Family pushes pedals

By Ben Donaldson

BMX may be thought of as a young person’s sport, but a Snells Beach mother of two, Rebecca Palmer, hasn’t let this stop her becoming the third top rider in her age group in New Zealand.

Rebecca, aged 34, started riding just two years ago after seeing how much fun her son Alex was having on his bike.

“My two younger sisters and I were always riding bikes growing up, but never competitively,” she says.

Rebecca moved north from Auckland last year and joined the North Harbour BMX club in Albany.

The club currently holds the title for the most finalists at the national championship.

Rebecca trains weekly and competes in a club race night. She also goes to the gym to help develop strength and agility, and nutrition has been an important factor in optimising her performance.

“The best thing about BMX riding is speed. It’s you against the fear in your mind.”

Her first big competition was the 2014 North Island Championships, but since then she has competed in the nationals twice and this year won the Northern Region Championship.

Apart from a twisted ankle at her first nationals, which put her out of the race, Rebecca has had no injuries competing on the bike.

“There are so many different skills to learn with BMX riding so you choose how far you want to take it.”

Both her son Alex and daughter Grace are keen to improve on the bikes as well.

“Alex has been confident on the bike since he was four, powering off down the big BMX start ramp with no hesitation.”

Rebecca admires his courage and love for riding.

Grace has only just moved onto riding pedal bikes but already has aspirations to be an elite rider like New Zealand’s Sarah Walker.

All three family members attend race meetings together.

“It’s a great family sport.”