Richie Anderson

Richard Anderson (born March 14, 1967 in Vallejo, California U.S.) is a former American "Old School" professional bicycle motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were 1978–1986.

Anderson is the younger of what was one of the most potent sibling combinations that bicycle motocross has ever seen.

Only the Pattersons, Brian and Brent, whom Richie raced with on the same factory team for seven years, had more titles between them and were more dominant in BMX.

His older brother Ronnie Anderson, whose amateur career Richie overshadowed, would become National number one pro with the American Bicycle Association (ABA) and the United Bicycle Racers (UBR) an achievement Richie never achieved after he turned professional.

He is nicknamed "Richie Rich," an allusion to the comic book character Richie Rich and by simple alliteration.

He was most commonly called "The Avalanche".

He received the moniker due to being so dominant during the 1980 season (on his way to winning his second consecutive amateur ABA No.1 title) that it was thought no one and nothing could stop him.

He was also nicked-named "Mr. Smooth" for his effortless racing and huge natural ability, particularly in speed jumping over single "whoop-de-doos" which are similar to a mogul in skiing (effectively a very large speed bump) while still pedaling (many racers would get the "Mr. Smooth" moniker for their seemingly effortless riding skill particularly over speed jumps, including Eric Carter ).

Even most top pros stop pedaling over speed jumps to keep the chances of crashing to a minimum.

However, doing so would be just coasting while a few racers like Richie Anderson kept applying the power, a great advantage.

Indeed, his speed jumping skills were featured in a November 1980 article of Bicycle Motocross Action called "Method Speed Jumping" showcasing his abilities.

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

*In the NBL Junior Pro is "B" Pro/Superclass/"A" Pro depending on the era; in the ABA it is "A" Pro.

**In the NBL Senior Pro is "A" or Elite Pro; in the ABA it is "AA" Pro.

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 sponsor's advertisements at the time in question.

When possible exact dates are given.

"'This is in reply to Andy's Diamond's post. Just to put the 'Richie tid bits' straight. Vance sat down with my father. I was on the Patterson team for 6 years. Because of my accomplishments in racing and with Patterson Racing products, they were going to offer me a truck. The truck was NEVER given to me.* Unfortunately, later that season I left and moved on. I still have a great relationship with the Patterson's. They will always be family to me. Hopefully that clears things up. The Patterson's are now running a successful company, AAA Fire Control Systems, in Hayward, CA. Vance is retired and traveling the country with his wife. Brent and Brian both run the company.'"

*The truck in question was allegedly intended for use for his transportation to and from races when flying was unnecessary.

In a mini three question interview printed in BMX Plus! Vance Patterson, the father of Brent and Brian Patterson and owner of Patterson Racing Products, seems to have agreed to give him the truck:

BMX Plus!: "I want to ask you about the truck you are giving Richie. What is the deal there? Why are you giving Richie a truck after he's left the team?

Vance Patterson: "The agreement was that Richie was going to stay as an amateur for the balance of the year. I will give him a truck, not based upon this year, but for what he's done in the past."

Therefore Richie Anderson was still a 14 Expert in July 1982 despite turning 15 the previous March.

A racer could turn 13 on say January 1 and have to race 13-year-old classes.

---BMX Plus! October 1984

In a previous interview in the May 1984 issue of BMX Action magazine Richie Anderson denied that the truck was a quid pro quo to stay amateur and agreed that it was a token of the Patterson's appreciation of his years of service:

BMXA: "Is it true that the Pattersons bought it for you to keep you amateur?"

Richie Anderson: "No, it's for all the years I've been racing for them."

---BMX Action May 1984

Note: Listed are District, State/Provincial/Department, Regional, National, and International titles in italics.

Depending on point totals of individual racers, winners of Grand Nationals do not necessarily win National titles.

Only sanctioning bodies active during the racer's career are listed.

National Bicycle Association (NBA)

National Bicycle League (NBL)

United Bicycle Racers (UBR)

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)

Other Titles

*Under both NBL and IBMXF rules at the time you stayed in the same age division as according to how old you were on January 1 even though you would have an intervening birthday.