Good decisions, Bad decisions. For myself and perhaps many others I can think of bad decisions quickly, usually provoked by poor sleep, alcohol, or lack of wisdom. Good decisions seem to take longer to think about. So maybe the answer is right there. Bad decisions are made quickly in a poor state of mind, and good decisions take time and demand a clear head. When asked to write this, I did what I have always done when needing to get to a place to clear my head… I hit the road and unlike most times the intention to be just to ride, this time it was to write and so here it is…

BMX really grabbed me when I was 14. As a kid I played sports, all of them that were offered in the little Arizona town I grew up in. That also included swimming and gymnastics. The problem that I always found with organized sports is after practice or the game, no one wanted to play more or practice after — and it didn’t make sense to me. Then, BMX. I could ride as much as I wanted. I didn’t need a team. I didn’t even need another player. I would ride with friends at spots that we built and when everyone had to go home, I would go home too but I would go home to ride more. From age fourteen to eighteen that’s all I did. I mastered ditching high school while keeping my good grades so I could ride as much as humanly possible (I later learned that a few of my teachers knew what I was up doing and still supported it). The author Malcolm Gladwell clams that it takes 10,000 hours to master something. Years ago I did the math and in those 4 years, I rode nearly every day. 5 hours every weekday, and a minimum of 8 hours on weekends. That’s 2,132 hours a year, and 8,528 hours in those 4 years. Because of that dedication, I got pretty good in a short time. When I couldn’t ride, I would study magazines and videos; American muscle, Anthem 1, Style cats, and Props. I was under the impression that the guys in the videos rode like they did in the edits every single day. So my goal was to be dialed every day, to do every trick on a daily basis and that’s what I did.

In 1998 the BMX scene in Arizona was huge. In Prescott, the little town I lived in, we frequently had a massive showing of so many friends that would come from all over the state. It was an amazing time! The older group of guys that would come up from Phoenix, couldn’t believe how good I was and how young I was. They initially started telling me how I needed to go ride contests and eventually probably leave my little town. So I took their advice and within the next year I ended up qualifying and wining a contest with many of the big names at the time but with no sponsors, and coming seemingly from out of nowhere.

Now, should I have gone to college right after graduating high school (I did finish up college, 15 years, 3 degree changes, 4 community collages, 2 universities later) or pursue a career or a trade, etc.? I made the decision to pursue the life of a professional BMX rider. At the time, there was some big money and sponsors in action sports. Over the years, I declined many offers for the bigger checks, because as Forest Gump would say, “There is only so much money a man needs — the rest is just for showing off.” There were many jumping contests at the time and I did just fine with contest finishes. The sponsors I chose didn’t put any pressure on me. I had so much freedom. And what I did with that freedom was travel, dig, and ride. Looking back, I always wonder if it was a bad decision no to look into those big corporate sponsors? Would I have invested that money or blown it on dumb stuff anyways? Or, was it a good decision to keep what I loved so personal and less as something to be watered down with necessity for compensation? I lean heavily towards, good decision when I think of it like that. BMX inevitably did feel like a job sometimes but it never lost those great feelings it gave me at the very beginning. BMX was the cornerstone in my life for 32 years (with some downtime due to injury and completing my collegiate commitment)— and 32 years of BMX has taken a massive toll on my body. The human body was not designed for actions sports, so was it a good decision to dedicate my life to such a hazardous activity? How bad am I going to be hurting in another decade or two? Looking back while moving forward, I reflect a lot on the last 32 years.

Obviously, I learned more about life traveling with my bike than in books and college classes. People spend their lives saving to travel to get away from their job but with BMX, staying in some of the nicest hotels, driving for countless hours and for days in a car to ride a spot, or go to a place with an amazing scene and seeing so many beautiful places was my job and was always a priceless adventure and hindsight my greatest decision! The people that I’ve met, the lifestyles I’ve seen have been fascinating. The brilliance of action sports athletes has blown me away so many times. I’ll never forget when I realized the brilliance of an action sports mind. Working in the “professional field” for a short time I couldn’t’ believe the lack of open mindedness, problem solving, lack of drive and determination. Action sports athletes seem to have a deep bag of talents and skills, and usually are always willing to share them. Good decision.

BMX has been a great teacher, a way to learn by example. I have a constant quest for knowledge and skills. “Many times I’ve wondered how much there is to know.” -Robert Plant. I Have used the same template that I use for BMX to learn other skills and crafts. Long ago I realized that if put 20% of the effort that I put into BMX into learning something new I could learn it reasonably quick. Time and time again the BMX process has taught me so many different things. Good decision.

I have only lived the life that I know so I don’t have much to compare it to. Life isn’t a mathematical equation, I don’t think it should be about plugging some number into a formula and getting the correct answer. The choice I made many years ago, was much more of a choice to stay forever in what first took over my life with a love of BMX. So, there is no correct answer for me and never will be. Ride the fulcrum, because not all questions need to be answered, some of the biggest should just be pondered in perpetuity. – Adam

instagram: @adam_g_baker