I got this wristband a while ago from a kid named Joe Hix. Joe crashed hard while riding dirt a few months ago and suffered a severe head injury. He's okay now but his mom had these wristbands made to serve as a reminder for Joe and his friends. I put mine on my bike right when he gave it to me and make sure I do. Weird side-note, I used to ride Joe's dad's quarterpipe in the 80s (he still rides too).
Last night at Birdland, my buddy Dave (I posted about him a couple months back) let his racer intuition get the best of him and overshot one of the recently built-up landings. He landed 3/4 down the landing and went OTB, going literally head first into the facewall of the next jump. I was behind him and all I saw was the ass-end of a very scary looking endo. Thankfully, he bounced to his feet immediately but the crash was gnarly. His helmet took the brunt of the fall. He blew out his pants, smashed his thumb and got pretty beat up, but he'll be okay.
Dave's only been back on his bike for a few months but he's progressing quickly. He was a good rider in the old days and for a 38 year old dude who hasn't ridden in 15 years, he's been kicking ass, cruising over the first big set at Birdland like it's nothing and hitting some of the smaller, yet tricky to get through, smaller lines. Crashes like his are my biggest fear out at the jumps--from young kids getting a feel for it to old dudes getting back in the saddle to the super ripper dudes in between. Of course I don't want to crash like that myself, either, but all we can do is hope for the best and prepare for the worst. With that in mind, I would like to remind everyone to bring their helmets on 8/22.
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A spiritual and style icon of our sport suffered a serious head injury and was in a coma for a number of days. The sport and industry rallied around this hero like only one rider before him: Stephen Murray. Empathy and opinion about this rider was so high at the time, had he chosen to take a stand on helmet use, his words and deeds might have altered the perception of the riders in his sport.
I've seen it happen in motocross by a fallen icon after one viral video. The rider was David Bailey, and the safety device was the neck brace. A safety revolution and a cottage industry was launched on the words of the Little Professor, and today everyone who races dirt bikes is safer because of it.
Mike Aitken, please use your star power to make a similar difference in BMX. I know it's not your responsibility, but given the circumstances, it might be your destiny.
Thank you.
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