For BMX stars, fans, the road to the Olympics runs through San Diego
CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- To a casual weekend pedaler, one word describes the view from the top of a three-story-high ramp that marks the start of an Olympic training course devoted to the Summer Games' newest sport.
Terrifying.
But not to pro athlete Mike Day, 23, perched at the pinnacle on a lightweight, 20-inch bike and wedged handlebar to handlebar with seven other riders. To Day, this wickedly steep launchpad — more like a roller coaster than a bicycle track — helps explain the adrenaline-laced, rough-and-tumble appeal of BMX racing.
Born in the late 1960s when Southern California kids mimicked their motorcycle heroes by tearing through vacant lots on Schwinn Sting-Rays, BMX (short for bicycle motocross) is poised to become a sensation of the Beijing Games that kick off Aug. 8.
Sports fans who want a piece of the action without spending the time or money to travel to China can head to the BMX trials at the Olympic Training Center in the San Diego County community of Chula Vista next month, when Day and other top-ranked competitors race for one of three spots on the heavily favored U.S. men's team. (The two-slot U.S. women's team will be chosen based on previous competition rankings and a coach's pick.)
As the countdown to the Games clicks into high gear, U.S. Olympic team trials are being held across the country. And for biking aficionados, a summer vacation in San Diego — birthplace of the triathlon and tagged one of cycling's top U.S. cities by Bicycling magazine — can supply everything from Olympic thrills and heart-pounding mountain trails to laid-back beach pedaling.
"You've got the whole spectrum here," says recent Southern California transplant Shawn Rohrbach, author of the upcoming guidebook Bicycling San Diego and a local cycling blog, snowleopard.blogspot.com.
"The kids can watch BMX, Dad can take in a free race at the Balboa Park velodrome (an outdoor arena for track cycling), and Mom can ride down the Silver Strand," a narrow, bike-friendly isthmus that connects San Diego to Coronado.
