Richard Anderson (born March 14, 1967 in Vallejo, California U.S.) is a former American "Old School" professional bicycle motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were 1978–1986.
Anderson is the younger of what was one of the most potent sibling combinations that bicycle motocross has ever seen. Only the Pattersons, Brian and Brent, whom Richie raced with on the same factory team for seven years, had more titles between them and were more dominant in BMX. His older brother Ronnie Anderson, whose amateur career Richie overshadowed, would become National number one pro with the American Bicycle Association (ABA) and the United Bicycle Racers (UBR) an achievement Richie never achieved after he turned professional.
He is nicknamed "Richie Rich," an allusion to the comic book character Richie Rich and by simple alliteration. He was most commonly called "The Avalanche". He received the moniker due to being so dominant during the 1980 season (on his way to winning his second consecutive amateur ABA No.1 title) that it was thought no one and nothing could stop him. He was also nicked-named "Mr. Smooth" for his effortless racing and huge natural ability, particularly in speed jumping over single "whoop-de-doos" which are similar to a mogul in skiing (effectively a very large speed bump) while still pedaling (many racers would get the "Mr. Smooth" moniker for their seemingly effortless riding skill particularly over speed jumps, including Eric Carter). Even most top pros stop pedaling over speed jumps to keep the chances of crashing to a minimum. However, doing so would be just coasting while a few racers like Richie Anderson kept applying the power, a great advantage. Indeed, his speed jumping skills were featured in a November 1980 article of Bicycle Motocross Action called "Method Speed Jumping" showcasing his abilities.
Racing career milestones
Note: Professional first are on the national level unless otherwise indicated.
*In the NBL Junior Pro is "B" Pro/Superclass/"A" Pro depending on the era; in the ABA it is "A" Pro. **In the NBL Senior Pro is "A" or Elite Pro; in the ABA it is "AA" Pro.
Career factory and major bicycle shop sponsors
Note: This listing only denotes the racer's primary sponsors. At any given time a racer could have numerous co-sponsors. Primary sponsorships can be verified by BMX press coverage and sponsor's advertisements at the time in question. When possible exact dates are given.
Amateur
Patterson Racing Products: Early 1978-Mid May 1984. After seven years at Patterson Richie Anderson left in preparation to turn pro and as he put it for a "better deal" (it was an open secret that a few top amateurs were being paid by their main sponsor and/or cosponsors). It was the longest sponsorship by far over his career. After leaving Patterson and turning pro this would be turned on its head, with frequent changes of sponsorship due to contractual conflicts and a desire to bring his brother Ronnie on to the team he was currently on despite Ronnie's poor reputation in good sportsmanship and mercurial nature. On at least two occasions while racing as a privateer (a non sponsored self-financing racer) between sponsorships he would show up in the uniform of Patterson Racing Products, his sponsor while as an amateur. This is despite that not only he was not being sponsored by them, the company had been out of business approximately for a year and a half at the time of the second incident at the ABA Gold Cup Championship West at Chandler, Arizona in 1988. The first time this happened was at the October 1987 Lemoore, California NBL national. He did it at least for a third time when he raced in the 1988 ABA Grand National in a Patterson helmet and jersey (he wore grey sweatpants. Why specifically it is unknown, but it is believed that the Patterson family was more than a business arrangement that began when he was nine. Indeed, he even says so specifically. This from a December 11, 2005 Vintagebmx.com post of his:
"This is in reply to Andy's Diamond's post. Just to put the "Richie tid bits" straight. Vance sat down with my father. I was on the Patterson team for 6 years. Because of my accomplishments in racing and with Patterson Racing products, they were going to offer me a truck. The truck was NEVER given to me.* Unfortunately, later that season I left and moved on. I still have a great relationship with the Patterson's. They will always be family to me. Hopefully that clears things up. The Patterson's are now running a successful company, AAA Fire Control Systems, in Hayward, CA. Vance is retired and traveling the country with his wife. Brent and Brian both run the company."