Charles Townsend (BMX rider) explained

Charles Townsend
Fullname:Charles Heath Townsend
Nickname:"Choo-Choo Charlie", "Amtrak"
Birth Date:25 January 1967
Birth Place:Kansas City, Kansas, United States of America
Height:1.88 m
Weight:88.5 kg
Currentteam:Retired
Discipline:Bicycle Motocross (BMX)
Role:Racer
Ridertype:Off Road
Amateuryears1:1981
Amateurteam1:Woodside Bicycle Shop
Amateuryears2:1985
Amateurteam2:U.S. Boss Racing Products
Amateuryears3:1985
Amateurteam3:Free Agent
Amateuryears4:1985–1986
Amateurteam4:Hutch Hi-Performance
Proyears1:1986
Proteam1:Hutch Hi-Performance
Proyears2:1987
Proteam2:Cyclecraft
Proyears3:1987
Proteam3:CW Racing
Proyears4:1987–1988
Proteam4:Revcore
Proyears5:1988–1989
Proteam5:Diamond Back
Proyears6:1990–1991
Proteam6:Powerlite
Proyears7:1991–1998
Proteam7:Robinson Racing Products
Proyears8:1999–2000
Proteam8:Troy Lee Designs
Proyears9:2000
Proteam9:Airborne
Proyears10:2000–2001
Proteam10:Kona/Rocket Cash.Com
Proyears11:2003
Proteam11:Phantom Bikes
Proyears12:2004
Proteam12:Advent

Charles Heath Townsend (born January 25, 1967, in Kansas City, Kansas) is an "Old School/Mid School" former professional Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1985 to 1996. He has 2 kids.

He has various nicknames, many dating back to his days as a young amateur. Many are railroad related: "Steam Engine Charlie", "Speeding Locomotive Charlie", "Choo-Choo Charlie", "Amtrak".[1] Other nicknames include "Black Magic" (which he had stenciled on the back of his racing pants in 1985[2]), "Big Chuck ", "The Fleein' Korean",[3] and "Chasemainian Devil".[4]

Racing career

Note: Professional first are on the national level unless otherwise indicated.

MilestoneEvent Details
Started Racing: 1979/80 age 12 or 13. Townsend himself is rather vague on this point[5]
Sanctioning Body:
First race bike:
First race result: Third place in Beginner class in Hellyer Park in San Jose, California.
First win (local):
First sponsor: Woodside Bicycle Shop.
First national win: In 17 & Over Open at the 1985 American Bicycle Association (ABA) Supernational in Pico Rivera, California, on January 27, 1985.[6]
Turned Professional: December 28, 1986, at the National Bicycle League (NBL) Christmas National at age 19.
First Professional race result: First in "B" Pro on December 28, 1986, in Columbus, Ohio, at the National Bicycle League (NBL)'s Christmas National. He won US$600, the equivalent of US$1,126.09 in 2007 (Cost of Living Calculator) He also took a sixth in Pro Award but he finished out of the money.[7]
First Professional win: See above.
First Junior Men/Pro* race result: See above.
First Junior Men/Pro win: See above.
First Senior Pro** race result: First in "AA" Pro at the American Bicycle Association (ABA) Gilley's Nationals in Pasadena, Texas, on March 7, 1987. He won US$535,[8] the equivalent to US$1,004.10 2007. After the ABA Scottsdale National, Charles Townsend called the ABA and moved himself up to "AA" pro.[9] This was reminiscent of Brian Patterson asking permission from then ABA Vice President Gene Roden to move up to "AA" after one race in "A" pro in early 1982.[10]
First Senior Pro win: See above.
Height and weight at height of his career: Ht:6'2" Wt:~195 lbs.
Retired: 2002. He raced in the Veteran Pro class of the ABA and the NBL's Master class until 2004.

Career factory and major bicycle shop sponsors

Note: This listing only denotes the racer's primary sponsors. At any given time a racer could have numerous ever changing co-sponsors. Primary sponsorships can be verified by BMX press coverage and sponsor's advertisements at the time in question.

Amateur/Junior Men

Professional/Elite Men

Career bicycle motocross titles

Note: Listed are District, State/Provincial/Department, Regional, National, and International titles in italics. "Defunct" refers to the fact of that sanctioning body in question no longer existing at the start of the racer's career or at that stage of his/her career. Depending on point totals of individual racers, winners of Grand Nationals do not necessarily win National titles. Series and one off Championships are also listed in block.

Amateur/Junior Men

National Bicycle Association (NBA)

National Bicycle League (NBL)

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)

Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)

Professional/Elite Men

National Bicycle Association (NBA)

National Bicycle League (NBL)

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*

Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*

Pro Series Championships

Notable accolades

Significant injuries

Miscellaneous and Trivia

BMX magazine covers

Bicycle Motocross News:

Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX:

Bicycle Motocross Action & Go:

BMX Plus!:

Bicycles and Dirt:

Snap BMX Magazine & Transworld BMX:

Moto Mag:

NBA World & NBmx World (The official NBA/NBmxA membership publication):

Bicycles Today & BMX Today (The official NBL membership publication under one name change.

ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer (The official ABA membership publication under two name changes):

USBA Racer (The official USBA membership publication):

BMX and general press magazine interviews and articles

External links

Notes and References

  1. American BMXer September 1990 Vol.12 No.8 pg.10
  2. BMX Action June 1985 Vol.10 No.6 pg.54 sidebar
  3. BMX Plus! September 1987 Vol.10 No.9 pg.29
  4. BMX Plus! June 1988 Vol.11 No.6 pg.43
  5. BMX Plus! September 1987 Vol.10 No.9 pg.29 & pg.30 "Fast Facts"
  6. Super BMX & Freestyle May 1985 Vol.12 No.5 pg.41
  7. BMX Plus! May 1987 Vol.10 No.5 pg.23 (picture caption) & 26 (race results)
  8. BMX Plus! July 1987 Vol. No.7 pg.24
  9. Super BMX/Freestyle July 1987 Vol.17 No.7 pg.14
  10. Super BMX March 1983 Vol.10 No.3 pg.55
  11. Web site: History of CW page . 2006-07-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060522073449/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/cwracing/CW%20Information/history_of_cw.htm . 2006-05-22 . dead .
  12. Snap BMX Magazine May 2000 Vol.7 Iss.5 No.43 pg.38
  13. BMX Action May 1986 Vol.11 No.5 pg.72
  14. BMX Action August 1987 Vol.12 No.8 pg.60 (photo caption)
  15. American BMXer August 1988 Vol.10 No.7 pg.22
  16. BMX Action November 1988 Vol.13 No.11 pg.15
  17. BMX Plus! October 1988 Vol.11 No.10 pg.8
  18. American BMXer September 1988 Vol.10 No.8 pg.17
  19. Super BMX/Freestyle December 1988 Vol.15 No.12 pg.41
  20. Super BMX/Freestyle October 1988 Vol.15 No.10 pg.72
  21. BMX Action April 1989 Vol.14 No.4 pg.18
  22. BMX Plus! October 1992 Vol.15 No.10 pg.28
  23. Snap BMX Magazine May/June 1996 Vol.3 Iss.3 No.10 pg.14
  24. http://bmx.transworld.net/2004/01/27/factory-avent-bombshell-makes-stellar-debutbr01-27-04/ transworld.net January 27, 2004 article.
  25. BMX Plus! June 1992 Vol.15 No.6 pg.64