Thursday, 14 January 2010 17:54

At the ABA Silver Dollar National in Reno this past weekend, one of the Steel Wheels Indoor (Portage, Indiana) local riders, and a friend to all, Ken Nork, broke his neck during the 2nd round of competition and the medical word is not good. Evidently the injuries that Ken sustained have left him paralyzed.

There are many fundraising efforts being launched to aid the family....the first being this weekend with the Annual Steel Wheels' Answer Winter Supercamp.

The fine folks at Answer Supercamp will be donating a portion of all camp fees to the Nork family which is much needed in this terrible time of recovering from this tough accident.

The Steel Wheels staff family will also be having a bake sale at the regular Saturday night race.

If you are in the area and can make the camp, you can get some great training tips from Burlin Harris and the Answer Supercamp staff, PLUS, you'll be helping out the Nork family.

Stick around, race the Saturday evening race, grab some of the tasty baked goods that Jackie Althizer and the Steel Wheels Bakers will be showcasing and we can help together to aid a BMX family that has a tough road ahead of them.

Don't forget, there is still room available in the camp...and people can call Jackie Althizer to reserve a spot.

Phone is 219-406-9833 or 219-369-6676
Email is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Web site is www.steelwheelsbmx.com

Tuesday, 22 December 2009 17:54

Answer BMX would like to wish all our friends a happy and safe holiday season. And if you’re attending the NBL Christmas Classic race, best of luck to you all!

Our office will be closed for the holidays from Dec. 24 through Jan 3, 2010. But we’ll reopen for business on Monday Jan. 4 at 9am.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Answer BMX Inc.

Saturday, 05 December 2009 10:06

VILLA HILLS - A professional BMX bike racer from Villa Hills died Tuesday as a result of injuries he received in a car accident on I-275 in Taylor Mill on Thanksgiving afternoon.

Kyle Weisenberger, 24, died at University Hospital where he was in the Neurological Intensive Care Unit.

Weisenberger, who was a junior at Northern Kentucky University majoring in graphic arts, was a professional BMX racer, and a member of the National Bicycle League.

According to his mother, Cindy Weisenberger, Kyle started riding a bike at age 2, and even though he still needed diapers, he did not need training wheels.

"He had natural ability when it came to riding a bike," she said. "But then he took it further, building ramps out of dirt, and sometimes even snow, so he could fly through the air on his bike."

This soon became his passion and he started entering races in the fifth grade, traveling to competitions all over the United States with his father.

"He committed his life to this sport, giving up other sports and activities to train for these races," said his father, Karl, 63, of Villa Hills. "Early on I saw a drive in him that he was willing to give his heart, soul and body to do this."

According to Karl, even though his son always wore a helmet and proper equipment, the injuries mounted. Over the years Kyle suffered a broken wrist, ruptured spleen, dislocated shoulders and several knee and ankle surgeries, all as a result of the training or competing in this extreme sport.

But he excelled. In 1999, he was ranked number one in his age group in the United States and from 1999 to 2004 he was always in the top 10 in his class in the U.S.

In 2003, the year he graduated from Covington Catholic High School, he was ranked eighth in the world.

"As much as he loved his sport, I always hated it," said Cindy. "I made him nervous at competitions because he knew it scared me so much. So most of the time I didn't go watch him."

Over the years he has been featured in more than 50 BMX-related magazines and was quite a celebrity in the racing world. As his accomplishments grew, Kyle gave back to the sport. He became a mentor to younger boys who were getting involved in BMX racing.

"Everyone looked up to him," said Cindy. "Lots of those boys wanted to be Kyle."

His parents say his biggest disappointment in life was not making the 2008 Olympics, which was his goal. After taking some time off college to pursue this dream, his father says that the results of all of his past injuries caused him to not make the U.S. team.

Although his family is proud of his accomplishments in life, they are equally proud that Kyle was able to give the gift of life as an organ donor. The Weisenbergers have been told that eight vital organs were donated as well as bones, skin, eyes and ears.

"What I'm so proud of is that he had signed his donor card himself, because it was something he wanted to do," said Karl. "His mother and I did not have to make those decisions, because he already had."

Despite of all his bike-riding injuries over the years, Kyle was in excellent shape. He focused on nutrition and worked out every day.

"We were told a 39-year-old man received Kyle's young, strong heart," said Cindy. "What a wonderful Christmas present that family has just received."

Survivors include his parents, Karl and Cindy Ruschell Weisenberger of Villa Hills; brother, Kevin Weisenberger of Verona and sister, Karla Weisenberger, of Latonia.

Visitation will be 4-9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4, at the Linnemann Funeral Home, Burlington. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, at St. Agnes Church, Fort Wright. Burial will be in St. John Cemetery, Ft. Mitchell.



Memorials: Kyle Weisenberger Memorial Fund, National Bicycle League, 3958 Brown Park Drive, Suite D, Hilliard, OH 43026.

Online condolences to www.linnemannfuneralhomes.com.

http://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...0104/912030336/

“I had the privelage of knowing Kyle for about 10 yrs, from his days as an upcoming young teenager to his final years as a Pro.  He was a great ambassador for the sport, always had a smile on his face, and would make you laugh at the drop of a hat.  And on top of all that, he was a badass on the bike.  I was fortunate to be able to co-sponsor Kyle with both Sun Ringle’ and Kuwahara during my time with those companies and he was always grateful for the support and a true professional spokesman and representative for his sponsors.  More importantly, I considered Kyle and his father Karl very dear friends.  Kyle gave us the book “Mike and the Bike” when our son was born and it is still one of his favorites, mine too.  Someday I’ll be able to tell our son that the book he loves was from a very special person who was taken from us way too soon. KDub, you will be missed.  On behalf of my wife Natarsha, our son Ryder, and Answer BMX, our heartfelt sympathies go out to your family.”

Sincerely,
Ryan Birk
Answer BMX Products

Tuesday, 24 November 2009 21:32

Yeah it’s that time of year again.  Families are getting ready to eat turkey, watch football, and count how many Budweisers and pieces of pie Uncle Larry can put down.  But if you’re a BMX racer, this time of year means you’re on your way to Tulsa OK for the ABA Grand Nationals.  Good luck to everybody racing.  Answer BMX will be there.  Make sure you stop by the Answer Supercamp pits and say hi.  You can also get a sneak peek at the prototype Dagger fork on Bubba’s bike.  See you there!

Friday, 09 October 2009 16:41

Anybody see the new 2010 Redline Flight bikes yet?  We here at Answer think they look really, really trick this year.  Coming to your local Redline Bicycles dealer very soon.