Built as a tribute to veterans of all U.S. armed forces, by veterans, The Tribute bug has quite a story, well worth the five minute this video takes to watch.
If you read this blog on a regular basis, you know I blog about three things mostly, Old School BMX freestyle, my Sharpie artwork, and the economy/future trends. Those are the things I'm most into these days. So why the VW Bug post? Because the woman you see in this video, Alma Jo Barrera, is an Old School BMX freestyler, and a cool chick in general.
Here's a drawing Alma Jo asked me to do, back in 2016, from a photo of her doing a surfer while competing at the Velodrome AFA Masters in 1987.
In the 1980's, as it was just becoming a sport of its own, BMX freestyle was a boy's sport. There were a few hundred of us young guys that rode enough, and were hardcore enough, to show up at a major AFA contest in any region. It was not a girl friendly sport, but there were a handful of young women who got out there and learned a few tricks. A couple of women got to be really solid riders. All you guys from that era remember Krys Dauchy, she got a ton of coverage in that era. But the other solid female rider of the late 1980's, was Alma Jo, out of the epic Austin freestyle scene. Austin was the home of several riders then, Robert and Reuben Castillo being the best known at the time.
Alma Jo with a stomach stand at the 1987 AFA Masters at the Velodrome.
I met Alma Jo in 1988 when she was out in California for the spring Velodrome contest, and we rode and hung out for a week or so. The same thing happened when I went to the Austin AFA Masters that year. Even as a young mother trying to handle all the things necessary as a mom, she also got out to ride every day, and competed against us guys, because that was the only option then.
Alma Jo went on to join the Army, and served in the Gulf War, I believe. I know she's a proud veteran, though we've never talked much about her time in the Army. Since then, she's gotten really into fixing up, and rebuilding Volkswagons. The last time I asked her how many VW's she had, the answer was "about 15," I think. Obviously, The Tribute is in a category of its own. I'll be honest, that video above made me tear up.
I'm sharing this post in all the BMX groups, like most of my BMX posts, because it's a little bit of BMX freestyle history, a rider who was a pioneer for the girls of her region, and one overlooked then and since. Plus there are plenty of car guys, and some veterans, in the Old School Freestyle community who'll dig the story of The Tribute bug in the video above.
Check out my new mash-up book/blog about the future:
I also have a new blog that will eventually take over as my main blog. Check it out:
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