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Bicycle Motocross or BMX racing is a type of off-road bicycle sprint racing for up to eight racers on a dirt track course. It’s a family-oriented activity with riders who can be any age from 4 to 70.
My younger son, Matt, now a grown man with a family, a bit more than three decades ago was a shy 10-year-old who was quite avid about the idea of BMX racing.
I had helped him build up a pretty good BMX racing bike, and now came the time for the true test his first BMX race.
We loaded up the old Cadillac with the bike. Matt, his mother and I drove down to Harding Park in Girard, the venue for a great Saturday of BMX racing.
Matt donned his new adult-sized Bell helmet that was way too big for his body, and stood ready with his bike for his heat of 10-year-olds to come up.
Suddenly, he froze. Then, he came running up to his parents saying that he didn’t want to race. He was quite teary-eyed and scared, and talked us into loading his bike back in the car and leaving the track.
There was dead silence in the car as we headed out of the park. Just as we were about to exit, his mother said, “Turn around, we’re going back, and Matt is going to race!”
We got back in time for Matt’s heat.
A look down the course showed a steep downhill followed by a 180-degree horseshoe curve, then back uphill to the finish line.
And they were off! Matt was last out of the gate, and I ran alongside the track shouting encouragement to him. In the first 25 yards was a huge pileup, not involving Matt, because he was so slow to get going. Matt deftly rode around the entangled pile and down the hill he went with the remounted bikers not far behind. They were just catching up with Matt when there was another pileup on the curve at the bottom of the hill which left Matt neck and neck with a couple of the remaining riders.
Now, you need to know this: Matt was nearly a head taller than the other 10-year-old kids in the race. Most of that height was in his legs. So, now it became a leg-pumping race up the hill to the finish. Matt pulled way ahead and finished an easy first.
The PA announcer was ecstatic, excitedly announcing that Matt hadn’t even wanted to race, and now he was the winner of his first BMX race! Not to say how truly excited and happy his parents were about his win.
Maybe we can take something from Matt’s experience. Often we have fears and trepidations about launching into a new and unknown phase of our lives, and maybe we want to turn around and go back to what’s safe and comfortable. As you can see, going ahead with life’s challenges certainly trumps the safe and comfortable.
Post Script: Matt continued to race into his high school years. He collected many trophies, which I kept at my home while he was in college. When I had to move to temporary housing and couldn’t take the trophies with me, Matt suggested that they be donated to the Rebecca Williams Community House in Warren. Its stated purpose was to “work in behalf of native and foreign groups, needy childhood and community welfare.”
I was promised that the trunk full of trophies I brought to that house would be reused for all sorts of kids’ sporting events. Thank you, Matt.