Since it’s remembrance day this Sunday, I thought it would be nice to dedicate our FRIDAY RANDOMS section to the fine men and women of the armed forces. I’m not sure if you are aware of this, but BMX and the army have its links. I was quite surprised a few years ago when I first found out about this project called Bikes Over Baghdad. It’s such a rad idea! The founders thought it’d be sick to fly a bunch of Pro BMX riders (and their bikes of course) into various army bases around the world as a form of entertainment. There’s been plenty of shows to date for those serving in the likes of Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Djibouti, Afghanistan and many other locations.

I think it’s fair to say a majority of the troops probably haven’t rode BMX before, I  mean maybe one or two may have had a Mongoose or Raleigh Burner back in the day, and hit a few jumps with their mates. You’ll get a few people who were riders but quit to join the forces, ended up selling their bike and itching to ride again. Whatever their past experiences of BMX were, most are stoked with the show and get fully involved and others get to meet some of the legends they might have looked up to as a kid. This kind of break from gruelling duties in the hot sun is just what people need to wind down and enjoy something a little different to what they are used to I guess…

The DVD is awesome too, I managed to give this a watch a little while back and thoroughly enjoyed it. If you get a chance I’d pick a copy up!

Founders: Christian Schauf, Zachary Schauf, Nathan Wessel

Team Members:
Nate Wessel
Zack Yankush
Chad Kagy
Brian Kachinsky
Jeremiah Smith
Mike Escamilla
Dave Osato
Ron Kimler
Anthony Napolitan
Drew Bezanson
Mykel Larrin
Billy Rohan
Jud Heald

“Bikes Over Baghdad is a team of professional action sports athletes who have traveled to the Middle East numerous times in support of the troops. This is not a typical sports video of guys doing insane tricks in remote locations (though it has that), this is not a story about the sacrifices our soldiers make day in and day out (though that is in there as well), and this is not the diary of an adventure a group of friends embarked on (though again, there is that). What this is, is a story about what happens when people give for the good of others. When people put their own safety aside to make someone’s life a little better, and how selflessness can change lives.”