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.
We love BMX at any age. It was born when my generation were young kids, but it didn't mean that it ended when we "grew up". We love it because its a part of us. Take a look at Kevin's video and you may understand why we love the sport and why kids that don't automatically fall in love with other sports find a cool thing to do on bikes. Kevin is a pioneer and an ambassodor to the sport.
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!
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!!!!!
The foundation of today's BMX freestyle was set in the 1980s following the pioneer Bob Haro. What is being done today is simply amazing and the riders are incredibly talented, courageous and pioneers in their own right. Bob Haro, MIke Dominguez, RL Osborne, Eddie Fiola, Woody Itson, Dennis Langlais, Chris Lashua, Jeff Larson, Brian Blyther, Ron Wilkerson, Mat Hoffman, Martin Aparjo, Rick Moliterno, Joe Johnson and thousands of others created that foundation for the triple flair whips and 900's.
This set of videos will highlight some of the original tricks these pioneers invented and perfected for a generation of riders and generations to follow as a foundation for what would follow in the progression of tricks we see today on ESPN and other global media. Thanks to all the pioneers, all those that rode along and everyone that enjoyed watching these tricks and riders. What a ride we all take.
Thank you to Paulette Reed for shooting the video at Subliminal Skatepark in Shrewsbury, MA, USA.
I love this trick as much as almost anything on a bike. The one
exception could be just a simple HaaaUUUUge carve on a halfpipe back and
forth. That is a feeling you can't appreciate unless you've done it.
This trick is just so fluid and contorted that I love it because I don't
think I could do this with my body without a bicycle. Love it!
Brian Blyther made it famous. This guy is the king of both of these tricks.
For those of you that know me well, you know that 2009 was a year I will hope to forget as quickly as possible. Sparing the details for everyone, 2010 is a year where change is in the air. If you know me at all, you know bikes are a huge part of my life, second only to my family, maybe third if I rank making a living ahead of riding a bike. You see where bikes stand though. Having the year that I did last year allowed me to rediscover some things, reading for one thing. One of the great books I read was "Its Not A About the Bike" by Lance Armstrong and Sally Jenkins. Great book for anyone looking to read a truly amazing story about the human will and spirit. it also educates well on the process cancer survivors experiences. Amazing on both points.
After reading the book, and a second and third by Lance, I asked myself why I was still worrying about how my life had changed. I asked myself, "what would lance do", in this situation. Guess what? He went through the same thing. He is divorced with small children. In comparison to what he has persevered through, I felt pretty silly worrying about my situation. Lance being a bike rider, undoubtedly the greatest cyclist of all time, I related to his path back from his challenges - get on the bike and show yourself you are still alive and well. It is truly "not about the bike". It is about living for what it is you have, and not worrying about what you don't.
WHAT WOULD LANCE DO? Lance would say go for a ride. Lance would say focus on your life. Lance DID say "pain is temporary, quitting is forever". Not digging out from your challenges IS quitting. Don't quit on yourself. I am not quitting, never planned to and never expected to quit. Now let's just get this snow out of Massachusetts and get on with "WHAT LANCE WOULD DO" on two wheels.
LIVE STRONG - This is allot more than a cancer survivor website. I was amazed at what is available for anyone interested in something better for themself. Register and explore.
Some great videos to further introduce or grow your appreciation.
A pioneer is generally recognized as someone that starts something. I consider people pioneers for taking something further than it currently is at. Kevin Jones is this type of pioneer. He did not invent BMX Freestyle or even flatland. He did though take it in a new direction in the late 80s. He had a brand of rolling and balance tricks that were like no other at the time. He led a movement from hopping and spinning to rolling/contorting/balance. The seminol publication of the 80/90s freestyle era recently named him one of the most important riders in "Freestylin Generation F". Here are a few videos to demonstrate. If you were not in the Freestyle scene at the time it is hard to appreciate how incredible his riding was at the time, but compare many of the tricks of today and you will see a big Kevin Jones influence. Thanks to Mark Eaton for the video on YouTube and Kurt Schmidt for the video on Vimeo.
