'Changed his whole attitude:' Mom of BMXer shares benefits of sport with Capital City BMX
Raleigh, N.C. — Ashley Henry had never really heard of BMX until her son Marley made it clear he needed to ride.
Henry, an artist and musician who also works part-time at Lowe's Home Improvement, lives in Johnston County with her two teens - Lily, 17, and Marley, 14. These days, Marley, an award-winning racer, and Ashley are regulars at the Capital City BMX track in Raleigh's Lion Park where Marley practices with his team, the Local Legends. The program draws all kinds of BMXers - from preschoolers to retirees. Henry rides from time to time too.
"I broke my back seven years ago and have two rods and 10 screws holding me up, and biking on the track feels better to me than any other exercise I do," she tells me.
As a single mom, keeping up with her two active kids (daughter Lily is in the marching band and an avid writer) has been a struggle. But it's been worth it, she said. And Capital City BMX has made a huge difference in Marley's life.
"BMX is such a great outlet for Marley," she said. "I noticed it the first time we went to Capital City BMX. It changed his whole attitude."
I checked in with Henry to learn more about her experience and how people can get involved in Capital City BMX. Here's a Q&A:
Go Ask Mom: You and your son both ride. How did you get involved in BMX and Capital City BMX?
Ashley Henry: We got into BMX a little different than most people, I think. Ever since Marley could talk and walk, he wanted to ride and he would say to me all the time, “I want to ride my bike. I want to ride." So I would say to him, “Go ride your bike in the yard." I had no clue what he was talking about. I had never heard of BMX before.
So, as soon as he was old enough to type something on Google, he found Capital City BMX and told me about it. I was like what??????? I was very skeptical. It was about 30 minutes from our house, seemed dangerous. I knew money was going to be involved. But he didn’t stop begging me to take him for like a week. So I had no choice. I saw a change in him. He absolutely LOVED it. And he had a place he could feel free and be wild and learn new things and make friends who loved what he loves. It's all about the bike, the freedom and the rush.
The one thing I have always loved about BMX is this: We didn’t just find him a place to ride, we found another family. A loving, caring, awesome, fun family. Everyone I have ever met in the BMX community have always been kind and generous. I do ride also, but mostly for exercise and to spend that wonderful quality time with my son. I have only done a handful of races. But believe me, there are wonderful strong woman I know who try to get me to race with them. They are so amazing!!!!
GAM: Tell us about your son Marley's experience. He's done really well! Does he have any big competitions lined up?
AH: Marley has excelled in BMX from the very beginning. But, first, I have to say that it made a huge impact on his life. It changed him and made him into a better, more stress free, caring, happy person. That is the biggest reward in BMX that I can see.
But .. he has soooooooooo many trophies! Marley has raced many awesome races, state races, gold cup races and big nationals. We go up and down the East Coast racing USA BMX Nationals. Most of the time, we camp out at the track for the weekend. It is a TON of fun and everyone is always awesome!! He just raced the Gold Cup at Blanchard Woods BMX in Georgia. He placed forth overall. He almost always has 20 or more racers he is up against. I am so proud of him!! Our next race is a national at Sarasota BMX track in Florida! We are super excited to check out the track and see some friends.
GAM: What kinds of events and programs does Capital City BMX offer? How can people get involved?
AH: CCBMX has a LOT of fun stuff going on!!! Right now, they are redoing the track and it is going to be even more fun to ride. It needed some work and the hurricane just tore it up. Everyone is working very hard to get the track back up and running and better than ever!
The track is open for practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 p.m. to dark, and you can rent a bike and helmet there if you need to, which is what we did at first for a while! They also have racing on Sundays, practice beginning at 1 p.m. and racing starting up around 2 p.m. Big events vary throughout the season. They have a Gold Cup race and State Race. These events usually bring in more riders, which is a lot of fun!!
We also have fun events like the Halloween race (trunk or treat), Mother's Day race (free for moms), Father's Day race (free for dads) and Olympic day (free to all riders). We all ride in the Raleigh Christmas Parade which is SOOOOO much fun!!! All the kids LOVE it and the racing is free afterwards!
The track is 100 percent volunteer run. I love to help when I am there. I am not on the board, but I usually volunteer at every race we go to and for some of the big ones. I help with the concessions or scoring. There are all kinds of fun ways to help CCBMX.
GAM: Some parents might be worried about safety issues - but that comes with any sport. What do you say to parents with kids who really want to ride?
AH: I am definitely one of those parents who worry about the safety issues. I have always said we need a support group for the BMX moms because the safety-issue-worry blues can really get you all worked up. Luckily, there is some great gear that is available now that can help put your mind at ease. Marley uses a Fox Racing v3-carbon helmet with MIPS, which has some awesome safety features.
Helmets are the most important. Then you want to make sure you are wearing long pants and shirt, knee pad, elbow pads and gloves. Now there are many other types of safety gear you can get, but these are the essentials. With that said, I think once you see how much your kid or you enjoy the sport, the worry starts to melt away or the good starts to outweigh the bad in a way. This sport keeps Marley happy, active, motivated and driven. It just does so much for his mind and his body. It's just incredible!!
GAM: What's the experience been like for your family - being involved in the sport and with CCBMX?
AH: I can't say enough how this sport and CCBMX has made our life just even more amazing!! Marley came from being a WILD kid who I could hardly keep up with to being this smart, creative, amazing gentleman. This sport also gave Marley a chance to learn how to work on bikes. At first, I would have someone else look at his bike because, as you can imagine, there is always tinkering that needs to be done. They ride their bikes hard!
As time went on, he just started working on the bikes on his own. At first, he messed up a lot!! I kept buying him new parts that he would break. Now he can take his whole bike apart and put it back together and it is perfect! He even helps others now with their bikes. He also works with engines and dirt bikes, taking them apart and fixing them . And he helps other kids who are younger than him at practice, giving them all the training knowledge he has!
Being involved with CCBMX and just BMX in general has truly been amazing for us both. We have made some great memories together, got to spend lots of quality time together and made some awesome friends. It can seem a bit overwhelming at first, but there is always someone there who can help!
Overall, my son would not be who he is today if it wasn’t for BMX. He would probably be on some kind of ADD drug because of his high amount of energy. Racing focuses his energy and also gives him a way to get it all out - aggression, worry, doubt. And it channels it in a form he can control and use for something amazing!
Capital City BMX has more information on its website. The track is at Lions Park, 516 Dennis Ave.
Go Ask Mom features local moms every Monday.
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