I had boxes of BMX trophies from when I competed in BMX racing.  All of them were first place. I was to Young to remember everything, I really only remember the last day that I ever rode BMX competitively. 

The BMX racetrack was more than an hour away. It was in Oxnard, we had to take four freeways there and the last one wasn’t finished being built. From there it was an hour drive by streets. My bike was attached to the roof of the car on a roof rack. 

We get going and by the time we get to the third freeway I hear a wiggle from the roof. This wasn’t normal and I look backwards and I see my bike landing on the freeway behind us and see a car run over it. I was devastated. We stop the car to get it and it is mangled beyond recognition.

We drive back to the house and I grab my heavy duty BMX bike. That is just for riding around the neighborhood. It weighs a ton, and I am devastated about the bicycle that just got destroyed. 

We hop back into the car and race to make it to the competition. We make it on time and I notice that one of my rivals is now sponsored by 7-eleven. He has a tent setup just for him. I don’t really know if I knew who he was or even if he was my rivals. But I remember being floored by this. I had won every race, why didnt I have this. 

I remember being forced to race, I wanted nothing to do with it. After the gate opens I remember going towards the first turn and just falling over and getting mangled with the other riders. I don’t know why, but I did my best to just finish the race. I remember it being the only time that I ever fell in a race. It was the only partcipation trophy I had ever recieved. 

At the end of this, I knew it was my last BMX race ever. I was defeated. I had won so many races before and this was my first loss. I had never had these feelings before. I didn’t want to ever feel that way again. 

And I never did. I never did a BMX competition after that. I thought that the bike is what helped me win. Writing this now is the only time I have ever really talked about it. Some thirty years later.