King of BMX for a day...

[Sidewinder]

When I was young, my friends & I were into BMX, and we built a dirt track down by San Diego Bay, in a grove of eucalyptus trees which are now long gone due to development. The dirt track wound through the trees, and we built up berms to make each turn more interesting. We also built jumps, sometimes shaping dirt ramps up against fallen logs. It was a cool place to ride, down by the bay with primo views in many directions... this all happened in the mid-70s, long before an ugly condo complex put an unwanted end to the shady grove of trees.

Not only did we have the dirt single track through the woods, we had a trail which ran below a large bank of dirt, between a terraced dirt parking lot and the sandy beach below... this trail ran for 70 or 80 yards along the base of the dirt bank or terrace, which was roughly 10' higher than the sandy beach. A thin trail also existed atop the bank, between some heavy-duty utility poles and the lip of the dirt bank. The utility poles were laid lengthwise in the dirt near the bayside edge of the parking lot, to serve as barriers so vehicles would not roll over the edge and down onto the beach, where they would certainly get stuck in the deep sand.

We decided to dig a huge "cutback berm" in the sloping bank of the terrace, so we could ride along the top of the bank, drop in and cut back the other way on the hard trail below, yeah? We toiled with shovels brought for the purpose, and it wasn't long before we had a nice roundhouse cutback berm in the terrace, a deep bowl which was fast and fun to ride. We would actually get vertical in this cutback berm, it was similar to a vertical bowl in a skatepark, only it was half a bowl in the dirt. No worries... heaps of fun!

After one BMX session, I was resting atop the dirt bank when a thought came to me: why not build a short ramp against the nearest utility pole in the parking lot, then jump ACROSS the deep cutback berm we had just mastered? A "canyon jump" in every sense, with some distance to clear as well... so we grabbed our shovels and quickly built the angled launch ramp needed to attempt the canyon jump. A rider would have to pedal at top speed across the dirt parking lot, hit the launch ramp, soar across the gaping chasm below, and land on the far side of the sloping bank, a distance of at least 15' from launch ramp to landing.

I should add that the utility poles were BIG, much larger than normal phone poles... these were the kind used as protective barriers for ships in Navy docks, so they were something like 16" or 18" in diameter. In other words, the launch ramp wasn't exactly SMALL, lol. And once a rider was committed to the jump, there'd be no going back... it was "Do or Die!" We put the finishing touches on our new creation, then it was time for someone to step up and make the attempt... and I gotta admit, the canyon jump was intimidating, to say the least, so none of us felt like making the jump, lol. Finally, I grabbed my bike and rode to the far corner of the parking lot, so I'd have a good run at the launch ramp...

Pedaling for all I was worth, I maxed out on speed before I hit the launch ramp and sailed over the canyon... a good jump, easily clearing the cutback berm below, but my landing wasn't so hot. The bike endo'd upon landing, with one pedal and crank WHIPPING past my ear as they narrowly missed my skull, lol. I'm not lying, I heard the air as the pedal whipped past my head! But they didn't call me 'The Bulldog' for nothing, and I quickly grabbed my bike and rode back up top to make another attempt. My second effort was glorious: I hit the launch ramp at speed, sailed majestically over the canyon, and landed perfectly on the far slope of the dirt bank... an awesome jump.

Now came the funny part: not a single other rider would make the jump, it was still too new and too gnarly, lol. Even Gene Galasso, a fine BMX and MX rider in his own right, wouldn't commit at the last second... he'd pedal fast toward the launch ramp, looking as though he was about to fly, but he'd hit the brakes at the last moment, lol. Later, the next day, he would attempt the jump and soar over the canyon, but on that first day, no dice! The canyon jump was just that intimidating, and of course a hand could get hurt or killed in the effort, lol. So, by default, I was 'King of BMX' for the day! The only fool crazy enough to soar over the canyon on Day One!

Ah, those were the Glory Days of BMX, when we tested ourselves on tracks & jumps we built with our own toil & sweat... I've jumped a lot of obstacles since then, some badass jumps in heavy terrain including vertical skateparks, but in retrospect, that canyon jump by the bay was the greatest jump I've ever made! I wish we'd had a camera to record the event, but this was in the days before such self-aggrandizement became popular, lol. No selfies in those days, and no track video. Meh, we weren't rich, and every penny we earned went toward BMX bikes and skateboards... cameras were secondary, costly things for rich folk, lol.

I'm just sharing this flashback with y'all because the memory is still with me... and it's a powerful memory, aye? I can still feel the weightlessness as I launched off the ramp, soared over that yawning canyon below and ultimately landed on the far side, pulling it off the second time and earning the crown for my achievement: 'King of BMX' for the day! It's kinda weird, but I can slow down that memory and sail over the chasm in slow motion, my bike soaring in perfect trim as I log some flight time. What a CLASSIC canyon jump, that monster down by the bay! Intimidating enough to make all other riders back off for the afternoon, lol. WTF, 'King of BMX' for the day? I'll take it, lol...

Seriously, I wouldn't trade that memory for all the tea in China... same goes for the memories of my island voyages off Baja! They're KEEPERS, lol... memories of days when FEAR was mastered and challenges were overcome. Funny thing, I can still roll those memories like videos in my own mind, it's like the jump and those voyages were only completed yesterday. Definitely some of the best times in my life, days of daring adventure! Memories to last a lifetime! You get to my age, and some of those adventures are beyond reach, just too dangerous to attempt now... but I have NO REGRETS when it comes to BMX, or any other extreme sport. I paid my dues and had my fun... CHEERS!!!

