I'm not the best bike rider. Not even close. I don't claim to be or want to be the best. I probably have three or four moves that im alrite at, but to be honest, I'm pretty content with them.
My first glimpse of bmx was in, I think... 6 grade. I saw it on ESPN on a show called "X2day". It was a show hosted by bmx idiot, Rick Thorne. I was so into it. I made my dad take me to buy a bike at Toys R Us. It was a shit box Royce Union, chrome and purple, with 6 piece bars I think. I loved that fucking thing. It was awesome. The kids in the neighborhood and I would ride some shitty dirt mound that we built with cinderblocks. It was the best. Me and 5 or 6 dudes, just riding this 2 foot tall mound. Over and over, all day long, no matter how hot it was out. We would be out there running train on this stupid thing. Nothing compared to it.
I left elementry school and went to junior high. Most kids were thinking about what classes to take or what sports to sign up for. I was thinking about that stupid dirt mound. Junior high is also where I realized I wasn't alone. I met differant kids from the area who rode bmx and did the same shit. But more importantly, felt the same way. They introduced me to a lot of new shit. The biggest being Dick Mauls Bike Shop. Real bmx bikes, differant parts, videos and clothes. All right before my eyes. It was awesome. Videos, like Little Devil's "Seek and Destroy", Standard "Domination" and FBM's "Live Fast Die" and "Albert Street", all showed me there was a whole life style behind bike riding that wasnt showed on ESPN. I loved it.
Fast forward 12 years... a lot of things have changed. My pancreas shit the bed and I got diabetes, I lost the glasses and dyed the doo black, and eventually developt a small binge drinking problem. But what hasn't changed, is that same feeling for bike riding that I had when I was 12.. Replace launching that dirt mound in my back yard, with weaving in and out of traffic on Mass Ave, brakeless, full throttle. To me, its all the same shit. It's love.. The shit hasn't changed or left. Not even a little.
Fast forward 12 years... a lot of things have changed. My pancreas shit the bed and I got diabetes, I lost the glasses and dyed the doo black, and eventually developt a small binge drinking problem. But what hasn't changed, is that same feeling for bike riding that I had when I was 12.. Replace launching that dirt mound in my back yard, with weaving in and out of traffic on Mass Ave, brakeless, full throttle. To me, its all the same shit. It's love.. The shit hasn't changed or left. Not even a little.
BMX is not about what parts you ride, what your bike looks like, and what tricks you do. It's not. I dont care what you say. It's not. Not about how much you suck, or how good you are. To me, bmx isn't just having a good time on your bike... it's all about the good times on and off your bike. The feeling you get just riding the stupid thing or the feeling you get just hanging out with a ton of your friend's around a concrete bowl in the projects drinking some cocktails. It's all bmx to me.
If it wasn't for bike riding, I would not have a single friend that I do now. Whether it being bmxer's, bums, girls, bartenders, pizza guys or anyone else.....they would all be differant. If it wasnt for bike riding I'd probably be a fat diabetic slob in Pembroke with my feet chopped off sitting inside feeling sorry for myself. It's changed how i look at things, how I look at people and how I look at life. I wouldn't change any of it for the world.
Like, I said before. I'm not the best bike rider, and I don't claim or want to be. But I do know that I think about and love bmx more then anyone else. I know it's a bold statement, but I'm willing to bet a drink on it. I mean, I must... I'm 25, I only got four moves and I'm still doing this shit haha.
-Kevin Botsch
 |
| He's the party |
 |
| Kevin with his lady Drew |
 |
| Kevin and Bruce Danek |
 |
| wallride |
No comments:
Post a Comment