Ryan Taylor is BMX's 'Papa Wheelie'

Freestyle BMX star refuses to ‘act his age’ as he continues to learn new tricks. By Jim Gorant

Ryan Taylor stands next to his bike at the top of a 30-foot ramp, contemplating the three-story drop to ground level that sweeps into a steep upslope that could send him and his ride soaring nearly as high as their starting point. His bike has no brakes, so once he begins the descent, he has no way to limit the launch.

His goal, at least in theory, is a back flip, a trick he’s been contemplating for most of his 30-year career as a freestyle BMX rider, but that he’s never attempted because, “there was no one to push me, and I was always working on other tricks,” he says. Someone is pushing him now.

He’d mounted the ramp with the aim of making one straightforward jump, no flip, simply to get a feel for the speed and the launch, but once he’d reached the platform, his wife, Ashley Cook, and his gang of riding buddies took out their phones and started egging him on:

“Send it!”

 “Do it!”

Taylor stood frozen, trying to block out the noise. Five minutes went by. Ten minutes. The taunts, dares, and encouragement continued. He had reason to ignore them. Even though the ramp would launch him into a foam pit, it’s not normal for a married man with two dogs (Capt. Quint and Miss Piggy), a comfortable four-bedroom house in Dover, and a steady job as a facilities manager at Suburban Propane to make a first attempt at a reverse aerial 360 at age 48.

He knew the risks firsthand. The list of injuries he’d accumulated over his years in the saddle included a torn ACL, a broken collar bone, several broken toes, and a torn scrotum.

If “scrotal tear” doesn’t justify some hesitation, nothing will.

BIG WHEELS

At the same time, he had strong motivations. Ride On, a BMX Facebook group with 1.3 million followers, aimed at over-40 riders, produces an annual Top 10 list of best user-submitted videos, and Taylor had set a place in the top three as a goal.

He’d also been reinvigorated by a new riding partner, his 15-year-old nephew. “He’s really good, and he’s progressing really good,” Taylor says. “It’s made me rethink what BMX is to me, because now I have this kid who’s, like, killing it, and I always perform based on who I ride with. If I’m riding with someone good, it gets me amped to kind of step my game up.”

The family connection stirred up some history for Taylor, too. He’d grown up in Randolph, the youngest of four boys. He started riding in his teens, when his oldest brother, Don, went off to college and left his Mongoose BMX bike behind. Taylor adopted the bike, although mostly for getting around.

By Taylor’s senior year in high school, his oldest brother had finished college and moved home. He picked up another Mongoose at a garage sale and started doing stunts. The younger Taylor, a soccer player who’d always “hung out with the skaters,” joined him and the pair started riding together, figuring out how to do a variety of ground tricks in what is known in the sport as “flatland” riding.

The next year, Taylor left for Kutztown University, which sat near the epicenter of a burgeoning eastern Pennsylvania BMX scene. “At that time, in the late ‘90s, early 2000s, it was a hot area,” he says. “The Lehigh Valley was very BMX forward, and a lot of the best-in-the-world guys were living around there. There were trails, parks, good street riding, so I kind of adapted over to that and put the flatland on the back burner.”

Living among so many other good riders pulled him deep into the BMX culture and spurred his improvement. Even after he graduated, he returned to Pennsylvania often to ride with friends. One particularly good buddy, Brandan Bellew, had latched on with a clothing company called East Coast Destruction that sponsored a BMX crew. Bellew helped Taylor get a spot on the team.

Every year, the company compiled highlight tapes of its riders in action, and Taylor looked forward to a part in the type of videos he’d spent years watching. “Back then, people would make videos, and that’s how you got to know riders and how you got to see the progression, the new tricks people were doing,” he says. “Watching them was motivating and pushed me to push my skill level more.”

Unfortunately, the company shut down before he could get into one of the official videos, but Bellew made his own tape that featured many of the ECD riders, including Taylor. That taste of success kept him engaged through his 20s, but by the time he reached his 30s, he’d begun to slow down. Bellew stopped riding completely, but the two stayed in touch; they’d married sisters and thereby become brothers-in-law.

