Lane 8 BMX Podcast

Send a text Kyle Evans grew up in a family who loved motorcycles. From the time he could walk he was on a motorcycle. He even became national champ. But finances were tight and his dad sat him down and told him he had helped him as far as he could and that he needed to attract a big time sponsor to continue. Things didn't work out but Kyle kept riding his motorcycle.  Kyle discovered BMX whil...

Send a text Greg Romero wanted to race motorcycles but ended up on a BMX bike. He says for the longest he felt like he didn't belong. He says his break through moment was beating Geoff Schofield, a little ripper on GT at the time. Greg would eventually get on "Boss." One of the best stories in this podcast is how he got to travel with his dad to races. I'm still laughing.  Greg...

Send a text This interview with Australia Josh Mclean takes place while he's in Bogota, Colombia. He's in between World Cup rounds.  I first met Josh a few years back at the Wisconsin State Finals. The race had a great purse and it attracted the likes of Anthony Dean, Alec Bob to Josh Mclean that year. A few years pass and Josh moved to Florida and I soon ended up in the sunshine state a...

Send a text In this episode I interview Drew Motley. We talk about what got him interested in racing. Drew had his first race in St. Louis, Missouri. He turned expert at 15 and struggled. He wasn't used to the physicality of the racing.  Drew eventually moved to Florida from Illinois. He says he tired of being cold and I can't blame him. He says the move helped him make a shift in how he...

Send a text When Greg Hill thinks of starting out in BMX he points to his first bike a "Royce Union." He rode everyday as a kid. A friend of his in school got him started racing at 10 at Escape County BMX Track. He says he never thought about a future in BMX because BMX was so young. Greg says as a rider he didn't progress quickly. In fact he would even get beat by his future wife L...

Send a text Rum River started as an outdoor track in Isanti, Minnesota. But the folks in the Land of 10,000 Lakes wanted an indoor facility. A facility to that would give their riders a chance to compete on the national level. So, they came up with the idea of covering the track. Allowing riders to train 365 days a year. In 2012 the folks at Rum River began crunching the numbers and meeting with t...

Send a text Fede Villegas is from Mendoza, Argentina. Racing Bmx was a family affair, his uncle used to race along with his brothers. He says he was super competitive when he started. His parents had to remind him to have fun at Bmx. Fede says looking back he was more of a power rider who till this day still focuses on his skill.  He says racing in Argentina is much different than racing here in t...

Send a text Robert De Wilde started racing at 5 years old in 1982. His local track was Kampen, a city in the Netherlands. A friend from school dragged him out to the track. He joined the club at the track. He credits the coach at that track for helping him become an all-around racer. Robert says he saw himself as a pack rider in his early years as an amateur. He says it was a blessing because it t...

Send a text Dr. J Rich started racing soon after his brother started. In fact they even shared a bike to race until one Christmas in Las Vegas. Their dad bought a Torker and a GT as presents. Jason's brother was really good. He was win Grands at 14 expert good. He says it took him a minute to find his feet. His dad didn't take him serious until he started training on a regular basis.  On...

Send a text Dale Holmes started racing in 1982. His first race was at the Nottingham Outlaws BMX Track. Locally and regionally he got into the top 3. 1985 he got his first national win at 13 years old. England is such a small country but Dale says there were a lot of tracks all over the place. His training program when he was young consisted of riding a lot at the track and racing. The system paid...

Send a text Shawn Wade is an Illinois native. He didn't start racing until he was 15. Before he got on the bike he raced motorcycles. He grew up at motorcycle tracks watching his family race. Shawn's first BMX race was Mother's Day 2001. The first 15 years of his racing career he only raced class and not cruisers. But, as fate would have it he's known as a cruiser guy. Wade cre...

Send a text Elliot McGrath is from New Hope, Minnesota. He's considered a BMX legend in the state of 10,000 lakes.  Elliot first started riding bikes with his brothers by making jumps. And then he got his chance at the old Rehbeins indoor track that was in a barn in Lino Lakes. By the time Elliot was 14 he was on tour with Stile Industries. He says his class was really hard with Corben Sharra...

Send a text Tyler Klumper is a continent jumper from an early age. He started out in Africa and then moved to North America. Florida is where the Klumper called home here in the states. Tyler raced motocross at an early age. But once he got on a BMX bike at the old Oldsmar track motorcycles eventually fell to the wayside. By the time he was eleven Tyler was back living in Durban, South Africa and...

