see cruiser king or raynes much anymore.., ?? edit maybe the latter does get one here, not the king, though

whew ... thats good news, i'm feeling old enough without having to be subjected do the pudding/judge judy thing

your right Alex --- my number fell before yours but just slightly after pep - you were feb 2003 and pep was dec 2002 --- so i was either later in dec 02 or early in jan 03


just did the member number search ---- and my blank spot dates to jan 03 (between 1396 and 1398 )

[ February 19, 2007, 09:54 AM: Message edited by: Dr.Frankenripper ]