The Roots of BMX a pictorial by gm

[FreeEnterprise]

OK, so I've been around the "bmx' block. My first bike had a coaster brake, because they didn't have freewheels then... All along the way, I've been clicking pics. And today I'll share some with you. I'll do my best to recollect the years and riders, and I may miss some, but, at least it will give you a glimps into the history of freestyle, as I witnessed it on the east coast.

This pic is from 85. Matt Valentine took the picture, (he was one of my riding friends, who died a few short years later in a car wreck, right before we left for college)

The trick is a cowboy, which is a type of endo variation that has pretty much dissapeared today, but would be a great lip trick on ramps to bring back. It can be done no handed breakless pretty easily.



Back then, freestyle wasn't ever on tv. So when kids saw it, they would flock around.
1986 me riding in Huntington WVA. Actually my favorite part of this picture is my old "boom box" laying on the ground. I loved that radio, and it had some really great stickers plastered all over it.



I grew up in Raleigh NC. And us local guys would head over to Greenville to hang out with the riders there.

Many of them are still involved in the sport. This pic is Don Wigent. Known in the sport as "scooter don".

Why, I don't know. But, he did have those wheels made custom for him, (with sealed bearings) 1988.


Usually you could find me in a parking lot doing tricks, but if I wasn't, I was usually hanging out with Jon Byers (who started Eastern bikes). Here is a pic of him before we redid his ramp. 1986, that guy on the platform is a young canadian who came down for a few months to stay with us, by the name of Jay Miron.


(edit july 2009) Actually, this photo was used (without my permission or credit...) in an article recently on EXPN.

http://espn.go.com/action/news/story?id=4207061



I love bar endo's. And back in 87 leathers were the rage, here I am busting out one in front of Krogers in Raleigh. (this was the cover to my english notebook in school in 87).



Jon B and I got a job "working" at Lechmere in Raleigh. We would assemble bikes, scooters, and grills, as well as string tennis raquets. Often we would cover the window of the door and "test" out the scooters. Actually, you can tell who was the cool one in the photos, as I had 3 swatches on one wrist, and one on the other... Oh, the 80's.

scooter cherrypickers in 1988. GM and JB


Freestylin mag came to town in 1990. They took this picture of Jon on the new halfpipe.
The inset picture, Leigh Ramsdale (current eastern team captain) is on the left side of platform, and Brian BlythAIR is on the right (current police officer). I was in the can when this was taken... Nature called.



Speaking of Leigh... He was always nuts, and a total blast to have around. Click this link, and scroll to "Leigh riding" to see video of him on his bmx. (the "play" video is good too)
http://www.dodofilms.com/

1989 Greg Requate funky chicken whips in the Kroger lot.




more to come when I have time.

Glenn Mehltretter

[Smickus]

man this is amazing. really good story! cool pictures - really puts it all in perspective.

[AaronBMX]

sick i like it! nice to know that jay miron and leigh ramsdel are around the scene for such a long time

[itsallinthemix]

FreeEnterprise your posts are among the best on this forum by far.... Always informative and entertaining!

Reps all round. You'd be a perfect campfire "back in the day" story teller also, hehehehehe!!!

[FreeEnterprise]

The U jump. Capital blvd in Raleigh.

I used to play soccer up thru 84, and often my games were at the capital blvd soccer fields. Well, there was this huge ditch there, and one day I took my bike. Man, you could BLAST some air off that sucker. So I told my friends about it, and pretty soon, you could find bikers there on just about any day.

Anyway, here's a really early pics from the U. Kevin Baumgardner 1988.


As time went on we got crazier and crazier at the U. The jumps grew until there was a pretty big set of doubles.

I remember parking Kevins Hooptie (an old monte carlo that we used to take off roading) and parking it at the lip of the jump so that we could launch over the car. But, I don't have any of those pics around anymore...

One time Jon, myself, John Herlacher and Greg were all at the U when Jon Byers (who was riding for Bully bikes at the time) Said "Watch this".

He went as fast as he could and hit the jump...

It was insane how high and far he went,

but,

He started going sideways in the air, and he took his foot off the pedal and tried to land on his leg. The bike just went right over his leg and snapped it in half...

it was loud.

He tried to stand up, but his hammer pads just folded where his leg was snapped. It was nasty.

I didn't have a drivers license yet, but, we threw our bikes on the back of Jons camaro and took off for the hospital... (me driving). After a few minuted the adrenalin started wearing off and Jon started screaming...

Not a fun trip. But, you can see the aftermath if you have the Bully Slow ride video. I filmed Jons part for that video.
That reminds me, I have quite a few old school videos... Many of which are not around anymore...


back then, freestyle was so new, and tricks were coming out so fast, ususally by the time a magazine came out, it was totally outdated...

So guys would make their own photocopied zines.

Here is one done by Gregg Overstreet, with John Herlacher, (my next door neighbor) on the cover. I would guess this was in 89. Smith decade.


Here is a typical rider from back then 1988 woodward bmx camp in PA



Contests were all over back then. There would be one almost every month, if you were willing to travel. And surprisingly TONs of guys showed up, and you got to be pretty close with riders all over the country, since you saw them so much.

1989, side glide, at a contest at Woodward, PA, me.


89 Alabama whiplash gm


Here is normal day at the lot back in 88. group bar endo's
John Herlacher, Me, Steve Shellenberger, Greg Requate


Often teams would come to our town, and they usually would hang out after the show, and go ride with us.

88 me and Martin (the chairman)

Martin always looked for me when they came to Raleigh, and after a few years he even put in some good words for me and I got picked up with a partial sponsorship by gt/dyno.

Back then you could tell a "serious" rider by the hodgepodge of parts on their bikes, no one would ride a "stock" bike, we always put the parts we really liked on em. For example here is a very early picture of Chase Gouin from 1989, before he moved to York and started riding with the hoods. Notice the grips on the inside of the bars... Those were for no handed locomotives, a cool back wheel trick that has died off today.



more later...

[AaronBMX]

sick! i enjoy this stuff!

[Jamie]

This thread is amazing, just like most of yours are!

[FreeEnterprise]

Thanks for the props guys...

Its all about the stories.

Mark Eaton at Woodward in the summer of 91. During filming for Dorkin 4 1/2. I filmed his part in the wooden bowl for that video. And you can see me in the background on ramps and such during other parts of the video.

[nutsgeezer]

This might just be the best thread ever!

[geraldinio]

realy nice!