Happy Holidays from Answer BMX

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.



R.I.P. Kentucky Kyle

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

ABA Grand Nationals

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!

2010 Redline Flight Bikes

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.

NBL National Champion Says Thank You

Joshua Meyers, the new NBL Super X  National #1 would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to those people and companies that helped achieve this lofty goal in his first season as a Professional BMX Racer.

“A lot of great companies and people have helped me achieve this goal. Awesome friendships have been made as well with the people from these great companies. I truly appreciate all of your support in the past and hope to continue in the future.”

A huge THANKS goes out to; Bruce, Becky and family of Excalibur BMX Racing Team who without them and their support, this goal would not have been possible. Greg and all at Troy Lee Designs for everything as well as the best race clothes on the planet. Pete, Toby and everyone at Intense/THE for the great frames and tires.  Jim, Charlie, Gus, Cory and everyone at Profile Racing for the hubs, cranks, gears, and everything else. T.J. and Rich at Tangent Products for the number plates and seats. Ryan at Answer for the best forks available. George at Rennen Design for the awesome gears and chain rings.  Shannon and Jerry at Vans for the great shoes. S & M for the great race bars. Everyone at ODI for the lock on grips. Thomson for the seat posts. Tim (Shimmy) Dinger is the Hornball for the shirts and jokes. John, Marla and the Sawyer family for their support and friendship, thanks for everything. The whole NBL crew for putting up with me all these years. Everyone at J & R Bicycles. Rich and the Go211 crew for the live and archived races. Big Mike from BMX Now, BMX News, and Vintage BMX for the photos and exposure. Jerry at BMXMania.com for the props, pics and exposure. Jrod, Johnny, Tom, Kris and all the other photographers out there sweating to get the best possible shots you all are great. Jack sorry you were not able to be with us for the Grands, see you soon and thanks for believing. Everyone who picked me up, drove me, housed me and helped in any way. And my newest sponsor Drinkgarbage.com.

 
To all the people, my family, my friends and my fans that have cheered for me all through the years a big thank you, and this title is for all of you.
A very special THANKS to my Dad, for all his continuous support since I started racing.

Thanks again to all and see everybody at the up and coming races.

Josh Meyers