Stuart L. Thomsen was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 bicycle motocross (BMX)

BMX

Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...

 racer.

Stu Thomsen was one of the first of the "Old School" of professional BMX racers who gained fame in the early days of the sport beginning in 1974. His prime competitive years were from 1976-1985. Sometimes called the Babe Ruth

Babe Ruth

George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...

 of BMX for his prolific success and domination of BMX racing during the sport's early days from the mid 1970's into the mid 1980's, Thomsen's considerable career accolades and legacy remain a benchmark for modern sports achievement.

His nicknames, "The Man" and "Stompin Stu", were due in part to his size at 6 feet 1.5 inches and 200 lbs.

Racing career milestones

----

Milestone	Event Details
Started racing:	Late 1973, 15 years old. He noticed a flyer about races at Scot Breithaupt's B.U.M.S track in Long Beach, CA. Since he didn't have a driver's licence he had a friend's father drive him to the track with some friends, looking to race in real competition. The track was holding a championship race of some kind.
Sanctioning body:	The proto governing body Bicycle United Motocross Society (B.U.M.S.)
Home sanctioning body district(s):	National Bicycle Association (NBA) District "X" (Orange/Los Angeles Counties) 1977-1981; American Bicycle Association American Bicycle Association The American Bicycle Association is a United States-based Bicycle Motocross sports governing body in Gilbert, Arizona created by Merl Mennenga and Gene Roden in 1977. It is the largest sanctioning body in the United States concerning BMX. It has tracks in Canada and Mexico as well as in the USA...  (ABA) California 1 (CA-1) (1985)
First race bike:
First race result:	Fifth place at Scot Breithaupt Scot Breithaupt Scot Alexander Breithaupt is an entrepreneur, "Old School" former professional Motorcycle MX and Bicycle Motocross racer and a founding father of BMX in 1970 whose prime competitive years were from 1970 to 1984... 's Bicycle United Motocross Society (B.U.M.S.) track in Long Beach, California Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
First win (local):
First sponsor:	Newport Design & Manufacturing, Inc.
First national win:	Yamaha Bicycle Gold Cup a.k.a the Bicycle Motocross Championship of California State on September 14, 1974 as an Expert, age 16* He won a Yamaha Moto-Bike winning one of the three qualifiers and for winning the final event a Yamaha motorcycle. Strictly speaking, the Yamaha Gold Cup, as it is colloquially known, wasn't a national but the final of a series of four races (including the Final) held at different tracks based in California, but it was the first highly organized mass event in BMX involving a large amount of racers and heavily promoted in the mass media in California. The first true National in which racers not from the state of California participated in and national points awarded to those out of state was the NBA Winter Nationals held in Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...  on March 29, 1975.
Turned Professional**:	1975 Age 16
First Professional race result:**
First Professional win:	Possibly at the National Bicycle Association National Bicycle Association The National Bicycle Association , later known as the National Bicycle Motocross Association was an United States based Bicycle Motocross sports sanctioning body originally based in Soledad, California that was created by Ernie Alexander in 1973 and ceased operations as an independent body in 1981...  (NBA) Jimmy Weinert Supernationals on "Weinert Mountain" at the Racing World course in Trabuco Canyon, California Trabuco Canyon, California Trabuco Canyon is a small unincorporated community located in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains in eastern Orange County, California, and lies partly within the Cleveland National Forest.Trabuco Canyon is north of the town of Rancho Santa Margarita...  on April 3, 1977 when he won the Trophy Dash. It was a 100% payback race in which the racer gets back his entrance fee. This is one of the first officially sanctioned Pro BMX races held in BMX. Stu would go on to win about USD$1,500 in 1977. the equivalent to USD$5,349.01 in 2008 (Cost of Living Calculator).
Height and weight at height of his career:	Ht:6'1.5" Wt:200 lbs.

Retired from Senior pro (NBL-"A"/ABA-"AA"): July 1987 Aged 29. He couldn't find a factory sponsorship for the expensive national circuit which even with the resources of his bikeshop Stu Thomsen's Family Cycle Center. A combination of him being let go by Huffy and the depressed economic state of BMX which resulted in a dearth of sponsorship offers despite his looking; and a shoulder injury that he himself didn't let heal properly do to his competitiveness. At 29 he had largely made his goal to race until he was thirty years old. However, he did race in large races that was both close to his Yorba Linda home and had large purses. For example he did race at least once in 1988 at the ABA Winter Nationals at Chandler, Arizona with a 4th and 7th in Pro Cruiser at the two races over that weekend. This is in addition to him racing locally close to his home. He raced in the 1990 ABA Fall Nationals and made the Pro Open Main in the Sunday race, coming in sixth. He also raced the 1991 ABA Fall Nationals as well along with fellow "retired" pros Eric Rupe

Eric Rupe

Eric Fitzgerald Rupe is an "Old School" American professional bicycle motocross racer. His prime competitive years were from 1978 to 1990....

