THE BMX TRACK THIS WEEKEND

[onephastkiss]

What a great job Steve Spencer and the crew did to get that track built this weekend! Man it was fun to ride...fast ,smooth and some nice jumps and turns. If some of you that didn't notice...the green bars used for stalls had been removed. From my understanding the cost to remove and replace those fences in quite large (over a grand) but fortunately because of the circus that week, they had been removed (and replaced) by the county. I do not know the counties policy on the fences removal, but I think we all should either do it ourselves or pass around a hat to cover the cost to do so. I think it's worth a dollar or 2 per person to have that same track layout next indoor (Bruce??? feelings???) and of course Ron and the county would have to give it the OK! This was a public service announcement brought to you by The World Champion New York Giants- big blue-blue skies- New England fans "feeling a little blue" this monday morning!!! P.S. It was all Bartons fault!!!

[sspencer]

Kiss'

Thanks for the prop's on the track. The crew and I always aim to please so all of the positive feedback is appreciated. We want to make sure we keep the customers coming back and have a great time.

It would be great to have the larger track at each event but there are a lot of factors behind the scenes to make this type of event happen over the races that have the panels in.

Things it took to pull off this weekends event over others:
TIme - No matter how hard we push and ask nicely, we are lucky to have all the dirt piled up by 10:00am. With the increased area it would take longer. Jason graciously gets out early to help pile dirt and this weekend we both got out there at 6:00am to help get it done. More dirt means increased build time so we had to get creative and resourceful to make the track come together. Our schedules are often very tight with out "day jobs" and family commitments so any additional time we can put in is hard to come by.

Additional Equipment - We had the good fortune to secure an additional loader for this weekends build and tear down (Thank You Troy Noorda!) The cost to bring in a piece of equipment like this can add up into the thousands when rented for this period of time. The extra loader was a HUGE help in the excavation and building of the track but is not always at our disposal.

Increased Staff - Another HUGE piece to this weekends build equation is the number of people who were able to take the day off from work to assist in the handwork, gate set-up and all of the other things that need to occur to get the track and registration ready at 6:00pm Friday.

Scheduling Factors - Even if we could get everything else together and raise the money to pay for the gate removal we are at the mercy of the County's event scheduling and their resources too. Most Thursdays they hold team roping and/or open riding in the arena until 10:00pm. These events require the use of the panels, stalls and chutes. They do not have a crew available after 10:00pm and do not have the time and resources available in the morning to get the panels out in time to be in a position to excavate the dirt by the time we would need it to happen.

Sorry, I dont mean to be a downer but I felt it needed to be communicated what it takes to make such an event come together. The analogy of "having the planets aligned" comes to mind. A lot has to come together to make it happen. Growing up racing on less than desirable tracks, locations or sometimes not having a track in operation at all due to various reassons makes me appreciate the fact we have a track to race on at all. We are VERY fortunate to have the program we have and also spoiled.

We will continue to do the best we can with the resources handed to us and when the opportunity arises, like this last weekend, we will do all we can to capitalize on it.

I would like to take this time to thank everyone who makes the Rad Canyon program. I would hate to attempt to name them all because I will leave someone out. Next time you see one of the wonderful registration ladies, the new rider welcoming crew (the Foresta's), a track official, stager, finish line scorer, announcer, sponsors, Ron Melton and anybody else you see that is putting out an effort in and around the track, please tell them THANK YOU. They are all critical pieces to our amazing BMX machine that is growing and thriving like no other in the country.

We cant forget all of the parents and kids who come out and support the program week in and week out. THANK YOU!

Humbly,
Steve Spencer

[billyschuler]

Steve,

From the Oden, Freedom Energy and the Dirt Militia crew!!! THANK YOU BUDDY, WE ARE VERY LUCKY TO HAVE YOU AS THE MASTER CRAFTSMAN BEHIND BUILDING REALLY FUN TRACKS !!

TO THE REST OF THE VOLUNTEERS YOU GUYS ALL SHOULD KNOW WE SINCERELY APPRECIATE YOU !!! IT WAS A REALLY FUN TRACK AND I CANT WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE !

[sixstringsteve]

That was an awesome track. Thanks for all you do every week, and especially this past week. 6 AM, that's going far above and beyond.

[skicruz78]

That was an awesome track. Thanks for all you do every week, and especially this past week. 6 AM, that's going far above and beyond.

+1

Super track. Thank you Steve, Rich, Jonas, Dallas, Jason and others I know have forgotten.

Skicruz

[joker75]

Definitely a fast, fun track. Can't wait to see the next one. It's great to have such nice tracks every indoor race. Thanks to all who spend so much time making sure we can play bike with such a great group of friends, and family.

See you all again in a couple of weeks.