Eric Robert Carter is a former American professional "Old/Mid School" 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 whose prime competitive years were from 1983 to 1998. He had the nickname "The Golden Child," and later in his BMX career, acquired the moniker "The Earthquake." More recently, he has been known simply as "EC." Beginning in 1996, he converted fully to mountain bike racing

Mountain bike racing

The Union Cycliste Internationale recognised the sport of mountain bike racing relatively late in 1990, when it sanctioned the world championships in Purgatory, Colorado. The first mountain biking world cup series took place in 1991. Its nine-race circuit covered two continents—Europe and North...

 (MTB) and has become one of the most respected racers in that discipline of bicycle racing. Although he is not very good, people still like him for his boyish charm.

BMX racing career milestones

----

Milestone	Event Details
Started racing:	1978 at age 8. He went out to see his friend Brent Fay (who was also on his soccer team) to race. Fay's father was the track operator and set Eric up to race.
Sanctioning body:	Bicycle Motocross League (BMXL).
Home sanctioning body sistrict(s):	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 22 (CA-22) (1985); 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) California 3 (CA-3) (1986)
First race bike:
First race result:
First win (local):
First sponsor:
First national win:	At the 1985 ABA Silver Dollar Nationals in Reno, Nevada Reno, Nevada Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...  on January 6, 1985, as a 15 expert (he may have won nationals as a novice or intermediate). This was a decisive race, for Carter promised himself if he didn't do well here, he would quit BMX racing. He ended up "tripling." Note: By either typographical error on American BMXer's part or Eric's misrecollection, he says he first won in the 1984 Silver Dollar Nationals. There were no Silver Dollar nationals in 1984.
Turned Professional:	September 2, 1989 at the 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) Grand National in Louisville, Kentucky Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...  at 19 years of age.
First Professional race result:	First place in "B" pro at the 1989 NBL Grand Nationals on September 2. He won USD$1,260, the equivalent of USD$2,090.18 in 2007 (Cost of Living Calculator). He also gained a second in pro cruiser, winning USD$250 (USD$414.72 in 2007).
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:	Third place at the NBL Christmas Classic on December 27, 1989 in Columbus, Ohio Columbus, Ohio Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city... . He won USD$280 (USD$464.48 in 2007). He had previously won every NBL "B" pro event he entered.
First Senior Pro win:	In "A" pro at the 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) "Round 5: Clash in the Sun" national in Orlando, Florida Orlando, Florida Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...  on February 17, 1990.
Height and weight at height of his career (1990):	Ht:5'10″ Wt:~175–180 lbs.
Retired:	Largely by late 1995, to concentrate on mountain bike (MTB) racing.

Amateur

• JMC (James Melton Cyclery) Racing Equipment: 1982
• VDC (Voris Dixon Company): 1983-Late 1984
• Free Agent (support and factory): Late 1984–November 29, 1985

• Hutch Hi-Performance BMX/Products: November 29, 1985–January 11, 1987. Carter left Hutch after the ABA Cajun Nationals and would be picked up by CW Racing just after the ABA Supernationals after a brief "sponsorship" on Bicycle Center.

• Bicycle Center (bike shop): January 16, 1987–January 23, 1987. Not really a sponsorship; he merely wore the jersey of his local bike shop during the ABA's San Bernardino, California
  San Bernardino, California
  San Bernardino is a city located in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area , and serves as the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States...
  
   race on January 17–18, 1987.

• CW (Custom Works) Cycles: January 23, 1987–December 31, 1987. "CW" never stood for "Coast Wheels," as is widely thought; Coast Wheels was a bike shop that Roger Worsham owned. Custom Works was a completely different and independent company. This is in contrast with JMC
  JMC Bicycles
  JMC, or Jim Melton Cyclery was a bicycle company in the 1970s and 1980s. It started as a bicycle shop in 1969. It began manufacturing bicycle components in 1974, mostly to make a bicycle look more like a motocross motorcycle, including fenders and false fuel tanks. In 1977 JMC began manufacturing...
  
   (Jim Melton Cyclery), which did start out as a bicycle shop and then began manufacturing its own BMX components, including entire bicycles.

• Revcore: January 1, 1988–April 1988. Revcore was owned by Roger Worsham, the same person who owned CW Racing. Revcore was a different product line, much like the aborted Shadow Racing (also owned by Roger Worsham) was in 1985. He moved the entire national CW Racing team to Revcore at the beginning of the 1988 racing season as a promotional move to publicize the Revcore product line.

