I just like going on practice nights and doing gates. The race seen around these parts is pretty bare, you're right, not like it used to be. Just seems so lame duck, I would way rather be in the woods. At the same time, if I'm lucky enough for my son to take an interest in bicycles I will definitely let him learn on the local track. Fundamentals.
I believe it. I don't remember any big name sponsors during my years. But, it reminds me of RAD when the guy is sponsored by Coke and Cru is like "Wow, that's big time."
Yeah, I see what you're saying. I haven't been to a track in years, but I can tell it's definitely different than when I was doing it. It seems a lot more serious than it used to be. Also, there is a huge separation now between bmx racing and freestyle... it is like completely different sports. There was some of that back then with Mat Hoffman and others doing the ramp thing, but almost everybody else that rode bmx raced bmx. I'm sure kids could still learn the basic skills without racing, but it sure does help. I can pretty much always tell if a rider raced bmx when they were younger just by watching them ride. Like WCH, for example, rides with a smooth racer style.
exactly, it gets way serious way to young. The track around my local area doesn't see huge turnouts but you can tell the ones that are there seem to be really serious. I think it takes away from the point of keeping it fun, in a sense the olympics i think will only push that to an even higher level. It has become way more "jock" than it used to be. When i was younger, we would ride our bikes to the track and on our way there the only thing i would think about was wanting to clear what seem to be a huge table into the first berm and just hitting all the jumps. In a sense competition is good, but at what age should it start getting serious?
Shoot, look what I found on wikipedia under a serch for Steve Veltman...
How could I forget Steve Veltman and McD's. Although '88 was when I was getting out of BMX racing for college.