Send a text Henry Leners is an 11-year-old Minnesota ripper. He started at 2-years-old riding a strider bike. By the time he was three he was pedaling around the track. He turned expert at 5-years-old and progressed quickly with his skill. Henry has ridden for Synergy, Venom and currently he's on Ssquared Factory Team. His favorite track is STMA BMX. This soon to be 6th grade this fall not on...

Send a text Joey Leto first showed up at a BMX track at the age of three. He was called the neighborhood legend. Joey says he wasn't very good but he loved riding his bike. Sarasota BMX was and is his home track. He got serious with racing around the age of 11 when he started racing the Florida state series. During his amateur career he rod for All Tow Wrecking Crew/Yess to Full Tilt. Joey&ap...

Send a text Tre Whyte got into BMX by a suffusion from a friend of his dad's. In his first race he got second. Before he knew it his entire family was involved in the sport of BMX. He says he progressed quite quickly through the ranks. In his first season he became national number two. CK Flash, a former DJ and racer was instrumental in his career. CK helped to revive the now famous Peckham B...

Send a text Rayne Lankford was born and raised in Houston, Texas. He's now living in Florida with Jeremy Smith and Will Grant at their BMX farm. He did his first race as a kid at Armadillo BMX in Conroe, Texas. He describes himself as someone who loves to ride his bike. Rayne says he was never an amateur that won a bunch of nationals but that never stopped him from dreaming about turning pro....

Send a text Eric Spears got involved in racing Bmx in the 80's. He says BMX magazines got him hooked. His first race he got beat by his brother Tony. When he was young he did a lot of NBL racing. Eric says he knew early on that he wasn't going to be pro. But he always had a desire to contribute to the BMX culture. Eventually Eric and his brother decided to start their own product line. T...

Send a text Alec Bob started racing BMX at 9 year old in Dallas, Texas. From the first time he rode a track he knew BMX was his sport. Alec actually started racing at the same time his sister Kristen did. His amateur career culminated with as a world champion in 17-24 age class in 2017. He turned pro and then went to Marian University on an athletic scholarship. While attending Marian Alec he was...

Send a text Here's a fun fact about Will Grant: he grew up in the Olympic National Rain Forest in Washington State in a cabin. But, by the time he was 8 the family had moved to Florida. And by the time he was 10 he was fully committed to racing BMX. He turned pro at 16 and 3 months later he tore his ACL. That injury was part of a string of injuries that hampered his career. By the time he was...

Send a text Trenton Duvall is a chill dude from Minnesota. Originally he started racing in Michigan but by the time he and his family move to the Land of 10,000 Lakes he was a full fledged biker racer at 7. Some of the teams he's ridden for over the years include Mike's Bikes, Full Tilt, and Yess. So far this year he hasn't raced because of a back injury. So at the moment he's...

Send a text Greg Turnage started racing in 1973. He simply wanted to be like his motocross heroes. Greg's mom wasn't to happy about his choice in sports so he turned to the bike. He had a Schwinn cotton picker. Then he had to convince his dad to miss church on Sunday's. He was able to convince his dad and took 2nd in his very first race. Two years later a track opened up in Vallejo,...

Send a text Renato Silva got his first BMX bike win 1993 while living in Brazil. At 13 he gan riding the streets of his neighborhood. Then he found a track by his house he never knew existed and was hooked. Renato won his very 1st race which was a tryout for a team. He says he always wanted to come to the United States.  In 1993 he sent to the worlds in Paris but instead of returning home he got h...

Send a text Billy Griggs started out wanting to be like his motocross hero's on a bike. Griggs and his friends began building jumps to clear. By 1981 he began his racing career. His first race was at the famous Orange YMCA track. He got third in the 12 beginners  class. During his amateur years he rode for some iconic brands like CW Racing, Redline, Schwinn. The Schwinn deal didn't last...

Send a text Austin McKan didn't start out racing bikes. Instead this young man enjoyed skateboarding. Born in Springfield, Missouri Austin didn't get the bug for BMX until his dad Greg took him to a Jason Carnes clinic at a local track. The next year Austin began racing. But, this isn't a fairytale story where he came out destroying folks, in fact it's the complete opposite. Au...