BMX Essay: 19th century-1979

[iceqb25]

BMX
   “At the end of the 19th century, the bicycle became a popular form of exercise and transport. Acrobatic music hall performers and others began to experiment with what new things could be achieved on this new contraption.” (history/early tricks). Some of these performers include: The Elliotts and the Seven Musical Savonas, famous in the 1880s for being the only cycling band of the time; and Kaufmann’s Cycling Beauties, an all female formation cycling team. “As to the birth of freestyle, I’m bettin’ it started about 45 seconds after the birth of the bicycle.” (Paul Crow).   
   
   In the 1960s, motorcycle motocross arrived in the United States along with many star racers such as Gary Bailey and Brad Lackey, who became heroes to kids across the country. In 1969, some kids in Santa Monica, California, not yet old enough to race motorcycles, chose to race bicycles instead. “These kids started building hills in vacant lots to jump with their regular bicycles. They soon developed courses, or tracks, with hills, turns, and other obstacles to have organized races on. The kids didn’t know it then, but they were forming a new sport that would become one of the most popular extreme sports ever.” (BMX History Time Line). This new sport was called BMX, bicycle motocross, since the sport came from motocross. 
   
   In 1970, Scot Breithaupt, a young motorcycle racer, saw a group of kids imitating motocross stunts, and he decided to try it. He stated, “It was a kick! I was completely stoked! I got the kids together and told them if they’d each pitch in a quarter, I’d go home and get my motorcycle trophies and have a race. According to Scot, 30 kids raced that day and 150 showed up the following week.” (Bob Osborn). “I was racing all the time. That’s all I did.” (Bob Haro). Later, Scot formed the first BMX riders’ organization; the Bicycle United Motocross Society. In the summer of 1972, a small BMX track opened in Valencia, California. Later that year in December, Jon and Don Dryer started running BMX races in their backyard in Malibu, California. In early 1973, Erine Alexander and Suzzane opened a downhill BMX track at Soledad Sands Park, California. Six months later, Erine founded  the first nationwide BMX sanctioning body: The National Bicycle Association. BMX grew very competitive and tracks started employing judges and setting rules. “The first major BMX race, the Yamaha Gold Cup, was held at Birmingham High School, in Van Nuys, California, on July 20, 1974. The concept of winning and sportsmanship was evident throughout all BMX tracks. “One team borrows parts from another team for needed parts, and the winner of a race will help the second place rider fix the bike or suggest sprocket changes for maximum speed.” (Jim Decker).   

   In the early 1890s, The American Tobacco Company issued a set of 25 tobacco insert cards featuring bicyclists to advertise chewing and smoking tobacco. In 1899 and 1901, Thomas Edison filmed the first bicycle trick riding on film. A few years later, the first publication featuring bicyclists was released: the illustrated sporting and dramatic news, July 30,1904: Trick Cyclists. It contained pictures of bicyclists doing stunts on their bicycles never thought possible at the time.   
      “In the spring of1971 Bruce Brown’s motorcycle documentary          movie, On Any Sunday, was released. The opening scenes             showed some kids on 20-inch bicycles pretending they were             motorcycle motocross racers... I asked Bruce Brown how he came          to include the bicycle scenes in the movie. He said he would see          these kids imitating motorcycle motocross racers on their bicycles          in an open area down the street from his home in Juan             Capistrano.” (Bob Osborn).  “..those opening scenes fired the          imaginations of a number of people who would, in a few years, play       major roles in the development of BMX. Touched by these opening          scenes were future NBA founder Ernie Alexander, BMX Action’s          magazine Bob Osborn and manufacturer Chuck Robinson.”             (history/1897-1979).
In June 1974 in Orange, Ca. USA,  Elaine Holt published the first ever BMX publication: Bicycle Motocross News. Yamaha put $100,00 into the promotion and operation of the Yamaha Gold Cup and it was covered by Sports Illustrated Magazine. (Bob Osborn). In 1976, Bob Osborn released the first issue of BMX Action, or BMXA.

   “The reason  I got started in BMX is I used to race motorcycles and I ran out of money. That was when I was in tenth grade, about 16 or 17, in high school.” (Bob Haro). “Some parents thought that motocross was too dangerous for their children, and those who didn’t have a problem with it couldn’t afford a motorcycle.” (BMX History Time Line). BMX offered fun and exciting action at a low cost. In 1963, the original Shwinn Sting-Ray was introduced and changed the world of BMX forever.
      “By 1968 seventy percent of all bicycles sold in the United States          were Sting-Rays or copies of Sting-Rays. The steering geometry of          the Sting-Ray, combined with the short wheelbase and 20-inch          wheels, resulted in surprising good handling characteristics.”          (history/1897-1979).   In Chatsworth, a BMX father named Linn          Kasten creates the first pair of tubular BMX forks in the workshop          of his company - Redline, a speedway motorcycle frame builder.           About    the same time, another BMX dad (and part-time drag racer)          named Skip Hess is working on the first mag wheels for BMX bikes.        Little did he know, at the time, that the MotoMag would sell millions.        Following Yamaha’s footsteps, Kawasaki introduces an aluminum          shocker.  Part-time Hollywood stunt-man and part-time motorcycle          gas-tank maker Gary Littlejohn and his partner Murphy, adds the          first production rigid BMX frame to his line of products that already          included side hacks and mono-shocks. Towards the end of ‘74,          mono-shocks died and rigid frames were born.” (history/1897-         1979).
Webco produced the first production straight-tube BMX racing frame in may of 1974. (Bob Osborn). After that in 1978, many new BMX products were released such as the Red Line V’s and the Mongoose bicycle, the most popular BMX bike in the world. 

   Bob Haro began riding skate parks in San Diego, California in 1977.
      “It wasn’t very welcome; skaters weren't too keen on it. They didn't l         like it, cuz pretty much a skate park is a skate park for skaters not          for bikers or bmxers, so we got  a bit of resistance in the beginning.       After a while we were just pretty much a novelty. I think they             respected us after they could see what we where trying to do.          However, everything we were doing was all on new terrain, trying to       carve out all these new tricks was pretty wacky. A lot of the tricks          were very skate inspired kick turns, fakies and aerials, and carving          the pools that kind of stuff.” (Bob Haro).
In 1978, R.L. Osborn teamed up with Bob Haro to form the first freestyle team. “In September of 1978 Bob Osborn saw Haro doing a Rock Walk in the parking lot outside the Wiz Pubs offices during lunch break.” (people/Bob Haro). The Rock Walk was the first documented flatland freestyle trick. “ The Resulting article, “Trick riding… a whole new thing”, was published in the January/February 1979 issue of BMXA. 

   BMX  is for people of all ages, ranging from 3 y/o all the way up to 75 y/o. It greatly effected the youth of the United States. “I’d ride from the time I got out of school until it was dark.” (Bob Haro). BMX eventually found its way to Europe in 1978. BMX inspired many, both young and old,  to become more in life.

[ASC]

BMX has now found its way Globally.

[iceqb25]

woah, i dont know what happened to it! i dont know why its all tweaked out

[Ken NJ]

Haha!!  "Trick riding" is only 2 months older than me! , a whole new thing!

[spix]

thanks for posting!
great essay!