Bike No. 1 - Torker2 280 Air

Way back in 1987 I was 10 years old. Thanks to the video release of the film 'Rad' I developed an unhealthy obsession with BMXs. This obsession never quite passed and over time has gradually morphed into the road bike version you see some 24 years later.
I wasn't much into BMX racing, freestyle was where it was at for me. One of the local hoodlums in my area had a bright pink GT Pro Freestyle Tour and after watching him ride it up and down the street for hours on end, I decided that was the bike for me.

The fabled GT Pro Freestyle Tour

The reality was that my mum's budget was never going to get me on to the GT; however as luck would have when it came time for a new bike we trundled off to the local bike shop and that's where I saw her... the pink Torker2 280 Air. From memory at the time I think it cost $299.

Day and night I cruised around leaning how to bunny-hop, mono and endo; thinking I was king of the neighbourhood... I rode that bike into the ground. Looking back I recall a lot of kids pointing and laughing at my pink BMX; although I think secretly they wished they had the panache to bust moves on what appeared to be a Mattel Barbie BMX.

An ad for the Torker2 280 from a BMX Plus of the time

So there you have it; that's where my odyssey began. The first bike I ever really cared about was a bright pink Torker2 280 Air... man I loved that thing.

~VL