Daniel's
Story
“I basically just fell in love as soon as I saw the racing!”
This is Daniel’s story.
Back in 2018 the European Championships came to Glasgow. Daniel had tried many sports but this time it was different. He went to watch the BMX Racing with his family and was blown away, desperate to give it a try.
“I asked my Mum if there were any BMX clubs nearby and she said there was Cumbernauld Centurians, so that’s how it all started.”
Daniel could ride a bike, and had tried other forms of cycling, but it was BMX that captured his imagination. Since then, he hasn’t looked back.
“I love Scottish Cycling and the way they provide so many different biking sports – I’ve been to the velodrome, I’ve done mountain biking, BMX – pretty much all the biking sports there is!”
Despite the obvious joy he gets coming out of the start gate, jumping some of the mini-kickers and flying round the banked turns, it’s the sport as a whole he enjoys the most.
“I get to make new friends and I enjoy racing with them – it’s all about having fun in my opinion.
“I have a friend called Rhys and I have a friend called Brodie, and I have lots of friends in England, friends from all over the place. I’m always going up against Brodie and Rhys in races because we’re in the same age category and we always agree – on the track we all agree we’re not friends, because we’re racing, but then as soon as we’re off it’s back to best friends!”
We spoke to Daniel on a typical club training night at Cumbernauld Centurians, where there were just short of 100 people, of all ages and abilities, enjoying riding their BMX. The environment clubs provide, physically, psychologically and socially for people to give sport a go is unrivalled.
Aside from hanging out with his friends, we asked Daniel the best thing about the club:
“I would probably say it’s the coaches – they’re always positive, they’re always giving you the right feedback, telling you what you need to work on, what you don’t need to work on, and if there’s something you’re doing wrong they’ll come and help you out.”
Time and time again, it comes back to the people.
Finally, we asked Daniel to describe BMX in three words and this is what he came up with:
Brilliant
Mental
Exciting
So now it’s #YourTurnToRide – so what are you waiting for, hit the button below to find your nearest BMX club.
It's your turn…
Cycling is a sport for everyone, with an array of different opportunities on a whole host of different bikes. But most of all, it’s great fun!