 and Harry Leary

Harry Leary

Harry Clarence Leary Jr. was a "Old School" professional bicycle motocross racer....

 but did not make any of the Mains. He raced the Fall nationals again a year later reclassifying to "A" pro (along with Harry Leary) coming in third in Pro Cruiser on Day 2 (October 24). In 1993 he resumed racing on a serious level in Pro Cruiser and in the then new ABA Veteran Pro class for a few years. Today he still races occasionally as an amateur in the ABA 45-50 cruiser and 36 & Over Expert 20" class sponsored by Redline. His last Senior Pro win in the 20" division before retiring from serious Senior pro competition appeared to had been at the NBL National in Sarasota, Florida

Sarasota, Florida

Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...

 on March 28, 1986.

Amateur

• Newport Design & Manufacturing, Inc.: ?-July 1974
• Dirtmaster Racing Products: July 1974-August 1975.

• Webco Inc.: August 1975-Late March 1976. Webco disbanded its team in March 1976.

• D.G. Performance Specialties (The initials stood for Dan Hangsleben, Gary Harlow): Late April 1976-October 1976. Stu was kicked off the DG Team for bad-mouthing and abusing his DG issue bicycle after a poor showing in a race. Chuck Robinson, DG team manager, heard Thomsen's outburst. According to Jeff Bottema
  Jeff Bottema
  Jeffery Bottema was an American professional "Old School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1976 to 1981. He had the nickname of "Battling".-Racing career milestones:----...
  
  , Thomsen's teammate at the time, noted in the June 1977 issue of Bicycle Motocross Action, it was not the first time Thomsen had slighted DG and Mr. Robinson acted punitively on this alleged occasion, at least the second In a June 1978 interview in Bicycle Motocross Action, Stu said about the incident:

  "....I stayed with them (DG) for another year and then got ejected from the team somehow...I don't even understand that."

  He reiterated this point five years later in an interview that appeared in the September 1983 issue of Bicycles And Dirt magazine:

  "...for some unknown reason I was dropped from the team. I never really found out why."

• Flying Machine Factory (FMF): October 1976-Mid 1977. He joined FMF after leaving D.G. a week and a half later. Stu would turn pro with this sponsor.

Professional

• Flying Machine Factory (FMF): October 1976-Mid 1977. FMF was created in part by Scot Breithaupt
  Scot Breithaupt
  Scot Alexander Breithaupt is an entrepreneur, "Old School" former professional Motorcycle MX and Bicycle Motocross racer and a founding father of BMX in 1970 whose prime competitive years were from 1970 to 1984...
  
  , a pioneer of the sport. He will later split from FMF and start Scot Enterprises Racing (SER). Stu Thomsen would leave FMF with Breithaupt.

• SE (Scot Enterprises) Racing: Mid 1977-December 31, 1979.

• Redline Engineering: January 1, 1980-December 31, 1983. After sometime on SE Racing he would move on to Redline. Financial reasons was the prime motivation as he explained in Bicycles And Dirt Magazine:

  BAD: Why Redline when you had been with S.E. for so long?
  Stu: At the time, pro racing had been going on for a few years, but the prize money wasn't all that big yet. Redline was a much bigger company than S.E. Racing. The dollar signs were what attracted me more than just wanting to change. I needed to get more out of racing if I was to stay in it any longer. The opportunity to earn money by riding someone's product, other than just going out and winning it, was a big push. I decided racing was what I wanted and I had to get the best I could out of it."'

• Huffy Corporation (Huffman Manufacturing Company): January 1, 1984-Early November 1986. Thomsen left Huffy in part because, according to the December 1986 issue of BMX Plus! Huffy decided to end the "Stu Thomsen" signature line of BMX bicycles.
• Motobecane (MBK): November 22–23, 1986. This was a one weekend sponsorship in France for the Bicross/Yop King of Bercy championship race in Bercy, France. It was not a permanent position nor was it meant to be.
• Stu Thomsen's Family Cycle Center: Late November 1986-1992 This is a Bicycle shop was started and was been owned by Stu Thomsen beginning in November 1984 until approximately 1992.
• Largely retired for six years 1987-1992. Raced once or twice in the pro cruiser and 20" classes a couple of times a year for fun.
• Southridge Cycles: 1992 He resumed racing on a serious level starting in 1992 in Pro Cruiser and Veteran Pro.
• SE (Sports Engineering) Racing: January 1993-

Amateur

• Redline Bicycles: 1999–Present. He has reclassified himself as an amateur and represents Redline bicycles on the occasions he races.

Amateur

Independent Associations

• Late 1973-1974 Thomsen won a ten week race series at Palms Park in Santa Monica, California
  Santa Monica, California
  Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
  
  , his first title.

