PEDAL PUSHERS : BMX Bicycle Racing: A Sport That’s Growing With Every Leap and Bound

Bicycle motocross started innocently about 17 years ago when kids started emulating their motorcycle heroes.

They made a few alterations to their bicycles, adding motorcycle handlebars and taping paper to the front to serve as number plates. They built jumps in vacant fields and started racing.

Today, bicycle motocross has evolved into a popular sport, taking its place with baseball, football and soccer. And just as IBM is synonymous with the business world, BMX spells success in the youth market. Consider:

There are an estimated 60,000 members competing on 400 tracks each week in the National Bicycle League and the American Bicycle Assn., the two major sanctioning organizations of BMX racing.

Industry figures show sales of $6 million for BMX-type bicycles last year and $18 million in sales over the past six years.

Three major publications--BMX Action, BMX Plus and Super BMX, boast a combined circulation of 600,000 targeted at the 14-years-old-and-under market.

Vision Street Wear, a youth-oriented clothing manufacturer based in Costa Mesa, has evolved into a rapid growing company in 10 months, targeting its products toward BMX riders and skateboarders.

WHAT’S THE APPEAL?

For openers, the sport offers a youngster an opportunity to race cycles without the high price of motorized racing.

“A youngster can begin competitively racing for about $325 and that includes a bicycle with padding, a helmet, gloves and protective padding for the elbows and knees and membership fees,” said Roger Worsham, president of CW Cycles in Placentia.

“If he wants to spend a little more, he can buy the exact same bike that Eric Carter rode to win the world championship for $500,” Worsham said.

Carter, a 17-year-old senior at Artesia High School, is one of the top competitors in BMX.

The sport is strictly individual competition. A youngster competes with seven other individuals in a moto. All are the same age. Each advances at his own pace and his own time.

Stan Ross, a volunteer first-aid worker at the Orange YMCA track, has two sons who played youth soccer. He said there is a certain self-satisfaction in BMX that some other sports can’t offer.

“When a youngster does well in BMX, he knows it right away,” Ross said. “You’ll never hear, ‘We lost the game because Freddie didn’t catch the ball in center field.’ Success in BMX is all up to you.”

The sport can offer an opportunity to travel around the country and even the world. The ABA and NBL sanction national events every weekend in every state. The sport also has increased in popularity throughout Europe and Japan.

Carter learned to ride on the track at Orange YMCA, but has traveled to 46 states and Europe for competition. Plans are being finalized for a trip to New Zealand in October, according to Worsham, his team sponsor.

Carter has traveled with his parents, John and JoAnn, to national races since he was 8. The Carters correspond with other families across the country that they’ve met at different races.

“BMX is an extended family,” JoAnn said. “I’ve had people that Eric knew pick me up at an airport and put me up for a weekend that I had never met before. In most states, Eric could make one phone call and have someone put him up for the weekend if he needed.”

Finally, the sport offers family entertainment in a family atmosphere. Most tracks are operated by volunteers who work, in most cases, for free entry for their sons or daughters.

The Irvine BMX track recently re-opened under a parent association group of 45 families. The group spent six months refurbishing Southern California’s oldest track with donated materials.

The track blossomed with neatly-trimmed grass, shrubbery and flowers 10 days ago when it hosted the World Cup of BMX, a national race that drew about 1,000 riders.

“When we decided to re-open the track, we wanted to upgrade it and run it on a business basis,” said Karn Pavlovsky, head of the Irvine parent committee. “But we wanted to maintain that family atmosphere.

“I was especially proud of the fact we had 15 families host riders from other states who would have been unable to compete if families in the area didn’t host them for the weekend.”

HOW DOES A YOUNGSTER BEGIN?

Boys and girls of all ages compete in BMX, ranging from the 3-year-olds who ride big wheels on Sundays at the Orange YMCA track to grandfathers in the cruiser class.

Most youngsters ride 20-inch bicycles that can be easily modified for BMX competition. Crossbars, handlebars and goosenecks must be padded. The handlebars must also have hand grips. Kick stands, chain guards and reflectors must be removed. All bikes are given a safety check before a rider is allowed to compete.

Both the ABA and NBL have established safety rules that include race-wear requirements. All riders must wear a protective helmet, long pants, a long-sleeve shirt and shoes. Elbow and knee pads are recommended.

On race day, the first step is to find the sign-up area. All new riders must fill out rider forms and pay membership dues to the sanctioning organization, which provides medical insurance for each rider.

All riders are guaranteed of three motos against a maximum of seven other riders. The top eight finishers from the three motos qualify for the main event with trophies awarded to the top three finishers.

Most tracks offer two hours of practice before competition begins. This allows a newcomer a chance to become familiar with the course and its obstacles. Also, most tracks offer beginner courses that emphasize starting, jumping and cornering techniques and safety rules. Tips from top riders also are included.

