If you have ever been involved in Freestyle at all, you know Dennis McCoy. With about 30 years of Freestyle experience, Dennis is a pioneer and legend. The list of tricks invented, wild stories and incredible perseverance are only outmatched by his absolute love of the sport.
His nickname is fitting, "The Real McCoy". He lived his sport and has never stopped. I admire that and always enjoy a chance to see Dennis jump on a bike. The BMX Hall of Fame will be calling.
Take a look at this competition run from 1985, just as Dennis was about to move up to the Pro class. This was in an era of balance tricks and few combos. Dennis blew everyone in the building away with this run.
Of the millions of airs done on BMX bikes since the late 70s, is there "one" that you can really call perfect? What would the criteria be?
Height
Style
Difficulty
Flow
Smoothness
Landing
This is a clip of Joe Johnson in the late 80s while riding for GT. What is your criteria and what would be the perfect air?
Watch a few things in this clip:
Joe's body goes up almost on a vertical plane, without a bunch of gyrations or movement. This contributes to how smooth it looks overall, the overall flow and a smooth landing. You could also say this contributes to the style as well.
The height is outrageous even by today's standards. The ramp is estimated at 10' tall. The air is about 10 feet in my estimation. What may not be very well known is that typically a higher air is easier than a lower one. The higher arc of a bigger air slows everything down and allows the rider to position better for a smooth landing or whatever variations they are doing in the arc.
The difficulty of the air may not be obvious. At first glance, it is a one foot invert. Look close and it is a really special and stylish air by one of the sport's masters. It is the style that makes this so rad. Lots of riders can and did one foot inverts. I would argue that Joe's style, and degree to which he clicks this, makes it more difficult than many combo airs. One other thing to notice. Joe switches from his normal left foot forward to landing "goofy footed" or his right foot forward (for a rider who airs to the right). This adds a level of difficulty to a smooth finish. It doesn't seem to affect Joe here, but at that height, it would be a bit weird if you were not used to all the change that high.
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.
About a year ago I recorded some really old school ramp tricks. These are the backbone of the sport and are still a ton of fun today. I love the high flying acrobatics of today's riding, but a good clean run with some technical tricks mixed in is still a pleasure to watch...or do.
I did not invent these tricks, but love them. Riders like Dennis Langlais, Jeff Larson, Mike Dominguez and Brian Blyther deserve the credit. Thank you!
I hadn't been to a BMX track in over 25 years when I heard of one near my office. My daughter ended up riding a fundraising ride there and it was a blast to cruise around the track and see her learn.
If you rode a BMX bike as a kid, you will have a blast doing it now. Your not too old. Save that excuse.
To watch what you love go up and down over the course of several decades is tough. Over the course of almost 30 years of being involved in BMX, I have either been involved first hand or cheered and growned from the somewhat sidelines of the sport. Thanks to some pioneers like Mat Hoffman, Dennis McCoy, Steve Swoope, Jay Miron, Dave Mirra, Tim Hall, Chris Moehler, Brian Foster, TJ Lavin back in the 90's; we have a sport that is not only thriving, its growing as it takes on a more global community. This video from Austrailia takes BMX one step upwards in the same way the last major leep took place, the Mega Ramp with Mat Hoffman. Take a look. Simpley AMAZING!!!!!
Everybody loves a crash. Most of us love them as long as the person doesn't get too hurt. In this clip an old school BMX dude was trying to show his kids and some young locals how to jump a huge dirt pile the local DPW had left for something. He was full on at it a few times. By the time I made my way over with a camera he was still at it, and still crashing it. He was fine and smiled throughout each crash. This took place at a skatepark in Fitchburg, MA. If you are this dude, let me know your name.
Rain or shine, the cause was great. The McCourt Foundation put on a fundraising bicycle ride along the south shore of Massachusetts in September 2011. The ride consisted of either 25 or 50 miles and raised several hundred thousand dollars for MS and Alzheimer's research.
It did rain for the first 25 mile loop, but the sun prevailed and it turned out to be a fun ride with some good friends in support of a research for these miserable afflictions. I appreciate Rob Horne inviting me to join and the McCourt Foundation for hosting the event.
For more information, please visit the event home page.
192 miles is a long way to ride, but pales in comparison to the fight that families dealing with cancer face. I rode the PMC this year with 5226 other bike riders with the help of 3000 + volunteers, the PMC staff and some great supporters. I want to thank each and every one of you. This was a great experience and we collectively raised $34 million dollars for cancer treatment, care and research. 100% of the donations we each collected will be presented to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute by the Jimmy Fund.
I hope to ride again next year and hope you will consider supporting me again in fighting this awful disease. Through the PMC and everyone involved (including you!) we can make a difference in the lives of people fighting and towards finding a cure. We are making incredible progress every year. Thank you!!!!!!!
There are so many stories to share, but one stands out for me. On day one at about the 80 mile mark (37 miles to go) many of the riders were feeling what I felt, quads that were starting to tire a bit. As I was thinking that I may need to dig a little deeper, I rode by a house with an 8' wide x 6' tall poster. It had a photo of their 11 month old daughter with the statement, "thank you for rider for her". It absolutely took my breathe away and solidified for me why we were riding. My brain changed gears immediately and the burning in my legs was gone. I rode the rest of the ride faster than any other point. After the ride this mile marker was the talk of many riders. Along the route we were reminded how many people are in fact fighting.
