Who races BMX?

Ian F

Well-Known Member
Long time ago (1983)... in a land far, far away (Bensalem, PA).

I still have that old BMX bike (heavily modded Schwinn Predator)... as well as a newer model I can actually ride (mildly modded Gary Fisher Lush Rush)... but haven't been on a BMX track in a number of years.
 

Ian F

Well-Known Member
Is that Bensalem track still there? I went diggin on-line for info and I got the impression that it had closed its gate for good. :(

Damn... Just did some digging as well... and it seems it closed at the end of 2007. Bummer... I need to get over to my old bike shop and find out what happened. :(
 

Suhr40

New Member
I used to race for Action Wheels Bike Shop (South Jersey) back in the 1980's. I started with a mongoose, and went on to race a Hutch, Skyway TA, a Zeronine, and a Cyclecraft. I did 20" and 24". I used to race with Clay Goldsmid, who I believe now owns Hyper and Next bicycles (Walmart).
I learned a lot of handling skills that are good to have w/the mountain bike.
Now I have a mid nineties Redline 24" bike that mostly sits in the garage and reminds me of some of the best times I ever had.
 

THATmanMANNY

Well-Known Member
Hunterdon County BMX

No, but I've always owned a BMX and hit up underground track growing up.

I've been wanting to check out the Hunterdon County BMX track with a buddy but never had a chance yet.
http://www.hcbmx.org/
Anyone been there? Any thoughts?


Never tried racing, but when I was 10 I had a 1986 GT mach one.
Still got that bike? $$$
 

Mike679

Active Member
Way back when

I raced BMX back in the mid-80's at the track behind the Hunterdon County Library. Bought all my stuff at M & D Bike Shop in Flemington - great shop. Also went to Camp Woodward for a couple of weeks summer of 84 & 85 (I think).
 

Ian F

Well-Known Member
Also went to Camp Woodward for a couple of weeks summer of 84 & 85 (I think).

Same here. I was there for two weeks during the first year they offered a BMX racing program in 1983 (Freestyle? What's that? :rolleyes: ). I was only 13 at the time and too young and inexperienced to make the most out of it. I still remember a lot of it but in some ways the whole experience was surreal.
 

don

Well-Known Member
I raced a lot of BMX back home in MA thru the 80's. I got #1 MA in 20" Expert and Cruiser for the 15 and 16 year old categories. I didn't do great on the Nat'l level as we were too broke to do all the traveling and cover the entry fees.

Some pics of my old racing days:

don_eurotable_race.jpg

Me, Eurotable during an expert motos at Northhampton's indoor track.

race_salomey_don_dunstable.jpg

Saloomey and Me, cruiser moto @ Dunstable Mtn BMX. That track was so fun.

My home track had a small reunion last summer (2007).

I got 2nd behind my old racing buddy Ricky Saloomy in the Old Man class. I'm wearing the DK jersey, riding my 24" Union Street.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5OFc2VOKjQ

36-40 year old cruiser class - last race in this vid. I was the one in first that cases the triple roller pretty good:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tTYg5mVFoE

BMX racing was a lot of fun and gave me a fire for riding bikes that exists heavily today.
 

don

Well-Known Member
Same here. I was there for two weeks during the first year they offered a BMX racing program in 1983 (Freestyle? What's that? :rolleyes: ). I was only 13 at the time and too young and inexperienced to make the most out of it. I still remember a lot of it but in some ways the whole experience was surreal.

One of the nationals I did do was at Woodward - '86 maybe? The track was hairball - downhill and quick. Best part of it was watching the antics of Dave Clymer factory Cycle Craft at the time. That dude was friggen' nutso.
 

boris_159

New Member
I used to dirt jump in high school, I have a Haro Supra in my parent's garage. Had a lot of fun but then I discovered alcohol, and kind of lost my passion for riding for a few years after that.
 

lawndart

Shop: Campmor
Shop Keep
im thinking of it

"Do you" is the real question???

An old co-worker came into work the other night and was trying to get me to try it. At my age(33) I'm wondering how many race. If anything Id' like to try cruiser but he said 20" is a better category for our age.
 

The Kalmyk

Well-Known Member
An old co-worker came into work the other night and was trying to get me to try it. At my age(33) I'm wondering how many race. If anything Id' like to try cruiser but he said 20" is a better category for our age.


You should it is crazy fun...I did it for two summers in Flemington in the mid 80's....Damn I sucked at it but I remember it being a blast....When we moved the parents weren't committed to driving me around...They were way to busy with work:(
 

FFT

Gay & Stuffy
I remember the day a woman asked if she could dig my Toorker 280 out of our trash. It still haunts me.
 

s4lnj

New Member
i still race bmx-- i'll touch on a couple of points in this thread

1-- bensalem closed because the town took the land back, nowhere for them to relocate to either. that was a bummer, as i really like the track and the people who ran it

2-- flemington is a decent track, i don't get up that way much, but it's not super hard for the beginers, and has some options for more experienced racers. pretty much a downhill affair with 5 straights as opposed to 4 like most tracks. the walk back up to the starting gate is LOOOOOONG though!! LOL!!

3-- there are a couple of really cool series in jersey this year. the old school series just ended. like someone said, you can et info and race videos at njbmxracing.com , under the king of old school section.

there is also the hyper pro/am which runs in conjunction with the nj state series. there are two races plus the championship left. oct 4-5 in howell nj, then the championship oct 18th in egg harbor. some very good racing in this series, you can check it out at www.hyperproam.com -- you can get a shot of me on the "about" page

i love bmx, and always will. but with a growimg family, no "local" tracks for training, and a recent string of injuries, i will most likelly be moving over to mtb. more places to ride/train, a little less time in the air, not the same kind of speeds and impact(i hope)

sorry for the long rant, i like bikes
 
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