Racing is conducted in four divisions--beginners, novice, intermediate and expert--with age groups beginning at 5-and-under for boys and 6-and-under for girls. Cruiser divisions begin at 14-and-over. Once a rider earns three first-place trophies in a division, he or she moves up to the next division.

WHERE DOES A RIDER COMPETE?

There are three tracks operating in Orange County--Orange YMCA, Coal Canyon in Yorba Linda and Irvine BMX--and a fourth, Ascot Park in Gardena, scheduled to open July 11.

Southern California’s most popular BMX track is the Orange YMCA, located near the Chapman Avenue off-ramp and the 55 Freeway in Orange. The track, sanctioned by the ABA, operates on Wednesday and Friday nights and Sunday afternoons.

Membership is $25 but a temporary fee of $5 good for a one-month tryout period also is available. Riders pay a $7 fee on race day. The Sunday program draws the most entries but beginners will find that the track is nearly empty for about an hour when practice begins at 3 p.m.

Ray Rohm, who has been the track operator for eight years, offers free mechanical assistance to all entered riders on race day.

“I get tubes and brake cables at cost from a local dealer and pass the savings along to the kids,” Rohm said. “That’s how I keep in touch with the kids, and that’s what separates us from the other tracks.”

Rohm, who serves as announcer, mechanic and auctioneer for used parts on a typical race day, offers three suggestions to beginners.

“The first thing I tell them is pedal, pedal, pedal,” Rohm said, “and don’t ever look back. Second, I tell them to never put their foot down while cornering. Third, they should always ride in a straight line.

“If you’re riding in a straight line, a faster rider will pass you without making any contact. Another thing. Don’t ever put your arms out to break a fall. Try to tuck when you go down and chances are you’ll never get hurt.”

Injuries are a part of racing, but Rohm said most are scrapes and bruises.

“Last year, we had an ambulance here twice after going nearly eight years without one,” he said. “Occasionally, we’ll get a broken arm.”

Ross, who has worked for three years at the Orange track, claims the ratio of serious accidents to the number of races is minimal.

“I’ve probably seen 20,000 races here in three years, and we’ve had one broken leg,” he said.

The Irvine BMX, located at Jeffrey Road and Barranca Parkway in Irvine, opened 15 years ago on funds appropriated by a bond issue, and is Southern California’s oldest track.

The track is sanctioned by the NBL and membership fee for beginners is $10. The fee increases to $25 once a youngster moves to the novice division. Racing fee is only $5 with 100% of the money going back into the track under the Irvine BMX Parent Assn. Competition is every Sunday morning with practice beginning at 11 a.m. and racing at 1 p.m.

The track was idle for more than a year before the parents association was formed last October. After necessary upgrading and improvements were made, the track re-opened last December.

“Everything here from the tower to the fencing to the landscaping was donated,” said Greg Carlton, track operator. “We begged and borrowed the dirt from any place you could imagine. It would have cost $70,000 to build this track without the donations and volunteer time of the workers.”

Irvine was once an open track with no adult supervision. Some days, nearly 100 youngsters were riding without safety equipment or helmets.

“The paramedics were parking there,” Carlton said. “Now, we’re running the track professionally with adult supervision. Hopefully, we’ll have Saturday practice sessions beginning in two weeks.”

Coal Canyon BMX is located on the eastern outskirts of the county off the Riverside Freeway at the Coal Canyon exit. The ABA-sanctioned track operates on Monday and Thursday nights and Saturdays.

Practice begins at 5 p.m. on weeknights and 9 a.m. on Saturdays. Racing is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Monday and Thursday and 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. ABA membership fee is $25 and the racing fee is $7.

Ascot Park’s BMX, a $15,000 course that opened two years ago, is located at the intersection of the San Diego and Harbor Freeways in Gardena.

The track offered racing three days a week before it closed a year ago because of liability insurance problems. Ascot is scheduled to re-open in 10 days under the ABA’s sanction.

TIP FROM A CHAMPION

Eric Carter burst upon the bicycle motocross racing scene two years ago by winning two national titles. Last year, he was the world champion in the BMX and Cruiser classes for boys 16 and under.

Carter is among an estimated 200 factory riders who compete for bicycle manufacturers or other industry-related teams. Although his air fare and accommodations are paid for by CW Cycles, he is considered an amateur until he accepts prize money.

Carter offered these suggestions for aspiring BMX riders.

“The secret to my success has been desire,” he said. “I nearly quit three years ago because I wasn’t seeing the results I wanted. Don’t ever give up. If you want to start winning, you’ll find a way to win.

“The more time you spend on your bike, the better you’ll get. It also helps to have the type of support I’ve had from my mother and father. Without them, none of this would be possible.”

Carter, who will wait another year before turning professional, long ago stopped accepting trophies after winning an estimated 1,200.

“I told him to stop accepting them because every time he won a race, he moved us another six inches out of the living room,” said his father, John.