• Schwinn Bicycle Company: Early April 1988–December 1989. His first race for Schwinn was the NBL Peachtree National in Peachtree, Georgia on April 10, 1988. Eric would turn pro with this sponsor.

Professional

• Schwinn Bicycle Company: Early April 1988–December 1989. Schwinn would drop its BMX racing effort after the 1989 season.

• MRC (Mike Redmen Concepts): January 1, 1990–June 1990

• Titan Inc.: June 1990–Late July 1990

• Brackens Racing: Late July 1990–Late 1992. Eric would take almost a yearlong hiatus from BMX after the 1990 ABA Grand National and raced only infrequently to forestall burnout during the 1991 season. His first returning race was the 1991 ABA Fall Nationals in Yorba Linda, California
  Yorba Linda, California
  Yorba Linda is a suburban city in northeastern Orange County, California, approximately northeast of Downtown Santa Ana, and southeast of Downtown Los Angeles....
  
   on October 26 and 27. He got a first place in "A" pro on Saturday, and second place in "A" pro on Sunday. However, shortly afterward, he took another yearlong (approximately) break to race motorcycles and do other things outside of BMX racing, again racing BMX infrequently. It was an almost unbroken absence from BMX racing for more than two years.

• Hyper Designs: September 1992–1995

Amateur

National Bicycle Association (NBA)

• None

National Bicycle League (NBL)

• 1986 16 Expert and 16 Cruiser Grandnational Champion
• 1986 16 Expert and 16 Cruiser National No.1
• 1987 17 Expert and 17 Cruiser Grandnational Champion
• 1987 17 Expert and 17 Cruiser National No.1
• 1988 18-20 Grandnational Champion
• 1988 18 & Over Expert and 18-20 Cruiser National No.1

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

• 1985 15 Expert Winter Season California District 22 (CA-22) District Age Group (DAG) No.1
• 1985 15 Expert Race of Champions Champion
• 1985 15 Cruiser Grandnational Champion
• 1986 16 Expert and 16 Open Grandnational Champion.
• 1986 National No.1 Amateur
• 1986 16 Expert Gold Cup Champion.

United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)

• 1986 16 Expert Race of Champions (ROC) Champion.
• 1986 16 Expert Grandnational Champion
• 1986 National No.1 Amateur

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)

• 1985 15 boys (Expert) Canada Cup winner
• 1985 15 boys (Expert) Gold Medal World Champion
• 1986 16 Expert and 16-17 Cruiser Gold Medal World Champion
• 1987 17 Expert Gold Medal World Champion
• 1988 18 & Over Expert Silver Medal World Champion

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)

• None

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)

• 1989 "B" Pro Grandnational Champion
• 1993 National No.1 Pro

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)

• 1989 "A" (Junior) Pro Grandnational Champion
• 1989 "A" (Junior) Pro National No.1. Starting in the 1989 season the ABA started recognizing the highest ranking of its Junior pros. However, the ABA did not award its Junior pros with No.1 plate.

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)

• None

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)

• None

Pro Series Championships

Notable BMX accolades

• Named one of eight top amateurs deemed top "Pros of the Future" by Super BMX & Freestyle magazine along with Billy Griggs
  Billy Griggs
  William Luther Griggs is an American "Old School/Mid School" former professional Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1985 to 1996....
  
  , Mike King, Doug Davis, Matt Hadan
  Matt Hadan
  Matthew Merle Hadan is an American professional "Old/Mid School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years are from 1985-1995. Nicknamed early in his career "The Master" and later "The Diesel"....
  
   Brent Romero, Darwin Griffin
  Darwin Griffin
  Darwin L. Griffin, born February 24, 1969, from Oxnard, California, USA, was a professional American mid-school Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were 1982–1989.-Racing career:----...
  
   and Brad Birdwell.

• Named one of BMX Action's "Terrible Ten" top amateurs and future professionals three consecutive times: 1986, 1987, 1988

• Named eighth out of 21 racers deemed BMX's Hottest Amateurs in 1988 from a BMX Plus! poll of seven team mangers which included Don Crupi of MCS, Mike Seevers of GT, Yvonne Shoup of Free Agent, Dave Custodero of Mongoose, Mike Donell of Revcore, Bill Nelson of Robinson and Racer/Team Manager of Diamond Back Harry Leary
  Harry Leary
  Harry Clarence Leary Jr. was a "Old School" professional bicycle motocross racer....
  
