Toby S. Henderson is a former professional American “Old School” Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were between 1979 and 1985. He was given the nickname “Coca Cola Cowboy” by Bob Osborn, publisher of BMX Action magazine, although the reason for it was unknown even by Henderson. He regards it as “lame.”
Henderson started racing in 1973 at the age of 12 at Hollyfield Park in Norwalk, California. In a September 1982 BMX Action, his first race was at Scot Briethaupt’s B.U.M.S track. He rode a Schwinn Sting-Ray bicycle at that time. In December 1978, Toby turned professional, coming in third in the Pro Class at the National Bicycle Association (NBA) Supernationals in Saddleback Park in Irvine, California, on April 8, 1979.
He retired in 1987 at the age of 26. His last national race as a serious competitor was the United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA) Grand National in Dallas, Texas, on November 11, 1986. He came in seventh in “A” pro, the senior pro level. This was the last USBA sanctioned race before it merged with the American Bicycle Association (ABA) in 1987. Henderson then pursued a Mountain Bike racing career. He then appeared in one more BMX race in 1987 at the Vision World Cup in Irvine, California, on June 21, 1987.
During his career, he was sponsored by Jeff Bottema’s uncle (1974 to 1976), then by D.G. Performance Specialist (late 1978 to June 1979), and finally by Raleigh Cycle Company of America (July 1979 to January 1981). Other sponsors included SE Racing (January 1984 to December 1985), “DAD” (January 1986-February 1986), BMX Action Magazine (February 1986-March 1987), and GT Bicycles (April 1988 – 1991).
