BMX track up and flying: Kids and adults having fun

BMX Bikes News. Lemoore California. It's a bumpy, bouncy and sometimes sliding ride, but everyone who takes part enjoys it. The Lemoore BMX racers are back on their track at 19th Avenue and Highway 198 and having a great time.
"It's lots of fun. I really like beating the boys," said 11-year-old Halle Horton, a student at Akers Elementary School. "And the big bmx bikes races give me a challenge. My tummy is also flatter."
According to track director Aaron Briley, the idea of having youth and adults pedal around the bouncing, circling and sliding bmx bikes course is to get people off their sofas and outside.
Briley said BMX is a family affair and encourages all ages to participate.
"I've seen kids as young as three race," Briley said. "And adults into their 70s race bmx bikes."
Judy Finney/The Advance Racers at Lemoore's BMX race track located at 19th Avenue and Highway 198 practice before competition on July 2. The local track is part of the National BMX Bicycle League.
Currently there are 11 children regularly showing up for races and practices at the track. Briley hopes to see more participation once people become aware of the bmx bikes sport through its exposure in this year's summer Olympics.
"It's a great sport that can be geared to each person's age and ability," Briley said.
He also said unlike some sports where only some kids get to play the majority of the time, although BMX is a team sport with each member of the team adding overall points, each member races. Competitors gain individual as well as team points.
On July 2 the racers were warming up in the already hot sun. That didn't seem to matter.
Several of the riders were having trouble balancing their bikes at the starting gate. "That's the toughest part of the race for me," said nine-year-old Nash Claycamp of Pioneer Elementary School in Hanford. "Keeping yourself balanced at the starting gate right before you start. I love this sport. I'm in better shape now than before. I'm also learning how to use my body to turn my bike in the curves."
Watching from the advantage of the top of the hill where the starting gate is located it became obvious the hardest leg of the course is pushing the bmx bike to the starting gate. The hill is steep and the bikes want to follow gravity and return to the bottom. Some of the younger racers had to have parents help them.
"We're working to get this evened out," Briley said. All maintenance on the bmx bikes rae track is done by parent volunteers. "We have the best parents, they help out where they can," he said. "And, of course, they can race too."
Lemoore's BMX group is part of the National Bicycle League and holds competitions. Safety equipment is required and riders must have a 16, 18 or 20 inch bicycle without a kick-stand.