• 1974 Yamaha Bicycle Gold Cup California State Expert Champion
• 1975 Western Sports Arena (WSA) No.1 Expert

National Bicycle Association (NBA)

• 1977 Western States Champion
• 1977 15-Up South Pacific BMX Championships Champion.
• 1977 16 Expert Grand National Champion.*

National Bicycle League (NBL)

• None

'National Pedal Sport Association (NPSA)

United Bicycle Racers (UBR)

• None

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

• 1977 16 Expert Gold Cup Winner.

Professional

National Bicycle Association

National Bicycle Association

The National Bicycle Association , later known as the National Bicycle Motocross Association was an United States based Bicycle Motocross sports sanctioning body originally based in Soledad, California that was created by Ernie Alexander in 1973 and ceased operations as an independent body in 1981...

 (NBA)

• 1977 Open Pro-Am Grand National Champion
• 1977, 1978 National No. 1 Pro
• 1978 Jag Pro World Champion (NBA/NBL sanctioned)

National Bicycle League

National Bicycle League

The National Bicycle League is a United States based Bicycle Motocross sports sanctioning body originally based in Deerfield Beach, Florida but after several moves it was based in Hilliard, Ohio...

 (NBL)

• 1981 "A" Pro Grandnational Champion
• 1981, 1982 National No. 1 Pro

• 1981 Knott's Berry Farm Pro Grand Champion (NBL, United Bicycle Racers (UBR) & World Wide Bicycle Motocross Association (WWBMXA) sanctioned.)

United Bicycle Racers (UBR)

• 1980 Pro Grandnational Champion

National Pedal Sport Association

National Pedal Sport Association

The National Pedal Sport Association was a South Eastern USA regional Bicycle Motocross sanctioning body originally based in Palm Harbor, Florida. It then soon after moved to Dunedin, Florida for most of its existence. Then in its last years Pinellas Park, Florida was its headquarters...

 (NPSA)

• 1982 20" Pro Grandnational Champion
• 1986 Pro Cruiser National No.3

American Bicycle Association

American Bicycle Association

The American Bicycle Association is a United States-based Bicycle Motocross sports governing body in Gilbert, Arizona created by Merl Mennenga and Gene Roden in 1977. It is the largest sanctioning body in the United States concerning BMX. It has tracks in Canada and Mexico as well as in the USA...

 (ABA)

• 1977 Open Pro* Gold Cup Champion.
• 1978 Pro Class Grandnational Champion
• 1979 Pro Money, Pro Trophy and 15 & Over Trophy Dash Grandnational Champion (triple)
• 1979 National No.1 Pro. As a prize the ABA awarded him a white 1979 Chevrolet Van.

• 1980 National No.3 Pro
• 1982 Pro Northwest Gold Cup Champion
• 1983 Pro Cruiser Grandnational Champion
• 1984 Pro Cruiser U.S. Gold Cup Champion

United States Bicycle Motocross Association

United States Bicycle Motocross Association

The United States Bicycle Association was a short lived Bicycle Motocross national sanctioning body based in Tempe, Arizona. It was founded in March 1984 by five former members of the American Bicycle Association : Rich Mann, Dave Cook, Geoff Sims, Steve Schaefer and Rod Keeling, who became the...

 (USBA)

• 1986 Pro Cruiser National No.3

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)

• 1986 Pro Cruiser North American Continental Champion

Other Titles

• 1981 Jag Pro World Champion (No official BMX sanction). Sanctioned by the United States Cycling Federation, now known as USA Cycling
  USA Cycling
  USA Cycling or USAC, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the national governing body for bicycle racing in the United States. It covers the disciplines of road, track, mountain bike, cyclo-cross, BMX and collegiate racing...
  
  . Various ABA and NBL track officials and scores aided.

• 1983 Jag Pro Cruiser World Champion (Non-sanctioned)

Pro Series Championships and Invitationals

• 1981 First Venezuelan National Championship Champion (American Class)

This was an exhibition invitational that Stu Thomsen and several other American professionals including (but not only) Greg Esser, Eric Rupe

Eric Rupe

Eric Fitzgerald Rupe is an "Old School" American professional bicycle motocross racer. His prime competitive years were from 1978 to 1990....

 and Tim Judge

Tim Judge

Timothy Judge is a former American "Old School" professional Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1979-1985. When he was a young racer his given name was used in the diminutive "Timmy"...

 went to at the request of the Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 BMX officials to promote and celebrate the Venezuelan Bicicross Association's first national Championship.

• 1984 Bicross International de Paris Bercy Champion (King of Bercy 1)*

*The International BMX Race of Bercy Paris was an invitational race sponsored by the Association Francaise de Bi-Crossing (AFB), the French BMX sanctioning body and was held in Bercy

Bercy

Bercy is a neighborhood in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. It is the city's 47th administrative neighborhood. -History:Some of the oldest vestiges of human occupation in Paris were found on the territory of Bercy, dating from the late Neolithic . The name of Bercy, or Bercix, appeared for the...

 an eastern area in the city of Paris, France north of the river Seine

Seine

The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...

