Quick Questions with Carly Kane

Name: Carly Kane
Socials: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube: @carlyracesbmx ; Facebook: @Carly Kane
Current Age: 21
Hometown: Guilford, Indiana
Sponsors: DK Bicycles, Bell, Reggie’s Bike Shop, Lake Cycling, E6 Racing Components, Onyx, Gatenine Designs

How did you get into BMX? My dad raced motocross as a kid and got my sister and me into BMX. My sister was actually way more eager to try racing than I was, but now she’s a collegiate tennis player, and here I am, so…

What languages do you speak: English, haha. I’d love to learn another language though.

What are your top three parks?

1. That’s tough, but I love Yukon BMX
2. The Hill BMX
3. Oldsmar BMX

Top three songs to get you pumped? It depends on my mood, but here are three I can’t skip when they come on because I love them too much:

1. White Wedding by Billy Idol
2. You’re Gonna Go Far Kid by The Offspring
3. Runnin’ Down a Dream by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Three people who inspire you and why? My mom, my dad, and my boyfriend.

1. Mom because she’s the most competitive person I’ve ever met. She’s a fantastic tennis player, and I’ve seen her come back and win matches where the other player has had match point. She’s got grit!
2. Dad because he can literally do anything (and perfectly). He built our house, builds surfboards for fun, has painted me custom helmets and bikes, etc., etc., and then says it’s common sense. It’s not fair he’s so talented, haha.
3. My boyfriend because he’s one of the hardest workers I know. He doesn’t half-ass anything, ever.

What is a trend in BMX you want to stop seeing? Manual machines. Learn on flat ground.

How do you spend your days off your bike? Family tennis, hiking, mushroom hunting in the spring, rollerblading, being outdoors or active with my family.

Favourite person to ride or train with? Felicia used to live in up Indianapolis, but moved to Florida last year. We used to have fun sessions often. She cracks me up.

Favourite shoes to ride in? My custom Lake Cycling Shoes. 🙂

Most inspirational quote? I don’t know, I feel like there’s lots of good ones out there. My favorite (not really inspirational, but I’m telling you anyway) is “and though she be but little she is fierce.” That quote is on my custom shoes and it was on one of my helmets when I was younger. I like it because I’m a solid 4’11”, haha.

Best advice given to you? I feel like I’ve been given a lot of good advice, but recently someone told me to be more intentional with everything I do and it’s changed my perspective on, well, everything.

Your biggest fear? Exposed heights. Ever been to Yosemite? If you go and you’re not a fan of heights, don’t go to Taft Point. I thought I was going to actually pass out.

Your proudest accomplishment? I don’t have a whole lot of ‘em. I was nominated as one of the top 5 pro and rookie pros in 2020. Even as an amateur I only obtained one N.A.G. plate.

Three guilty pleasures? Can this just be three bad foods?

1. Cake batter
2. Cookie dough
3. Lucky charms marshmallows.

Your worst habit? I am the biggest procrastinator. I do things literally as late as I can. Everything gets done (and done well), but it gets done last minute. When I was in high school I wrote a 13 page paper for 6th period and started that same day in 1st period. Terrible, stressful idea. Not recommended… although I think I missed two points, so it all worked out.

If you could hire someone to help you in some sort of aspect of your life, what would it be? Nutritionist!

What is an amazing experience you had that couldn’t have happened without BMX? Chile for the Redbull Pumptrack World Championships was insane, but it was my first time out of the country, so it takes the cake easily. My crash sucked on race day, but I had an amazing week with my friends (and new friends).

Your top three future goals you want to achieve?

1. I want to travel, ride my bike with my friends and race to my full potential.
2. I want to be on USA cycling.
3. The Olympics would be awesome. Honestly, it’s really hard for me to set BIG goals because there’s so many little goals that need to be checked off before anything else, so I feel like I can’t answer this question very well.