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 same year, bringing his race bike back with him.
His first UK race took place on December 28, 1980, at Ipswich, Coddenham, where he finished second in the Over 16s behind Keith Russell.
Mike, alongside Alan Woods, was part of one of the UK’s very first BMX clubs, Hindley. A Southport local, Mike often rode with Steve Gratton and Andy Lomas, and the trio were featured regularly in BMX News. Mike went on to appear on several magazine covers including Official BMX, BMX News and BMX Weekly, becoming 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, including jumping off garages.
His reputation eventually led Falcon to send him a bike to test, which quickly turned into an offer to ride for them. A few weeks later, Peugeot called asking him to join 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, complete with red rims and blue tyres while everyone in the background watched on, has to be one of the greatest covers from any British BMX magazine of the 1980s.
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