I first became aware of Scott Towne sometime in the late 80’s. Back then, he was a Michigan BMX rider who had moved out to California and was working for some of the various BMX magazines of the time, making him a bit of a local hero. After he lost his magazine editor gig due to the magazine going belly up, he headed back to Michigan to work at his dad’s bike shop, his friend’s skate shop, to play in some bands, and so on. Sometime in the late nineties, Scott became more than “that dude that used to work at the magazines that I would see every so often. He became a riding buddy and great friend.
A little over two years ago, Scott, now in his mid for- ties, set about a on mission to ride his BMX bike every day of the year 2012. A seemingly impossible task for a man with a job and a family living in the brutal Mid- west winter. Somehow, he pulled it off, and not only that, kept it going through 2013 and is still going near- ly 3 months into 2014. His sessions and experiences are regularly documented on instagram and give me constant motivation to make the most of my days.
I thought I’d do a short interview with Scott in hopes that it could motivate others to put more energy into what they love in life and live the lives they want.
Eric Block: What was the catalyst for this whole ride every day thing?
Scott Towne: At the end of 2011, my already busy schedule suddenly became 200% busier with the addition of new responsibilities and a huge project. We have two young boys, with whom I try to spend as much time as possible, and I was really feeling crushed by adulthood. I was already trying to ride almost every day, but it was getting easier to make excuses. I’ve always hated that people say they “don’t have time” to ride (or skateboard, or play golf or guitar or whatever). You know most people that say that are dedicating X amount of hours to sports on TV or going to the bar or whatever. I’m not being critical of anyone for how they spend their time, I’ve been guilty of wasting time in vast amounts--the entire 90s decade comes to mind.
That said, I was determined to not let a busy life push my passions aside. BMX has been my passion since age 11, and besides a few years in the mid-90s, I’ve been actively riding since 1976. I made the commitment to try to ride every single day. Another motivation for riding every day is this: As you get older, the more time away from your bike (or surfboard or tennis racquet) the harder it is to maintain your skillset and more importantly, your comfort level. Three years ago, if I was off my bike for a week, I would feel old and wobbly when I got back on it. I really hated that feeling and didn’t want it to come back. Any time away just got harder to come back from. I can say now, after riding every single day for two full years and the first two months of this year, that I feel extremely comfortable riding a BMX bike. That doesn’t mean my riding is necessarily progres- sive or exciting to watch, in fact, I’m quite certain it’s not, but I feel good doing it. Also, I quit drinking in July of 2011, which has done wonders for my motivation.
E: what is the state of the barn these days? Is it chock full of half built motorcycles and rickety ramps?
S: It’s pretty close to the described state. I’ve slowly been organizing one section at a time. The ramps are not espe- cially rickety, I do ride them more days than not, so I try to keep them solid and well maintained. I also change them up regularly. The first year I had them in there, they were way too tall for how small the space is, so I’m lowering them. By the time I hit 50, they will be 3-inches tall.
There is currently one half-built motorcycle and several complete motorcycles in the barn. The half-built one is technically half-disassembled. It’s a 1972 Yamaha XS650, going through it’s 15th incarnation. I’m excited about my latest vision for it, but it’s been so fricking cold in the barn that I have been slow to make moves with it. There is a new tire leaning against another motorcycle, waiting patiently to be installed. Changing motorcycle tires sucks and it sucks substantially more with numb, frozen hands. I love the barn though. I listen to music, stare at motorcycles and old BMX bikes and dink around in there as much as possible. It’s really only a riding spot in the winter time. I have trails in the yard with jumps that I obsess over and brainstorm about all year long, so those provide quality to any higher level of ability, I just love riding BMX. I know I’m at the end of the line but I keep going because I sin- cerely enjoy it. I love skateboarding, snowboarding is fun, especially now with my family and I enjoy riding mountain bikes, but nothing does it for me like BMX does.
E: One of my favorite video clips involving Bmx in the past year was a video of your oldest son learning to ride the lo- cal skatepark. Have your kids taken to 2 wheels like there old man? Are you guys hitting the streets together all the time now?
S: That’s a tricky one. As much as I want to think I didn’t push them into BMX, it happened anyway. Bikes are every- where, I ride bikes all the time, work in the bike industry, etc., so there is pressure on them to be good bike riders, so whether it comes from me verbally or otherwise, it is implied. I’ve made conscious concessions to alleviate the pressure and we’ve come a long way in the last year or so. They are also getting bigger and stronger, so it’s physically a better experience for them now. They have a good time when we go to the skatepark or the BMX track, but they just do their own thing. I don’t make them race at the track, they have no pressure to try anything they are un- comfortable with and it’s a working formula. My younger son Dylan is more into BMX but they both like it when it is in front of them. They don’t specifically ask to ride bikes
or go to the skatepark...yet. Although much of my life has revolved around BMX, I don’t want that for our boys. I know BMX is an odd choice for a life’s passion. It was even more odd in the mid-70s when my obsession began. I’ve only made it work by attrition. Without getting too deep, I come from a broken home and things really got bad right about the time BMX came along, so I’m sure that’s part of why it still means so much to me to ride bikes. It was my escape then and it takes me to good places now. It’s not a coin- cidence. Hopefully, my kids will find things that mean as much to them as BMX does to me. I will support them all the way.
