BMX Basics

What separates BMX Basics from all the other BMX websites out there? Well, we're older than ninety-five percent of them, dating back to May of 1997 on the World Wide Web and to April of 1995 in print form - and, if you count my old "One Racer's Perspective" columns as well, all the way back to 1991. And we're not going anywhere anytime soon.

Another difference is that I try to avoid "current-topic" columns, because they don't age well. A column on bunnyhopping will always be of interest to my readers; one about the two-moto National "scandal" may not be quite so popular a few years down the line.

Every once in a while, however, I can't resist commenting on the current state of the BMX scene. This will be one of those columns. You've been warned. It's your last chance to bail. Eject! Eject!

• One last hurrah. It's an open secret now that the NBL and the Christmas Nationals are no longer welcome at the convention center in Columbus, Ohio. This is the second such ejection; in the early Nineties the Nationals were moved from the two-story Battelle Hall building to the new Convention Center, a crappy, soulless, bland enclosure better suited to a mini-truck show than the NBL's showcase event. There's nowhere in Columbus for the Classic to go, so rumor has it that next year's event will be in Cleveland. Last time we were kicked out because the dirt was too heavy; this time it is, apparently, because NBL riders are unable to behave themselves. Whatever the reason, part of our racing heritage is now officially dead.

Despite this, the NBL put on an unusually good show this year. The track was rated somewhat less than intentionally deadly by most, and the moto count was pretty good. There was a fair amount of manufacturer and sponsor presence. The races were eventful and I witnessed a pass or two every so often. Overall, not bad, and I would rate the event about equal in excitement and participation to a middle-of-the-road ABA National. If the previous statement didn't make you angry or sad, you don't have as many NBL motos under your belt as I do. The Christmas Classic should be the best and biggest race in the BMX year. Once upon a time, it was exactly that.

• Pro = jump. Does it? An intelligent and interesting aspect of this year's aforementioned Christmas National setup was that the first Pro section was optional for amateurs, adding excitement to some races for both spectators and participants. I watched a few 14 and 15 Novices boost the section while a few A Pros "lawn-darted" it, and it got me to thinking. At what point did we decide that you had to be a great jumper to be a Pro? Once upon a time, the fastest riders became Pros. Today, you have to be a great rider and a great jumper - but watching those "AA Novices" jump a section I didn't want to do made me think. Should we be asking grown men whose families depend on their health to jump this stuff, even if those men say they are willing to do it? When you are a 14 Novice, the pro section means a chance to show off and have fun - and if you get hurt, all it means is extra homework when you eventually return to school, post-trauma. When you are a Pro, each Pro section is another artificial obstacle between you and a safe return home. It's something to think about. The fact is that very few Pros are much better at jumping than the average 17X is, and sometimes worse due to age and accumulated injury. It's also annoying watching these guys play follow-the-leader for half the track since any corner move might doom their chances at making the section. We might as well make it a time trial.
• But where there's a will, there's a way.As previosly noted, There's very little passing in the Pro class nowadays, but one interesting pass occurred in the Sunday Open main. John Purse passed Matt Pohlkamp down the long second pro straight. Purse is an old man who has no business in Pro (at least according to all the new websites) and Matt is slicker then hot butter (or so it seems), so how did it happen? Purse told me: "Matt was riding the worn-down part where everybody practiced. I thought I would risk taking a path through the rough part, kept the bike low, made the pass." Indeed he did. On each of the three jumps, it looked like Purse would hit the top of the second lip, but each time he finessed his way over and got a solid pump down the back for the next one. Money in his pocket and out of Matt's, who was surprised enough by the manuever to be vulnerable to a bump on the final rhythm that put him off the track. The moral of the story: Sometimes it pays, literally, not to play follow-the-leader, but you had better have your full bag of skills along for the ride.
• The "pro website ring". These days, it seems like every AA in the sport has his own website. The main content of most of these websites is interviews with other pros and the usual comments about "sauce", "penguins", and "bling". This stuff is fine in a writing-dirty-words-on-the-potty-wall way, but at some point one of the Pros is going to realize what his readers really want: detailed descriptions of what it's like to be a Pro and to race in the Pro class... everything from lining up on the gate next to Jamie Staff to jumping the pro sections in traffic. This is what the kids wants and they will reward the Pro who provides it with a lot of website traffic and fan mail. Sure, I could do it, but how much "Uh, I hit the gate and dropped a back wheel between the dubs" do you want to read? We want to hear what it's like to bang bars into the first turn, elbows out, doing whatever it takes to earn your pay... wait a minute, they don't do that stuff any more!
• Four-pound Cr-Mo frames on the way. Last month I talked about how much I wanted a four-pound Cr-Mo frame. Well, shortly after I finished the column I received the end result of "Project Signature Model", my Supercross UL-XL:

