That’s right.
Roll your eyes and call us nuts.
Even with 2020 being a total dumpster fire, and 2021 serving up a hot sequel: A Dumpster Fire Lost at Sea’... we’re pumped, jazzed, and ready to pedal.
So why the optimism?
Just like a stretched out rubber band, setbacks and disappointments only mean that riders everywhere will snap back by dropping in, pumping for speed, and pushing the limits.
The Rad Squad knows. Freezing weather, injuries, a pesky virus right out of Purin Flashin’s evil cookbook—try as it will, nothing holds back an overactive rad gland.
So when the ship hits the fan… polish up that chromoly, because it’s time to get rad. Especially when there’s some record-breaking BMX and snowboarding action coming down the pipe.
Read on to see who and what’s taking 2022 to the brink.
BMX Record Breaking
On a good day, (and when he’s not pedaling away from the latest attempt on his life by Mean Inc.), Radical Rick eats records for breakfast.
Still, riders took a baseball bat to more than a few world records in 2021:
- Canadian Max Ganokovsky nearly doubled the previous record of a 1,112 foot manual by rolling 2,126 feet on one wheel.
- On Guinness World Records Day, rider Takahiro Ikeda set two records for nonstop tricks in less than a minute—forty-five time machines and thirty-seven Stick B’s in thirty seconds.
That’s enough spins to make Spike Speedwrench lose his lunch.
And last but not least…
-Seven year old Huck Kurinsky out of Ohio set the record for being the youngest rider to land a backflip, (he was six when he did it earlier this year… nabbing the record from another six year old!).
It’s hard to say when another record will bite the dust.
But with more BMX tournaments than ever before, another Guinness World Records Day planned for November, and a growing community of young, eager riders worldwide, we know it’s going to happen.
We’ll even bet the house on it… Radical Rick’s parent’s house that is.
MX Mug’s got the deets on that.
BMX Gatherings in 2022
Tournaments rock.
Nothing tenses rad reflexes like watching the pros devour dirt, concrete or wooden ramps. And from the mega-coverage of the X Games to the insane number of racing and flatland tournaments worldwide, we know that 2022’s not gonna disappoint.
But what really revs our engines is passing the torch to future riders… and a growing number of regional BMX gatherings are doing just that.
You don’t have to look too far to find events and festivals that let thousands of fans and up-and-coming riders join the action.
We’re talking shin diggs like Trey Jones’ Swampfest, a Florida BMX campout that sees some fans driving across the country to hook up RV’s, get the chromoly out, and drop in with veterans.
Or the Jackalope Festival, a multi-day bonanza that’s bringing BMX and the World Cup of Skateboarding to Montreal, with tons of demos to get people involved.
We’ll even see BMX pros destroying a full freestyle park at the Festival of Extreme Sports in Montpellier, France… a riverside festival that attracts half a million fans with free admission.
If all of that doesn’t prove there’s a worldwide push to build the BMX community and spread the rad, active lifestyle, then take a glance at some of the fly, indestructible bikes coming out in 2022.
If you can’t travel, there’s nothing stopping you from finding some concrete, grabbing the handlebars and teaching yourself some flatground jedi moves.
As Radical Rick might put it, when there’s rad, there’s a way.
Snowboarding Comebacks
Last but not least… come February, we’re keeping an eye on the Olympic halfpipe.
As far as world class snowboarding goes, it’s a proving ground; the spot where SoCal legends Shaun White and Chloe Kim both won Gold in 2018.
Word on the lift is both will be back to defend their spot on the podium.
We’re also stoked for slopestyle and big air, and for the return of Jamie Anderson, who won gold and then silver on those events.
But there’s something primal about soaring down curved walls of ice and threading each landing into another takeoff.
Yeah… the halfpipe spins our wheels all right.
Chloe Kim
If you’ve watched her win any of her multiple world championship titles, (she’s got five so far), it’s easy to forget that Chloe Kim was just seventeen when she snagged her Gold… right before throwing down back-to-back 1080s on her final run.
She’s back from a knee injury—not to mention some time at college that got her good and ready for a winter break comeback.
We’ll be watching to see how Chloe tops herself.
Shaun White
As far as tournament wins, three gold medals, and two decades of big air innovation go, the original, long-haired snowboard rat has a streak like Tom Brady.
“I’ve always lived my life by pushing the limits. Winning is great, but it’s the tough times that truly define you.” - Shaun White
At thirty-five, and after shaking off a 2018 face slam that gave him twenty-five stitches, Shaun White’s gearing up for one last Olympics.
With the world watching and competitors from a dozen countries circling like vultures… will the halfpipe be an unforgiving meat slicer? Or, as we predict, will it be a launching pad for some insane final run that reminds us of a Blue Angels air show?
For this legend, it should be one of the two.
Have a Rad New Year
That’s all we got!
And we’re off to start 2022 right… with the pedal to the floor as soon as the clock strikes midnight.
What do you think?
What are you stoked to see or do in the New Year?
Leave a comment or let us know on instagram!
1 comment
Also if note this year, The BMX Hall of Fame is opening in Tulsa, OK. They will be inducting several people for the first time in Oct 2022. Andy Patterson among others will be honored!!