Tyler BMX pro takes life as it comes – in the air

Published 7:54 pm Saturday, August 24, 2013

WHITEHOUSE — It was a fairly simple trick, a “hang five,” that BMX pro Morgan Wade, of Tyler, performed as he dropped into his fourth run inside a private warehouse ramp park.

Almost four minutes later, a foggy-eyed and bloodied Wade asked his fellow riders, “What happened?”

There was no explanation. It had happened so quickly, they said.

Within the split-second transition from trick to ramp, something went wrong, and Wade had gone head over handlebars and face first to the concrete 5 feet below.

“Well, you can’t win ’em all,” were the first semi-clearheaded words from Wade’s bloody mouth, followed by a heartfelt but pained laugh.

Wade, 30, has won plenty. He’s been a top BMX rider for a decade, and 2013 is shaping up as one of the best of his career.

He finished with a bronze medal for BMX Big Air at ESPN’s X Games Brazil and a silver medal in Munich, Germany.

In Los Angeles earlier this month, Wade took gold by landing a superman back-flip across a 60-foot gap before rising 21 feet, 4 inches above a 28-foot quarter pipe while executing a triple-tail whip.

Aside from X-Games gold, Wade has won numerous rider awards and competitions, including back-to-back Ride BMX Magazine’s Number One Rider Awards in the Big Air category in 2005 and 2006. NORA winners are chosen by fellow riders and industry insiders who frequent events.

Wade said he considers the NORA the greater honor as a rider because it is a peer- and industry-driven award. But X-Games are a household name in extreme sports, such as skateboarding, motor-cross and snowboarding, he said, and wins there draw sponsors.

“There’s something about a gold medal at the X-Games that makes people’s ears perk up,” Wade said. “It’s the most mainstream event and gets the most attention.”

Wade said he makes calculated decisions regarding the death-defying tricks that take him higher than a four-story building. He doesn’t consider his high-flying tricks as death-defying. He insists he is no daredevil. He might have the spirit of Evel Knievel, he said, but he doesn’t prescribe to Knievel’s mentality of fewer calculations and more throttle.

When Wade’s risk-calculator and the daredevil spirit meld on his bike, it equals jaw-dropping aerial feats few are willing to try. He said it comes down to a comfort level and that many riders are more comfortable 15 feet above the ramp rather than 22 feet above it.

“I know my limits,” he said. “I’m not going to try a trick unless I know I can do it.”

Wade, like his two older brothers, was daring as a child, his father, Lee Wade said. Makeshift ramps, picnic tables and homemade obstacle courses were part of everyday cycling with friends.

His first back-flip was at age 8 and unintentional, Wade said.

But his interest in freestyle BMX began at age 14, while working at Pine Cove. He later attended, and then became an instructor at, Camp Woodward, a world-renowned instructional complex for athletes learning gymnastics to skateboarding. His talent grew by leaps and bounds at Woodward, Wade said, and he realized he had a knack for learning tricks and a willingness to go higher than other riders.

Wade’s mother and father drove him to amateur competitions and BMX parks from coast to coast.

Lee said they always supported their sons’ passions and believed their individual paths were guided by God.

“We always wanted them to pursue what they were passionate about,” he said. “It’s where Morgan’s most alive, and we weren’t going to deny him that.”

Lee said he was skeptical about his son’s decision to drop out of school to become a pro-BMX rider. Very few riders make a living in the sport, and he expected him to return to college where he was studying graphic design. But Wade’s parents, a local bike shop and a few other businesses also were his first sponsors.

Now Wade rides for Hoffman Bikes among other sponsors. Mat Hoffman, a BMX legend, is the owner of Hoffman Bikes and the man who inspired Wade to ride. Wade was 8 years old when he first saw Hoffman ride at an exhibition at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas.

Riding professionally has taken Wade across the world. He met his wife, Natalie, at a competition in Vancouver. She was riding in the women’s class, and he was judging. She finished fourth, he said.

Mrs. Wade said her husband and other extreme athletes understand that every time they perform, whether it’s in the back yard or in front of television cameras, a trick can go wrong. They weigh risks, but doing what they love always outweighs any fear, she said.

Mrs. Wade said her husband does the “hang-five” going into a quarter pipe every time he rides at home. She said her background in BMX helps her understand the mentality, but that her peace comes from their collective faith in God.

“Morgan is not a worrier,” she said. “Riders get hurt. It’s usually just a matter of when, and it can happen any time. We know that no matter what we do in life, even the big, scary, crazy stuff he is doing that the Lord is in control and that (Morgan) is doing it for a purpose.”

On Friday, Wade was still dealing with after effects of the wreck but was eager to attack the trick that put him down.

“Sometimes the easy stuff sneaks up on you,” he said. “It was a fluke, but it happens.”