Gene`s BMX News

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*** BMX Enthusiasts Looking For Indoor Track ***

Everett, Washington --


Photo - Cameron "Diablo" Johnson, 14, flies over a hill on the
McCollum Park BMX race track during a practice lap on Sunday.

The riders break out of the gates and the cheers begin.

"C'mon, James," yells Teri Lawrie of Everett at her
38-year-old husband, furiously pedaling his small
bicycle behind several teenagers on the undulating
BMX track.

"I chase, I don't race," James Lawrie joked.
"I just kind of fall behind real fast and make
sure the track is clear."

Lawrie and his two young stepsons, Brandon and Kristjan
jPorter, 7 and 5, just started BMX racing this year. But
scenes like this have been repeated countless times on
summer weekends for 10 years at the McCollum Park
BMX track, 600 128th St. SE.

The volunteers who run the track, which has staged four
state BMX championships in addition to annual camps and
races every weekend, are hoping to bring the fun indoors in
Snohomish County this winter.

The only indoor BMX venue in the region, a former horse
arena in Port Orchard, closed this year, said Char Ayres
of Bothell, who started the McCollum Park track in 1996.

So far, she and her volunteers, who number in the
teens, have had no luck finding another indoor track.

"We really need one in Snohomish County for the kids,"
Ayres said.

The events are so popular that the few indoor winter events
draw huge crowds, Ayres said. From April through September
at the McCollum Park, events will draw as many as 500 riders
and their families, she said. On slower days, like Sunday, 50
riders will still show up.

Riders come from all over the Northwest, including Canada
and Oregon, said John Rasumussen, 33, of Everett. His son
Johnny, 16, has been riding at the track since its inception.

The nearest outdoor tracks are in Mount Vernon and Sumner,
and often races are coordinated so riders can participate at all
three venues in one day.

Riders range from about age 4 into their 60s, competing for
trophies, plaques and jerseys in different age groups and skill
levels, or just having fun.

Ayres, 52, worked with Snohomish County to establish the
McCollum Park track. Her children, now grown, all rode.

"My whole dream is to get people to come out of their
apartments and come to the park and play with their kids,"
Ayres said. "The family that plays together, stays together."

Her group has a free lease agreement with the county and
maintains the track. Riders at the track are insured through
the American Bicycle Association.

Riders race over small dirt hills and banked turns, a
"miniaturized" version of motorcycle motocross,
Rasumussen said.

Because the track is made of dirt and all riders wear helmets
and pads, the worst injuries are broken collarbones and wrists,
and even those are rare, she said. The park is fenced, which
keeps little ones from wandering. Riders pay $10 to race, with
fans admitted free.

It's not unusual for several members of a family to race and
other family members to come out and watch, Ayres said.

"Grandparents come and yell," said Flora Loomis
of Everett, Teri Lawrie's mom.

Ayres also operates an annual BMX camp at Camp Orkila
on Orcas Island. The more experienced teen riders become
coaches and do all the teaching at Camp Orkila and the annual
fundraising day camp at McCollum Park, held this year from
Aug. 7-11.

"It's really fun to be able to see as young riders begin and
see 'em get faster and improve," said Johnny Rasmussen,
a coach and two-time state champion in his age group.

Many riders quickly become addicted once they try it.
That happened to Tom Arneson, 61, of Lake Forest Park,
who was asked four years ago to fill out an "old man's" race
and has been riding ever since, he said.

"It's something everyone can do," Teri Lawrie said.
"They don't have to be good."

McCollum Park BMX track
http://www.mccollumparkbmx.com
For more information about the McCollum Park BMX track,
or with ideas about possible indoor winter venues, call Char
Ayres at 425-773-3401.
_________________
Geneb...Wenatchee,Washington-USA
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