Eric Carter (BMX rider)

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For the football player of the same name see Eric Carter (football player). Template:Cyclist infobox Eric Robert Carter (b. March 6, 1970 in Long Beach, California USA) is a former American professional "Old/Mid School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1983 to 1998. Acquired the moniker "The Earthquake" later in his career,[1] more recently simply "EC". Beginning in 1996 he converted fully to Mountain bike racing (MTB) and has become one of the most respect racers in that discipline of bicycle racing.

Racing career

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

Started Racing: 1978 at age 8.

Sanctioning Body:

First race result:

First win (local):

First sponsor:

First national win:

Turned professional: September 2, 1989 at the National Bicycle League (NBL) Grand National in Louisville, Kentucky at 19 years of age.[2]

First Professional race result: First place in "B" pro at the 1989 NBL Grand Nationals on September 2. He won US$1,260. He also gained a second in pro cruiser, winning US$250.[3]

First Professional win: See above.

First Junior Pro* win: See above.

First Senior Pro** race result: 5th place at the American Bicycle Association (ABA) Silver Dollar Nationals in Reno, Nevada (Day 1) in January 1990. He won US$200.[4]

First Senior Pro win: In "A" pro at the National Bicycle League (NBL) "Round 5: Clash in the Sun" national in Orlando, Florida in February 17, 1990.[5]

Retired: Largely by late 1995 to concentrate on mountain Bike (MTB) racing.

Height & weight at height of career (1990): Ht:5'10" Wt:~175-180lbs.

*In the NBL "B"/Superclass/"A" pro depending on the era; in the ABA "A" pro.

**In the NBL "A"/"Elite" pro; in the ABA "AA" pro.

Career factory and major bike shop sponsors

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

Amateur

  • JMC (James Melton Cyclery) Racing Equipment: 1982
  • VDC (Voris Dixon Company): 1983-December 1984
  • Free Agent: January 1985-November 29, 1985
  • Hutch Hi-Performance BMX/Products: November 29, 1985-January 15, 1987
  • 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 Bernadino, California race on January 17-18, 1987.[6]
  • CW (Custom Works) Racing/Cycles: January 23, 1987-December 31, 1987. "CW" never stood for "Coast Wheels" as it is widely thought. Coast Wheels was a bike shop that Roger Worsham owned. Custom Works was a completely different and independent company.[7] This is in contrast with JMC (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 the same person who owned CW Racing, Roger Worsham. 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.[8][9]
  • Schwinn Bicycle Company: April 1988-December 1989 Eric would turn pro with this sponsor.

Professional

  • Schwinn Bicycle Company: April 1988-December 1989. Schwinn would drop its BMX racing effort after the 1989 season.[10]
  • MRC (Mike Redmen Concepts): January 1, 1990-June 1990
  • Titan Inc.: June 1990-August 1990
  • Brackens Racing: August 1990-Late 1992. Eric would take almost a year long hiatus from BMX after the 1990 ABA Grand National and race only infrequently to forestall burnout during the 1991 season. His first race back was the 1991 ABA Fall Nationals in Yorba Linda, California on October 26th and 27th. He got a first place in "A" pro on Saturday; second place in "A" pro on Sunday. However, shortly afterward he took another approximately year long break to race motorcycles and to other things outside of BMX racing, again racing BMX infrequently. It was an almost unbroken absance from BMX Racing for more than two years.[11]
  • Hyper Designs: Late 1992-1995

Career bicycle motocross titles

Amateur

National Bicycle Association (NBA)

National Bicycle League (NBL)

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

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

  • 1986 National No.1 Amateur
  • 1986 16 Expert Gold Cup Champion.

United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)

  • 1986 National No.1 Amateur

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)

  • 1985 15 boys (Expert) Canada Cup winner.
  • 1985 15 boys (Expert) World Champion
  • 1986 16 Expert World Champion
  • 1986 16-17 Cruiser World Champion
  • 1987 17 Expert World Champion

Professional

National Bicycle Association (NBA)

  • None

National Bicycle League (NBL)

  • 1993 National No.1 Pro

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

  • None

United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)

  • None

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)

  • None

Pro Series Championships

Notable BMX accolades

  • Named one of BMX Action's "Terrible Ten" top amateurs and future professionals three consecutive times: 1986,[12] 1987,[13] 1988[14]
  • 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.[15]

Peccadilloes

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

Career MTB factory and major Non-factory sponsors

Template:Supplemental Cyclist infobox

Amateur

No amateur status.

Professional

  • 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

Career Mountain Bike Racing (MTB) titles

Amateur

No amateur status.

Professional

  • 1999 National Downhill Champion

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)

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

National Off Road Bicycle Association (NORBA)

  • 1999 National Championship Series Dual Slalom Silver Medalist.
  • 2003 National Mountaincross Series Champion
  • 2004 National Mountaincross Series Champion
  • 2003, 2005, 2006 United States National Mountaincross Champion
  • 2003 United States National Downhill Champion

USA Cycling

  • 2005 & 2006 Mountain Cross National Champion

Notable MTB accolades

  • He is a 1999 winner of the Visa/USA Cycling Athlete of the Year Award.

MTB Product Lines

  • 2006 Mongoose Eric Carter EC-X Four Cross Full Suspension Mountain Bike

Significant BMX and MTB injuries

  • Laid up for one year due to multiple injuries from mid 2004-September 2005[16]
  • Broke Colloar bone in May 2006[17]

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.

BMX and MTB 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 & Pete Loncarevich; Jeff Donnell & Charlie Davidson; freestyler Eddie Fiola.

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 (obscured silver black/blue helmet), Mike King (obscured black/silver helmet with "1"), Billy Griggs (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 with Matt Hoffman (Inset).
  • August 1994 Vol.17 No.8 in background with Gary Ellis in foreground.

Bicycles and Dirt:

  • None

Snap:

Mountain Bike Action:

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/Freestlye April 1987 Vol.14 No.4 pg.33 A very extensive interview with Carter.
  • 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, Tim Hall, Kenny May, and Matt Hadan.
  • "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.

End Notes

  1. ^ BMX Plus! July 1995 Vol.18 No.7 pg.64
  2. ^ BMX Plus! January 1990 Vol.13 No.1 pg.68 (photo caption)
  3. ^ BMX Plus! January 1990 Vol.13 No.1 pg.74 race results
  4. ^ BMX Plus! May 1990 Vol.13 No.5 pg.20 race results.
  5. ^ BMX Plus! June 1990 Vol.13 No.6 pg.69
  6. ^ Super BMX/Freestyle Vol.14 No.5 pg.5
  7. ^ History of CW page
  8. ^ BMX Plus! May 1988 Vol.11 No.5 pg.58
  9. ^ BMX Plus! July 1988 Vol.11 No.7 pg.32
  10. ^ BMX Plus! October 1990 Vol.13 No.10 pg.64
  11. ^ BMX Plus! August 1993 Vol.16 No.8 pg.31
  12. ^ BMX Action May 1986 Vol.11 No.5 pg.72
  13. ^ BMX Action August 1987 Vol.12 No.8 pg.38
  14. ^ BMX Action October 1988 Vol.13 No.10 pg.22
  15. ^ BMX Plus! November 1988 Vol.11 No.11 pg.78
  16. ^ Cycling News September 2005.
  17. ^ Cycling News July 2006.

External links

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