bmx

In the mid to late 80's I used to ride bmx flatland freestyle.  I started out on some crappy ass bikes, but over time was able to afford a nice GT pro freestyler tour, after that a Haro Master.  The crappy bikes taught me discipline and I was able to abuse the shit out of them.  Ever see what a back rim looks like after attempting 360s all day?  Not pretty.  By the time I was riding top of the line shit, my style was in check.  Whiplashes were smooth as ice.  I would go to the local basketball courts at parks and ride flatland for hours.  Which over time would attract other riders.  In bmx flatland you searched other riders out.  If someone told me they saw another dude riding flatland I would try to scope this other rider out.  And vica a versa.  As a rider you were always trying to find other riders to ride with.  Part of it was saftey in numbers sure, you didn't want to be caught by yourself riding a $500.00 bike in a not so safe area.  But mainly you would seek out and ride with other riders to push your potential.  If Jon could pull a rolling decade, then maybe it's not so hard.  That's how, as a rider you progressed.  But the one thing any decent rider hated, was the posers.  They would show up at the park or riding area with a top of the line bike.  And when ask to bust out just one trick, the answer would be along the lines of "I don't know how to do any tricks, I got the bike for my birthday"  Most of the time they would show up for a few days and watch.  But would soon get bored and leave.