Tuesdays 10, Stu Thomsen & The 999 Fund

Stu Thomsen
Thanks for what you did for BMX!
Thanks for being an Officer of the Law!
Thanks for being a role model to so many!
Thanks for being a friend!

Gary Haselhorst

GRH
1.
With all the health issues you have had to deal with over the last year how did it feel to get back into the action and on the track at the ABA Winter Nationals? We saw some style over a couple jumps. Where you happy with your results?

STU.
First let me address the health issue you speak of. I was diagnosed with prostate cancer a day before my 48th birthday. I decided to have surgery and believe I chose correctly. My recovery is complete, and have no bad side effects. My father had prostate cancer when he was 67 years old. He just celebrated his 86th birthday this last month.

Regarding my results at the ABA Winters. I was not happy and felt I could have done better. I don’t like making excuses so I’ll just try harder next time. I really miss jumping and I’m a little disappointed in today’s current track designs. But, it’s not 1980 and I have to adapt. I enjoy riding bikes no matter what discipline, MTB, road, or BMX.
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GRH
2. THE 999 FUND
You are soon going to do the 999 Ride for Fallen Officers. Give us some details! How long have you been doing this and as part of the team how many Miles do you plan to ride. Who is the Officer you will be riding in the name of?

STU.
Project 999 is a fund established by the Orange County Sheriff’s Advisory Council. This fund is set up to help the families of the officers who have been killed or injured in the line of duty. Any Law Enforcement agency with-in Orange County is eligible. We have even helped others outside of Orange
County. The advisory Council is non-profit and all monies come from donations. Last year our ride raised about $45,000 for Project 999. The Memorial Bike Ride for Project 999 was established in 2002. This will be my 4th ride (missed the second year due to an on the job injury) we car pool to State Capitol in Sacramento and pay our respects at the State Capitols Peace Officers Memorial. May is Law Enforcement Appreciation month and the first week of May those killed in the line of duty (California) from last year have there names added to the memorial.
We have three teams consisting of 54 riders from various Law Enforcement Agencies throughout Orange County. We ride from the State Capitol to Santa Ana where Orange County has its own Memorial (Plaza of the Flags) in Santa Ana. This memorial honors those killed with-in Orange County. The total trip is about 630 miles. The first year we rode the whole distance but due to time constraints a new format was developed. The three teams (A, B, C) Group A: 100-130 miles per day Average Speed: 20-23 MPH.
Group B: 60-80 miles per day Average Speed: 15-17 MPH. Group C: 40-60 miles per day Average Speed: 12-15 MPH. Together will cover the entire distance. Kind of like a relay race. My goal is to raise $5,000. I am a little short but I still have time.

The “A” group is the fastest and we will ride the most mileage, about 350 to 400. I have not ridden many road miles this year so I think I will be doing a little back of the pack drafting. After about day three I get my legs back and you can find me at the front of the pack.

The day of the ride we are given the name of the Officer we will ride for.

If you are interested in making a donation link to: www.ocsd.org and follow the links to the Sheriff’s Advisory Council.
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GRH
3.
Many people know that a lot of BMX riders made a mark on the Downhill MTB scene. Most do not know you and Bob Hadley were pushing it back in the Beginning of the MTB scene at the Kamikaze Downhill in the very early days. What were your best results and how many times did you compete.

STU.

Dang it, I hate history questions. I raced the Kamikaze a few times mainly top five finishes. I think the best finish I had was 3rd. John Tomac and I were tied for 2nd but they had to look at the official timekeeper who said Tomac beat me by .001 seconds. The fist year was on a ridge bike, no shocks, because they weren’t out yet.
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GRH
4.
What was better? The 76 tour or the 77 tour and why?

STU.
They both had their moments. 76 was cool because it was the first. I didn’t do a lot of driving and flew from track to track. 77 was more fun because of the driving. More time on the road and more time to get in to trouble. I had fun on both and only wish I could remember more about those times. I think I have the world’s worst memory. During our Vintage BBQ a lot of bench racing was going on. It brought back a lot of memories; most had gotten lost or forgotten. It was an early time in BMX and many years ago.
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GRH
5.
What was your favorite Downhill Track and what was the most memorable moment on that track?

STU.
I would have to say Yarnel followed closely by Corona. Yarnel was just plain nasty balls to the wall go fast racing. Corona was cool because it was a local track and I rode it more often. Corona was around longer then Yarnel and I had some good racing there. I think my best memory of Corona is the black & white photo I have of me in a full tilt, foot down slide, cresting the top of the first turn.
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GRH
6.
In your opinion what was the best award you have received from your time in BMX?

