Charles Townsend (BMX rider)

Charles Townsend
Personal information
Full name Charles Heath Townsend
Nickname "Choo-Choo Charlie", "Amtrak"
Born (1967-01-25) January 25, 1967
Kansas City, Kansas, United States of America
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 88.5 kg (195 lb)
Team information
Current team Retired
Discipline Bicycle Motocross (BMX)
Role Racer
Rider type Off Road
Amateur team(s)
1981 Woodside Bicycle Shop
1985 U.S. Boss Racing Products
1985 Free Agent
1985-1986 Hutch Hi-Performance
Professional team(s)
1986 Hutch Hi-Performance
1987 Cyclecraft
1987 CW Racing
1987-1988 Revcore
1988-1989 Diamond Back
1990-1991 Powerlite
1991-1998 Robinson Racing Products
1999-2000 Troy Lee Designs
2000 Airborne
2000-2001 Kona/Rocket Cash.Com
2003 Phantom Bikes
2004 Advent
Infobox last updated on
July 31, 2008

Charles Heath Townsend (born January 25, 1967 in Kansas City, Kansas) is an "Old School/Mid School" former professional Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1985 to 1996.

Nicknames: Various and many dating back to his days as a young amateur. Many railroad related: "Steam Engine Charlie", "Speeding Locomotive Charlie", "Choo-Choo Charlie", "Amtrak".[1] Also "Black Magic" (which he had stenciled on the back of his racing pants in 1985[2]), "Big Chuck", "The Fleein' Korean",[3] "Chasemainian Devil".[4]

Racing career

Note: Professional first are on the national level unless otherwise indicated.

Milestone Event Details
Started Racing: 1979/80 age 12 or 13. Townsend himself is rather vague on this point[5]
Sanctioning Body:
First race bike:
First race result: Third place in Beginner class in Hellyer Park in San Jose, California.
First win (local):
First sponsor: Woodside Bicycle Shop.
First national win: In 17 & Over Open at the 1985 American Bicycle Association (ABA) Supernational in Pico Rivera, California on January 27, 1985.[6]
Turned Professional: December 28, 1986 at the National Bicycle League (NBL) Christmas National at age 19.
First Professional race result: First in "B" Pro on December 28, 1986 in Columbus, Ohio at the National Bicycle League (NBL)'s Christmas National. He won US$600, the equivalent of US$1,126.09 in 2007 (Cost of Living Calculator) He also took a sixth in Pro Award but he finished out of the money.[7]
First Professional win: See above.
First Junior Men/Pro* race result: See above.
First Junior Men/Pro win: See above.
First Senior Pro** race result: First in "AA" Pro at the American Bicycle Association (ABA) Gilley's Nationals in Pasadena, Texas on March 7, 1987. He won US$535,[8] the equivalent to US$1,004.10 2007. After the ABA Scottsdale National, Charles Townsend called the ABA and moved himself up to "AA" pro.[9] This was reminiscent of Brian Patterson asking permission from then ABA Vice President Gene Roden to move up to "AA" after one race in "A" pro in early 1982.[10]
First Senior Pro win: See above.
Height and weight at height of his career: Ht:6'2" Wt:~195 lbs.
Retired: 2002. He raced in the Veteran Pro class of the ABA and the NBL's Master class until 2004.

*In the NBL it is B" Pro/Superclass/"A" Pro depending on the era; in the ABA it is "A" Pro.
**In the NBL it is "A" Pro (Elite Men); in the ABA it is "AA" Pro.

Career factory and major bicycle shop sponsors

Note: This listing only denotes the racer's primary sponsors. At any given time a racer could have numerous ever changing co-sponsors. Primary sponsorships can be verified by BMX press coverage and sponsor's advertisements at the time in question.

Amateur/Junior Men

Professional/Elite Men

*By this time Gary Turner (GT) Racing had brought Powerlite.

Career bicycle motocross titles

Note: Listed are District, State/Provincial/Department, Regional, National, and International titles in italics. "Defunct" refers to the fact of that sanctioning body in question no longer existing at the start of the racer's career or at that stage of his/her career. Depending on point totals of individual racers, winners of Grand Nationals do not necessarily win National titles. Series and one off Championships are also listed in block.

