European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 12, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Champ at 15 stories and photos by Tony Naurot Nurnberg Bureau Greg Burns has a bicycle. So do thousands of other kids in Germany. Bui Greg also has a trophy naming him the Best f 5-Yaar-Dld Bax rider in West Germany and thai includes both German Sand americans. Greg is last. He s caught Iha Aye of a sponsor who pays his Way to International competitions in Spain Holland. France and throughout Germany his by 9 is a $500 Workhorse. A wears Regula lion oomph Lollon clothing and safety gear. And in the City of Erlanger North of Nurnberg where he lives he has a neighbourhood Ian club Bax owners All. Greg s Mother. Lille. Keeps him Riding a narrow path olt the track. Ii his grades go Down his Bike goes she says. That s something a says he just could t Bear. He knows it s no empty threat. A lost a previous sponsor because he could not ride alter his grades dropped. Guess wha7 his grades Are up. I m getting 6s and is he said. As a number one racer my sponsor expects me logo to All the big races. Thai s Why i have to keep my grades hit Pon or Skyway recreation is a manufacturer of Bax bikes and equipment. Repair parts and other equipment Are provided by the company through an arrangement with a local German department store. Skyway supports its learn All Over Europe this Way. Individual riders Greg is one of Only a few american members converge on the most important races the arrangement keeps the Burns family on the go but they re All fans. Greg s teen age contemporaries seem to look up to Borer Greg Burn decked out in safely headgear airborne an on be Tralee course with his 1st plate trophy together with hit Mother and hit brother Benjamin right and litter Tamara behind him a hit Friend Montgomery Ward. Him. Younger children watch gape mouthed As he leaps four and five Leet Over obstacles on a practice track. Montgomery Ward e neighbor Enid who is Telcinat Edwith Greg s skill has been adopted by the Burns family. Or a Imori he fancy Riding he does has an element of danger and an element of intrigue Lor the Montgomery wards of his neighbourhood. He s extra careful about Riding safely. I be got Mesa and Over he said pointing to kicks and scars on his muscled legs. Going Over jumps through snakelike turns leaning Way in on a fast berm and lying through a whoops a Small stomach turning dip in the track create incredible stress on Bike and rider. Sometimes a combination of a last berm and a contested track drives a rider Over the Edge. That s what happened to Greg in Barcelona Spain during Competition Lor the 198s title. I won two second places and one first place on the first Day. In my third race i he said it s limes like that that he is thankful Lor his crash helmet gloves and expensive padded trousers it s also whetted his appetite for the 1986 championships to be held in Vanez Uele. I Don t know if i la be Able o go he sad if he does the still has his fans including his 7 year old sister Tamara. 12-year-old brother Benjamin his Mother and his father 1st sgt Andrew Burns of the 240th Supply and service co in Forth. Then them is Montgomery Ward Greg Burns a Good kid is Mother says is a hero Lor Montgomery. E Slangen mayor Leimar Hahlweg Lulu is. Bicycles police estimate them Are between50,000 and 80,000 two wheelers in in University town 10 Miles North of accommodate them the town has built 70 Miles of Bike paths. There Are Only 90 mites of is a Paradise for the rider but a potential Hazard Lor kids. About 65 fourth graders irom the Erlanger american elementary school attended a two Day bicycle safety course at the nearby Adalbert Slitter school. German police set up a Riding course with Street signs and lanes. American principal Joan close said that none of the children knew what to do when confronted with signs or How of signal at Fie beginning of the course. By the Lime it was Over they knew and received licenses As Safe riders. Teacher Jeff Levy watched Over his students As they weaved through the course. Too Many people treat bicycles As toys. They re not he said. There s a direct parallel Between bikes and cars. Bikes Are vehicles just like Auto s. People can get Hurt seriously with them police officer Ernst pos band said children go through the course to play but added that they do learn. Even if they would not earn their licenses the children would not be prohibited irom Riding in Efla Ngen the License is Mote of a safely awareness certificate Charlse Mcfadden was galling a hand from officer Hel Nelch Feulner who held on to her Bike and instructed her on How to react to each Trel fic situation in the Anas. She said she was learning a lot about bicycles thai she never knew before Maria Vergara was one of the players " i like to watch the crashes she said. There were a Lew minor spills but Maria was learning that despite How neat the accidents looked people Dowel Hurt. 1986 the stars and stripes Page 15
