BMX - European or American?
There can be no doubt that BMX (bicycle motocross) is a sport that is enjoyed by millions worldwide. The inclusion into the Olympic itinerary has sealed it as a sport of global proportions. The bikes themselves have seen some serious development over the last 30 years and the riders have equally spent time and energy preparing themselves for the gruelling and sometimes dangerous races we see today. But where did this fast paced sport of jumps, tricks and skill come from and how did it arrive at the worlds door as a visually stunning and exciting spectacle for the riders and spectators alike.
There was a time, not so long ago, that many believed that the sport itself originated in California; around the end of the 1960's and start of the 1970s. This assumption was fairly universally accepted until recent investigations led commentators and enthusiasts alike to question the real roots of the sport. The idea of people (not just children) trying to imitate the motorbike cross country races on bicycles is not hard to imagine. The world of motorised sport was the preserve of a few men (and women) that wanted to take road bikes and put them through their paces on the fields and through the woodlands. Once the excitement and thrills had been released onto a world that was looking for spectacular pastimes after the war, the imagination of men and boys alike was fired. It seems absolutely logical that younger men and boys would take to imitating those riders whilst out and about on their bikes. The point, at which this pleasant and sporadic pastime became an accepted event, such that races were held, has been thought of as being in the US for a long time. But there has been a spate of recent publications about the Dutch history in the 1950s, which include footage shot at BMX style races. The videos for this can be seen on YouTube (search YouTube for '1957 old school BMX'). It can be clearly seen that boys and young men were lining up to compete across man-made tracks against each other.
The most obvious thing that strikes one as you watch is the size of the bikes. We have a come to view BMX as a sport raced on small framed and wheeled bikes (20") and the videos show full sized (26" and 28" wheels), pretty much unmodified, road bikes. Jump forward to the early 70s and across the Atlantic to see the start of BMX as we know it today. The kids of the late 60s and early 70s that wanted to emulate their heroes from the motocross world had chosen to ride the best of the selection of kids bikes available back then, notably the Schwinn stable of kids bikes available in the 60 and 70s. This set the difference and the styles of the transatlantic cousins. In the mid-seventies a Dutch rider, Gerrit Does, came to the US to facilitate an international exchange of motocross riders and in the process viewed and explored the American sport of BMX and from this point on the sport coalesced and became the world BMX style that we all know today.
There can be no doubt that since the inclusion in 2008 into the Olympic programme the sport has reached the acceptance and standards required of any sport to be called truly global. The IOC has stated that this inclusion would "...definitely enhance the Olympic program..". A star has indeed been born.
There was a time, not so long ago, that many believed that the sport itself originated in California; around the end of the 1960's and start of the 1970s. This assumption was fairly universally accepted until recent investigations led commentators and enthusiasts alike to question the real roots of the sport. The idea of people (not just children) trying to imitate the motorbike cross country races on bicycles is not hard to imagine. The world of motorised sport was the preserve of a few men (and women) that wanted to take road bikes and put them through their paces on the fields and through the woodlands. Once the excitement and thrills had been released onto a world that was looking for spectacular pastimes after the war, the imagination of men and boys alike was fired. It seems absolutely logical that younger men and boys would take to imitating those riders whilst out and about on their bikes. The point, at which this pleasant and sporadic pastime became an accepted event, such that races were held, has been thought of as being in the US for a long time. But there has been a spate of recent publications about the Dutch history in the 1950s, which include footage shot at BMX style races. The videos for this can be seen on YouTube (search YouTube for '1957 old school BMX'). It can be clearly seen that boys and young men were lining up to compete across man-made tracks against each other.
The most obvious thing that strikes one as you watch is the size of the bikes. We have a come to view BMX as a sport raced on small framed and wheeled bikes (20") and the videos show full sized (26" and 28" wheels), pretty much unmodified, road bikes. Jump forward to the early 70s and across the Atlantic to see the start of BMX as we know it today. The kids of the late 60s and early 70s that wanted to emulate their heroes from the motocross world had chosen to ride the best of the selection of kids bikes available back then, notably the Schwinn stable of kids bikes available in the 60 and 70s. This set the difference and the styles of the transatlantic cousins. In the mid-seventies a Dutch rider, Gerrit Does, came to the US to facilitate an international exchange of motocross riders and in the process viewed and explored the American sport of BMX and from this point on the sport coalesced and became the world BMX style that we all know today.
There can be no doubt that since the inclusion in 2008 into the Olympic programme the sport has reached the acceptance and standards required of any sport to be called truly global. The IOC has stated that this inclusion would "...definitely enhance the Olympic program..". A star has indeed been born.
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