  .

Significant BMX injuries

• Broke his thumb in hoarse play involving jumping up and down on a bumper of a rent a car at the NBL Memphis Classic National in 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....
  
   March 25, 1988
• Broke thumb in practice the day before ABA Fall Nationals in Yorba Linda, California
  Yorba Linda, California
  Yorba Linda is a suburban city in northeastern Orange County, California, approximately northeast of Downtown Santa Ana, and southeast of Downtown Los Angeles....
  
   on October 26, 1989

BMX press magazine interviews and articles

• Terrible Ten Blurb. BMX Action May 1986 Vol.11 No.5 pg.72
• "A New Superstar: Our Man Eric" Super BMX/Freestyle April 1987 Vol.14 No.4 pg.33 A very extensive interview with Carter.
• "Eric Carter: Nine Longe Years To The Top" American BMXer June 1987 Vol.9 No.5 Extensive interview.
• Terrible Ten Mini Bio. BMX Action August 1987 Vol.12 No.8 pg.38
• "E. Carter: The Kid With All The Titles" BMX Action December 1987 Vol.12 No.12 pg.32
• Terrible Ten Mini Bio. BMX Action October 1988 Vol.13 No.10 pg.22
• "The Schwinn Race Team (AKA: Eric Carter)" Super BMX/Freestyle November 1988 Vol.15 No.11 pg.28 A mini interview with Schwinn's only national factory racer.
• Side Bar mini-interview in BMX plus! June 1990 Vol.13 No.6 pg.68
• "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.
• "Young Guns!!!" BMX Plus! October 1990 Vol.13 No.10 pg.64 Joint interview with fellow rookie pros Steve Veltman
  Steve Veltman
  Stephen James Veltman is a former American "Old School/Mid School" professional Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1981–1983 and 1989 to 1998...
  
  , Tim Hall, Kenny May
  Kenny May
  Kenneth Henry May is a former American professional "Old/Mid School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1985 to 2000....
  
  , and Matt Hadan
  Matt Hadan
  Matthew Merle Hadan is an American professional "Old/Mid School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years are from 1985-1995. Nicknamed early in his career "The Master" and later "The Diesel"....
  
  .
• "The Return of a Rager!" BMX Plus! August 1993 Vol.16 No.8 pg.31 mini interview of Eric's return to BMX racing full time.

BMX magazine covers

Bicycle Motocross News:

• None

Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX:

• May 1986 Vol.13 No.5 In insert Dino Deluca.(SBMX&F)
• April 1987 Vol.14 No.4 in insert. Main image: Freestyler George Holquin.(SBMX/F)
• November 1988 Vol.15 No.11 In separate inserts Mike King
  Mike King (BMX racer)
  Michael Allen King is an "Old School/Mid School" former professional Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1984 to 1998 and is also a former Mountain Bike racer who prime competitive years in that discipline were 1993 to 2004.- Biography :Mike King is the younger...
  
   & 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....
  
  ; Jeff Donnell & Charlie Davidson; 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....
  
  .

Bicycle Motocross Action & Go:

• December 1987 Vol.12 No.12 (BMXA)
• July 1991 Vol.2 Iss.9 in insert. Main Image is freestyler Jess Dyrenforth (Go).

BMX Plus!:

• August 1989 Vol.12 No.8 in main image foreground (Schwinn) with Travis Chipres (Mongoose), Matt Hadan
  Matt Hadan
  Matthew Merle Hadan is an American professional "Old/Mid School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years are from 1985-1995. Nicknamed early in his career "The Master" and later "The Diesel"....
  
   (obscured silver black/blue helmet), Mike King (obscured black/silver helmet with "1"), Billy Griggs
  Billy Griggs
  William Luther Griggs is an American "Old School/Mid School" former professional Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1985 to 1996....
  
   (Redline), and GT's Mike Ellis. Also in top insert with aforementioned.
• September 1992 Vol.15 No.9 in two inserts with Motorcycle Motocross (MX) racer Jeremy McGrath
• August 1993 Vol.16 No.8 (25) with Brian Foster (1) at the lower left hand side. In insert Freestyler Matt Hoffman
  Mat Hoffman
  Mat Hoffman is an American BMX rider considered one of the best vert-ramp riders in the history of the sport. He is nicknamed "The Condor" and owns the BMX Freestyle brand Hoffman BMX Bikes, based out of Oklahoma City, OK.-Bio:...
  
