Team News

March 19, 2006 - The Journey To Ride

Team BMS Factory USA pocketbike rider Bennie Taylor recently made a trip to Europe to ride with some of the best riders in the world.

The journey began with his mother looking for plane tickets for both he and his dad to France to meet up with the BMS Factory. Plane tickets were purchased and many e-mails to both the Factory and Peter Bengston the organizer of the event in Spain were made. Going back and forth a schedule was put together and off they went.

The arrangement was made that they fly into a small town in France by the name of Montpellier, the home of BMS. They left Tuesday, March 7th, 2006 from Portland International airport, flew to Washington DC, from Washington DC to Paris, and then from Paris to Montpellier France. After the fifteen hour flight they were finally greeted on March 8th at the airport by Cedric Bianchi, the owner of BMS. After being held up in customs because of taking extra motors for the races, they were happy to arrive at their hotel, Massane in Montpellier which was also country club, to get ready for the riding journey ahead.

The golf course was similar to one that you would find in the states; the rooms were not. They stayed in a two room studio-like apartment that had tile flooring and minimal furnishings. The shower did not even have a shower curtain! But Bennie thought he had gone to heaven because he could get water on the floor and not get in trouble.

Thursday came and they traveled to the BMS factory where they met up with Damian, the brother of Cedric, who is the mechanical master-mind behind the awesome machine know as a pocketbike. The factory is located in the hills amongst a number of other racing manufactures which is an hour and a half from the city of Montpellier, where the main office is located. After a long day at the factory which included scoping out the 2006 BMS Bennie would be riding, Bennie and his Dad went back to the hotel with teammate Peter Lenz, also a Team BMS Factory USA rider, and his Dad who also made the long journey. Both boys began writing in their journals and were overexcited to be in a place that they would be riding almost each and everyday.

Friday dawned very quickly and Cedric had made arrangements to ride at a local track near the hotel to break the new 2006 bikes in. This allowed the boys to get some seat time before leaving the following day for a small city three hours away where they planned to ride with a number of French BMS Factory riders at an indoor motorcycle exibition. This track was hidden in the hills of Montpellier. After driving down a very bumpy, pothole filled road and then over a small hill there arose a track that was breathtakingly awesome. The track itself was long, fast, smooth and wide; a rider’s dream. The grounds around the track were every old and somewhat primitive, but the people running the track were all about riding. After about an hour of riding, the group packed up and returned to the hotel in preparation for the trip to the indoor track.

Saturday, they left at about nine o’clock in the morning, traveling the three hours up into the French Mountains. When they arrived, they were greeted by the French resellers of BMS whose names were Sami with his girlfriend, Katy. For two full days both Bennie and Peter rode for twenty minutes every hour for about seven hours a day. They became the highlight of the event because in France junior riders do not begin riding until the age of 14. The crowd went crazy every time the boys hit the track. The boys were asked to sign autographs and even talked to the local press. The other BMS riders which included Sami, Katy, and John made them feel at home. The boys were a part of the event despite the cultural differences and not being able to communicate to the other riders - other than sharing the love to ride. The riding went on for hours despite the freezing temperatures. This did not stop the riders as they had a great time and bonded with each other. This was also the first opportunity the boys had to eat different foods. They found out in a hurry that the French have a different way of eating and of what they eat. They ate a lot of bread and drank a lot of mineral water. The event was extremely successful and a learning experience for both Bennie and his Dad. They found that it is extremely important to have fun and play around even when in race mode. The more crazy fun they had, the faster the riders went.

Sunday night they returned to Montpellier and stayed in the same hotel to get ready for another long trip. This time to they were headed to Benidorm, Spain. On Monday morning Cedric, along with Team BMS of France, arrived and they loaded up and left for Spain. Twelve members including Bennie, Peter and their dads piled into a van. Along the way they made a few stops for gas and food breaks. The scenery was outstanding. It was a mixture of new and extremely old. Some of the buildings and sites were hundreds of years old and still standing. Traveling down along the coastline through France and into Spain they drove through the cities of Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, then finally rolling into Benidorm where they checked into The Bali, one of the tallest buildings in Spain. The Bali Hotel is just blocks from the Mediterranean Sea. Checking into their room on the 8th floor they found granite flooring and marble stonework everywhere. They met up with the others and walked to a restaurant on the beach of the Mediterranean and had dinner. They discovered that Benidorm was a community of older citizens who still enjoyed having a great time in life. The visiting group played the piano and sang until all hours of the night.

Tuesday came and off to the track they went. They arrived ten minutes to nine but the gates were still closed. They were greeted at the gate by an Englishman who spoke English! It was a sweet sound to their ears. The man explained that they would be opening at nine and not to worry. While they waited, they could see the track and it was huge and very well maintained. It had a lot of different elements: up hills, increasing radiuses, and off camber. Yes, it was another dream track and they were just minutes from walking the track they would be riding. The gates opened and off they went to walk the track. They walked it twice because it was a track for the skilled and the sweeping turns were unfamiliar to these Americans. To get around the track meant they needed to know each and every corner. Bennie and Peter finally suited up and it was time to ride. The organizer divided the event into classes by placing colored stickers on the windshields and at the pit was a clock that was also color-coded to let the riders know when it was their turn to go out. The boys’ color came up and they hit the track. A bit over whelmed and little hesitant at first, but they both performed very well. They were riding with the fastest pocketbikers from all over Europe. Peter got into the groove fast with Bennie not far behind. Tuesday was a lot of riding. They rode thirty minutes every hour with fifteen minute breaks in between sessions. They were having a ball. As the day went on they gained confidence and experience which moved them faster. Lunch came at 2pm and lasted till 4pm. One thing that they discovered is that the Europeans take their lunch breaks very seriously. The track was shut down for two hours while everyone enjoyed their food and company they kept, always finishing the meal with a dessert and a Coke. By the end of the day the boys were exhausted. They stopped at McDonald's for dinner and returned to the hotel.

Wednesday, both boys were excited to get going as they returned to the track. This time it was race day. They entered the air-cooled class and the field was 26 riders deep. The starting grid was lined up based on racer numbers. In the first race the lower numbered bikes were in the front of the grid and in the second race those lower numbers started at the rear of the grid. This gave all riders the same chance to ride in the front. This was a huge learning experience for both of the BMS junior riders. They raced two races with Bennie placing 13th in both and Peter placing 6th in the first and 4th in the second race. The sun went down and they packed up for the trip back to France. They drove through the night arriving in France at 6am in the morning but the poor adult team riders had to wake up in a few hours to get to their regular jobs of employment. The boys went to bed to prepare for Thursday in which a private session with Champion BMS Team rider Albane, was scheduled.  

Thursday and Friday was solid riding and coaching at the track in Montpellier. This was yet another great learning experience for both Bennie and Peter. They were able to increase entrance and exit speed and have fun. They packed up at 2pm on Friday to ready for the flight to London where they would catch their flight back to the USA. They stayed overnight at the Hilton in London and the accommodations were just like in the USA. They spent that night relaxing and eating a real gourmet hamburger while communicating in English with everyone.

Saturday came in a hurry and they loaded up in the plane to the USA. They flew from London to Chicago and from Chicago to Portland. Tired, they arrived in Portland with a great story to tell; that they rode in Europe and had a great time.

The story of riders and the dream of champions.

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