History

BMX racing started in the early 1970's in southern California. Kids wanted to do more than just ride on the streets. So they began doing tricks and started racing. A movie from the 1970's called "On Any Sunday" showed motorcycles flying high through the sky and inspired kids start taking their bikes off jumps.

Both Travis Chipres and Gary Ellis were top pros at one point of time in their life. The picture to the left is Travis Chipres. Travis Chipres was the most medaled pro from the 1980's. Travis rode for Mongoose Bikes for his entire pro life. The picture to the right is Gary Ellis. Gary Ellis was the most medaled pro in the 1990's. Gary Ellis was know as the "lumber-jack" and he rode for GT. Both of these men will be remembered as great BMX'ers forever.

BMX is an increasing sport. New riders are signing up weekly! The sport of BMX is starting to show up on TV and even on the internet. In the year of 2008 BMX is going to appear in the Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

The very first BMX track that was built is located in Chandler, Arizona. This track was much more different from tracks today because there were not as many jumps, the jumps weren't as big, and the track was not nearly as technical as they are today. The Chandler BMX track is run by the ABA which stands for the American Bicycle Association.

Now with the Olympics in the future riders are starting to train harder and longer then they ever have before. Riders are starting out as young as four years old. The riders are also progressing faster and at a younger age. The competition is also becoming a lot harder with all the new riders and because everyone is starting to train very hard.