Redmond, Oregon -- 04/04/2009
More than a thousand riders are expected for
the national event in Redmond that began Friday.
Photo - Racers compete Friday night in the BMX Great
Northwest Nationals at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo
Center in Redmond, Oregon.
The races were staged one right after another, each lasting barely
a minute. A spectator could blink and miss some of the action.
Parents cheered on their children. Children cheered on their parents.
The quick, relentless pace of national BMX (bicycle motocross)
racing, with its familial atmosphere, hit the Deschutes County
Fair & Expo Center Friday night.
The American Bicycle Association’s BMX Great Northwest Nationals
is being staged in Central Oregon this weekend for the second
consecutive year. Racing continues today and Sunday at the
Hooker Creek Event Center.
An expected 1,200 riders of all ages — mostly amateurs
— from all over the Northwest and beyond are taking part.
“The adrenaline of the sport is just amazing,” BMX racer Nick Brown,
42, of Bend, said. “You can’t get that anywhere else. You’re on the
starting gate with eight guys, and it only lasts about a minute. The
rush is amazing. The riding level with these guys is so high, one
little mistake and you’re done.”
The Great Northwest Nationals is one of 34 race
events in the 2009 ABA BMX National Race Series.
The Redmond event features many of the best amateur BMX
racers in the nation and a few of the top professionals from
around the Northwest.
In BMX, racers pedal smaller, single-gear bikes with 20-
or 24-inch wheels on dirt tracks that include roller jumps,
tabletops and high-banked turns.
Some riders in the Great Northwest Nationals compete in
national races throughout the year to earn points toward
a national ranking. Other are just locals who want to race
in a national-caliber event. The race is open to any rider
with an ABA membership.
Brown, whose kids also race BMX, won the national championship
in his age group in 2003. After a few years away from the sport,
he’s hitting the national circuit again this season. A stop in Redmond
was no problem.
“It’s right in your backyard, and you feel comfortable,” Brown
said. “You’re not as nervous. You get the home-crowd advantage.”
Also enjoying her home turf Friday night was Denise Campbell,
42, of Redmond. Campbell began racing BMX four years ago after
her husband and two kids started in the sport. Now the entire family
travels to national events, and Campbell placed first in her age group
at the Silver Dollar Nationals in Reno, Nev., in January. She is ranked
second in her age group in Oregon.
Campbell helps run Team BMX Hex, a group of
amateur Northwest riders who compete nationally.
“It’s awesome watching these kids build up and succeed,” Campbell
said Friday night. “I like being able to compete with everybody. The
girls aren’t treated differently than the boys, and it’s a family.”
Carly Dyer, 14, of Chandler, Ariz., was also racing Friday night. She
travels the country with her family each year to compete in national
races. Last year she finished sixth in her age group nationally.
“A lot of the top girls travel with me and go to the same races,”
Dyer said. “You have more than one chance to race them.”
As a top rider, Dyer has a following among younger BMXers.
“It feels pretty good,” she said.
“Little kids walk by and know your name.”
Taylor Stephens, 12, of Redmond, was happy to be racing in
his hometown on Friday night. Stephens, who has raced BMX
for five years, has traveled throughout the Northwest and
Canada to compete.
“You get more pumped to race, because it’s more exciting to see
how the track’s going to be and everything,” Stephens said. “It
definitely gives you an advantage, to stay at your own house.”
ABA director John David called the Great Northwest Nationals
“one of the top five” of the 34 national BMX events. And participants
are making long trips to take part.
“This weekend, probably only 2 percent are from Bend and
Redmond, and that’s what’s important for the community,”
David said. “People from out of town are spending money
in the community.”
CC - The Bend Bulletin.
ACC - http://www.genesbmx.com/Northwest-Nationals.html
