Traveling the world racing BMX is a dream for many youngsters growing up. The idea of racing all the good tracks in different countries is the lifestyle they chase. Gathering enough interesting photos from being on the road to share on Instagram and Facebook will sure bring extra followers to the personal social media platforms. Antics for Snapchat aplenty. We have to admit, traveling is a big part of BMX racing. Seeing different nations, learning new languages, experiencing the cultures, eating different food, it is all part of it. That one bond that you have in common, the BMX bike, opens up doors and friendships for life are started.
But traveling isn’t always fun while it’s happening. Checking in the bike at the airlines for instance is usually a drag even if you are using a golf bag to fool the person behind the desk. If you’re the 30th person showing up with a Golf bag after the race is over chances are that they’ve found out there are no golf clubs in the bag but BMX bikes and an extra fee gets charged. Key is to show up as the first one and you might get away with it, or use a bag that doesn’t look like a bike can fit inside.
It’s tricks you learn over the years. Do you still rent rooms in a hotel for the entire team? Try renting someone’s house for the weekend and you can cook your own food, do laundry on a muddy day, use the dryer and play some games. See how people live in different countries by being part of it. If you know someone lives close to the track, check if you can stay there and return the favor when the race is near your house.
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.