[ReapThaWhirlwind]

Cool story bro!

My family still has my childhood BMX bike.

I tried many times to get back into that style, but for me, my 27.5 is like a BMX bike now.

[Sidewinder]

Haha, I hear ya... those "circus bikes" of olde are far too dangerous for me to ride at my current age. Too close to the ground, lol.

[Sidewinder]

Here's another incident I recall from those days: "The Perfect Flying W!!!"

During our daily rides, we encountered "targets of opportunity" in the world of BMX... obstacles or potential jumps, which we then tackled. For example, we once found a fresh dirt pile on one of our school playing fields, a pile temporarily built by heavy equipment. We made a jump out of the pile, and took turns hitting the jump. Some neighborhood kids stopped to check the action, including one kid on a dated girl's bike, 20" wheels, banana seat, hi-rise handlebars, etc. Not a Schwinn, but some cheap knock-off bike, and poorly-maintained in the bargain, lol.

Friend o' mine gets the wild idea of jumping that girl's bike off the dirt pile... so he commandeers the bike, pedaling away at first to get a longer run at the dirt pile. The girl's bike is making all kinds of noise: creaking, groaning, the whole nine yards. My friend makes a good run at the pile, hits the jump and soars into the air... and at that precise moment, the handlebars & neck separate from the headset and frame, while the front wheel & forks also detach and bounce/roll away, lol.

The girl's bike is still in the air, and my friend is still holding the handlebars while sailing through the air in a perfect "Flying W"---the front wheel & forks fall away, and the remainder of the bike also drops away beneath my friend. His feet leave the pedals in midair, and the banana seat is the last thing to fall away... just before everything starts to hurtle downward toward the ground, reminiscent of a NASA video showing some rocket stage peeling away and falling toward the earth.

With a thump and a clatter, and a general sense of everything falling apart at once, my friend survives his impact with the ground, but the bike and its components are scattered in the dirt and grass, lol. Bike frame & rear wheel here, front wheel & forks there, detached handlebars & neck over there, etc. My friend is unscathed, since he's a good rider and he leads a charmed life, but the comical jump and subsequent disintegration of the bike in midair are good reasons for us to rib him mercilessly, lol.

Seriously, it was "The Perfect Flying W!!!" I've never seen one done better! The actual disintegration of the bike occurred 6' or 7' above ground, after my friend launched from the dirt pile. He gave a mighty heave as he launched off the jump too, so that explains the detachment of neck & bars, lol. The loose forks & front wheel were a bonus, I suppose, still connected to each other but not to the bike frame. I had the perfect grandstand seat as a witness, hence the powerful memory of this hilarious BMX incident. What a grand jump that was! Lol.

[enkei]

My bro and I had matching (one red, one orange) Raleigh Rampar BMXes when we lived in San Diego in the late-70s. Never got to any BMX track anywhere, we only rode them up and down the trails in the canyons of Point Loma. If Google Street view is any indication, those trails are now long gone, as all of the properties have erected fences that prevent anyone running around between and behind the houses on the sides of the canyons. Shame....

[Sidewinder]

(01-19-2026, 11:43 AM)enkei Wrote:  My bro and I had matching (one red, one orange) Raleigh Rampar BMXes when we lived in San Diego in the late-70s. Never got to any BMX track anywhere, we only rode them up and down the trails in the canyons of Point Loma. If Google Street view is any indication, those trails are now long gone, as all of the properties have erected fences that prevent anyone running around between and behind the houses on the sides of the canyons. Shame....

Much of our riding was done on trails in canyons behind homes, back when San Diego wasn't quite as developed as it is now... there were more "open spaces" in those days. We also liked riding drainage ditches, due to our skateboarding background... and we often incorporated "surf style" or "skate style" in our ditch runs on bikes, lol. Later, we rode our bikes in skateparks and pools, always striving for stylish wall rides in the vertical world. In retrospect, I was fortunate to participate in both extreme sports... plenty of good memories to last a lifetime!

Back in the day, there was no shortage of canyons with trails to ride... the world wasn't quite as crowded & complicated as it is nowadays!

[Sidewinder]

We used to ride our bikes in the "snake runs" at Moving On Skatepark, once the park closed for good... we'd follow each other in linear formation as we tore down the runs. I remember following Gene Galasso down the (color-coded) red run, which had the steepest turns and walls, with a long concrete trench leading to the deep bowl at the end. There was a projecting point of concrete where the trench emptied into one side of the bowl, so instead of riding directly into the bowl, Geno hit that point and SOARED at least 6' in the air, with a LONNNNNG DROP below him into the bowl... moi, I backed out of it a bit so I wouldn't fly quite as high, but I had the perfect view of that monster air, lol. That was a crazy launch point too, the bowl just fell away on the other side of the point... and it was a deep bowl! Plenty of potential for disaster, but Geno was a good rider and his bike, like mine, was tricked out to handle park riding. That was some crazy air, lol... I can still see Geno flying high above the rim or edge of that bowl, with a gnarly drop below him too! The park is long gone, of course, but the memory will live forever... there should've been a flock of birds flying past as my friend soared so high in the sky, lol.