Amateur/Junior Men

National Bicycle Association (NBA)

National Bicycle League (NBL)

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)

Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)

Professional/Elite Men

National Bicycle Association (NBA)

National Bicycle League (NBL)

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*

Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*

*Note: Beginning in 1991 the IBMXF and FIAC, the amateur cycling arm of the UCI, had been holding joint World Championship events as a transitional phase in merging which began in earnest in 1993. Beginning with the 1996 season the IBMXF and FIAC completed the merger and both ceased to exist as independent entities being integrated into the UCI. Beginning with the 1996 World Championships held in Brighton, England the UCI would officially hold and sanction BMX World Championships and with it inherited all precedents, records, streaks, etc. from both the IBMXF and FIAC.

Pro Series Championships

Notable accolades

Significant injuries

Miscellaneous and Trivia

BMX magazine covers

Bicycle Motocross News:

Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX:

Bicycle Motocross Action & Go:

BMX Plus!:

Bicycles and Dirt:

Snap BMX Magazine & Transworld BMX:

Moto Mag:

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

Bicycles Today & BMX Today (The official NBL membership publication under one name change.

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

USBA Racer (The official USBA membership publication):

BMX and general press magazine interviews and articles

  • "Sharpshootin'--Charles Townsend" BMX Action June 1985 Vol.10 No.6 pg.54 sidebar
  • "Charlie & Billy" BMX Action August 1987 Vol.12 No.8 pg.58 Joint interview with Billy Griggs.
  • "Charles Townsend" BMX Plus! September 1987 Vol.10 No.9 pg.29
  • "A Few Minutes With Charles Townsend" Super BMX & Freestyle October 1987 Vol. No.10 pg.48
  • "The Champs: Charles Townsend" BMX Plus! April 1988 Vol.11 No.4 pg.38 One of six mini articles of the six ABA National No.1 winners of 1987.
  • "Charles Townsend: National #1 Pro" American BMXer September 1988 Vol.10 No.8 pg.16
  • "A Lengthy Conversation with Charles Townsend: Nothing's Impossible" BMX Action April 1989 Vol.14 No.4 pg.16
  • "Inventory: Charles Townsend's Powerlite" Go September 1990 Vol.1 Issue 11 pg.37 Charles Townsend describes his new sponsor's racing bicycle.
  • "Directions: Psyche" Go September 1990 Vol.1 Issue 11 pg.68 Short Blurb on how to deal with the mental pressures of a big race.
  • "Uncovered" Go October 1991 Vol.2 Issue 12 pg.13
  • "The Soul Train" BMX Plus! May 1992 Vol.15 No.5 pg.50

References

  1. American BMXer September 1990 Vol.12 No.8 pg.10
  2. BMX Action June 1985 Vol.10 No.6 pg.54 sidebar
  3. BMX Plus! September 1987 Vol.10 No.9 pg.29
  4. BMX Plus! June 1988 Vol.11 No.6 pg.43
  5. BMX Plus! September 1987 Vol.10 No.9 pg.29 & pg.30 "Fast Facts"
  6. Super BMX & Freestyle May 1985 Vol.12 No.5 pg.41
  7. BMX Plus! May 1987 Vol.10 No.5 pg.23 (picture caption) & 26 (race results)
  8. BMX Plus! July 1987 Vol. No.7 pg.24
  9. Super BMX/Freestyle July 1987 Vol.17 No.7 pg.14
  10. Super BMX March 1983 Vol.10 No.3 pg.55
  11. History of CW page
  12. Snap BMX Magazine May 2000 Vol.7 Iss.5 No.43 pg.38
  13. BMX Action May 1986 Vol.11 No.5 pg.72
  14. BMX Action August 1987 Vol.12 No.8 pg.60 (photo caption)
  15. American BMXer August 1988 Vol.10 No.7 pg.22
  16. BMX Action November 1988 Vol.13 No.11 pg.15
  17. BMX Plus! October 1988 Vol.11 No.10 pg.8
  18. American BMXer September 1988 Vol.10 No.8 pg.17
  19. Super BMX/Freestyle December 1988 Vol.15 No.12 pg.41
  20. Super BMX/Freestyle October 1988 Vol.15 No.10 pg.72
  21. BMX Action April 1989 Vol.14 No.4 pg.18
  22. BMX Plus! October 1992 Vol.15 No.10 pg.28
  23. Snap BMX Magazine May/June 1996 Vol.3 Iss.3 No.10 pg.14
  24. transworld.net January 27, 2004 article.
  25. BMX Plus! June 1992 Vol.15 No.6 pg.64

External links

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