Bob Haro: I was living in San Diego. I'd seen this magazine, BMX Weekly. It had these real crummy drawings and I thought, "Man, I can draw better than these guys so I'm going to send in some stuff." So I stayed up late that night drawing on the kitchen table. I remember I drew a couple of BMX guys. I showed them to my dad and he thought they were better (than what they were printing), so I just sent them in. This was just when it was time to move out. My dad had just sold the house and told me it was time to move out and find a place to live. I moved out and about five months later I heard from them - I got a letter from BMX Weekly. They liked my stuff. They said they would take anything I could give them. And I started drawing for five or ten dollars a drawing.
bxweekly.wordpress.com: Although not the first issue of BX Weekly, this is the earliest one in my archives. I’m guessing it’s from late 1975. It covers two races: the Whitney Marine BMX Team Championships at Saddleback Park, and an NBA race at the Encino Velodrome. As you’ll find throughout the history of BX Weekly, there’s a lot of talk about the rules and procedures of BMX racing, as these were yet to be codified. Later, racing associations like the NBL and ABA came in to clarify things a bit since, as shown in Dave Scriven’s article here, the NBA (National Bicycle Association, the only national racing association at the time) was not know for having its act together. We see a photo of John George showing off with a one-hander, and rider Rick Collins in what is described as “possibly the most spectacular crash in BMX history” off the Bonzai at Saddleback.
bxweekly.wordpress.com: Jim Curran (who happens to be my dad) took on the job of Art Director for BX Weekly, and the magazine really started to take off. Here in its 19th issue, we can see the addition of 8 pages, lots of photographs of the racers’ faces, ads, and the classics “Got a crescent?” and parody of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre by Pepper. These would be precursors to the many wacky comics to appear in later issues — even one by yours truly. The cover features Mark Taylor’s no-hander at Saddleback… see how things evolved from the one-hander in the earlier issue? Here is the full issue, wherein we see some familiar folks like Steve Skibel, Gary Renteria, and Jeff Bottema in the qualifier for the following week’s NBA/WSA Battle of the Bikes, an editorial on “cherry picking” (“Birth certificates?!”), and coverage of BMX races at Merritt College in Oakland, CA, and the tiny town of Hawaiian Gardens in Southern California.
bxweekly.wordpress.com: The St. Paddy’s Day issue, saw even further expansion in page count, race coverage, and the addition of BMX comics! Featured in this issue are extensive coverage and lots of photos from the WSA/NSA Battle of the Bikes, the Fountain Valley Boy’s Club Leap Year Grand Prix, the Norwalk Bikers Silver Cup at good ol’ Holifield Park, another killer jump photo of Mark Taylor (as seen on the cover of the previous issue), tons of racing results, and the first installment of the epic comic “Pedals by Pepper.” Again, there’s lots of editorializing about the rules, starting procedures, etc. Things we young racers never gave a second thought to — just go as fast as you can, and don’t crash!
bxweekly.wordpress.com: This issue features thrills and spills from start to finish: the cover shows a big crash at Merritt College, page 3's got a sidehack pile-up at Corona, and we have Flying W’s and Capital Y’s in”The ABCs of BMX.” An editorial chastising Kawasaki’s use of a team-exclusive frame for younger riders (how dare they!) is followed by letters to the editor, featuring a rebuttal from the typically defensive NBA, and as predicted two posts ago: BX B-Weekly gets in trouble! A mom in Downey is upset at our use of the “S” word in a respectable family publication (how dare we!). The comix section grows in this issue, with the debut of Spokes the Happy Trick Bike, and part two of Pedals by Pepper. There’s a review of the “new” Rancho track in San Diego, and a fascinating look at rigging hand brakes on your BMX bike — imagine!
bxweekly.wordpress.com: Can you hack it? Sidehack BMX racing seems to have been a short-lived trend, but BX Weekly was there at the height of its popularity. Issue #22 features a sidehack cover and a couple more photos inside. (...) This issue also shows BX Bi-Weekly‘s growth, with more of everything — news, editorials, ads, photos, comix, and race coverage, including more spotlights on Northern California and NorCal/SoCal racer crossover. Of special note are the wacky photo of Stu Thomsen on page 6, the first Suzuki BMX bike, and Steve Skibel, Sr., lending his mug for a subscription ad.
bxweekly.wordpress.com: In this issue, two big races are covered: the 2nd Annual Winternationals in Phoenix, AZ, and the Supernationals at Indian Dunes (in California) with lots and lots of great photos and blow-by-blow accounts of both races. In Comix, Peddals by Pepper gets punny as hell, and in Letters to the Editor, more debates about “appropriate language” in our fair publication…
bxweekly.wordpress.com: Our cover story is a mom’s race at Hollifield Park in Norwalk, CA, with Karen Thomas coming in first, and Rose Juarez (Tinker’s mom!) in second… Inside we find coverage of the Super-Nationals at Indian Dunes, Northern California tracks in Vallejo, Concord, Hayward, and Oakland, and an interview with Chuck Robinson (later of Robinson BMX) when he took over the BMX division at DG — which would soon become the top racing team and most stylin’ bike manufacturer of the day. Quite a piece of history! This issue of BX Bi-Weekly also sees the addition of a few names in the masthead, which basically consists of my entire nuclear family. In the Southern California office, Wanda Curran (there she is below) takes over as Art Director, and my dad, Jim, gives himself a promotion to Production. The Northern California staff consisted of my mom, Merry, her partner, Tadg, and his brother, Edd (RIP). Along with the addition of even more Nor Cal coverage and advertisers in this issue, we see the introduction of a new racing organization, the NPSA — National Pedal Sport Association. (What “pedal sports” besides bicycles were there? Paddle boat racing?) The NPSA was based in Florida, and must not have lasted too long in California as there is no mention in their Wikipedia entry of them having any involvement in West Coast racing. (...) Last but not least, this issue features the debut of my first foray into the publishing field, The Adventures of Crankenstien the Moto Monster! What is this dude with a saucepan helmet up to? Will he find trophy girl? Stay tuned!
IN THIS ISSUE:
Steve Skibel cover drawing by Troy
RX FOR BMX: Peddlepower first, New Spoke Tech – 1 radial, 2 tangent.
BXBS: Rumors, Stormin Norman Jump, California Cup News.
RACE INFO: Corona Raceway, Covina BMX, Monrovia BMX, Grass Valley, Bakersfield Downhill, Holifield Park, P.A.L. Vallejo, Rheem Valley, Oakdale & San Francisco
FEATURE BIKE: Matthew Dashiell’s DG
THE HADLEY REPORT: Shawnee Nationals
RESULTS & SCHEDULE plus BX COMIX
INCLUDES ADS FROM:
Ralphs Bicycles
Pedals Ready GT Ames Replica
Kenny Roberts (K-R) Grand National Frame
MOTO-Pro double dropout fork
NPSA Nationals
Hank & Frank’s
DG BMX Skibel Replica
California Cup @ Corona Raceway
Bob Haro drew the cover.