BMX-pert helps Longview kids ride safely – KLTV

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – It remains one of the more popular sports on two wheels across the country: BMX. And a Longview man is doing his best to keep kids riding safely.

Kevin Blalock pieces together sturdy BMX bikes and gives them to kids who would not be able to afford a pro level bike.

It’s not exactly cold right now, but Kevin Blalock likes to call himself the BMX Santa.

“It was just seeing kids out there that weren’t on good bikes, or didn’t even have a bike, and they were all just watching us ride,” Blalock said.

He and some friends, and his son Ethan like to wheel around at Longview’s Dodson Action Sports Complex.

“And I had amassed a decent collection myself. So I just started building up bikes, and taking them down there, finding a kid that seemed really cool, really nice, and I would give them a bike,” Blalock said.

Now that’s freewheeling. Kevin’s BMX buddies give him their old parts when they upgrade, and he makes it a new old bike.

“You know I don’t really do it like Oprah. I don’t just go down there and like, hey, here’s a bike. You know I try to get to know the kid and make sure that he’s a good kid and not out there causing trouble,” Blalock said.

And he says a couple weeks back he gave a bike to a young man who was riding at Dodson, and maybe showing up Kevin just a bit.

“I’m still a kid. My body ain’t but I am,” Blalock said.

So Kevin is content getting the feeling of doing a bit of mild non-injurious BMX, but his big thrill comes from giving out that freshly built bike.

“And then going out there and seeing them ride it, it’s the best thing in the world. You know, just going out there and watching a kid learn a new trick, it feels good. That’s why I do it,” Blalock said.

Well, after that I just had to give the BMX Santa his new catch phrase:

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good bike!

By the way, Kevin helped design, and did all the welding of the Dodson Action Sports Complex. It took him about three months.

If you’d like to see what Kevin is up to, or maybe help out the cause, check him out at ETX BMX on Facebook.

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