Life of Bikes

Competition Run-offs - The Highlight of any Event

In any sport, a tie-breaker can be one of the most dramatic and exciting parts of the competition.  The competitors have to raise up their skill levels incredibly higher, the pressure of being perfect skyrockets and, most of all, the spotlight is on.  The video below is from the 1987 AFA Masters event in Columbus, Ohio between Mark Eaton and Gary Pollack.  Both riders were from Pennsylvania and some of the most innovative at the time.  The styles were vastly different, but equally fun to watch.  I was there to see in person and recently received a VHS tape of it from Kurt Schmidt.  The atmosphere was one of the most intense of the day.  The format is a winner-take-all 1 minute run off.  This was for third place in a division with some of the top riders globally, including Karl Rothe and Joe Grutolla.  Total entry count was 100 riders in this division alone (including yours-truly...I finished somewhere in the middle if memory serves correctly).  Take a look.

Results 16-18 Expert Flatland:

1. Karl Rothe
2. Joe Grutolla
3. Mark Eaton
4. Gary Pollack

Digging through some old writing...I discovered something new

Many years ago, when the web was not so social, I wrote a short set of articles for a BMX website I was helping to build with my hombre Dennis Langlais.  It is BMXStunts.com.  A website a bit ahead of its time, but still chock full of some great videos and content.

The stoires were geared to share some experiences of a young BMX Freestyler in the early days of the sport's development.  Take a look, especially if you are a parent trying to convince yourself that BMX is a real activity and not a waste of time.  The writing is a bit messy, but the message is solid.

My First Competition

LIfe as a Freestyler

Parent of a Freestyle Child