BMX Action--August 1983

This issue has to be one of those issues that stands out the most to me. And it all has to do with The Pit and a certain Hutch Pro Star test. You will see that in a minute.

Given their normally epic race coverage, it is a good thing to have a pictorial to cover a race every once on a while. Seeing as how good of a photographer Bob Osborn is, this is a welcome site.

Brent Paterson getting stylish over one of the double sets in the Pro Cruiser class.

Concrete jumps and berms must have been a must have for track in Florida. That and carpets on the top of jumps at the trails. Or is that everywhere now?

I know a lot of people have the "tuck" associated with Greg Hill, and I somewhat agree. But this picture of RL blasting one out of The Pit is by far one of the best ever captured. And still, to this day, on of my favorite tings to do on a bike.

Another great shot of Buff proving he has hops. And Toby Henderson sliding sideways "goin' wide open."

Pro gate starts always attracted a large crowd. Bid time speed of the line here. Damn! these shots make me want to go to the track .

(*update 9-4-2013* That is not Gary Ellis, It's Troy Daniels. Sorry.) This issue had a lot of great cruiser coverage. Does anyone know what forks Gary Ellis is running on his bike? Was it some kind of Kastan design dropout or a Kuwahara thing?

Mike Dominquez letting it fly over the Vans Plexi half pipe. What were they thinking not having decks on that thing?

Shimano PD-MX30 DX-platform pedals, silver pr
Diamondback Grind 20 BMX Bike (20-Inch Wheels), Aqua, 20-Inch
Kindle 3G Wireless Reading Device, Free 3G + Wi-Fi, 6" Display, Graphite, 3G Works Globally - Latest Generation

BMX Plus---August 1984

BMX Plus always had a way of cramming as much as they could onto their covers. Also, their use of the color spectrum has always been over the top. But there is no beating those grabbing cover tag lines like "Kuwahara's World Champ Laser: Can it Zap You To The Top?" Classic Plus.

There is just something that is so perfect about that chrome Kuwahara Laser Lite. The set up that Gary Ellis is running in that shot are the perfect combination of chrome and gold. Great set up. And when did Kuwahara change it from the "Lazer" to the "Laser"?

I remember walking something like 6 miles after middle school to our local bike shop and being absolutely blown away by one of these Quadangles. Such an awesome frame and one of the all time classics.

The race coverage was always something that seemed to be a little lacking in some of the issues of Plus. Not sure why, but they seemed to prefer more of the smaller black and white shots over the full page color shots. But every once and a while they would have some really great full page photos. Like this shot of Steve Veltman holding a tight inside line at the Lumberjack Nationals.

This seemed to be more in tuned with how they laid out their race coverage. Still some great photography though. And look at that shot of Patterson racer Cody Smart  checking to see how close he is to that tire.

When this issue showed up in our mail box I did the same thing that I always did. Ran inside and read it over end to end. And after seeing this picture of Woody Itson sitting on his handle bars like that I ran out and tried to figure out how to do it. My neighbors must have thought I was crazy. I might have been, but I don't think I ever figured out how to do that trick. 

BMX Plus
Rad TV The Sequel (VHS) BMX PLUS

The Lumberjack

A while back I had posted something about RL racing the horse on That's Incredible. One of the comments on that post was that The Lumberjack (Gary Ellis) could have taken the horse. I would have to agree. I am not knocking Gary Ellis, not in a million years. He was one the the best racers ever. I am knocking Gt though. Really guys? Looking like that could double as a cover to a gay porn movie. S&M had some porn shot in their shop, maybe this was GT's attempt to dabble in that industry.