Mike Albright sits on his BMX bike at his west Bend home. His garage is filled with a variety of bicycles, including BMX, cyclocross and downhill mountain bikes.

Mike Albright says there’s an old adage that BMX racers should heed in order to avoid injury.

“You never say, ‘One more ride,” he recalls. “And I did.”

That one more ride came 11 years ago at Green Lake in Seattle, where Albright nosed the front wheel of his bike into the top of a jump and flipped over into a hard crash.

Unaware that he had ruptured his spleen, Albright later that day drove back home to Bellingham, Wash. The next morning, he awoke in considerable pain and headed to a walk-in clinic. He remembers how doctors discovered that about half of his blood was in his stomach, and how they rushed to remove his spleen and save his life.

“They sent the nun in and everything,” Albright says. “It was a little scary. They told me they’d never seen anybody with that much blood in their stomach who still survived.”

Just two years ago, Albright was riding his cyclocross bike on a BMX (bicycle motocross) track in Eugene. He crashed again, this time separating his shoulder.

Somehow, Albright, now a three-year Bend resident, has avoided injury long enough to race this Sunday at the BMX World Championships in Victoria, British Columbia.

“He doesn’t have a spleen or a shoulder bone, but he’s got determination and confidence to do this,” Albright’s wife, Melissa. “He’s nothing but scar tissue.”

Albright, 40, qualified for the world championship last month by finishing in the top eight of his age group at the BMX National Championships in Waterford Oaks, Mich.

He began racing BMX as a 10-year-old in 1977, and last raced in the World Championships in 1985, when they were held in Whistler, British Columbia.

He was a professional racer from 1985 to 1994, but has since raced as an amateur. His job as an outside sales representative for Redline Bicycles sends him all over Oregon and has kept him close to the sport of BMX.

“There’s a whole group of guys like me, who may have gotten out of it (BMX) for a while, but we all come back,” Albright says.

Since moving to Bend from Seattle, Albright has often competed at the two local tracks: High Desert BMX in Bend and Smith Rock BMX in Redmond. He is the current Oregon State Champion for age 36-and-over expert class and age 36-40 cruiser class.

When racing, Albright says, he tries not to think of past injuries.

“It kind of spooks you a little bit mentally,” he says. “It’s in the back of your head.”

The World Championships started Thursday, but Albright will not race until this Sunday. He is scheduled to compete in the age 40-44 cruiser class. (Cruiser bikes have 24-inch wheels instead of the BMX-standard 20-inch wheels).

With BMX making its Olympic debut next year in Beijing, the World Championships have taken on greater significance this year for elite riders, who are vying for spots on their respective Olympic teams.

But amateur racers like Albright are also racing for a prize: Those who finish in the top eight of their division will automatically qualify for the BMX World Championships in Beijing next year, scheduled for just before the Olympics.

Competitors in Victoria will race eight at a time, with several qualifying heats on a typical BMX dirt course with tight corners and big roller jumps. Albright says he expects 50 to 70 racers in his division. He likes his chances of finishing in the top eight, but with so many competitors from around the world, there are a lot of unknowns.

“Making the final eight will be a feat in itself,” he says. “But I think I have a good chance. It’s tough to tell, because so many foreign riders will be there.”

BMX is Albright’s first passion, but it’s certainly not his only one when it comes to biking. The garage at his west Bend home is occupied by nearly 20 bikes of all different varieties. He also races cyclocross and competes in several forms of mountain biking, including downhill, dual slalom and mountain cross. He even has a mountain unicycle in his bike-filled garage.

Then there are the bikes for Albright’s sons — Riley, 9, and Jacob, 7 — who are following in their father’s footsteps. The boys will be in Victoria this weekend and plan to take video of their dad during the race.

“I’m almost more excited for my kids,” Albright says. “There’s pageantry, and a full-on parade. We get special jerseys as part of Team USA.

“The whole family is racing now. Melissa started racing this year. That’s part of the fun of BMX — the family that plays together, stays together.”

Riley and Jacob are certainly closer to the typical age of a BMX racer than their father. In fact, at some Oregon events Albright has found himself racing against youngsters not too much older than his own kids. It could make for an awkward situation, but Albright takes it in stride.

He recently raced against two 15-year-olds and two 16-year-olds and finished in second place.

“I remember when I was that age,” Albright says. “If I had some 40-year-old guy ripping on my heels, I’d be a little worried.”

Albright considers BMX a perfect sport for kids because all different skill levels can participate and no one gets left out.

“Nobody sits on the bench in BMX, that’s what I tell the parents,” Albright says. “You can progress at your own rate. You learn riding skills that carry over to mountain biking and road riding. It’s great for self-confidence.”

Albright is pretty confident going into the World Championships on Sunday, and so is his wife. She’s just a little worried about one thing:

“I think he’ll do great,” Melissa says.

“As long as he doesn’t get hurt.”