X-treme Hanoi

VietNamNet Bridge - A group of young BMX bikers have been practicing for several years at the Lenin monument.

Whenever they have free time, these young boys gather at the Lenin monument to practice BMX biking a sport featured in the X-Games. BMXing requires as much courage as it does skill.

BMX bicycles are different from conventional two wheelers in that they are sturdier and are priced from 3-10 million dong. The team leader, Dang Ngoc Tu, 23, has practiced the sport for more than three years. He said all the members in Hanoihave learned of it from youtube.

Phan Tien Dung is a first-year student at the NationalEconomics University. He lives out in Hanoi’s suburban Dong Anh district, but loves the sport so much that he has rented a house in Hanoi’s downtown to have more practice time with the team.

Dung said this game doesn’t have any rules and the more difficult and dangerous the trick, the more they are praised.

This, Dang Ngoc Tu says, makes practicing for novices very difficult.

Just ask Phan Minh Duc, a 9th grader from AcademiSecondary School. He has broken his arm twice and his leg once.

Nguyen Tran An Nhat, 15, said he likes this game because it is dangerous.

Though these Hanoi BMXers are at the beginner level compared to their “colleagues” in the world, they are getting better everyday. And the sport is attracting more boys all the time.