Bicycle Breakdancing

On a Sunday afternoon James Blankenship can be found honing his flatland BMX skills around campus and avoiding security as best he can.

Flatland BMX is regarded by some as one of the toughest sports to participate in. It involves balancing on a bike as easily as you would on your own two feet. Those who ride flatland will often spend hours practicing their skill every single day.

“It’s all about balance, coordination and dexterity,” says Blankenship. “It’s all mental pretty much.”

What Blankenship means by mental is that in Flatland BMX, there are no ramps or air jumps. One has to use their legs to balance. “You learn to balance on the bike as easily as you could stand on one foot. It’s all about combos, all you can do before coming back to riding normally again.”

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Blankenship, 19, is an Auburn University freshman from Prattville, Ala., and is a biomedical sciences major.
“My parents wanted me to go into optometry, dentistry, pharmacy, something like that, so I thought going into biomedical sciences would allow me to do any of those,” says Blankenship. “I am leaning toward pharmacy, but I may change to another major.”

Blankenship came to Auburn with two scholarships, the Leadership scholarship and the Achievement scholarship, each given to only one person per school. Blankenship got both.

Do not expect riding his bike to stand in the way of Blankenship’s studies. He says he uses the bike as procrastination, but is always able to limit the amount of time he rides.

“I practice a couple hours a day,” says Blankenship, “but it’s just a hobby, I keep it in my free time.”
Blankenship started riding when he was 8 years old and started learning tricks when he was 12. “I started with no hands and other simple things like that,” says Blankenship.

Even after 7 years of experimenting with different tricks on his bicycle, Blankenship has yet to have any serious injuries. “I’m just amazed I haven’t broken any bones yet.”

Although Blankenship says he has always ridden alone, he would like to find others who are interested in flatland BMX and start riding as a group. He is also interested in starting a BMX club at Auburn University.

“I would like to start a club as a way to ride with other people,” says Blankenship. “Not as competition, but as a way to better my own skills.”