Miki Vuckovich

At the tender age of six, Miki got a crash course in bike riding from his older brother, who had bequeathed unto his younger sibling his old mini Schwinn Stingray. As he sprinted alongside the child on his new bike, Stan The Elder pushed him along with a tight grip on the banana seat. Until he didn’t. Glancing back to ask if he was “doing it right,” Miki noticed the receding figure of the now winded Stan trotting well behind, his hand long removed. As he turned his attention to the road ahead, Miki saw the neighbor kid standing up ahead, his foot cocked back on his plastic skateboard—which he then launched on a rendezvous trajectory with the Stingray. As the projectile managed to just miss his speeding front wheel, it lodged itself squarely in front of his rear, bouncing the neo-cyclist into a rolling endo, which he miraculously held for like half a block (or so he says). And in that singular moment, the youngster was introduced to his two great passions in life, skateboarding and cyclocross. These days, Miki The Elder continues to skate and race his bike in and around San Diego, but rarely simultaneously.