- Interview -

Harley Kelley

Name? Harley Daniel Kelley.

Age? 23.

Class? Elite Men.

Sponsors? Olish Farms Racing, 747, Supercross, Bike Discounters.

Where are you from? Long Island, New York.

Are you still in school?   Yes, I graduate from Stony Brook University in December.

What are you studying?  I will have a bachelor of arts degree in psychology. 

Do you have a job?  Yeah I work in a lumber yard like Cru Jones. No joke.  I'm a truck driver though.

Favorite Food?  Anything I don't have to cook.  I love home made chicken pot pie.

Favorite hobby outside of racing?  Listening to music and going to shows.

Favorite movie?  Rad, Old School, Boondock Saints.

Favorite TV show?  I never watch tv.

What is your favorite thing about BMX?  I really miss traveling with my mom, that was my favorite.  Now it's probably seeing all the people I love who've become part of my family.

What do you like least about BMX?  6 year olds racing in clip pedals.  Dads screaming because their kid didn't win.  10 year olds on training programs that I wouldn't even consider doing.  People seem to forget the fun in BMX.

Where is your favorite place to ride (Track, Trails, Ramps, Street)? Trails, unless it's a track that has a good rhythm section with many lines.

What is your favorite Track? I really love my home track, Shoreham BMX, but it gets plaid out.  Louisville KY is probably the other one.

How long have you been racing? Ten years or so

What got you into racing?  I rode trails for a few years before I started.  Just a progression thing.

What is your favorite racing memory?  Watching Ian Mucciolo get 4th at the Grands in like 8 novice with his mom Linda Muccilio screaming and hitting my back the whole time.  I couldn't hear the announcer she was so loud.  God bless her soul.

How big was your parents role in your success?  My family is the reason for all of my successes.  We're pretty tight.  My father, my brother and I all have the same tattoo on our backs.  Its always been about family with us.

What do you think the role of parents should be in BMX racing today?  To be supportive in any way they can.  Most parents in BMX go above and beyond for their kids. 

What was your biggest win?  it's not a win but I'm sure proud of my second place finish in Superclass at the 2004 Grands.  Also proud of the few wins in the Elite series in Superclass. 

Reflect on your amateur career. Give us some memories, highs and lows?  The high point was probably the cruiser title I won in 18-20.  Six national race days and the Grands.  It was a truly perfect season.  The biggest low I had was choking at the Grands every year from 17x until my second year of Superclass. 

What was your biggest challenge in changing from amateur to pro?  The realization that if I was going to make it in pro I actually had to go to the gym. 

Were you involved in other sports before or after you started racing BMX? Yeah i've done everything at one point or another.  I skated for two years. baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, football, volleyball.  I'm pretty much a jock.

What is your favorite sport other than BMX?  Favorite sport to do is cycling (road), favorite to watch is football unless the Yankee's are on. 

What would you be doing if you were not racing BMX?  I'd probably have my masters degree and have a real job by now.

It seems that the Elite class has taken on a more and more physical aspect to it.  What does your training (lifting/sprints/track time) schedule usually look like on a week to week basis? Well I think the pro class has always been physical, but I don't do anything different than the next guy.  I try to be consistent and work on my weaknesses while capitalizing on my strengths.  Winter consists of the gym 4 days a week and sprints two days, while riding as much as I can. 

This year the Presidents Cup and Christmas Classic are back up north in Ohio.  Are you excited that it has been moved back? Yeah why would I ever want to go to Florida for Christmas.  for two years the Christmas classic wasn't classic at all.

For 2004 you had a great season in Superclass.  In 2005 it seemed that injuries may have played a role, so, are you healthy now, and what are your goals for the 2006 season? Yeah I broke my arm and blew out my knee and proceeded to re-injure it two more times.  It’s been hard and I’ve lost a lot. I think at certain points this year in Elite I was slower than I was my last season in single A.  Plans right now are just to stay healthy and finally be in a place to train consistently.  Goals always include making main events at the Elite Series races.

Was it hard to come back to pro level racing after last years injuries? The frustrating part was trying to race through the injuries.  needless to say I didn't place well. the hard part for me is just staying healthy  

Olish Farms Racing (OFR) is a relatively new team that you have involvement in.  What's the team about and how are you involved? I am the team manager of OFR and I've been working with Don Olish for over half a year on this project.  However we only debuted the jersey at the this years NBL Grands.  I think we both learned a lot on what it takes to start a new team.  There's a lot of work involved.  Our main focus isn't winning races at all though.  We're really trying to develop a team that grows into a family.  We have a lot of families involved that help out tremendously, and without them, OFR would just be another run of the mill factory team.

Who had the idea to get the team going?  Don Olish came to me with the idea originally.  I was with One Bicycles then and I said I was going to honor my commitment to them for the rest of the season.  Halfway through the season the the person who financed my contract left the company so I was a free agent.  Timing was just so perfect. 

During your amateur days, you rode for Wooden Wheels, a true powerhouse in their day. What did you learn about team racing from that experience?  I learned everything I know about team riding from Bill Zimmermann.  He won two national titles with Wooden Wheels and two with Hyper.  He taught me a few secrets about team sheets and the points system.  He will always be a second father to me. 

The team started the season out really well at the Supercross National with a second on Day 1 and  first on Day 2.  What are your goals as manager for the 2006 season? I'd say my goals for the team would be to improve the riders that are currently on the team first and foremost.  A lot of the younger kids on the team look up to the older riders.  Helping them develop and grow into young men and women would be my number one goal.  As far as winning races and points and championships, I'm not concerned with those things.  If those things happen that would be really exciting, but either way we'll still have a lot of fun. 

Is there anybody you would like to thank?  God, My family, Don Olish, All the OFR riders and their families, Bill Ryan at supercross, Steve Boyle at Bike Discounters, Kelley Kelley at 747, Shoreham BMX, the NBL, the volunteers, and you Nick for this opportunity to speak my mind.