Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/66705
SHREDDING IT DIRT BIKING GROWS UP AS THE INSTRUCTOR. WHEN YOU ADD ALL THE RIGHT TOYS AND AN ACCOM- PLISHED LOCAL CELEBRITY BMX champion Ricardo Laguna moved to Las Vegas from Mexico when he was 13. Back then, Vegas had only one skate park, which contained a single ledge and a single handrail. Today, Laguna is 30, and Clark County has more than 30 public skate parks. And they're mostly bike-friendly, making Vegas something of a BMX hub. Vegas, Though not many pro BMXers live in Las they all visit here from places such as France, South America, Australia, and Canada. When asked, Laguna explains what it is about BMXing that draws so many people in. "For me, it's the freedom," he says. "When I take off, I'm weightless. And sometimes, during a jump, my mind goes in slow motion and I lose track of myself. Want to see for yourself?" With that, we head to Laguna's garage. It's filled with bikes, bike parts, tire pumps—and of course, protection. Shin pads, kneepads, gloves, and hel- mets are all necessary preambles to the main event. Laguna introduces "Buzz," my bike for the day, and offers some basic instruction on proper rider positioning: Toes should hang out over the pedals so that your feet don't slip off, and you want the seat between your knees, so you can pinch it with your legs while performing bar spins. (This is not the result of too many martinis, but a maneu- ver where the BMXer leans back while the bike is in the air and takes one hand off the handlebar while spinning the bar around with the other.) Laguna has a nine-foot quarter pipe at one end of his property and a spine (two ramps with a nar- row ledge between) and box (ramp with a landing platform on top) at the other, with a resi (ramp with a padded platform) in the middle. After a few successful bar spins, I decide to try the resi. At nine feet, it's a daunting prospect for a nervous novice and will take you back to your seventh birthday and your first two-wheeler. Getting half- way up the ramp is no problem, but once there, fear sets in, the body revolts, followed by a quick dismount. Laguna advises to keep going. "Just turn through the ramp, and gravity will take you down," he says. "You can do this." As it turns out, he is right: Buzz and I push through the turn in one piece and descend the ramp, feeling more pro and less seven years old. For a listing of skate parks, visit vegasamjam.com; to keep up with Laguna, visit ricardo-laguna.com. photography by steven lawton