13 years later… I race BMX again!
“Starting from the beginning…” I grew up racing BMX in Spain.
I have been involved in bikes since I was a baby, I don’t remember watching kids cartoons, although I have many memories of my dad recording motocross movies and races so I could watch them. The walls in my room were covered with Motocross and BMX posters, so I was obsessed with bikes from a young age.
Since I was 3 my dad used to take me to the BMX track most Sundays, I was so young that I couldn’t ride over the taller jumps in the track so he would run behind me and give me a push when I needed it!
At the time, the minimum age to join the local BMX Club was 5, so as soon as my 5th birthday arrived I got my first BMX bike, a GT Junior, and I started training with the club about 3 times a week.
I think I was still 5 when I took part in my first BMX race, I got hooked up straight away.
Eventually, BMX racing taught me discipline since no matter how cold or warm it was (you can imagine summer temperatures in the east coast of Spain…) I went to the BMX track every single week. Racing became a bit more serious and we started travelling around Spain.
It was the 2008 or 2009 season, can’t remember to be honest, but we (mum, dad and myself) travelled to most or all races in the BMX Spanish Cup, It was so much fun. At the time I was 9 so you can imagine that racing BMX wasn’t the only interesting thing to be doing during a race weekend, making sand castles and playing with other competitors and most importantly, friends, was part of the weekend highlights!
My parents owned a Volkswagen Transporter, we used to travel and sleep inside it most times, because at home we couldn’t afford to pay for hotels every time we were away racing, although I remember that sometimes my parents would park the van at the hotel car park (where the most of the club members would sleep) and I would spent the night in one of the hotel rooms with other young race competitors and their parents while my parents stayed in the van.
At the end of that season I “won” the BMX Spanish Cup, what means you get to wear the Spanish Champ jersey for the following season and all that stuff although, the reason why I typed I “won” is because at the time a had an Argentinian passport and nationality (I was born in Argentina), what meant that even if I scored the highest amount of points at the end of the season I couldn’t be the BMX Spanish Champion, so this tittle was passed onto the second qualified.
This never bothered me, to be fair, the child behind me (Saúl, from Catalunya) was one of my best friends at the time.
The following season I was given the opportunity to take part in a new team called “Energy System Team”, we got free gear and support for racing I believe, although a few months down the line I stopped racing BMX, sold the bike and gave myself a brake for a few years until I got into Mountain Bikes.
One of the realities at the track is that parents can be as or even more competitive than their child, they tend to push and put too much pressure into their child, for what? The likelihood of your kid making a living if BMX isn’t that great and, if your child is going to make it as a professional he/she will present two characteristics:
He/she will have an outstanding talent on a bike, which will be noticeable for sure.
He/she will be likely to be driven and motivated to train without you having to say anything.
Now you may be thinking that my parents were pushing me… That wasn’t the case, they were very supportive but they never shouted or complained if I didn’t do well on a race. On the other hand, they always tried to comfort me if I didn’t do well by saying that taking part and having fun is the main reason why we were out there.
The reason why I left BMX racing was because I just enjoyed riding bikes and I didn’t need (at the time) a competitive atmosphere to have fun.
13 years forward…
I joined Lisburn BMX Club to ride the local track on my dirt jump bike. I didn’t really think about getting into racing at the start.
A few months down the line, in July 2021 I was told about a BMX race in Lucan (Dublin) the following Sunday. Two days later, on a Tuesday, I bought an old BMX bike for £100 and showed up in Lucan 5 days later.
I have to be honest, it was seriously scary. Being used to riding bigger, heavier and more stable bikes, getting into a sub 10kg bike with 20” wheels and sprinting out of the gate with 7 guys on the side isn’t the best transition.
Somehow I managed to get out of 4 motos, 3 second places and a first place on the final moto, by inches. It was a great time!
Got hyped for racing BMX again!
A few weeks after this event, I was training on a Friday for Sunday’s BMX race, the local track had seen some work and there was a new jump which I decided to be the first person to triple it, with the outcome of a dislocated shoulder and a mangled bike.
I managed to pull my shoulder back in the place, the bike wasn’t so lucky. It went straight in the bin.
Latest news!
I got hooked up with Thrill Ireland and Max BMX Parts Europe! These guys have put together an amazing BMX bike for me!
Now I am training again and looking forward to taking part in some BMX races during the 2022 season!
If you read this far, fair play! Thanks!
Stay tuned for upcoming news!
T
