BMX Weekly

This is my second podcast with John Salami on BMX Weekly. John stayed with us a couple of weeks ago while he was out in San Diego for the Gold Cup Finals.

We catch up on the latest with the New Jersey BMX Hall of Fame, which John runs, along with his BMX Legends Society group and Lunch with Legends podcast. John shares stories about some of the guests he’s had on the show, the backstories behind the interviews, and plenty of BMX history along the way.

Then we switch things up with a bit of a “name game.” I throw some legendary BMX names at John and get his thoughts and stories on each of them, including Pistol Pete Loncarevich, Brian Lopes, Chris Moeller, Geoff Schofield, Mickey Lundy, Craig Reynolds, John Tomac and Dave Cullinan.

Always great catching up with John and talking BMX.

Check out MX Legends Society Lunch with Legends on YouTube.

We talk British BMX Hall of Fame, do today’s riders care about nostalgia? Upcoming races in China, World Cups and Olympic points for 2028 about to start.

Driving around Europe with my dad in the 80s and 90s to race, taking ferries and dealing with different currencies.

Current talk on Cam Wood, current wide-open turns and are riders blowing off the track because of the speed of SX?

Jason brings up Eddy Clerte’s new Sunn and the seat height after his post on No Holds Barred REAL BMX blew up.

We also talk Frogtown, Dirty Fest and a few thoughts from our side.

We hit on one of our guests on the Podcast, Scott Felt, calling it a day on racing 20-inch.

Last week’s posts on the BMX Weekly social media pages, bicycle trials, a little mountain bike talk and more.

We wrap up the summer with Dr. J and cover a lot of ground.

We start with some post Worlds talk from the UCI BMX World Championships in Australia, including new Elite Men’s World Champion Jesse Asmus. Can he back up the title, become a major player moving forward, and maybe even win another World Championship? We give our thoughts.

We also get into the Malverns Classic, the new USA BMX schedule, and imagine what riders like Gary Ellis, Charles Townsend, Matt Pohlkamp, Dr. J, and Pistol Pete would look like racing today with slammed seats and modern setups.

There’s plenty of bench racing too, including some of the fastest women to ever race BMX and a few potential GOAT names that newer racers may not know as well, but who had incredible careers in their eras.

We debate whether BMX bikes are getting too small and whether racing on 24 or even 26 inch wheels could make sense. We also talk about other BMX podcasts we listen to, the atmosphere and finish line scenes from the recent Mountain Bike World Cup, and throw it back to four cross World Cups and dual racing from the late ’90s into the 2000s.

Jason shares thoughts on some of the local San Diego AA Pros from the ’80s and ’90s, we revisit the old World 1 through World 8 number plates for World Championship finalists, and ask whether BMX should bring that tradition back.

Plus, riders we admire, a few potential guests we’re hoping to get on the podcast this fall, and more.

This one has been a long time in the making. Big thanks to Brian Randolph at BioLab for making this one happen.

The Andy Contes Podcast

On this episode, Andy talks about the early days of his BMX career, from the Arizona teams he first rode for, to getting picked up by Free Agent, followed by Haro and GT, before eventually returning to Haro.

We also talk about Andy winning almost straight off the bat, his battles with GT Factory superstar Shea Pierce, winning the IBMXF 1994 World Championships at Waterford Oaks, Michigan, and finishing second a year later in Columbia, along with his thoughts on that World Championships in 1995.

Andy also talks about first getting on GT, battling the likes of Haro's Mike Brant, Powerlite's Mario Soto, and other top Ams on GT, Robinson, and Powerlite. He shares his thoughts on finishing second at the 1998 UCI World Championships in Australia behind Thomas Allier while still an Am, winning the 1998 ABA Amateur Title, turning pro, surviving a car crash with his GT teammates the day before racing at the 2000 World Championships in Argentina, attending graduate school while racing professionally, completing an internship at GT, and juggling both school and racing at the same time.

Andy also reflects on winning a Pro Cruiser title, the challenges of balancing his career on and off the track with school and a full-time career, and returning to Haro for the final chapter of his professional career before retiring.

We also talk about Andy getting back into racing, reconnecting with Jamie Leija at BioLab, and returning to the sport through his kids, who are now racing. Since coming back, Andy has already added two more World Championship titles to his incredible résumé. He also talks about his career at Intel, the Contes Gate, working with Toby Henderson, his future in BMX, being inducted into the Arizona BMX Hall of Fame, and so much more.