. It was sponsored by the Yoplait Yogurt company and Bicross Magazine, a French BMX publication. As such it was also known as the Bicross de Paris Challenge Yop Champion (The Paris Yoplait BMX Challenge) in which American, English and German pros as well as French pros were brought together to compete in a single race. They were offered a 12-day all expenses paid holiday to compete in the race with a USD$5,000 purse. As is typical in Europe, the public had greater enthusiasm for BMX than the American public, in part because bicycle racing of any type was and is much more popular in Europe (and in Asia and South America as well) than in the United States. Thirteen thousand spectators ventured into the Palais Omnisport de Paris Bercy (POPB) to watch a BMX race. In America you would be fortunate to seat 2,000. In the 1984 addition 330 racers were invited to France including United States professionals like Pete Loncarevich

Pete Loncarevich

Peter Loncarevich is a former Bicycle Motocross racer. Loncarevich was an "Old School" professional BMX racer whose prime competitive years were from 1980 to 1994....

, Harry Leary

Harry Leary

Harry Clarence Leary Jr. was a "Old School" professional bicycle motocross racer....

 Rod Beckering, Mike Miranda

Mike Miranda (BMX rider)

Michael Felty formerly Miguel Juan Miranda is a former American "Old School" professional Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1981-1986. His previous surname which he is still widely and most familiarly known by, "Miranda", was his stepfather's name...

 and Greg Hill

Greg A. Hill

Gregory Alan Hill is a former "Old School" professional bicycle motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1977 to 1989...

 in addition to Stu Thomsen. As it would be with the 1985 addition, which Tommy Brackens

Tommy Brackens

Tommy Lee Brackens is an American former professional "Old School" Bicycle Motocross racer...

 won, it was a hit in France with tickets sold out three months in advance.

Amateur

----
National Bicycle League (NBL)

• 2008 50-54 Cruiser Grand National Champion

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

• 1999 41-45 Cruiser Grand National Champion

Notable accolades

• He is one of the winners of the first nationally recognized BMX Championship (albeit a state Championship); the Bicycle Motocross Championship of California State a.k.a The Yamaha Bicycle Gold Cup along with David Clinton
  David Clinton
  David Clinton is an "Old School" former professional Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1973 to 1979. Nicknamed "Dynamite" early in his career David Clinton could be truthfully said to be the sport's first true superstar...
  
   (Junior Champion) and Bobby Watts (Novice Champion).
• He was named Rider of the Year by Bicycle Motocross News for 1977. Also named by BMX News as number one top rider of Southern California
  Southern California
  Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
  
   for 1977.
• He is a multiple winner of Bicycle Motocross Action magazine's Number One Racer Award (NORA) Cup:
  • 1979* with 1,040 votes or 25.13% of 4,140 votes cast.
  • 1981* with 1,208 votes or 32.7% of the votes cast. He received $500 as a cash prize and a personalized jacket.
• Thomsen is a winner of Super BMX Racer of the Year Award for 1982 via a reader ship survey in the October 1982 issue of Super BMX. No voter break down was given.
• He was the first pro to earn a National No.1 plate twice and to do so consecutively (1977,'78 NBA)
• He was the first pro to win the No.1 pro title with three different major sanctioning bodies (NBA, NBL, ABA).
• At least one book was published by him: "Stu Thomsen's Book of BMX" (1985)
• He was one of the founding members of the Professional Racing Organization (PRO).
• He is a 1986 inductee of the ABA BMX Hall of Fame.
• He is also a 1998 inductee of the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame
  United States Bicycling Hall of Fame
  The United States Bicycling Hall of Fame, located in Davis, California, is a private organization formed to preserve and promote the sport of cycling.-Location:...
  
  , the first BMX racer to be so honored.
• He now a 2008 NBL BMX Hall of Fame inductee, making him the first BMXer to be inducted into the Hall of Fames of three major Cycling organizations.
• Thomsen is also credited with the first documented Aerial (180 degree turn in the air and returning in forward) in a skatepark in the late 1970s.
• Thomsen was featured in the BMX documentary "Joe Kid on a Stingray" in 2005. The title of the film was taken from a comment he made during an interview.

BMX related product lines

• 1977: The SE Racing Stu Thomsen Replica-1 (STR-1). The STR-1 was developed and tested by Thomsen. After Thomsen left SE Racing the frame was rechristened the "Quadangle."

Product Evaluation:

BMX Action January 1983 Vol.8 No.1 pg.14 Model year 1983

BMX Bi-Weekly Vol.3 No.13 pg.12 (British Publication) Model Year 1983

BMX Plus! August 1984 Vol.7 No.8 pg.33 Model year 1984

• 1982: Redline Stu Thomsen Replica STR Series "Stu Bars".
• 1984: The Huffy Stu Thomsen Model signature line frame and fork and complete bicycles.

product evaluation:

American BMXer September 1984 Vol.7 No.8 pgs.19 & 21.

