fullname ridertype updated amateurteam proteam weight birth_place height discipline birth_date nickname proyears role article_title name amateuryears currentteam
melanie r. cline off road july 14 , 2008 reggie bmx hardee 's cyclecraft dk revcore cannondale ross 's schwinn bmx kam marketing/champion reggie 's schwinn ross profile 64 kg lb on westland , michigan , united states 1.63 m ftin 0 on bicycle motocross -lrb- bmx -rrb- 29 june 1975 `` `` speed queen '' , swell mel '' , `` mel '' , 1996 1997 racer melanie cline
 melanie cline 1983 -- 1990 1990 -- 1991 1991 1995 1995 -- 1996 1984 -- 1985 1986 1986 -- 1987 1987 moley gosh
melanie cline

melanie r. cline -lrb- b. june 29 , 1975 -rrb- is an american former amateur `` old/mid school '' bicycle motocross -lrb- bmx -rrb- racer whose prime competitive years were from 1982 -- 2004 and 2009 to the present .
born in westland , michigan , she was one of the first generation of female bmx racers to become well known after the 1980 -- 1986 era dominated by debbie kalsow , kathy schachel , gaby bayhi and cheri elliott .
melanie cline could more than hold her own against the boys , often racing in the `` open '' class at nationals in which boys and girls raced in the same age bracket -- 9 - and 10-year-olds and 11 - and 12-year-olds for example -- compete as opposed to the girls only division .
she regularly made those open mains and even won many of them .
she won five such opens at nationals in 1987 in the 11 - and 12-year-old class .
her nicknames `` swell mel '' or just `` mel '' are obvious plays on her first name melanie .
she was also known as `` speed queen '' .
melanie went on to win 4 world championships as well as 16 national championships during her racing career , the most of any one person at that time .
she stopped competing in 2003 after conceiving her first son shortly after the nbl grand nationals .
in late 2009 , melanie returned to racing with her five-year-old son joining her .
she and her son have quickly become two riders to watch out for during the 2010 nbl season .
