lititzbmx-docs
26.0040 — Harry Leary GT Lanyard
← 26.0039 · Artifact Inventory · 26.0041 →
Artifact visual — original source, unchanged
Published historical context
Harry Leary – GT Bicycles Lanyard
This GT Bicycles lanyard is a small but memorable artifact connected to BMX pioneer Harry Leary. The item originates from a BMX show in Australia that Leary attended with his girlfriend at the time, Patty, during a period when BMX riders frequently traveled internationally for exhibitions, demonstrations, and promotional appearances.
Events like these were common during BMX’s growth years, when professional riders were invited to perform at shows, competitions, and promotional events around the world. These gatherings allowed fans to meet riders, watch demonstrations, and celebrate BMX culture beyond the traditional race track.
According to the story associated with this artifact, Leary became frustrated during the event and threw the GT lanyard to a friend, telling him to take over. While humorous, the moment reflects the strong personalities and candid moments that were often part of the BMX community. Riders from BMX’s early generations were known not only for their riding abilities but also for the larger-than-life personalities that helped make BMX culture unique.
The GT Bicycles brand itself played a major role in BMX history, producing some of the most recognizable race bikes and supporting numerous professional riders throughout the sport’s development. Lanyards like this were typically used for event credentials or staff identification during BMX shows and competitions.
Within the Lititz BMX Archive, this artifact represents a personal story tied to Harry Leary’s international appearances and provides insight into the informal, often humorous moments that surrounded BMX events and rider interactions during the sport’s expansion. Even small items like this lanyard help capture the human side of BMX history and the personalities who helped shape the culture of the sport.
Artifact record
| Field | Published record |
|---|---|
| Artifact ID | 26.0040 |
| Artifact name | Harry Leary GT Lanyard |
| Category | Memorabilia |
| Source | Linda Leary |
| Collection | Lititz BMX Archive |
| Location | Lititz, Pennsylvania |
| Source evidence status | original_page_capture |
Original source record
The primary original source image is displayed above exactly as stored. No crop, composite, enhancement, generated replacement, or other image transformation has been applied.
The additional original source captures are displayed openly below.
Original source capture — 2026-07-25_09-26-20.png
Source trail
- Original Lititz BMX artifact page
- Structured published inventory text
- Machine-readable metadata
- Image provenance register
Preservation note
This record preserves the artifact ID, published wording, live source address, and original source imagery without silently correcting source inconsistencies. Every displayed image in this record is an unchanged original source file. This checkpoint covers 26.0001 through 26.0101.