BMX Plus! December 1986 Vol.9 No.10 pg.28

• 1986: ODI Inc. Collector's Signature Series Grips.

Notable injuries

• Bad ankle sprain prior to competing in the Yamaha Bicycle Gold cup in September 1974. Competed on it and won his expert class.

• Broken Collarbone resulting from a football related Physical Education
  Physical education
  Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
  
   class at his high school in early 1975. He returned to competition at the Western Sport-A-Rama track in Orange, California
  Orange, California
  Southern California is well-known for year-round pleasant weather: - On average, the warmest month is August. - The highest recorded temperature was in 1985. - On average, the coolest month is December. - The lowest recorded temperature was in 1950...
  
   but promptly re-injured himself at that race fittingly on Friday, June 13, 1975.

• Broke leg in January 1976 during a practice session.

• Leg injury approximately May 1976. Returned to racing on June 27, 1976 for the NBA Springnational.

• Ankle injury in April 1984. Tore two ligaments falling in practice at an Memphis, Tennessee
  Memphis, Tennessee
  Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
  
   NBL race. Laid up for approximately six weeks. Thomsen had a two national winning streak at the time and was showing signs of being dominant again after two off (for him) seasons. This injury hurt his 1984 season.

• Shoulder injury and a broken collar bone during practice at a promotional mountain bike race in the Los Angeles Coliseum during half time at the Super Bowl of Motocross motorcycle race on or around November 10, 1985. He was laid up for about six weeks.

• He reinjured his shoulder in a fall at an ABA national in Bakersfield, California
  Bakersfield, California
  Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
  
   on April 6. Had surgery on April 22 and laid up for a further two months until late June 1986.

Images

Image of Thomsen racing at the 2008 NBL Grand National.

Racing habits and traits

• Rumors of impending retirement would repeatably emerge going virtually back to the beginning of his career:

Q: "What about rumors that you are getting ready to retire?"
A: "Just rumors. I may not race much anymore, but I will still like it very much."
----Bicycle Motocross News August 1975

This was almost just two years after he began racing. The cause of this was probably because at 17 Stu Thomsen was one of the oldest racers in BMX at the time. During this era BMX racing was still regarded exclusively as a kid's sport and at best a training ground and stepping stone to racing standard Motorcycle Motocross when they reached adulthood. Of course as part of the first generation Stu Thomsen would remain one of the oldest riders throughout his career. These persistent rumors-at times aided by his own statements-would regularly crop up as people wondered what is the outer age limit of a competitive racer in this new sport.

BMX Plus!: "When you were interviewed by BMX PLUS! last year you said you were going to retire at the end of 1979. In fact you said you were going to retire every year since 1976. Are you going to tell us the same thing this year?"
Thomsen: (Laughing) "I always say that. You know me."
----BMX Plus! January 1981

The question of his retirement would repeatedly arise until he actually retired at the beginning of the 1987 racing season.

• According to the November 1984 issue of the ABA's publication American BMXer Stu had the penchant to "grandstand" and make a situation like someone colliding with him worse than it was.

Miscellaneous

• He shares the exact birthdate of May 20, 1958 with another legendary superstar, John George
  John George (BMX racer)
  John George was a professional American "Old School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from .-Racing career milestones:----Started racing: September 1972...
  
  .
• He has been married to Greg Hill
  Greg A. Hill
  Gregory Alan Hill is a former "Old School" professional bicycle motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1977 to 1989...
  
  's half-sister, Tanya, since 1979.
• He had a hand in designing several BMX tracks for major competitions including the 1980 NBL Siverdome course in Pontiac's Pontiac Silverdome
  Pontiac Silverdome
  The Silverdome is a domed stadium located in the city of Pontiac, Michigan, USA, which sits on . It was the largest stadium in the National Football League until FedEx Field in suburban Washington, D.C...
  
   in Pontiac, Michigan
  Pontiac, Michigan
  Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, located within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County...
  
   held between March 6 & 7, 1980. and helped to redesign NBL's Ascot BMX track in Gardena, California
  Gardena, California
  Gardena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 58,829 at the 2010 census, up from 57,746 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Gardena is located at ....
  
   in 1985.

• His pants motto* was: "Still the One" in 1983.

Post BMX career

• Beginning in 1988 Stu Thomsen competed in mountain bike racing on the National Off Road Bicycle Association (NORBA) circuit as other BMX racers had done and would later do including Tinker Juarez
  Tinker Juarez
  David Juarez is a former professional "Old School" Bicycle Motocross racer and current top mountain bike racer whose prime competitive years in BMX were from 1978 to 1984 and in mountain bike racing 1986 to the present. Since 1986, he has been a mountain bike racer and since late 2005, competing...
  
  , Cheri Elliott
  Cheri Elliott
  Cheri Elliott was an American champion female bicycle motocross racer in the 1980s, and a champion Downhill and Slalom mountain bike racer in the 1990s and early 2000s. During her BMX career, she spent most of her racing career on the national circuit with the Skyway Recreation factory team...
  
