BMX Riders, New Operator Change Up the Local Track

Back in its heyday 10 years ago, St. Michael’s BMX track--was a magnet for riding enthusiasts from around the region. But turnout began sliding for several years as repairs and maintenance stacked up and some of the advanced riders found the track to be not as challenging as they had hoped. This year a new track operator has been working with some dedicated volunteers to right the track’s course-with encouraging results thus far.

After talking with expert level riders about their concerns and complaints, the crew decided to put in “Mount St. Michael,” a 33-foot step triple jump, which track maintenance leader Troy Stebens called “good for all ages.” Pros can come and attempt to clear the jump, something he said only one person has done so far, and the rest of the riders ride over the jump to the best of their ability.

Pat Crouse, the new track operator, jumped into his leadership position after his nine-year-old son started racing last fall, and he said the track has seen numbers soaring from about 20 riders per night on average last year to 40 this year. Racers can be as young as three all the way up to the over-55 set, and they compete in age categories according to their skill level: novice, intermediate and expert.

“One of our favorite mottos for BMX is ‘nobody sits on the bench,’” Crouse said. “Everyone gets to participate, everybody’s racing.”

Nine-year-old Marshall Peterson has been out helping to fix up the track on Saturdays, and said he likes this year’s new track the best. He’s now an intermediate racer, having won eight novice races.

“I like to just ride and have fun,” he said, noting Mount St. Michael as his favorite aspect of the track.

The track crew and volunteers will be taking on some track modifications, this year, including raising money to put a glue base on the track. This will make the dirt track safer and more enticing for riders as well as significantly decreasing the amount of maintenance the track will require this season, since rain will bead off the track rather than wearing it down as it does now.

They will also be doing several updating projects thanks to a $14,000 grant from The Home Depot, which they will be using for a Home Depot
Community Day on June 28. The grant money will be spent in a number of ways. One will be to create a shelter over the moto chutes to help prevent riders from being hit by balls from Wednesday night’s men’s softball leagues in the adjacent field. They will also be putting a new deck on the concession stand, building a new shed, moving the tower more toward the middle of the track and putting up a score posting board.

The sport itself is now an Olympic sport, with the upcoming London games being BMX’s second time at the games. Crouse and the other track leaders are hoping this is another opportunity to get the word out about BMX
and get the excitement up for riders to come out each week.

“It’s fun to work with the kids,” Crouse said of his new position. “Each kid is different and they bring something different to the table. They can ride their normal Huffy or they can have an expensive bike-a lot of times it comes down to that individual kid and how they do it. It’s a fun atmosphere.”

Races take place at the St. Michael BMX track every Wednesday and Friday evening, weather permitting. Registration is at 6 and racing begins at 7. 6-8 p.m. Thursday nights are free practices nights all summer long, where all levels of riders can try out the track for themselves. Crouse said people are out on practice nights to show newcomers the ins and outs of the track and explain the sport. To ride, participants must bring a bike and wear a long sleeve shirt and long pants. Full-face helmets are also required, but they are available at the track for those who do not have their own.