Pedal power on the fast track
BMX racing enthusiasts shift into high gear at state competition
It had been 13 years since Heather Nicole Munive had ridden a bike in a competition.
The 24-year-old from Coral Springs broke her arm in a cycling mishap and shied away from the sport until last year, when she returned to finish third in a local event. And she recently won two state BMX titles in the Girls 21-25 Division at the Okeeheelee Park BMX track in West Palm Beach.
“I was pretty excited to win both days,” Munive said. “It’s good to see my training paid off. The other girls I raced are pretty fast.”
After her injury, Munive turned to soccer and played at Douglas High School. Her biking has taken her not only across the country, but also to Ecuador and Puerto Rico.
Munive said riding bicycle motocross isn’t as easy as it looks.
“Just waiting for the (starting) gate to go down is the biggest adrenaline rush ever,” Munive said. “Your mind is going crazy … you are shaking. It is like the greatest feeling.
“… Because the race is so short, if you make one little mistake it’s done. It is a mental game, too. You have to give your all because it is only 40 seconds. You can’t mess up. You have to do it well.”
The state event attracted 1,200 riders and a crowd estimated at 5,000. Participants ranged in age from 2 (non-competitive/modified bikes) to 62. There were 65 divisions broken down by age and proficiency. There were also entrants from Arizona, Missouri, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
The Okeeheelee Park experience was also a positive one for Ryder Faoro, of Coral Springs. The 11-year-old, who has been riding for just one year, placed fourth in the Boys 11 Intermediate Division. His brother Tyler, 25, recently moved to Boca Raton and has competed as a professional since age 17.
“I saw (a BMX event) and thought I would like to do that, too. It is a really cool and fun sport,” said Faoro, a fourth-grade student at Parkside Elementary School. “It is pretty good to have a brother who is a professional, and I want to be like him someday.”
Faoro said the hardest part is the jumps. Despite wrecking three times in his short career, he went on to compete in states after just a few months of riding and took second in the state in the Novice division.
“Intermediate is a lot harder,” Faoro said. “You race against older and better people.”
Plantation’s Juan Carlos Carbo, 52 and a native of Colombia, has been competing in the sport for 39 years and has won seven consecutive state titles in his age categories. He captured the Men’s 51-Over Cruiser title in the West Palm Beach showcase.
“It is the best thing there is,” said Carbo, who moved from Seattle two years ago. “The adrenaline, the speed, the jumps, the competition — I love rubbing elbows with the competitors. That is what has kept me in BMX this long.”
Carbo was drawn to the sport after watching an “Evel Knievel” movie with friends. They started to imitate the tricks on their bikes, and before they knew it, they were making history in Colombia.
“We were jumping on our bikes, and without us knowing, we had started BMX in Colombia,” said Carbo, who started competing at nationals two years ago after a short break and is ranked third in the country. “There are a lot of people in Colombia doing BMX now.”
Carbo said one wrong move can be the difference between being a top finisher and not finishing at all.
“It is a 40-second race, but if you mess something up, boom, your efforts are done,” Carbo said. “If you want to be at the top level and competing for number one, you have to have six wins (at nationals) for sure.”