From Patrols to Pedals: Watch Wis. Officer Do BMX Jumps, Stunts

RACINE, WI—When Officer Michael Gordon is off duty from patrolling the streets of Racine in his squad car, he exchanges his four wheels for two at the Racine Skateboard Park.

Gordon remembers being 10 years old and walking along the lakefront with a couple of his friends when he first laid eyes on the Racine Skateboard Park, 800 Pershing Park Drive. He was instantly drawn in.

"It was the greatest thing I had ever seen!" Gordon said. He and his friends stopped, walked around, and started watching all of the experienced riders. "We came back shortly after with our little 12-inch bikes and started jumping some of the smaller ramps. I have been going down by the lake to ride those same ramps ever since."

Perhaps always destined for BMX, Gordon was only 3 years old when he mastered riding a traditional bike. He "kicked the training wheels off right away," but did not know what a skatepark was. "We made our own ramps out of wood and dirt, whatever we could find we would make ramps out of. I was just jumping little tiny jumps as a kid," Gordon said.

BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross, is denoted as stunt riding on either an obstacle course, a dirt road, a pump track, or a skate park. BMX riders typically use special small-framed bicycles made of highly durable steel that are perfect for performing jumps and tricks.

Gordon, now 30, stated that the day he first spotted and walked through the Racine Skateboard Park some 20 years ago, was when and where his passion for BMX riding was born.

Racine's Skateboard Park, an 18,000-square-foot facility that features a variety of ramps, a street course and a beginner's area. To ride in the park, facility rules state that individuals must be on either skateboards, in-line skates, scooters or BMX bikes only.

Born and raised in Racine, Gordon started working for his home city as a police officer a year and a half ago. "Being a police officer is one of the most interesting jobs I've ever had, though it comes with its difficulties," Gordon said. "We are public servants for the people in the community whose needs can vary from simple to complex; a constant roller coaster of emotions you could say."

Outside of work, Gordon has a young family and close friends that he spends much of his free time with, but in addition, he still manages to make time for his favorite childhood passion—BMX riding.

While BMX riders and skateboarders are often stigmatized as "delinquents," Gordon says that these sorts of negative connotations are simply not true.

"We are out riding in the streets, sometimes late at night when there are less traffic and people," Gordon said. "Most skateboarders and BMX riders that I've known just look at things from a different perspective. A normal person may see a stair set as a way to get from a lower point to a higher position. But we look at it as a potential obstacle to do stunts on."

To the local kids and young adults out there who may feel burdened by society's pressures, labels, and expectations, Gordon gives the following advice: "There really isn't anything you can't accomplish once you've set your mind to something and start taking the necessary steps to get there. You do not have to follow the norms of society, dumb yourself down to fit people's expectations, or have life figured out by the age of 25.

"This is your life, live it how you wish to live it, but remember that all actions have rewards or consequences. You can choose to earn a living, have responsibilities, make decisions, and take actions to better your life or you can choose not to do such things and life will be a different type of hard as your ability to go places, do things, and live how you want to live will be limited — your choice."