This is my baby! Well, today she is my baby. We started things out with a love-hate relationship. So here is the story of how I fell in love with Haro's. There's not going to be any pictures. They'll come in the next post.
This here is the first big purchase that I ever made in my life and I was only 11 years old. My 1990 Haro Group 1b Race Technique cost $599 at the start of 1990 and I paid for almost every cent of my bike. It cost me every penny I had saved from all my birthdays and all the money I had saved from six months of work as an 11 year old during 1989/1990.
Before I purchased my Group 1b my parents had bought all of my BMX bikes. Four bikes in total that I can remember. First there was a blue Road Master that weighed a tonne. The next bike was a second-hand unbranded mini BMX race bike that the previous owners had painted white with multi-coloured little spots. It was light as a feather but I hated that bike. It was really uncomfortable to ride and I got teased because it was previously owned by a girl, so it was a girls bike. Next was my Mongoose. Now I can see how phenomenal my Mongoose was, but back in the day I thought it was old, ugly and slow.
Being 1989, I needed something flashy! I needed something that looked fast and something that was new. As a kid, the only thing I knew about Haro's was that they made freestyle bikes; good freestyle bikes. I always wished I could do flatland tricks and wanted a Haro Freestyle. Why? because that's what they rode in the BMX magazines and a couple of kids used to do flatland tricks on Haro's at the local shopping centre car park. They were good and it was because of their bikes, not the hours of practice and dedication they put in. (I was dreaming...)
I never knew Haro made race bikes. That all changed the day mum told me that my uncles friend had a BMX bike he wanted to sell. We went over that night, rang the door bell and a bloke answered; then proceeded to wheel out a brand new 1989 Haro Group 1c Race Technique onto his patio.
My jaw dropped.... It was all black with pink decals. H-A-R-O written in big letters along the bars and forks, GROUP 1c written on the down tube. It was amazing! I picked it up and it felt light. I sat on it and it felt fast. I took it for a ride around the driveway and it felt twitchy. I couldn't get the grin off my face... I fell in love with that Group 1c. My parents saw my excitement and after a lot of begging from me and little negotiation with the owner, it was MINE!
I still don't know how much my parents paid for it but it was loaded into the back of the car and I was the happiest kid alive!
I loved riding my Group 1c so much that I wanted to ride it to school. To tell the truth, I was so proud of that bike and so proud my mother had bought me that bike that I wanted to show it off to all of my friends. My bike was the best thing I owned and was better than most of the bikes the other kids at school had. It was the one thing I was really proud of!
Eventually my parents agreed to let me ride it to school. I was in Year 6. I would chain it to the bike racks with a thick chain and a huge padlock. I thought it was safe. Then someone mentioned that they saw someone come into the school and look at my bike.
Fear struck me. I asked to go to the toilet during class just to check on it, scared someone had stolen it. It was still there. Relieved, I went back to class and didn't think anything of it. At the end of the school day I walked down to the bike racks, ready to ride home and my Group 1c was no where to be seen. I balled my eyes out crying.
My Group 1c was stolen by some "locals"; derelicts did not care much for the law. I knew who they were. They were notorious for stealing everything and were blamed for all of the garage break-ins that were happening.
A few months later I saw them riding my Group 1c at the local dirt trails. I looked at the bike in shock, knowing that was my baby. They knew it was my bike too. Suddenly I was being chased, tackled, held by two while the third began beating me up saying "Stop looking at MY bike". I told my father but he did nothing about it and wouldn't go to the police. Now I understand why. That changed me, defined who I would become; someone who looks after themselves and their family.
The day my Group 1c was stolen was the first time my heart broke. I was devastated. I was so hurt. I remember asking my parents if they had insurance and they said no. My bike was gone forever.
I never asked them if they would buy me another Haro because I knew what answer would be. I remember seeing my parents would be stressed out sitting at the kitchen table, discussing how they didn't have enough money to pay for things. They definitely didn't have the money to be throwing around on an expensive BMX bike that I really didn't need so I never asked them for another bike. I didn't want to put them through more stress.
So I decided I'd get a new Haro myself!
At 11 years old, I counted my money in my piggy bank, checked my Commonwealth Dollar-mite savings account, calculated how much more I would need, and devised a plan to worked my ass off, saving every penny. The previous week my aunt had asked me to wash her car and she would pay me $10. That's how I would get the money. I'd wash cars for family, friends, neighbours, whoever! $10 a car and by my calculations I only needed to wash 55 cars.
Every weekend I went into Blackman's Bicycles, looking at the line of Haro Race Techniques and Haro Freestyles. I loved the freestyles, but my heart was always true to BMX racing. Plus the freestyles were way too expensive and I wanted a Haro as soon as I could get one. I actually always wanted the Group 1a. That was my grail but that was out of my reach. So I settled for the slightly cheaper Group 1b.
It took me 6 months of hard work every weekend and some weekdays, but I eventually I had saved $560. I put my mind to it and I had done it. My mum and my grandparents were proud. My mum told me she would pay the rest for my Group 1c and I was getting my bike!
Over those 6 months, my placing at race meets dropped. Before my Group 1c was stolen I strong middle-of-the-pack racer, even placing third at some race meets. But after I lost my Group 1c I was forced to race with my Mongoose and I quickly dropped to finishing last, then even worse than last. Five seconds after second last!
I blamed it on my Mongoose. In my mind the Mongoose just felt small and really uncomfortable. To me the Mongoose was old and ugly; and it just wasn't my Haro. What had really happened is I lost the desire to race. I was really hurt when my Group 1c was stolen and that made me stop riding bikes after school. Then I gained weight, lots of weight.
In my mind I had told myself that getting my Group 1b was going to instantly change me. I would become the BMX racer I used to be and the change would happen overnight. I would suddenly enjoy riding again after school and be able to clear all the jumps that I was knuckling these days. It never happened. I had just started Year 7 at a new school, met some new mates and suddenly basketball was more important.
The Group 1b became my mode of transportation during high school, She rode well and I slowly fell in love with that bike. When I got my license and my Haro was retired to the rafters of my mum's garage, until now.
So that's the story of how I became to love Haro's. It all started with some luck. There was a lot of love, a lot of loss, broken-hearts, determination and pure willpower. That emotional roller coaster made me love Haro's and was a key part of my childhood.
I'm still hunting my grail, a multicoloured 1990 Haro Group 1a Race Technique. One day I will own one! Hopefully I can find an all black Group 1c to fill out the collection and have everyone home again!
