From a $20 Breakfast Burrito to a $20,000 Mini Bike Empire: The Travis Cox Story

What started as a summer job promise turned into an obsession that would consume every spare moment—and bedroom—of one man's life.

The Promise That Never Came

Picture this: You're in sixth grade, and your uncle makes you a deal that seems too good to be true. Work for him all summer long, and he'll give you a mini bike. For a kid dreaming of two-wheeled freedom, it was the opportunity of a lifetime.

Travis Cox worked that entire summer, sweat dripping under the Texas sun, counting down the days until he'd have his very own mini bike. When the summer ended, his uncle kept his word... sort of.

"He gave me milk crates full of a mini bike," Travis recalls with a laugh that carries decades of irony. "It wasn't a bike—it was nothing but parts."

The dream died that day. The parts stayed in those milk crates, and Travis moved on with his life. Little did he know that 35 years later, a chance encounter with a breakfast burrito would reignite that childhood passion in ways he never imagined.

The $20 Gamble That Changed Everything

Fast forward to just four years ago. Travis, now pushing 50 and working as a maintenance technician, watched his friends cruise around on their shiny new Megamoto 212s. He wanted in, but his budget had other ideas.

Then fate intervened in the most unlikely way.

"I bought it from a guy for $20 and a breakfast burrito," Travis says, describing his first real mini bike purchase. "Yeah, it was one with eggs and bacon."

The bike was a rusted-up Baja Warrior that had been abandoned under someone's awning—a pile of metal that most people would have hauled to the scrap yard. But Travis saw potential where others saw junk.

The Bedroom Workshop Revolution

Here's where the story takes an unexpected turn. Travis didn't have a garage. He didn't have a workshop. He lived in an RV park with nothing but basic hand tools and an unshakeable determination to build something extraordinary.

"My buddy Justin called me one evening and asked what I was doing," Travis remembers. "I told him I was porting a head. He asked where, and I said, 'I'm in my bedroom.' He thought I was crazy, but I had a towel under it!"

Yes, you read that right. This man was doing precision engine work while lying in bed, aluminum shavings carefully contained by a single towel. It sounds insane, but it was just the beginning of what would become an obsession that defied all conventional wisdom.

The Reaction That Started an Addiction

When Travis finished that first Baja Warrior build, something magical happened. The reaction from the mini bike community was unlike anything he'd experienced. People stopped and stared. They asked questions. They wanted to know how he'd transformed that pile of rust into something beautiful.

"The reaction I got from everybody just blew me away," Travis explains. "It made me want to build something even better to see what reaction I could get next time."

And so began what Travis himself calls an addiction—but a healthy one that would consume his evenings, weekends, and every spare moment for the next four years.

The Collection That Defies Logic

Today, Travis Cox owns 17 mini bikes and one go-kart. Read that number again: seventeen. Each one is a masterpiece of fabrication and creativity, built without a proper workshop, using nothing but hand tools, a small welder, and an imagination that refuses to accept limitations.

But here's the kicker—he pays for an air-conditioned storage unit just to house his collection. When you don't have a garage but refuse to compromise on your passion, you get creative with storage solutions.

"I'm supposed to be moved out of my RV park by the end of the month," Travis admits, "and I can't stop working on my stuff long enough to get it done."

The Blue Nomad: A Gift That Became a Trophy Winner

Perhaps the most remarkable story in Travis's collection involves his prized Blue Nomad—a bike that exists because of the incredible generosity of the mini bike community.

Sean Harris, a fellow builder, had been posting progress photos of a completely hand-welded frame he was building. Travis couldn't stop commenting on the beautiful work. Then one day, Sean reached out with an offer that would change everything.

"He said, 'What if I send you a frame?' I told him I couldn't afford it, and he said, 'No, I'm gonna send it to you. Just do your thing to it.'"

The confidence Sean showed in Travis's abilities came with an unspoken challenge. Travis made a promise: "I told him, 'You're gonna show that much confidence in what I do? I'm gonna build it, take it to a bike show, and win a trophy.'"

Six to eight months later, Travis kept that promise. The Blue Nomad, with its chrome-trimmed shield, 16-inch real blades, and see-through valve covers, took home a trophy at the GPS bike show.

The $255 Problem and the Engineering Solution

At 255 pounds, Travis knew his weight would be a challenge for any mini bike, especially during the grueling GPS 180 endurance race. But instead of accepting limitations, he engineered solutions.

"I upgraded to 15-millimeter axles and added extra bearings—six running across the back and four across the front," he explains. "When you're my size and you've gotten air under both wheels, you need bulletproof components."

This attention to detail and refusal to accept "good enough" runs through every aspect of Travis's builds. It's the difference between someone who buys bikes and someone who truly understands them.

The Community That Became Family

What started as a hobby has evolved into something much deeper. Travis runs the TLC Mini Bikes Facebook group, where he maintains a zero-tolerance policy for negativity and actively encourages builders of all skill levels.

"You can pick up something from what anybody does," Travis insists. "Somebody may build something that's not up to the same standard as this, but there may be something on that bike that grabs your eye and gives you a good idea."

This philosophy of inclusion and continuous learning has made Travis a respected figure in the mini bike community—someone who lifts others up rather than tearing them down.

The Race That Almost Wasn't

For two years, Travis talked himself out of entering the GPS 180 endurance race. His bikes were too nice, too expensive, too precious to risk on a brutal three-hour course. But this year, his friend Justin Reynolds made the decision for him.

"He came down here, talked to Taylor, and then hit me up saying, 'By the way, I've entered us,'" Travis laughs. "I said, 'What?' So it's gonna happen."

At 51 years old, Travis isn't entering to win—he's entering because he's tired of making excuses. He's watched ladies on hardtail bikes complete the race while he sat on the sidelines with his perfectly engineered machines.

The Secret Sauce

What's Travis's secret to building show-winning bikes without a proper workshop? It's surprisingly simple: obsession, patience, and a refusal to compromise on quality.

"I'm very OCD," he admits. "If I see something I want for a build, I can't substitute. I'll wait and save up for the exact part I want, even if it takes months."

This patience extends to his planning process. He already has parts for a Rascal GT build—despite not owning a Rascal GT yet. He pre-plans every build in his head, buying components piece by piece until he's ready to assemble his vision.

The Future Workshop

Travis's story is about to enter a new chapter. He's moving to a property where he can finally build a proper workshop—a small 8x10 shed that will seem like a palace compared to his bedroom fabrication setup.

"I'll be able to move bikes in and out when I'm working," he says with the excitement of someone who's been dreaming of this moment for years.

The Breakfast Burrito Legacy

From that broken promise in sixth grade to a collection worth tens of thousands of dollars, Travis Cox's journey proves that passion doesn't require perfect conditions—it just requires persistence.

That $20 breakfast burrito bike—the rusted Baja Warrior that started it all—set off a chain reaction that has touched hundreds of people in the mini bike community. It's a reminder that sometimes the most unlikely beginnings lead to the most extraordinary destinations.

Today, Travis continues to build, inspire, and push the boundaries of what's possible with basic tools and unlimited imagination. His story isn't just about mini bikes—it's about the power of community, the value of persistence, and the magic that happens when someone refuses to accept limitations.

Want to hear the full story in Travis's own words? Watch the complete interview below, where he shares building secrets, racing tips, and the incredible journey from that first breakfast burrito bike to his current 17-bike empire.

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Ready to dive deeper into Travis Cox's incredible mini bike journey? Watch the full podcast episode below to hear all the details, building tips, and community insights that make this story so compelling.