It's all downhill for young racer

Some of Brody Cole's trophies are as big as he is. The 6-year-old, nicknamed “Nitro,” is supersonic on a bike.

A year ago the first-grader at West Dodge Elementary School had never ridden a bicycle. Now he has nearly 50 trophies from BMX racing.

Brody's mother, Valerie Cole, said he had a bike but really didn't have any interest in it. Then one day he asked his older brother, Clayton, to help him take the training wheels off. He hopped on and first thing went flying down the hill by their house.

And he hasn't stopped flying since.

On the second day of bike riding, he was challenging the neighborhood kids to races. They got tired of the game. So Brody took on older kids.

That prompted Brody's dad, Jake Cole, to look into BMX racing. Deciding it was worth a try, his parents got Brody a racing bike and took him to his first race.

It wasn't quite the same as racing in the neighborhood. “He was nervous,” Valerie Cole said, adding that she was, too. There is the potential for injury as the racers fly over bumps in the track and go through crazy turns.

But nerves couldn't overrule Brody's love of racing. He placed second in his first race.

There was no turning back for Brody or his family. BMX has become a way of life for them.

“We didn't realize how much was involved,” Jake Cole said. “There's a lot of travel.”

It also is fun, and friendships have developed. The kids Brody races against are his buddies off the track at meets. They're all part of the BMX family.

In August, Brody raced in the Cornhusker Nationals in Lincoln. He placed first for his age group in two race categories.

He races every Friday at Omaha's BMX course at Hefflinger Park and every Sunday at Lincoln's Star City BMX. Over the Labor Day weekend, he raced in Wichita, Kan., where he took first place both days of competition. This weekend he'll be at the Nebraska State Championships in Omaha.

Then Brody has his sights set on the Redline Cup Championships in Kansas City in October and the ABA Grand Nationals in Tulsa in November.

Brody practices five or six days a week. It would be every day, his mom said, if she didn't force him to take at least one day off.

His enthusiasm is rubbing off on another member of the family. For now his little sister, 3-year-old Mae-Mae, rides in big wheel kiddie races for fun at meets. But she can start competing at age 4.

Older brother Clayton, 13, is more interested in skateboarding, Jake Cole said.

Valerie Cole doesn't know where her kids' need for speed comes from. “Brody just has this strong desire to win.”

Everyone is hanging on for the ride.

Contact the writer:

444-1067, carol.bicak@owh.com

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