Mike Chilvers was living in Maryland, USA, in the late 1970s, where he began racing BMX in 1977 and went on to win the Maryland State Title before returning home to Manchester later that year — bringing his race bike with him.
His first UK race took place on December 28, 1980, at Ipswich (Coddenham), where he finished 2nd in the Over-16s behind Keith Russell.
Mike, along with Alan Woods, was part of one of the UK’s first BMX clubs, Hindley. A Southport local, Mike often rode with Steve Gratton and Andy Lomas, and the trio were featured in BMX News regularly. Mike went on to appear on several magazine covers, including Official BMX, BMX News, and BMX Weekly, and was one of the most documented riders of the era. He also appeared on Granada TV alongside Alan Woods and performed demos with Cav Strutt at the Manchester Belle Vue Motorbike Show.
During his racing years, Mike rode for Alan’s Motors, Mongoose, Pro-Star, and Peugeot. After his time with Pro-Star, Mike became the “official unofficial” test rider for BMX Weekly, known for doing all kinds of off-track tricks the magazine loved — like jumping off garages. His reputation led Falcon to send him a bike to test, which soon turned into an offer to ride for them. A few weeks later, Peugeot called about joining their freestyle tour — and as Mike recalls with a laugh, “the Falcon went straight back!”
Mike truly is one of the British BMX pioneers. Official BMX was the first glossy BMX magazine in the UK, releasing six issues in 1981. The Issue 5 cover shot of Mike between races at the Redditch Anglo-American Cup on his Pro-Star, with red rims and blue tires, and everyone’s eyes glued to him in the background, has to be one of the best covers of any British BMX magazine from the 1980s.
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