There's a new photo issue of the Ride BMX magazine. Bohan snags the cover with a lookback in the middle of a Fijian waterfall! Check out this article for more info.

Free Agent is going BIG for the Olympic year and will be sending this rig to as many nationals as they can cram in. You gotta go big when you have Kyle Bennett, the World Champion and NBL Pro Champion on the team! Not to mention a handful of the Worlds top guns like Dale Holmes, Cristian Becerine, Tomas Hamon, Ramiro Marino and Caroline Buchanan who also frequent the US National scene. '08 is shaping up to be a big year for the FA crew. (source: bmxnews.com)

With a crowd of past, present and future BMX stars proudly looking on, USA Cycling CEO Steve Johnson and Steve Roush of the U.S. Olympic Committee officially opened the Olympic BMX training track on January 21 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California.

Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, four members of the U.S. BMX Olympic talent pool sped down the 19-foot-high starting ramp and onto the 370-meter course, which is dotted with berms and sizable jumps. The USOC track dwarfs regional BMX courses because both elite and amateur riders compete on the same course at national and regional-level races. Understandably, regional courses feature shorter starting ramps and smaller jumps to accommodate riders of different levels. But with only elite athletes competing in the Olympics, organizers have decided to test athletes' skills with tougher courses. (source: velonews.com)

I want to give props to SixSixOne. They make helmets and protective gear. I've been wearing their Pressure Suit body armor for about six months now and it paid off. I had a wreck last weekend in which I separated my shoulder. The ER doctor said I would most definately have broken something if I was'nt wearing my Pressure Suit. I'll take a separation and a few weeks in a sling over a breakage any day.



Check out their web site. They have great equipment at great prices.

SixSixOne

The Mirraco Black Pearl, Blend, Fivestar and Chocolate frames have become available. It was a long wait but now you can buy a frame that riders like Dave Mirra, Nigel Sylvester, Rob Wise, Mike Laird, Mike Spinner, Ryan Guettler and Dave Rytell ride. The top tubes range from 20.75" (Blend Lite) to 21" (Fivestar Lite and Chocolate) with the Black Pearl Lite frame with a 20.8" top tube.

More information on these frames at fatbmx or at Mirraco's.

Demolition has released some new flashy saddles. As they say “Put some new life into your ride with one of the new vibrant Demolition D Saddles. Available in a plethora of eye popping colors to complement your bike.The D Saddle has a tear resistant and textured Kevlar cover to insure your saddle keeps looking sharp for a long time to come. Textured pattern adds gripping power for those extra big maneuvers.

Heat treated 8mm chromoly rails for added durabilty. The D Saddle features a svelte 10.5 oz weight. Add a Demolition Johnson post to it and you get a saddle/post combo that is on par( and in some instances, lighter) with the weight of a pivotal design, but with much more adjustability. Go pick one up at your local Demolition dealer or call 714-690-6454 for nearest dealer.

If you just started with BMX, you should know some basic things of bicycle safety. It is quite easy to hurt yourself if you do not know what you are doing so you also need to get some proper safety equipment. It is very easy if you are not an experienced rider to fall off even doing easy BMX tricks and it can be very easy to hurt yourself.

The main thing that you need to buy is a proper helmet. If you injure your head it can be very dangerous and a good helmet that is actually made for BMX riding is one of the first things that you should buy. You have two main sorts of helmets, the full face bmx helmet(left) and the open skate/bmx helmet(right). The full face helmet is mostly used for bmx racing and bmx vert while the open helmet is commonly used for riding in the park or pool. For the best protection you should pick the full face helmet, on the other hand the full face helmet is much heavier and more uncomfortable so the choice is up to you.

The next things that you should have are elbow and knee protectors. They are the most likely body parts to get injured if you fall off your bike. Make sure you choose the right size, because when you go and ride these thing tend to move and you will still get hurt when you crash.

If you are going to ride BMX races it's also required you wear bmx gloves, a long sleeved shirt and pants.

If you cannot find any safety equipment stores near you then a good place to look is EBay. They will have a good selection but you need to know what you want before you buy. Another place to look is on the BMX websites.

You could also join your local BMX club. They are great places to learn and to meet other BMX owners and riders. You can pick up some really great tips there about the best tricks for beginners and they are usually really great places for new owners to go to for advice.

Also when you are going to street ride downtown you should follow a few guidelines to safely ride your bike which are explained at bicyclesafe.com

Here are the results of the elite men final at the indoor in Zwolle. The Czech Michal Prokop takes the first place followed by Ivo Lakucs and Martijn Scherpen.

Elite men:
1. Michal Prokop CZE
2. Ivo Lakucs LAT
3. Martijn Scherpen NED
4. Thomas Allier FRA
5. Sebastian Kartfjord NOR
6. Thomas Hamon FRA
7. Pablo Gutierrez FRA
8. Rob van den Wildenberg NED

I hadn't see this FedEx commercial yet. Pretty funny... the half pipe stays.

Today round three of the UCI European BMX championships took place at the IJsselhallen in Zwolle, The Netherlands. It seems the Latvians are in good shape and took the first and second place, followed by the french rider Moana Moo Caille.

Elite men:
1. Maris Strombergs LAT
2. Arturs Matisons LAT
3. Moana Moo Caille FRA
4. Michal Prokop CZE
5. Sifiso Nhlapo RSA
6. Martijn Scherpen NED
7. Rob van den Wildenberg NED
8. Arnoud Dubois BEL