  At slightly over four pounds even with the Eighties tribute paint-and-chrome treatment, it's very close to my dream bike. Meanwhile, the folks at Brew are making a genuine sub-four-pound Pro-size chromoly ride... but the tubing looks like it is better suited for a 175-pound Pro than a 250-pound one. Another reader pointed me towards Atherton, a custom framebuilder who is willing to produce a super-lightweight steel bike. The good news: It's becoming more and more possible to get a steel frame at a competitive weight - but don't take your 23-pound Cr-Mo racer to the trails unless you are extremely smooth, extremely lucky, or both.

• Common ground. The ABA/NBL merger has been well and truly stymied, but that doesn't mean the sport couldn't benefit from a little cooperation. The first step would be for each sanction to honor the other's membership, if only for local races. This would help lower the barrier to racing entry in areas with strong ABA and NBL presences, and it would encourage kids to race more often. The next step? Scheduling Nationals cooperatively. In my home state of Ohio, for example, the ABA and NBL usually run one outdoor National per year, each. Why are the two often on the same weekend? It would make more sense for the NBL to run West Coast nationals when the ABA is running East Coast events, and vice versa. That way we could all race more often and with less hassle.
• Back on track. Why are the sanctions imposing cookie-cutter tracks on local organizations across America? Can you remember the last time you saw a "European" elevated flat turn, a flat sweeper, an over-under, a step-down table, a drop-off jump, a set of "cereal bowl" consecutive turns, or anythingreally innovative? I particularly miss the "out and back" track which had a super-long first straight, a sweeping 180 turn, and a series of turns coming back. Brookville, Ohio has one but it's the last of the breed and it's been "normalized" with concrete berms and mini-straights between the turns on the way back. There are a lot of ways to make tracks exciting, but track directors are being told that doing something unique ruins their chances of hosting a National. Ask any old-schooler: special tracks make for special events. I'd like to see just one National held on a track with a sweeping, flat first turn... Think of the possibilities!
• Is BMX Plus! the best color rag? Back in the day it was common knowledge that Plus! was for newbies and BMX Action! was for real racers. "Plus" had goofy cartoons, sappy bike reviews, and what can only be described as a "Boy's Life" feel to it: "Action" broke test bikes, covered Pro controversies like the Ronnie/Pete feud, and felt like a serious magazine. With that in mind, I have avoided Plus for a long time. You can imagine how surprised I was to pick one up recently and see professional race AND contest coverage, tough-but-fair bike reviews, and great photography. Reading it made me excited about BMX. By contrast, TW and SNAP are just plain depressing to read - boring brown magazines for people who ride boring brown bikes. If you read the Transworld rags, you get the impression that BMX is dying and that only bizarre acts of vandalism can save it; if you read Plus you get the sense that BMX is a fun sport with colorful personalities and a world of possibilities to explore. Neither impression is entirely true; and yet I think Plus has the better approach. I just might subscribe... but don't tell anyone, okay?

Enough random access for today. There's a bike on my hitch rack, a full-face helmet in my bag, and a local indoor practice scheduled in my Franklin planner. Another random idea: BMX is like the Beatles song. If you commit yourself to it, it gets better all the time.