THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 19, 1994 TAG: 9410180119
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL BEACON
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
NATHAN CHRISTMAN and his BMX biking teammates haven't been riding long, but they have been riding hard and successfully.
Christman and company have won the Virginia State Biking Championships two years rolling. Their most recent title came in August in Winchester.
The 15-man team was formed only two years ago by Paul Williams, owner of Colley Avenue Bike Shop in Norfolk, and racer Bill Calhoun, 28, who also trains the team.
Ryland Wilson has worked at the shop for four years and manages the BMX team. Wilson, 25, raced BMXs for four years himself.
``We started the team because we noticed kids are on their bikes all the time,'' Wilson said. ``It's something they are interested in, so we thought it would be a good way for them to participate and accomplish something, and feel good about themselves.''
Biking kept him out of trouble, said Wilson, and can serve that purpose for others.
``It's a good way for kids to blow off steam. They get to test themselves and meet kids that have similar interests,'' said Wilson.
Social considerations aside, Wilson got down to where the rubber meets the road.
``Some of our guys can get 8 feet of air'' coming off a ramp, he said. ``The track twists, and turns and jumps are placed about every 5 or 10 feet apart and are 6 feet high.''
Eight racers leave the gate at one time and scramble for position on the 9-foot-wide track.
``It's a straight-out sprint,'' Wilson said. ``The only thing that matters is time, order of finish.''
If there are sufficient racers in a particular class, the racers run heats and the scores of three races are averaged. Otherwise, racers compete head-to-head, starting line to finish line.
Team Colley Avenue bikers all ride 20-inch BMXs, though models vary.
Christman is a 16-year-old junior at Ocean Lakes High School. He has been ``riding BMX bikes forever'' - or at least since the age of 7 or 8.
Late in the summer of 1993, Christman saw a poster in a bike shop near his home. The poster invited prospective racers to join the fledgling Colley Avenue Bike Shop. Christman responded and signed on.
``I started racing for the bike shop in January (1994),'' he said.
Christman wasted no time in gaining fame. He captured first in his division, 15-beginners, in the state championships on his BMX Robinson. He has recently moved up to the 16-novice class.
``There's lots of trails near my house. We practice very day,'' Christman said.
He has also recruited friends, including Andy Wilson, 14, a freshman at Ocean Lakes.
Wilson hopped on his BMX Park Prix aluminum and won fourth place in the 14-beginner class at the state championships.
``It was my first race after I joined,'' said Wilson.
Christman and Wilson are two of the racers that Ryland Wilson calls a ``dynamite team, our hottest guys.''
Other members of the explosive championship team are Leonard Escobar, Jason Hamm, Josh McMillen, Andy Wilburn and Steve Grezanka. An 8-year-old member, Peter Simms, is already ranked eighth in the nation in his class.
Team members are sponsored by BMX and race-clothing companies. Races are sanctioned by two national organizations, the National Bike League and the American Bike League.
``It's a family-oriented sport,'' Wilson said. ``The kids compete in a good atmosphere.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by GARY EDWARDS
Andy Wilson, left, Nathan Christman and Jason Hamm are members of
the 15-man Colley Avenue Bike Shop racing team that won the state
BMX Bike Championship.
by CNB