  .
• March 1994 Vol.17 No.3 (25) third from right on the starting gate with fellow pros (5) Brian Lopes (first from right), Mike King, Steve Veltman
  Steve Veltman
  Stephen James Veltman is a former American "Old School/Mid School" professional Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1981–1983 and 1989 to 1998...
  
   (on Carter's right), 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....
  
   (partly obscured) & and unidentified. In top insert Haro Monocoque BMX racing bicycle.
• August 1994 Vol.17 No.8 in background with Gary Ellis
  Gary Ellis
  Gary Leo Ellis Jr. was an American "Old School" professional bicycle motocross racer.Ellis was one of the last of the "Old School" BMX racers whose careers started in the 1970s to early 1980s. His prime competitive years were from 1982-1996.Nickname: "The Lumberjack"...
  
   in foreground.

Bicycles and Dirt (ABA publication):

• None

BMX World: (1991-1992 version):

• January 1991 Vol.1 No.2

Snap BMX Magazine & Transworld BMX:

BMX World: (2005–Present version):

Mountain Bike Action:

Moto Mag:

• None

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

• None

Bicycles Today & BMX Today (The official NBL membership publication under two names):

ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer (The official ABA membership publication under three names):

• American BMXer October 1985 Vol.7 No.8 and two unidentified racers.
• American BMXer June 1987 Vol.9 No.5

USBA Racer (The official USBA membership publication):

Post BMX career

Following in the footsteps of other legendary pros Eric Carter became a pro mountain-biker in 1993 (while still racing BMX heavily). He currently races MTB for Mongoose Bicycles in the mountain-cross and downhill

Downhill cycling

Downhill biking is a gravity-assisted time trial mountain biking event. Riders race against the clock, usually starting at intervals of 30 seconds , on courses which typically take two to five minutes to complete. Riders come from all around the world. Riders are timed with equipment similar to...

 divisions. However, he does race BMX during the winter to cross train and enhance his MTB racing skills.

Mountain Bike Racing Career

Started Racing: 1993 at age 23.

Sub Discipline:

First Race Result:

Sanctioning Body:

Professional

• Barracuda: 1994-1995
• Troy Lee Designs: 1996
• Rotec/White Bros: 1997
• GT (Gary Turner) Bicycles: December 1997-December 2000
• Mongoose Bicycles (Formerly BMX Products)/Hyundai: January 2001–Present
• GT Bicycles : January 2009–Present

Professional

Union Cycliste Internationale

Union Cycliste Internationale

Union Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland....

 (UCI)

• 1998 Dual Slalom World Cup Bronze Medalist
• 1999 Dual Slalom World Cup Champion Gold Medalist
• 1999 Downhill World Champion Bronze Medalist
• 1999 World Cup Downhill Bronze Medalist
• 2001 World Cup Dual Slalom World Cup Silver Medalist
• 2002 World Cup 4-cross Bronze Medalist
• 2003 World Cup 4-cross Silver Medalist
• 2003 4-Cross World Champion Silver Medalist
• 2003 World Cup 4-cross Champion Gold Medalist
• 2004 4-cross World Champion Gold Medalist

National Off Road Bicycle Association (NORBA)

• 1999 National Downhill Champion Gold Medalist
• 1999 National Championship Series Dual Slalom Silver Medalist
• 2003 National Mountain-cross Series Champion Gold Medalist
• 2004 National Mountain-cross Series Champion
• 2003, 2005, 2006 United States National Mountain-cross Champion
• 2003 United States National Downhill Champion

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...

• 2005 & 2006 Mountain-cross National Champion

Significant MTB injuries

• Laid up for one year due to multiple injuries from mid 2004-September 2005
• Broke Collar bone in May 2006

Miscellaneous

Eric Carter had substantial input on the design of the Hyper Metro pro sized frame of the early 1990, which he raced when sponsored by Hyper Designs.

External links

• Short Mountain biking career biography on Mongoose Bicycles website.
• Descent World Interview with Eric Carter on his MTB career.
• 2007 Mongoose Bicycles interview.
• The American Bicycle Association (ABA) website.
• The National Bicycle League (NBL) website.