  , Pete Loncarevich
  Pete Loncarevich
  Peter Loncarevich is a former Bicycle Motocross racer. Loncarevich was an "Old School" professional BMX racer whose prime competitive years were from 1980 to 1994....
  
   and Toby Henderson
  Toby Henderson
  Toby S. Henderson was a professional American "Old School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from He was given the nickname...
  
  . His biggest accomplishment in organized sponsored mountain Bike racing was his third-place finish in the downhill division at the 1988 World Mountain Bike Championships at Mammoth, California
  Mammoth, California
  Mammoth is an unincorporated community in Modoc County, California. It is located on the former Great Northern Railway Bieber Line north-northwest of Timber Mountain, at an elevation of 4206 feet ....
  
  .

• He ran his bicycle shop, Stu Thomsen's Bicycle Center, with his wife Tanya for eight years. He decided to quit since it was in a highly competitive area with six or seven bike shops within a 10 mile radius of his. Despite being a good bike shop mechanic and was willing to dispense advice to other bike shop owners he didn't like being his own boss and sold his shop in 1992. He tried various sales jobs and was a counselor at a Family Fitness Center as a counselor but neither was successful and he went back to being a bicycle shop manager and bike mechanic (possibly Southridge Cycles in Riverside, California
  Riverside, California
  Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
  
  , one of his last sponsors at the time he briefly raced in Veteran pro class.) He naturally worked the BMX section of the store. That local shop with Thomsen as its mechanic would help maintain at least some of the bikes the Riverside Police Department had for their Bicycle Patrol program. That was the possible catalyst for his interest in law enforcement.

• He is now a Sheriff's Deputy in Orange County, California
  Orange County, California
  Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
  
  , making him literally "The Man
  The Man
  "The Man" is a slang phrase that may refer to the government or to some other authority in a position of power. In addition to this derogatory connotation, it may also serve as a term of respect and praise....
  
  " (a prison slang term that could be a pejorative that was created around 1950 for the prison warden. It came into mass usage in the 1960s referring to the powers that be that runs society or their servants such as those in law enforcement). When he was a bike shop manager/mechanic at a local shop in Riverside, California he would help maintain bicycles for the local police department. Later he would move to a new house. His new next-door neighbor happened to be a Fullerton Police Department
  Fullerton Police Department
  The Fullerton Police Department of Fullerton, California, was established in 1904 when the city incorporated. The Fullerton Police Department currently employs 153 sworn officers and 78 civilian employees. The acting chief is Kevin Hamilton....
  
   officer with whom he became friends. Then in 1994, after another sales job didn't work out, another friend of his went to take the Orange County Sheriff's Department test since they were hiring new deputies at the time. Thomsen decided to "tag along". As they waited in line while his friend took the test, Thomsen himself decided to take it. Thomsen passed while his friend failed and his career in law enforcement started in the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Thomsen would manage to merge his love of racing with law enforcement, competing in the California Police Olympics (in the year 2000 the name was changed to the California Police and Fire Games after Firemen were invited to compete). From 1995 to 2000 he was undefeated in the Mountain Bike racing division, accumulating 15 gold medals during that time. He also participated in the 1997 World Police and Fire Games

World Police and Fire Games

ThisWorld Police and Fire Games are a biennial athletic event open to active and retired law enforcement and fire service personnel throughout the world...

, in Canada winning four Gold Medals In addition to competitions he is part of the Project 999-Memorial Ride, the yearly 630-mile trek of around 45 Orange County Peace Officers who ride their road bicycles from the California Peace Officers' Memorial in Sacramento, California

Sacramento, California

Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...

 to the Orange County Peace Officers' Memorial in Santa Ana, California

Santa Ana, California

Santa Ana is the county seat and second most populous city in Orange County, California, and with a population of 324,528 at the 2010 census, Santa Ana is the 57th-most populous city in the United States....

 in tribute of the officers who fell in the line of duty serving the people of California in general and Orange County in particular. The ride, usually held in the last week of May each year, also in support of the Project 999 Fund which raises money for the families of the fallen and seriously injured. In 2009 Stu Thomsen and his 44 colleagues raised $40,000. "It is the least I can do to pay homage to those who paid the ultimate price". he said.

Thomsen, in addition to being on the Bicycle Patrol Team, is on the Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) and in 2005 was in training to be on the K-9 and as of that date was a K-9 agitator, i.e. play-acts the role of a fleeing, attacking or non compliant felon for the dogs to attack and hold in training of dogs and their handlers. During his 15-year tenure as an Orange County Deputy he has never used physical force directly against anyone but he has been under fire and earned the Medal of Courage as he relates in an 2009 article in Garage Magazine:

• Thomsen still races for fun occasionally. For example, he raced the amateur 41-45 cruiser at the November 2001 ABA Grand Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma
  Tulsa, Oklahoma
  Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
  
   and won. He also raced in the 36 & Over Expert 20" class as well as the 45-50 Cruiser class at the ABA Winternationals in February 2007. He made the mains but didn't place in the top three of either class in the mains, but his competitive spirits remained undimmed:

"Stu said he’ll be training more and plans on racing again this year. 'I still hate losing,' he said. 'I guess I’ll always be that way.'"

