Carson City BMX

Last night we went down to the Carson City BMX track for practice night which occurs every Wednesday during the BMX season. This was my son Charlie's first time on a BMX track. I was a little worried before we got there, because like most sports, BMX has gotten more "extreme" since I used to race back in the early 80's. I was afraid the track might have big steep jumps and terrain too difficult for the younger riders. I was pleasantly surprised though! The track is easily ridden by the novice rider, but still provides good challenges for the advanced rider. It is designed really well.

The kids and parents were real supportive too. One kid escorted my son around the track his first time around. There was another time when Charlie didn't make one of the climbs, rolled back and fell over. Quite a few kids came to his assistance and got him going again. The parents were friendly and helpful too.

Charlie woke up this morning pumped up for more BMX. He and Kristy rode to the Gardnerville Skate Park to work on his skills, and said he wants to go back down there after swimming lessons. He wants to try his first race tomorrow night.

One thing we noticed right away, is that he's going to need better gear. He's going to get a full faced helmet before his first race. A race jersey would be nice too. I remember being a kid racing, and felt like a real racer once I had a jersey. He's also currently riding a freestyle BMX bike. They're heavy/overbuilt steel bikes, designed for the torture that kids administer to them. Many of the kids had aluminum race bikes, a whole 10 lbs lighter than the freestyle bikes! The good thing is that compared to mountain bike parts, the entire bike isn't that expensive. A 14-16 lb race bike is in the $300-600 price range. Charlie plans to use his current bike for a while to make sure he's into it, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a new Redline in his near future...