How to Recognize a BMX Parent

-When you stand for the National Anthem and you place one hand over your heart and the other over your wallet.

-You have an e-mail reply from the President of the ABA framed and hanging on your wall.

-You have a collection of race flyers from various tracks from the past 20 years and spend
your spare time organizing them.

- Someone in your neighborhood asks you how old your child is and you reply "13X"

- You automatically load up your bike and you're only going to the corner store.

- You fall asleep at the wheel of your car and end up at the track instead of your home.

- You are late for work but never late for sign-ups.

- Your kids' bikes are insured for more than your car.

- You developed a craving for Hotdogs & Nachos.

- You pay someone to write a program to keep track of race points.

- You buy an expensive laptop to record the points on.

- You throw out the spare tire to make room for bike parts.

- Your kid's birthday cake has a miniature BMX track on it and all the gifts are BMX parts.

- You can't decide whether to go to your sister's wedding or to a DOUBLE POINT race.

- A Sunday drive in the country means going to a race out of town.

- The first item on your monthly budget is entry fees and not the mortgage payment.

- The only clean clothes in the house are a pair of leathers and a jersey.

- The telephone bill has at least 3 calls to the ABA office.

- Your internet home-page is set to www.ABABMX.com .

- The stop light turns green and you try for the hole-shot.

- Someone mentions a table-top and you look for a pile of dirt.

- You can't remember birth dates of your family, but know every birth date of each kid in your kid's CLASS.

- You start a BMX business so you can take a tax deduction.

- No one understands what you are saying except another BMX parent.

- You're upset at the price of a hamburger but not by the price of a Ti bottom bracket.

- Your kid's bike is color coordinated but your living room is not.

- Your Thanksgiving Turkey dinner is Top-Ramen in Tulsa.

- You're on a first name basis with all the track help.

- Someone asks the latest book you've read and your only answer is the BMXer.

- You can't visit your family on the holidays because you used up all your vacation and sick days to go to the Nationals.

- You can't get up at 6:00 A.M. to get to work but you're up at dawn to make it to the Redline (Gold-Cup Qualifier.

- You quit helping school events to do raffles for the Team.

- You realize that you haven't seen a NFL football game in years.

- Your car needs a tune-up and oil change but the bike is Spotless.

-no one can understand what your saying but another BMXer.

..you think this column is the gospel truth.