re: Anybody here race BMX back in the 80s?

I raced at capital and Shipleys back then. Several years later I took over running the brec track on Perkins and got us sanctioned and our first National in a decade or so. I also managed a team for the bicycle source briefly and then recruited and managed a great team for capital. Worked a few nights a week at the track doing maintenance, rider clinics and announcing races on Saturday nights,

I raced a little cruiser class then but I spent a lot more time either digging trails or riding them. Nobody dirt jumps here anymore since the park was built.

Sold my last bike about a year ago at 40 after adding another major injury. I got older and started looking at lines and imagining what might go wrong instead of just committing. My last injury I broke my knee cap into 3 separate pieces because I went half hearted at something riding street.

I still miss it. I passed on a couple good industry jobs when I was young because I didn't want to move my family out to California.

SE Racing is now making 26" versions of the "PK RIPPER" and the quadangle, beautiful well specked out bikes. I'm gonna drop the $800 pretty soon and just pedal around. that'll wrap up BMX for me.

Shipleys was in central off Greenwell Springs Road.

wanted one of these so bad when I was 14

LINK

My kid does BMX now. He is 8

He rides a Redline

I too remember going to Shipley's as a kid, but was too young to remember exactly where it was. Anybody know, I'd like to look it up on some old aerial images.

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I too remember going to Shipley's as a kid, but was too young to remember exactly where it was. Anybody know, I'd like to look it up on some old aerial images.

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Same here. I just remembered we would always eat at the Wendy's on Sherwood on the way home. Someone mentioned Greenwell Springs Rd. Google Earth image of the area would be awesome.

I had a bike swing up in my back yard until about a year ago. Good times. I know a lot of guys that raced that sorrento track, rode trails with many of them. I brought my cruiser out there once but never put it on the track. They had some kind of ongoing issue with the dirt they used, very Sandy and shells mixed in. I think they finally got a better surface but I pretty much just rode trails and a little street by then.
The Bike Connection was a pseudo rival to my team and I ran the ABA track in BR then so it felt sorta uncomfortable

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Good times racing back then. Capital Schwinn and Shipley's in BR. Bike Connection in Gonzales. Who else partook?

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I was there. Those redline flights were the shite, me, not so much.

I grew up in the front part of the neighborhood that connected back to Shipley's.

I think I raced every Friday night for a year an a half when I was around 13 or so.

I spent so many days there. Jeff, was the main guy that kept the track running. He was a good dude - he built and sold me a Mongoose out of extra stuff he had lying around when he found out my Redline had been stolen.
He was always working on something - car, bike, go-cart.

The trails in the woods were the shite, some of the jumps were sometimes packed with extra dirt to get catch more air.

It was the only place I raced becasue it was a 5 minute bike ride from my house.

ETA: Shipley's in the back part of a neighborhood off Frenchtown Rd. by Greenwell Springs Rd. , at the very end of Old Greenwell Springs Rd.

LINK

Actually, looking at the map, looks like it was the end of Winterset Dr.