What a mess over the UCI Worlds in Australia. Another World Championships cancelled, with the results decided by the times from the last round the day before. A lot of unhappy people.

Social media is in uproar, so it only made sense for Dr. J to swing by early this morning and record a podcast to share our thoughts.

Check it out!

Jerry Landrum of BMXmania.com talks about the demise of the NBL, the fierce rivalry between the ABA and NBL, his time working with Bob Tedesco, and the formation of USA BMX after the NBL finally came to an end.

Jerry also shares stories about the legendary NBL Christmas Classic and Presidents Cup, some South Park talk, Gary Aragon, and more.

The man himself, Mr. BMX Mania, Jerry Landrum, is out in San Diego for the week, visiting and helping out with our Summer Camp. Of course, part of the plan for Jerry's trip was to record some podcasts and document some of the BMX Mania history.

We talk about Jerry's early days getting into BMX, racing in Indiana, and moving into National racing against the likes of Everett Rosecrans, Doc Pearson, and Shag Shaughnessy. We also cover Jerry getting on the Mongoose Co. Factory Team and getting to meet and hang out with his longtime friend, Eric Rupe.

Jerry talks about traveling internationally and racing at the Brighton '96 World Championships in England.

We then get into the start of BMX Mania, shooting pictures, the early days of the internet, BMX media, and some of his sponsors.

Jerry then talks about meeting UCI's Johan Lindström and starting to work with the UCI.

Jerry gives us stories on Kyle Bennett, BMX World Magazine, shooting photos at the first 2008 Olympics and again at London 2012, and having the best seat in the house to watch BMX racing history being made.

We talk about how big BMX Mania got, the visitors and views, and how it really was the website everyone went to for their up-to-date BMX news and scoops.

Jerry talks about working with Warwick Wheeler and BMX World Magazine, and contributing to the NBL and so many other BMX media outlets at the time.

So much more is covered, with Part 2 and possibly Part 3 to come.

In this episode, we talk about a bunch of podcasts I recorded at DIRTYFEST, including Charles Townsend, Tommy Brackens, the UK's first No. 1 girl rider, Jane Windle, and one of the BMX riders from the movie E.T., Robert Cardoza. We also talk about Paul being on a new episode of the Union Tapes that he just recorded.

We also talk about DIRTYFEST from a few weeks ago and how the event continues to grow, racing against Jeremy McGrath, his VDC bike, some of the bikes I rode at DIRTYFEST, Eric Carter and Dick Cheeseburger's battle, and how Stu Thomsen is still fast in his 60s.

We also talk about my summer camp season, which is about to kick off, and how summer camps continue to grow alongside Tyler Brown's in San Diego. We cover the last round of the UCI World Cup in Holland a few weeks ago and throw it back to the racing and drama from the Florida ABA in the '90s with Kevin Tomko, Adam Richards (RIP), and Erik Abbadessa at the NBMX Easter Classic.

This podcast features Charles Townsend reflecting on his trip to the UK in 1986 to race the IBMXF World Championships at Slough while still an amateur rider for Hutch.

Charles talks about travelling from the United States with his Hutch teammate Eric Carter, his first impressions of the Slough track, and racing overseas for the first time. He also shares memories of battling Dutch European Champion Bas de Bever in both 20-inch and Cruiser competition, becoming a double World Champion, and forming lasting friendships with many of the English racers he met over the following years.

Dennis’s story is a raw and compelling look at a life defined by resilience. Growing up in the San Fernando Valley and Antelope Valley with a Hells Angels father, Dennis experienced early trauma, including nearly being kidnapped at age 9 and facing a false statutory rape accusation at 13 that led him to attempt suicide. BMX racing became his unlikely lifeline after being introduced to the sport by neighbour Rich Bartlett in the early 1990s.

Dennis raced through the mid to late 1990s. Life continued to throw challenges his way, including a catastrophic dirt bike crash that shattered 32 bones in his leg, years working as a tattoo artist in Utah and California, homelessness as recently as 2022, and losing his father in 2014.

Through it all, BMX has continued to pull him back in. Now 48, Dennis is racing again after winning a Gold Cup and State Championship in 2022, raising two kids in the sport, enjoying the camaraderie of state racing, riding his bike, sharing his thoughts on the future, and more.