Brett Middaugh a BMX rider who started back in the Old School days of 1979 riding and racing a Mongoose Motomag has spent pretty much his whole life as an average BMX guy just having fun racing, freestyling and riding with his friends. A couple of years ago he decided it might be cool to document what he went through as an everyday BMX rider during the early days of the sport in his home state of New Jersey. Since he had been around his local scene from almost day one and contributed in a few small ways helping to run races, do freestyle shows, set up New Jersey’s first BMX park and was actually able to go on tour for a couple of years with General, he decided to write a book. It’s called “The Average BMXer” and it chronicles the tales of the way that BMX helped shape the life of the “average” person who grew up around it during its formative years. Essentially it is an everyman’s tale of growing up a BMXer in a world that even to this day doesn’t really understand BMX.
An excerpt from the beginning of the book: “For a few of us that need to break out and do our own thing translated from that device to creating a whole new sport with it. That mode of transportation was the Schwinn Stingray. This type of bicycle appealed to us mainly because we loved ripping our bikes around in the dirt and taking them off wooden jumps constructed out of half assed building materials. Those little Stingrays held up to the abuse. They allowed us to take all those highflying dreams and aspirations of childhood and unleash them in ways no one ever imagined. I knew the moment I took my Stingray off my first plywood and cinder block ramp, that my life was changed forever. This is that tale.”
Middaugh is hoping to inspire other people that may not be the best BMX riders to work within the sport to do what they can to make it better. Hopefully by seeing all the good times and great things that happen to a regular person who never became a big name in BMX it will make them see how important they are being just “average BMXers”. At the very least Brett's sure Old School BMX riders will get a blast seeing BMX evolve through the eyes of someone just like themselves.
Brett has published it to Lulu.com as both an ebook (e-pub) and a hardcover. It is also available at the Kindle bookstore.
If you want to know more about the author, he's on Facebook at facebook.com/brettmiddaugh.
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.