"Let's get a frickin' bus. We'll pull in to the city, load it up with kids and head out to the BMX tracks. Let's introduce this #BIKELIFE culture to BMX racing."
And that's exactly what we did! We handpicked over 40 #SEBIKELIFE riders via their Instagram profiles with instructions to meet up with us at Rucker Park in Harlem, NY. Both Larry's Freewheeling and Jake's bike shop were on hand at the park for last minute tune-ups. Once we were all loaded up on the bus, we drove the riders and their bikes 2hrs out of the city to the New Paltz BMX track for a private practice session. From there we were off to the Kingston Point BMX track for a local night race where everyone raced their first ever BMX race.
All of these #BIKELIFE riders have crazy wheelie skills on the streets, but they were super stoked to get out of the city & experience BMX racing in the dirt. The riders quickly transformed their talents from wheelie tricks to learning how to get a gate start, pumping & jumping jumps, and carving berms. Everyone had the time of their lives & many riders plan to race again.
This was truly the merging of two cultures. BIKELIFE meets BMX racing!
-Todd Lyons
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.