STU.
Being the first BMX rider to be inducted into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame. I have many awards, plaques and cups but I think that one was truly a statement that BMX is part of US Cycling and I was honored to inductee.
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GRH
7.
With you as the subject, what was your favorite magazine article or photo?
STU.
Something comes to mind now that I think about it (running to office)… got it. An article in the North Dakota State University (NDSU) magazine by Dennis Smith. At the NDSU Alumni Center they have a Walk of Pride. One of the tiles is etched with my name “Stu”. It’s Dennis’ story of how legendary BMX racer Stu Thomsen came to have his name etched in stone on the NDSU campus even though he never set foot here. It was a very inspirational article for me and made me realize just how much I had done in this sport. You may still be able to link to it at www.ndsu.edu but I am not sure since it was from Fall of 2000.

I also enjoyed the article in BMXA about the fit test and comparing of the top pros. I have a lot of magazines in boxes and there are probably photos that I have not seen in years and maybe haven’t seen at all. For favorite picture, I would have to go back to the Corona Raceway slide mentioned a couple questions ago.

Bob Hadley did a few interviews of me for BMX Plus and we always had fun doing those.
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GRH
8.
How does it feel to finally see BMX as an Olympic Event?

STU.
It’s good to see BMX in the Olympics. I just hope it receives good reviews and becomes a regular event. I am not up on all the politics involved and wish all competitors good luck. Would be nice to be invited to this historical event in BMX history but this is about the athletes and their quest to bring BMX mainstream. Good luck to all the racers.
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GRH
9. (I will Quote this as close as possible)
“Qork of REDLINE/SBS”: I for one believe Stu Thomsen played a very big part of REDLINES success and its history in BMX. Whatever Stu wants we will try and accommodate him. Well, how does that feel?

STU.
Every one of my sponsors, throughout my racing career, got one hundred percent dedication from me. Back then the industry was generally small compared to the big picture of things. I didn’t want to burn any bridges throughout my career because someday I may need some help. Redline (Kastan) helped me become a more professional athlete. It wasn’t all racing it was a business too. They have continued to help me in racing and I can not thank them enough. Back in the day we had four great years together, Stu Thomsen & Redline were a team and I believe we helped each other in our successes.
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GRH
10.
Is there anything you feel you have not achieved in the sport of BMX?

STU.
I enjoyed my time in the limelight. The torch has been passed. Records are meant to be broken. I just want to thank each and every bmxr out there whether you were a fan of mine or not. If it wasn’t for you I would have been just another kid on a bike. Or as another quote of mine “I was just Joe kid on a stingray”.

I did set a couple goals when I retired back in 1988. One was that would like to race at least once a year until I physically can’t. Sometimes its three or more years between races. I enjoy riding BMX and the second was being able to jump a good set of doubles at age 50. Next, year will see.
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Gary I want to thank you for all that you have done in these recent months. You have ignited a new passion in many old schoolers.

Stuart...

I believe that you played a VERY LARGE part in BMX becoming an Olympic sport. Let me rephrase that: You were instrumental in changing the world. That is truly amazing.

Very cool interview.

Great job Gentlemen!

Thanks for sharing, Stu!

Very well done!

Thanks Stu and GRH

Stu will ALWAYS be the man. Thanks for sharing Gary.

Stu, you are a straight up class act. Thank you Gary for taking the time to put this together.

edit: typo

[ April 10, 2007, 03:02 PM: Message edited by: Paul Springer ]

Stu is my best memory of bmx. Met him in 78 at a local track in Plainwell Michigan where he proved why he was number one in bmx.He was a was happy to answer any question we asked. CLASS ACT

Good stuff Stubob, you are BMX!

HASSELHOFF way to go, your 10 on Tuesday rocks!

GH

This has become my favorite weekly happening on the interwub. Period bar none. Thank you sirs for another look into the bmx world I love.

Stuart and Gary, great job!

This past month, I have personally witnessed a lot of good natured razzing of Stuart about his memory.

Stuart did a lot throughout his career, and I would consider myself lucky to be able to remember even a fraction of all those events. He is truely blessed to have been a part of this sport we have all enjoyed, pretty much, from the beginning.

But whatever the reason, remember that some people are blessed with more memory space in thier personal computer than others. And some of us just have a little challenge with our recall program.

Trust me, he remembers enough to know he had a good time.

Again guys, great job! Keep it up Gary.

BA!

Gary & Stu,

Thanks! This was/is awesome! You're the man Stu!

GregBob, BA!

Stu is a class act all the way. Hope to meet him one day.

I still remember my first 'Stu Sighting'. NBA Springnationals 1980 - I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

If you were to poll anyone born, say, before 1980, if they knew of BMX and if knew one name. That name would be "Stu".

