In 1980, my parents bought me a BMX bike. I rode BMX street-style, before that was a thing. I rode single-track in the Alabama woods. I rode off plywood jumps and on small dirt tracks we shoveled ...
Tag Archives: BMX
Friday Group Ride #391
I have been thinking a lot about Christmas morning 1980. I was about to turn 9. We’d moved to Mobile, Alabama the year before, and I’d made some new friends who were as into riding ...
Friday Group Ride #384
Of late, I have taken to hucking my bike off of curbs, riding it down stairs, and generally acting like my 12-year-old self. I’m having a lot of fun. I recall being that age, still living ...
Friday Group Ride #364
I am beyond fortunate to be able to ride great bikes, bikes built for me, although I’d hesitate to make that one of the criteria of what makes a bike great. When I was 7, I got my first ...
Friday Group Ride #346
My college girlfriend (now my wife) suffered through hours of standing around in record stores, waiting for me as I thumbed through the badly organized vinyl, seeking treasure. Then there were ...
It Doesn’t Take Much
It doesn’t take much. Really. Two mostly round, mostly true wheels. A hop is ok. Oscillations can work, the brakes all the way out, whatever screws they have unscrewed to their limits. To ...
Friday Group Ride #333
They are stark visual memories, crisp, even today. My six-year-old self, only just able to pedal down my suburban street, standing rapt at the top of our drive as Jamie, a teen from four doors ...
Friday Group Ride #247
I didn’t really recognize the words coming out of my mouth. I was saying, “I don’t really want to own a lot of bikes anymore. I just want to have a few really good ones.” ...
The Independence Machine
My story is similar to your story, in content, if not geography. The bicycle was small and red, with white painted cranks and white plastic pedals to match its hard rubber tires. Metal seat. The ...