WHAT !! NO BRAKES !!! ARE YOU MAD !!!!

SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL-SIKHS Bearwood BMX Full Factory Trick Team Rider, Brakeless

Bearwood BMX has been scraping their shoes on the floors, since 1990. That was the time when the Team Went Brakeless. The techniques of stopping the bikes nowaday's is a skill in it's own right , There are so many different ways and styles of stopping, that can be witnessed nowadays. Whenever you are watching a crew of riders stunting Brakeless, it seems they know exactly when they desire to take their foot off, they will also know, exactly where on the bike, they wish to be Placing their foot, To Stop. When Bearwood BMX started riding brakeless back in the day, It was a new and fresh thing for us, and very much a raw process in progress, and by total accident. So we would naturally encounter problems, Like deciding which foot to take off, that would get you muddled up, never mind where you would be placing it to Stop The Bike, it was looked upon in a weird way by some people at times, well most of the time really. Especially the ones we ended up crashing into, we had encountered our fair share of problems along the way. Teething Issues I Think : )) Personally at times, this was a real heart beating moment when you would be trying to stop, I mean if you left it to the very last second, you was going to have a very close scrape. There was times when you would be riding and, had even forgot you had no brakes. Only too be reminded when you would be reaching for the brake lever and nothing is there, (This Used To Throw Your Senses). That seemed to be the nature of the game though. Along The 22 Years Of This Brakeless Journey, Bearwood BMX hasn't claimed any "Pioneering Rights" in any shape or form going, to say that we was the first and we started this Brakeless. Some people have put that "Label" on Bearwood BMX. Truthfully that's most kind of everyone, and a real humbling gesture, We just ended up making a certain decision in a time and space of our lives, that ended up getting Bearwood BMX the label "Pioneers" Of "Brakeless". It's a bit too much of a large label to accept. But truthfully If thats how Brothers And Sisters of the BMX community feel. That Bearwood BMX was one of the first team of riders, that may of had a hand in Going Brakeless First, Then A Big Thank You To Everyone. (It Would Be Fair To Say That We Was Ahead Of Time) When we started venturing into this Brakeless scene, it was more about lack of money than anything to do with being the So-Called "First". I remember the first day riding without brakes and thinking this experience is something else all together, A Real Wobbly Experience For Sure. It started all about, when one day my back wheel was buckled, (Alot Of Rear Wheels Was Getting Thrashed In Them Days) So this back wheel, just would not spin, I wanted to ride, nothing was going to stop me. At this time on my bike I have a Rear Full Brakeset, Then After a little while I have worked out, that if I remove one Brake Block from the Rear Brakeset that will create a little space for the wheel to spin round. It works!!, Now I'm heading down to the park, I can ride the bike again. To say the ride was a little shaky, would be a understatement. Who cares I'm back on the move, The shakyness is a little price to pay, RIGHT !!. I enjoy the day stunting away with the team and having fun, throughout the day, due to the heavy riding, the rear buckled wheel is getting worse and worse. In the end it just would not spin anymore, NO PROBLEM !! I have found the solution, I remove the other brake block, ANOTHER RESULT. We are now back on the move once again, a bit more shakier than before but thats No Problem. Later on the in the day, the same thing again. In the end I just removed the whole rear Brake Set. (BRAKELESS) This once again, ended up giving a little more movement. But now, No Brakes, I remember pedaling towards the banks to do an Air, and having the life shaked out of me due the the buckle. You would pedal so hard, hoping that the rear wheel would gain momentum and start to straighten up, but not to good. I managed to squeeze a few more days out of that rear wheel. After a while it started to hit the frame. It would shake you lifeless at times. In 1990 Bike parts were hard to come by, due to shortage of money, hence most of us having dodgy bikes and No Brakes. We truthfully never did see anyone riding without Brakes when we started. Whenever we travelled to all the different skateparks around the country. Everyone we seen had brakes on their bikes, as you would and should and could. Even when we had the money to get the new bike parts, we never went back to Having Brakes, the feeling of no brakes was right and comfortable and we were settled in by now, nobody likes a change do they. It kind of felt you was meant to be in that position at that time and space. Praise The Lord for the Experience, I would not of had it any other way. Big Respect to Mike Coley Aka Magnet Aka The Pigeon as he was One of the first in the Bearwood BMX Team to go Brakeless, nothing but props too that Brother. Nowadays They Sell Bikes Without Brakes, AMAZING. Myself And Coley Learnt Double Airs Together ( Airing Over Each Other) We would crash into each other at times, Whilst In Mid-Air. All a learning process I guess. You could not beat Dropping in on a ramp and just pumping and getting good air, it was a great feeling. Knowing that you landing smoothly or safely was in the hands of the Almighty Father. (See Above Pic) For Me Personally, I Used To Say A Prayer And Remember The Almighty Father Without Fail Everytime I Dropped Into A Ramp, For It Was He Who Gave Me The Courage And Strength To Pursue My Vision. Then If you landed smooth and was going for your next air, it was a Heart Beating Blissful Moment, you had no means of regulating your speed, you had to maintain 100% Focus, if at all possible, (Someone Knocking You Off Balance, Or Even Just Grabbing Your Rear Wheel Mid-Air, Wasn't Out The Question At All) You Learnt that certain level of Knowledge And Feel. Having to correct your balance when coming back in off an Air, because someone has just grabbed your rear wheel, making you stop Mid-Air, this nearly sending you over the bars, that was hard to pull off and master, be we did it. It also came down to what Knowledge And Wisdom you had gained whilst Riding Brakeless. Your senses are enhanced to a level, kind of close too a spiritual edge. Brakeless made you grow in confidence and have belief, You had to be fully committed too. To have Belief and understanding in yourself and your bike, sometimes you would want to change your mind Mid-Way approaching a jump, and want to stop, But may not have enough time to use your stopping methods. Even if you tried to change your mind Mid-Way, It was at times not a good idea. Sometimes it could cause you more Harm Than Good, whatever the case maybe. You had to go for whatever you was attempting, 100% fully Committed, NO HALF MEASURES. It dawned on me what BRAKELESS had become, when one time Seeing BMX riders in Australia, on a trip I done in 2010, I was half way around the world, out in the middle of nowhere, Not close to any major cities, many hundreds of miles, and many hours away from any city, and then coming across BMXers riding their BMXs without Brakes, That Was A Mind Spinner. That moment of time and space in Australia made it all clear to me that BRAKELESS BMX had travelled the GLOBE and had settled into far to fetch places in this world. That Is Down To The Professional Riders Who Have Taken It On A Global Scale. BIG BIG Respect To Them All. Bearwood Bmx is Still Underground, But now is Part Of A Worldwide Brakeless Movement. MUCH PEACE AND BLESSINGS TO EACH AND ALL. BEARBMX