I don’t much think about birthdays but I guess this one is hard to ignore. 50!

I woke up and didn’t feel any different, went for a bike ride and felt the same. I had vague notions of riding 50 miles to celebrate but instead decided to just get lost. I turned down whatever bike path looked interesting and let myself wander the Netherlands. I ended up on small little farm roads with ducks strutting around and sheep watching me ride by. I followed a bike trail that crossed the road and ended up in Delft. That was a cool place and I meandered around town looking at old buildings alternately walking my bike or riding very slowly. Felt like a treasure to just stumble into town by sheer luck. Then I rode some more and ended up in The Hague. I think that city’s name is intimidating because it has the “The” in it. It’s also big and I don’t know where I was but I think I missed the cool parts. I have a lot of time to spend here in the Netherlands so I’ll check that out another time.

I rode 43.74 miles instead of 50 because I was hungry. Those numbers don’t really make a difference to me just like a birthday. Still, I think maybe the reason we celebrate birthdays is to take a moment to reflect on the time that has past and is always passing. It’s just-a-number, time-is-relative and all that but it is also moving on no matter what you do.

While on my bike today I aimlessly pedaled in whatever direction seemed like a good one and thought to myself, “This is where I want to be.”

I don’t know where I will end up and I don’t know when I will get tired of living on the road, but right now things are very good.

GreyStoke BMX posted this unbelievably nice chunk of words about me. I don’t know if it is bad form to repost a hugely complimentary text about yourself but I’m posting it here because it is one of the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me. Thank you!

View this post on Instagram

Happy 50th birthday to @tajlucas Mihelich, currently somewhere in the Netherlands, where he’s pedaled from his state of Michigan, east to New York, then traveled by boat to the U.K, followed by more bikes and ferries. If there’s anyone that knows how to get out of the dreaded 50th birthday funk, it’s Taj Mihelich.

It goes without saying, but Taj has been an inspiration on all fronts since we first saw him ride in the early ‘90s. As a ramp/street/trail and occasional vert rider, Taj is responsible for some of the most powerful riding ever in BMX, and his one-footed griz is burned in many a brain at this point. 

But Taj was never just defined by his power moves. He was just as innovative when it came to technical riding, be it anything from skids to grinds to lipslides. And his artwork, attention to product innovation, and sense of humor helped carry BMX through the ‘90s and ’00s. 

When a back injury sidelined Taj from BMX, he jumped headfirst into @fairdalebikes in 2010 and helped to create a line of bicycles aimed at everyone, from casual weekenders to hardcore road enthusiasts. “I’d always wanted a way to share what I thought was so great about bikes with other people,” says Taj. “I believed there was a way to create bikes so that even casual riders could tap into the mainline of happiness that bike riding can be.”

Judging from Taj’s current trip, the bikes hold up, and the mainline of happiness has maintained.

If you’re not already following his journey on IG, go follow him and then check out his blog, where he’s detailing everything about his current adventure. Happy 5-0 Taj!

1) Taj from the cover of @digbmxissue 43. Shot by @sandycarson.
2) Unused photo of Taj from his Dig issue 1 interview, show at Twin Palms by @deecelliott.
3) When Taj decided to go big in comps, it was a sight to behold. Here, after hitting his face and being checked out by medical, he came back to the 2002 Derby Backyard Jam to tailwhip this enormous gap. The crowd went nuts and Taj won the comp. Photo by @paul_bliss.