WEBSTER BICYCLE AND REDLINE TEAM UP TO SUPPORT DEPLOYED SOLDIER
Full Story (from a press release sent to me from Carl Lein)
Mosul, Iraq – Sergeant First Class Carl Lein knew that there would be some sacrifice involved when he volunteered to do a tour in Iraq. Along with leaving his family and friends behind he would also have to go a year without riding a bicycle. While that would be a small sacrifice for some, to Lein, a dedicated cyclist, it would be one of the harder things to deal with. Lein discovered BMX racing upon seeing an issue of Bicycle Motocross Action magazine in the local grocery store in 1980. Ever since he has dedicated the vast majority of his free time to the sport he loves. Enlisting in the United States Army in 1987 didn’t slow Lein down, racing every chance he got near his home base of Ft. Hood, TX. Sergeant First Class Lein went on to national rankings, Gold Cup champion, eventually starting his own company and factory team under the Big Knobby Squad name. He even published his own BMX racing magazine, Moto Mag, for two years prior to deploying to Iraq. As you can see bicycles are in his blood. Lein currently manages the CMC/BKS factory team, competing in the American Bicycle Association’s national series and enjoys racing himself at Capitol City BMX in Round Rock, Texas. Growing up racing BMX in the Houston, Texas area, Lein made many friends, including Russ Cooper, owner of Webster Bicycle in Webster, Texas. Russ and Carl along with friend Jason Jenkins rode together on the same team in the early 80’s. Also, throughout his cycling career Lein has established many lasting relationships within the cycling industry. Among those is Craig “gOrk” Barrette, current marketing guru for Redline Bicycles and Seattle Bike Supply. Lein met gOrk at a ABA national event in Dallas, Texas in 1989, when gOrk was the editor for famed BMX Action magazine. The two have a had a friendly working relationship ever since. After Sergeant First Class Lein deployed to Iraq in late 2004 Russ Cooper went to work, contacting Redline Bicycles to see if they would donate a bicycle for Lein to ride while in Iraq. Redline jumped at the chance to help a deployed Soldier, as they had already donated several of their Conquest cyclecross bikes and numerous items from their Pryme protective gear to Soldiers serving in Iraq. Sergeant Lein was told he could pick any bike Redline made, deciding on the Monocog Flight, a single speed mountain bike. The Monocog Flight offered the best of both worlds; ease of maintenance and a perfect fit for hours of riding. The deal was made and Cooper made sure that his buddy Carl got the bike with all of the trimmings, including a helmet, gloves, pump, tools, and tubes with the Redline Monocog that Lein had chosen from the awesome Redline product lineup. Upon receiving the bike Sergeant Lein put it to good use, squeezing in rides during time provided for physical fitness training. Plans are in the works to provide Soldiers with bicycles the opportunity to meet each other, ride together, learn about bicycle maintenance and cycling safety, as well as plan for group events and competitions. A big thanks goes out to Russ Cooper, Webster Bicycle, gOrk, Redline Bicycles, and Seattle Bike Supply’s president, Chuck Hooper.
Photos by: MSG Jose Colon, SGT Alejandro Ramirez, and SPC Andrew Nerio
Personal note from Jack McDaniel
I met Carl a few years ago when he had the dream of turning what was at that time a "zine" into a full blown mag. Motomag was born from Carl's love of the sport and determination to see an all race magazine. He saw a few of my photos and asked if I could help out. Now Carl didn't have much money to pay but what was lacking in payment was made up in friendship. I found Carl to be a genuinely great person with more passion for BMX than I've ever seen. He truly got chills from watching riders from groms to AA's. While solely laying out the magazine himself he found time, some how, to help a group of riders out with the BKS (Big Knobby Squad) MotoMag team. Well, the magazine never quite took off. People loved it but unfortunately underestimated the need for support by the BMX public. It seems allot of people don't understand it takes money to do any type of media. Anyway, as you can see Carl still manages to stay involved and I, for one, can't wait 'til the day Carl shows up at another event in the States. God speed Carl - Stay safe and return home soon Jack
Mosul, Iraq – Sergeant First Class Carl Lein knew that there would be some sacrifice involved when he volunteered to do a tour in Iraq. Along with leaving his family and friends behind he would also have to go a year without riding a bicycle. While that would be a small sacrifice for some, to Lein, a dedicated cyclist, it would be one of the harder things to deal with. Lein discovered BMX racing upon seeing an issue of Bicycle Motocross Action magazine in the local grocery store in 1980. Ever since he has dedicated the vast majority of his free time to the sport he loves. Enlisting in the United States Army in 1987 didn’t slow Lein down, racing every chance he got near his home base of Ft. Hood, TX. Sergeant First Class Lein went on to national rankings, Gold Cup champion, eventually starting his own company and factory team under the Big Knobby Squad name. He even published his own BMX racing magazine, Moto Mag, for two years prior to deploying to Iraq. As you can see bicycles are in his blood. Lein currently manages the CMC/BKS factory team, competing in the American Bicycle Association’s national series and enjoys racing himself at Capitol City BMX in Round Rock, Texas.
Growing up racing BMX in the Houston, Texas area, Lein made many friends, including Russ Cooper, owner of Webster Bicycle in Webster, Texas. Russ and Carl along with friend Jason Jenkins rode together on the same team in the early 80’s. Also, throughout his cycling career Lein has established many lasting relationships within the cycling industry. Among those is Craig “gOrk” Barrette, current marketing guru for Redline Bicycles and Seattle Bike Supply. Lein met gOrk at a ABA national event in Dallas, Texas in 1989, when gOrk was the editor for famed BMX Action magazine. The two have a had a friendly working relationship ever since.
Sergeant Lein was told he could pick any bike Redline made, deciding on the Monocog Flight, a single speed mountain bike. The Monocog Flight offered the best of both worlds; ease of maintenance and a perfect fit for hours of riding. The deal was made and Cooper made sure that his buddy Carl got the bike with all of the trimmings, including a helmet, gloves, pump, tools, and tubes with the Redline Monocog that Lein had chosen from the awesome Redline product lineup. Upon receiving the bike Sergeant Lein put it to good use, squeezing in rides during time provided for physical fitness training. Plans are in the works to provide Soldiers with bicycles the opportunity to meet each other, ride together, learn about bicycle maintenance and cycling safety, as well as plan for group events and competitions.
