David Kelsey is a young man of few words. In fact, a person could be hard pressed to hear a higher number of words emerge from his lips than the number of his age. However, when it comes to BMX racing, Kelsey’s bicycle does his talking for him.

  On Saturday, David who turned five in mid-June, completed a remarkable seven-month trek from nowhere to the top of the BMX mountain. 

  Amazingly, it was only in April that David first rode in a BMX race entering the 5-and-under Rookie class at Giley’s Creek Park in Richmond. This past Saturday he finished a stretch run in which he had laid claim to a fourth place national finish, a first place trophy in the Northeast Region and the Virginia State championship of his division.

  But accomplishing things quickly is nothing new for David. As a three-year-old he was given his first bicycle and according to his father Steven, David’s career of using training wheels was amazingly short. “He got on a bike and 10 minutes later they (training wheels) were off,” Steven said. “I ran out front of him and he just rode to me and he kept riding to me and kept riding to me and that’s it. He’s always had exceptional agility and balance.”

  Similarly, David’s entry into the word of BMX racing was equally abrupt when Steven first took his son to Giley’s Creek Park. “We went down there and he started to ride the track and one of the track directors and the president of the track just happened to be there,” Steven said. “They told us about BMX and we went out for the next race and he did pretty good.”

  Though David’s initial races were pedaled slow and careful, by the time June rolled around he was winning events, not only against kids of his own age but riders who were older and more experienced.

  So father and son began traveling to competitions to discover just how far David’s talent could take him. When David won a local race in Hampton, Va. Steven was prompted to check into the regional competition but his son was not finished there. “He started to top the chart for state and regional so it just made sense that the next step was national,” Steven said.

  David did not enter national competition until midway through the regular season, but by the end of August at the Grands in Louisville, Ky. he had accumulated enough points to take fourth in the country out of nearly 1500 racers.

  Because of the different levels of competition end at odd months, the nationals were followed by the Northeast Regional competition in Woodword, Pa. at the end of September.  And it was in Pennsylvania that David hit what could have been his first major stumbling block.

  While riding a moto or qualification race for the main event, David was involved in an accident on the course. Though he wears a DOT helmet, chest protector, gloves, pads and racing pants, it was always the possibility of an accident that made Steven nervous.

  “At the beginning no, because he rode super slow,” Steven said. “He sat down on the seat. He would ride up the hills and he would ride down the hills.”

  But as David grew more accustomed to the competition his daring grew as well. “Both wheels off the ground, jumping big and riding really fast,” Steven said.

  In Woodward, David was leading the pack of eight racers around a choppy berm when he was accidently undercut by the rider in second place. “He came in and pinched the back tire,” Steven said. “The kid went down, then David went down, the bike flipped over him. Then six other racers came in and I believe they rode right over them. From where I was standing it looked like they rode right over them.” Steven could not be too certain about the specifics of the accident because he was already over the fence running to check on his son. Fortunately, other than a banged elbow and knee that went along with a big bruise on his left thigh, David was unharmed.

  Steven held David out of the final moto because he already had enough points to qualify for the main event. “The next day he woke up and forgot about it,” Steven said. And as he had done all season, David took the win in the main event.

  Since that time, David has learned how to avoid such accidents. He simply rides faster than everyone else on the track. “He is all by himself on the track,” Steven said. “Some of the announcers go into second and third place because he is that far ahead…He’ll be on the last straight when people are rounding the third.”

  At the state competition, David blew past his competition to win by large margins in both motos and the main event, claiming the Virginia State title.

  In his short career as a racer, David has already accumulated so many wins that the National Bicycle League has moved him up to the Novice division for next season where he will compete against seven and eight-year-olds. 

  And though Steven enjoys the fact that his son has turned into a BMX master at such a young age, he is more proud of the change he has seen come over his son during that period. “The good thing about this is he was a really shy kid,” Steven said. “The BMX family does not allow you to be shy.” More importantly, David venture from shyness has come at an important time in his life. He just began attending kindergarten a Kersey Creek Elementary.

  When David first became interested in racing, Steven did not dream of where son would take him or the commitment that would be involved. “I thought every couple of weeks we’d head down to Richmond,” Steven said. “We did a little bit less than half a season and we were somewhere every Friday through Monday.” Steven estimates they have logged over 10,000 miles during the short season.
  But it is through racing that they have experienced things neither would have dreamed of months earlier. In Tennessee David got to watch his hero, Olympian Kyle Bennett race. But what was even better was racing the same exact course 10 minutes later.

  “And now, this could be until he’s in college,” Steven said. “If he progresses as he has been progressing, if he wants to, this could be a potential part-time job for him.”

  But Steven has no regrets and plans to fully support his son’s dreams. “I see it going as far as he wants to take it,” Steven said. “I’m going to give him all the tools he needs in terms of bike and rides and things like that.”

And who knows what the future holds for David Kelsey. On the way home from the state competition he asked his father for information on the next Olympics.