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What Happened In The '80s?
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Last weekend I went to the Bolehills opening jam in Sheffield. It’s a dirt jump/BMX track that’s lovingly maintained by a great community of riders who put in the effort to keep the jumps running - despite what the weather and e-moto riders throw at it. Hundreds of people - mostly teenage boys, that demographic that’s seen by so many as hard to get out of their bedrooms - turned out to pay a fiver to ride the jumps on opening day. They’re free to ride the rest of the time, which makes it all the more impressive that so many people decided to pay to party.
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Once upon a time there were tracks like this in towns all over the UK. In the early 1980s, the BMX craze hit for a second time around, and this time it went mainstream, with kids on BMX bikes in films and on TV shows. Councils went with the craze and built BMX tracks all over the place. Relatively few of them have survived through to today, and there are surely lessons to be learnt in budgeting for maintenance. But, what was different in the 1980s that meant that Councils quickly and willingly built facilities for this new fangled bike craze?
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It can’t have been money - the Thatcher years hardly saw Councils awash with funding, so it seems unlikely that’s the difference between now and then. Was there some Great BMX Influencer who persuaded everyone in power that they needed to embrace this new activity? In pre-internet days of billboard and magazine adverts, when F1 cars were still adorned in tobacco ads, I can’t see this being the answer.
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Was there some sort of policy change, I wonder? Did Councils see a quick and cheap way to keep kids entertained, only to then become risk averse later? Was there a change in the law that meant Councils were suddenly scared of being sued? I was a kid in the 80s, and I remember playgrounds suddenly all being resurfaced with rubbery coverings, and all the best tall slides being taken away, so maybe I’m onto something? The climbing frames we used to have… great towering hunks of metal with concrete or tarmac bases… was there a sudden outbreak of broken bones? Did all those public service ‘don’t drown in the lake, Charlie says…’ public service videos make us all nervous?
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It seems to me that if you’ve got a problem with kids digging in sensitive woodland, or on private land, giving them a great big pile of dirt to shovel and shape could be a great (cheap) way of addressing the issue. It’s clear that the demand is there, and done right, these facilities can engage exactly the cohort that so many policy makers are worried about right now. I’m genuinely curious to know what happened, so if you were there (man) I’d love to hear from you. How did we go from the 1980s proliferation of BMX facilities, to today’s aversion to risk and endless community led campaigns* for local pump tracks and bike facilities?
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Gosh it's hard not to talk about the weather. But we won't.
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For the month of May we are offering new subscribers a choice of long sleeved technical ride jersey from our Ltd Edition range. Lots of colours and sizes to pick from and each is worth £45. All you need to do to is subscribe to our annual print membership plan by the end of the month and you get to …
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Rosa was at Bespoked Manchester with her range of bike inspired art, and drawing bike portraits. I’m in awe of anyone who can draw, and I liked the punk attitude in her creations, so I took a moment to ask her a few questions about her work. How did you become a maker of things? Rosa: About seven or eight …
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Paul 'Burf' Burford is best known for his BTR range of mountain bikes and trail tools, as well as his Gasser downhill bike. On his stand at Bespoked Manchester, he had all those things on display (including the Forum's own Tom 'How Much!' Howard's new Gasser No. 4). But centre of the display was a 'Rat Bike'. What was this, …
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Unlike most idler-equipped bikes, the Norco Optic doesn’t have that much travel and its main pivot location isn’t all that high.
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