I am honored that "The Man" from our sport is such a well spoken class guy of good values.
...and that he has a passion for all forms of cycling.

>I enjoy riding bikes no matter what discipline, MTB, road, or BMX.

..that's the way I've lived my life, and it brings me pride to hear it from you..Stu.. too..

Thanks Gary and Stu for taking the time to do this interview.

KEWL

Great interview Stu and Gary. Thanks.

Not sure if you're taking any more questions, Stu, but if yes here's one: How were you able to stay motivated for so many years?

Relative to that question, I remember vividly the story in BMXA when you went to Redline, and said that you would race one more year before hanging it up. That one year lasted about five...LOL!

Stu: Thanks for taking the time.

Gary: You are doing a fantastic job with these posts; thanks.

BMX all time #1! We all know who that is! It is great to have you here on vintage! WM

First Class...our leader of BMX

John,
I rode a BMX bike for a living. How much motivation do you need? Seriously though, it was very physically and mentally demanding. Day to day turns to weeks to years to a career. Had fun no regrets.

Just a shout out to Brackens and Friday. Thanks guys.

Waaay back when the NBA required two current pro signatures to obtain a PRO License, I was honored that Stuart was the first signature on mine! Any one of the current pros could have just said no! I cannot tell you how much this meant and still means to me.

I had my NBL pro card at the time and since the Pro class in NBL was just starting the criteria was easier to meet as they wanted to grow the class to kind-of catch up to the West coast.

West coast professional BMX racing as I recall started with "PRO" and this kicked the NBA into gear with a Pro class. The West coast Pros held the "keys" to getting into the class with the NBA. I remember talking to Ernie and even though I had the NBL Pro License, I had to get two signatures to get the NBA Pro License. To have them "sign-off" on your license, your racing and results would be scrutinized, I think for three months. If Stuart would agree then he must have seen something worthwhile in my racing. Stuart signed-off on my NBA Professional application at the indoor race at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis in 1979 along with Perry Kramer. Stuart epitomized the PRO ethic and status of the class...he was and is Professional Racing.

I still have my NBA Pro Card though there are no signatures on the card, I know what it took to get it. I thank Stuart for taking the interest in my racing and I thank Stuart for his contribution to making Pro BMX Racing really Professional…not the money…but how it was represented to its audience, racers, spectators, and sponsors.

Thank-you Stuart...
To this day you still keep giving!!!

Stu,
Thanks for everything you have done for BMX. I have admired you for years, even got to race against you in Tulsa back in 1983, well race may be to strong a term. I was in the same moto as you. I hope I was able to finish on the same straightaway as you. LOL. I really enjoy reading your posts. Thanks again for being a great role model for all of us.
Gary, Thank you for all of your hard work the past few months. You both are a class act!
Bryan Franklin

Great interview.
Also, props to Gary for doing the Tuesday 10. What a cool way to reconnect with our "heroes" from BITD and realize that they are still heroes today.

Stu, you have impressed and inspired more riders/ people than you will ever know.

P.S. I ran into a guy today, Mercedes Mechanic, grew up in a small town, never raced, always owned a Redline as a kid, was aware of BMX but not how to get involved. Definitely knew who Stu Thomsen was and what he meant to Redline and BMX.

Legendary.

mr thomsen has struck me as a classy, genuine and humble person. this interview confirms that. well done gentlemen.

Bryan, That was your pro card I signed. I thought I you were just some snot nosed kid looking for an autograph. LOL

Just when you think a guy is humble and honorable and someone to look up to, you find out he is really a bonehead. LOL

Bryan has a great way with words and story telling, nice story. Oh and by the way, Bryan, Stuart has told me personally that he admires the way you write.

Well here's s'more...

...admires the way I Write???!.....I thought you meant Ride!!

Stuart and Dennis, Thank-You!

Great Interview!
Stu, Gary, thanks for taking the time to do this.

Stuart does this for Bryan.....Almost 30 years later, Bryan tries to steal his trailer.....Blows up bicycle instead.

JP, I will work my butt off to get the dirt on you, and you know I'll succeed. Perhaps mom deserves a phone call this weekend! Maybe even a sister!!! Remember, I have friends in the Charlotte area and if I'm not mistaken Fireworks are legal there.

And by the way it was not just any bike...it was "the" bike...vintage monoshock!

Plane tickets to AZ-$750.00 (2)
Hotel in AZ-$500.00
Retal car-$150.00

Look on Stuart's face when the tire let go--PRICELESS.

Stuart's a class guy. Very mild mannered in a devilsh way.
A very deserving guy of any award he receives.
It was an honor to be crashed by him. LOL

LOL....Yep!

What else can we say but....