“BMX had evolved to a crazy point, where things were just getting out of control trick-wise,” Taylor says. “I was still just having fun, progressing at my own level and kind of being a part of the scene, but it wasn’t a priority to get on a team or anything.”

Eventually, iPhones and Instagram happened. Instead of using various types of equipment to make hour-long videos that people would have to buy, riders could film their buddies on their phones and upload short clips in minutes. “After that, it popped off crazy,” Taylor says. “You could see the progression across the world of what other people were doing instantly. I feel like it just streamlined from there to becoming a beast.”

GOING VIRAL

Taylor took inspiration from the clips but didn’t feel compelled to post his own. “The interest was not there, even in, like, Instagram posting, filming myself, it was just more work than I wanted to put in,” he says. “I’d rather just have fun riding than focus on having to worry about video parts.”

When he hit his 40s, he decided to rededicate himself to the sport and post some of his own feats on social media. “I wanted to do a video just because I hadn’t done anything,” he says. Much of his work is captured by photographer and close bud Peter de la Paz.

Time slipped by. He didn’t feel he was procrastinating, but for some reason, he wasn't posting. Finally, Ride On’s annual Top 10 list caught his attention. He didn’t know how many people entered, but, based on the performances of those on the list, he set a goal of reaching the top three.

In 2024, he polished his routine and put together a minute-long compilation set to music. “I get really excited to do the videos because I’m like putting together a puzzle and thinking, Okay, how can I make this intriguing for people to watch and keep their interest,” he says. “I love trying to make a story out of it.”

When the list came out, he’d landed at No. 5. Close, but not quite what he’d hoped for. He put together another stream for 2025 and submitted it. This time, he landed at No. 4.

“His videos are really well shot and edited, and you get the feeling that he’s having tons of fun riding his bike,” says Neil Waddington, who runs the Ride On community.

“Overall, he’s got an awesome technical ability on the bike, and he can also deliver rad riding on a mix of terrains/disciplines, which is always great to see.”

For his part, Taylor acknowledges that “people that know me or are familiar with me were excited that I placed,” but admits that “I was kind of disappointed that I didn’t make the top three.”

He did, however, tap into another source of inspiration, thanks to his old riding buddy.

PAYING IT FORWARD

Brandon Bellew’s 15-year-old son, Fenway, caught the BMX bug. Fen, as he’s called, had been trick-riding on his scooter when “Uncle Ryan” introduced him to BMX through a series of casual outings. In the summer of 2025, Fenway ditched his scooter in favor of a bike.

“I worry with Fen because I want to make sure he’s having fun and not just doing it to get attention or anything like that,” Taylor says. “I want him to do it for the passion, if this is what makes you happy, because that’s what’s kept me going for so many years, just because I enjoy it.”

He’d like to spread the love even further. He moved to Dover in 2016, and every time the town website solicits citizen feedback on ways to improve the community, Taylor advocates for a skate/bike park. Back in the day, he said, Dover had a strong presence in BMX through a group of riders that called themselves the Ghost Crew.

“Dover, culturally, people are outside a lot. You can go through any other town, and typically, no one’s out. But every time I go down to Crescent Park, it feels ridiculous. 

“There are kids playing soccer, playing basketball, you know, the ice cream man’s there, and I’m like, Man, if there was a skate park here, it would be packed with kids just wanting to learn.”

Such a park would also give Taylor a chance to show off his backflip. 

After a long wait and a short test run, he finally launched himself off the ramp and rotated through the air, stalling three-quarters of the way around. He landed on the front tire and faceplanted into the foam.

Undaunted, he climbed out and returned to his bike. On his second attempt, he nailed it. Why? 

“I don’t see myself as a 48-year-old person,” he says. “I try to use the bike as my youth, to be like, I still have it. I still keep pushing.”

Jim Gorant is a New Jersey native. He is a regular DOVERNOW contributor.