Savage South
A Riding Road trip
by Brock Gomez
South Louisiana is not the ideal place for a BMX, bicycle motocross, rider. There is very little awareness of the sport and most people who are exposed to it often have large misunderstandings about its participants and their lifestyle. For the most part, outsiders see BMX riders as people doing tricks on "little kids' bikes."
The most popular type of BMX riding today is freestyle, which encompasses several different styles of riding. Freestyle riding consists of riders doing tricks on 20-inch bicycles and can be practiced on many different types of obstacles. Riders can do tricks in an urban environment, which is called street riding. They use man-made ramps found nationwide at skate parks and backyards, and hand-built dirt jumps that flow in a continuous section or line. In fact, the only limitation to what a rider can do is the rider's imagination.
Baton Rouge has seen its fair share of riders migrating to the area in the past five years, and more riders have been popping up all over cities in the South, such as Jackson, Miss. and Birmingham, Ala. BMX riding in the region mainly consists of small groups of close friends traveling to nearby cities to ride with others who share the same passion. Despite the geographic separation, riders in the South have created a close-knit network of friends, which is quite different from the average scene in some of the larger, more BMX-friendly cities.
One of the most anticipated events in the southern BMX scene is the annual week-long road trip, which has been dubbed "Savage South." This year's trip started in Jackson, Miss. and wound its way through South Louisiana and into East Texas. Nearly 30 riders were on board for the trip representing cities from Baton Rouge to Memphis, Tenn.
Organizing a trip this large is obviously not an easy task. Travel arrangements on road trips are usually quite loose, and this trip was no exception. Our caravan of vehicles featured a 15-passenger van filled with riders and luggage, a 1970's era Dodge conversion van with bikes strapped to the roof, a pickup truck with a trailer for bikes and gear, and another minivan stuffed with more luggage. Getting the riders and gear loaded usually took about two hours, making every stop of the trip an exercise in patience.
Sleeping accommodations on the trip followed the same pattern as the driving situation; unorganized mayhem. During the trip the group stayed in a variety of sleeping quarters including hotels, friends' houses, skate park floors, tents and the vehicles themselves.
From choreographed dance moves to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and "Beat It," to a mullet experiment gone awry, this trip saw a little bit of everything.
The "anything goes" situation often left some riders sleep-deprived. Sleep deprivation exacerbated by long car rides is usually a recipe for brutal arguments, but the riders on this particular trip were very laidback.
Aside from a few uncomfortable nights without a bed, the trip went off without a hitch. Everyone got along extremely well despite the fact that most of us came from different backgrounds and locations. During the week new friendships were made and existing ones grew stronger. The lengthy rides in the van provided a perfect opportunity for debates and discussions on a wide range of topics, not just BMX riding. The van was also the catalyst for most of the trip's mischief. Early in the trip, a flying Goldfish cracker ignited a firestorm of junk food, garbage and other assorted projectiles being slung around the van in every direction.
Although the van rides were quite amusing, the real fun began outside the vehicles. A lot of riding went down on the trip, and some of the guys did some incredible tricks on their bikes. But riding wasn't the only source of entertainment on the trip. One of the best parts about being on the road is meeting new people and exploring new places. At almost every stop of the trip we ran into some characters that left us with quite a few good stories to tell. One hospitable character forced us to spend the early hours of the New Year watching and reliving an old glorious football championship. As with any road trip, some of the best entertainment comes from travelers themselves. From choreographed dance moves to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and "Beat It," to a mullet experiment gone awry, this trip saw a little bit of everything.
The final night was spent in Jackson at one of the rider's houses. After we unloaded and cleaned the van, most of us sat around telling stories about the trip and reflecting on the past week. It was very easy to see that the trip was a huge success and that everyone on the journey had some great memories that would stick with us for quite some time. In fact, the most memorable parts of the trip took place off our bikes, which proves there is more to BMX than doing tricks on "little kids' bikes."