As proof of that he won the 50-54 Cruiser main at the 2008 NBL Grand National, amazing on lookers by his jumping ability.

BMX & General press magazine interviews & articles

• "BMX Tower of Power" Bicycle Motocross News August 1975 Vol.7 No. pg.20
• "Top Banana: Stompin Stu Thomsen" Bicycle Motocross Action June 1978 Vol.3 No.3 pg.9
• "Mr. BMX?"Action Now December 1981 Vol.8 No.5 pg.30
• "Top Pros Speak Out" BMX Action April 1982 Vol.7 No.4 pg.62 Joint interview with Brent Patterson
  Brent Patterson (BMX rider)
  Brent Hathaway Patterson is a former American "Old School" bicycle motocross racer....
  
  , Greg Hill
  Greg A. Hill
  Gregory Alan Hill is a former "Old School" professional bicycle motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1977 to 1989...
  
  , Kevin McNeal, Eric Rupe
  Eric Rupe
  Eric Fitzgerald Rupe is an "Old School" American professional bicycle motocross racer. His prime competitive years were from 1978 to 1990....
  
  , Harry Leary
  Harry Leary
  Harry Clarence Leary Jr. was a "Old School" professional bicycle motocross racer....
  
  , and Scott Clark
  Scott Clark (BMX rider)
  Scott Clark is an "Old School" former professional Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1978 to 1985....
  
  , speaking about various issues facing the racing world.
• "Call Him Mr. BMX" Super BMX August 1982 Vol.9 No.8 pg.38
• "Stu Who?" Bicycles And Dirt September 1983 Vol.1 No.12 pg.54
• "Five Minutes with the Mighty One" Side Bar: BMX Action January 1984 Vol.9 No.1 pg.31
• "Stu Interview" BMX Action June 1984 Vol.9 No.6 pg.38
• "Stu: Still the one!" BMX Plus! June 1984 Vol.7 No.6 pg.39
• "Stompin' Stu" Super BMX December 1984 Vo1.11 No.12 pg.63
• "Gold Cup Controversy: Stu Vs. Ronnie" BMX Plus! February 1985 Vol.8 No.2 pg.45
• "Stu on Stu" Super BMX & Freestyle August 1986 Vol.13 No.8 pg.18
• "Stuart" Super BMX & Freestyle March 1987 Vol.14 No.3 pg.31
• "Ride Along with Stompin' Stu Thomsen: BMX Legend turned Orange, CA Sheriff's Deputy". Garage Magazine No.19 pg.44. An indepth look at his past BMX career his later mountain biking and bike shop ownership and present occupation as and Orange County California Deputy Sheriff.

BMX Magazine covers

----
Bicycle Motocross News:

• August 1975 Vol.2 No.7 (artist rendering).
• April 1977 Vol.4 No.3
• October 1977 Vol.4 No.9
• December 1977 Vol.4 No.11 with Brent Patterson
  Brent Patterson (BMX rider)
  Brent Hathaway Patterson is a former American "Old School" bicycle motocross racer....
  
   in fan fold cover.
• January/February 1978 Vol.5 No.1

Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX:

• July 1979 Vol.6 No.7 (M/BMXA)
• December 1982 Vol.9 No.12 (SBMX)
• April 1983 Vol.10 No.4 posing with celebrity actress Debbie Lytton also poses with same actress in centerfold for his Number One Racer Award.(SBMX)
• December 1984 Vol.11 No.12 (SBMX)

Bicycle Motocross Action & Go:

• December 1980 Vol.5 No.12
• August 1981 Vol.6 No.8
• February 1982 Vol.7 No.2
• October 1982 Vol.7 No.10 with Andy Patterson and Jeff Ruminer
  Jeff Ruminer
  Jeffrey Ruminer was a professional American "Old School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from...
  
  .
• September 1983 Vol.8 No.9
• August 1985 Vol.10 No.8

BMX Plus!:

• December 1979 Vol.2 No.11* far right in second place behind Clint Miller
  Clint Miller
  Clint Miller 1 is a former American "Old School" professional Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1976-1984....
  
   (103X) (front and center) and ahead of Jeff Kosmala
  Jeff Kosmala
  Jeffrey Kosmala was a professional American "Old School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from -Racing career milestones:----Started racing: 1973...
  
   in third place (obscured by Miller) and ahead of Jeff Bottema
  Jeff Bottema
  Jeffery Bottema was an American professional "Old School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1976 to 1981. He had the nickname of "Battling".-Racing career milestones:----...
  
   in fourth place (far left).
• January 1981 Vol.4 No.1
• August 1981 Vol.4 No.8
• April 1982 Vol.5 No.4
• December 1982 Vol.5 No.12 with Greg Hill
  Greg A. Hill
  Gregory Alan Hill is a former "Old School" professional bicycle motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1977 to 1989...
  
  .
• September 1983 Vol.6 No.8* tied with Brent Patterson
  Brent Patterson (BMX rider)
  Brent Hathaway Patterson is a former American "Old School" bicycle motocross racer....
  
   and with Clint Miller
  Clint Miller
  Clint Miller 1 is a former American "Old School" professional Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1976-1984....
  
   following.
• December 1983 Vol.6 No.11** In inset with Greg Hill
  Greg A. Hill
  Gregory Alan Hill is a former "Old School" professional bicycle motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1977 to 1989...
  
   (to his right), Nelson Chanady
  Nelson Chanady
  Nelson Chanady is a former American "Old School" professional Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1981–1987-Racing career milestones:-----Amateur:...
  
   (to the right and behind Hill), Tim Judge
  Tim Judge
  Timothy Judge is a former American "Old School" professional Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1979-1985. When he was a young racer his given name was used in the diminutive "Timmy"...
  
   (to his left), Gary DeBacker
  Gary DeBacker
  Gary Wayne DeBacker was an American professional "Mid School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose competitive years were from 1980-1999. His greatest achievements occurred during his amateur days, highlighted by four international world championships...
  
   (in extreme lower right corner) and others at beginning of national banner presentation at the start of the 1983 IBMXF BMX World Championships. Brian Patterson
  Brian Patterson
  Brian Patterson is a former American "Old School" bicycle motocross racer.Brian Patterson is the younger of the most potent sibling combinations BMX has ever seen. With Brent the Brothers Patterson are the only brothers to both hold the National No.1 Pro title in any major BMX sanctioning body...
  
   is the main image.
• June 1984 Vol.7 No.6 In insert. Main image Eric Rupe
  Eric Rupe
  Eric Fitzgerald Rupe is an "Old School" American professional bicycle motocross racer. His prime competitive years were from 1978 to 1990....
  
  .
• July 1984 Vol.7 No.7 ahead of Pete Loncarevich
  Pete Loncarevich
  Peter Loncarevich is a former Bicycle Motocross racer. Loncarevich was an "Old School" professional BMX racer whose prime competitive years were from 1980 to 1994....
  
   with Brian Patterson
  Brian Patterson
  Brian Patterson is a former American "Old School" bicycle motocross racer.Brian Patterson is the younger of the most potent sibling combinations BMX has ever seen. With Brent the Brothers Patterson are the only brothers to both hold the National No.1 Pro title in any major BMX sanctioning body...
  
   in third. In insets Mercury Morgan (top "rip"), freestyler Mike Dominguez (circle).
• October 1984 Vol.7 No.10 in insert in third behind Ronnie Anderson and second place Mike Miranda
  Mike Miranda (BMX rider)
  Michael Felty formerly Miguel Juan Miranda is a former American "Old School" professional Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1981-1986. His previous surname which he is still widely and most familiarly known by, "Miranda", was his stepfather's name...
  
  . Main image freestyler Eddie Fiola
  Eddie Fiola
  Edward Lynn Fiola in Bellflower, California, USA was a professional freestyle BMX rider in the 1980s and a film stuntman....
  
  .
• June 1987 Vol.10 No.6 in insert behind Pete Loncarevich
  Pete Loncarevich
  Peter Loncarevich is a former Bicycle Motocross racer. Loncarevich was an "Old School" professional BMX racer whose prime competitive years were from 1980 to 1994....
  
  . Main image: freestyler Tim Rogers. Ronnie Anderson in caricature at bottom.

Total BMX:

Bicycles and Dirt:

• September 1983 Vol.1 No.12 with fellow racer 10 year old J.D. Finney (and dog).

Bicross Magazine (French Publication):

• Juin (June) 1983 Numéro 10 (No.10) ahead of Tommy Brackens
  Tommy Brackens
  Tommy Lee Brackens is an American former professional "Old School" Bicycle Motocross racer...
  
   (9) in fourth place and Bob Woods (12) in fifth and two unidentifies in second and third.

NBA World & NBmxA World (The official NBA/NBmxA membership publication):

Bicycle Today & BMX Today (the official NBL membership publication with one name change):

ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer (The official ABA membership publication under two name changes):

• ABA Action December 1983 Vol.6 No.12 with an unidentified Patterson Brother.
• American BMXer November 1984 Vol.7 No.10 (30) ahead of John Phillips (-71).

USBA Racer (The official USBA membership publication):

External links

• The American Bicycle Association (ABA) Website.
• The National Bicycle League (NBL) Website.
• "Deputy Thomsen AKA BMX Racing Legend Stompin' Stu" September 18, 2009. Orange County Sheriff Department blog article on Deputy Stuart Thomsen