July 25, 2018 at 3:14 p.m.
Busy week for Hodag BMX
Busy week for Hodag BMX
FRI 7/27 Single Point Pre-Race, Reg 6-7P (FREE!)
SAT 7/28 Badger State Games Qualifier/ Race for Life (DBL PT) Reg 4:30-6P ($25)
SUN 7/29 State Championship Qualifier (DBL PT), Reg 10:30A-12P, ($25)
Rob Deede doesn't mind a little downtime today at the Hodag BMX track. That's because it will be his one day off during the Hodag BMX Club's busiest week of the summer.
The track was abuzz with activity earlier this week with a local race on Monday, followed by a two-day elite rider's camp. A four-day weekend at the track, which will include the Badger State Games, a Wisconsin BMX state qualifier and the club's biggest charitable event of the season, kicks off Friday.
It comes with a sense of pride for Deede, the track's operator and riding coach, that one of the best BMX facilities in the state, if not the Midwest, is located right here in Rhinelander.
"I just can't say enough to the community, to the donors, to the volunteers that are out here really busting tail to get this place ready," he said. "We have a national-caliber facility that can hold a large event right now."
As a tune-up, Deede brought in professional rider and coach Elliot McGrath for camp Tuesday and Wednesday. The camp, which attracted roughly 30 riders mostly from the area, covered a wide range of BMX topics from breaking from starting gate, to racing lines, to handling the various terrain features on a track and more.
"You don't usually get two full days with one of the best in BMX," Deede said. "Elliot McGrath has been a phenomenal pro, a No. 1 amateur. He climbed through the pro ranks, has raced all over the world. He's also just a solid guy. He works with the kids really well. He's even worked with me as my adult coach. He points out things that he see in my riding. It's just invaluable coaching.
"When you have just a couple-hour clinic, you can't really spend time with them. But when you have two full days, you can work on every aspect of the track and take your time with it, which is great."
The local riders will look to put those pointers to good use during the upcoming four-day weekend of racing. Regularly scheduled local races bookend the weekend on Friday and Monday nights, but in between Deede said he expects a couple of hundred riders from around the Midwest to descend on the Hodag city.
It begins tomorrow night with the track's annual rider appreciation race, during which the nightly entry fee is waived.
Saturday's race is two events in one for Hodag BMX, which once again hosts the BMX portion of the Badger State Games. The club combines the event with its annual Race For Life, a charitable initiative from USABMX, which sanctions the racing at the Hodag BMX track and around the country. Riders collect pledges prior to the Race For Life with the money raised going to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Sunday will be a Wisconsin State Qualifier event, one of seven events held throughout the state as riders accumulate points prior to the state final in Oshkosh Aug. 19.
"You're going to see some of the fastest kids in Wisconsin and the Midwest," Deede said. "I've already got confirmation that there are going to be kids here from Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota. It's going to be a fun race."
Admission is free for spectators each day and concessions are available on the grounds.
"It's one of the only places where you can get free racing entertainment," Deede said. "It's a ballet on BMX - some of the quickest moves you'll ever see. It's crazy because this sport's in its second, third generation now, so we have kids who grew up from the time they were little riding. It's amazing the speed that they get, the reflex time, what they can do on this track and the bike. They're pushing the laws of physics."
Deede is hoping for a good showing from the local contingent of riders. The club continues to grow incrementally each year - in terms of the total number of riders and their skill level. There's a class for virtually any age group, from balance bike classes for toddlers and preschoolers all the way up to classes for adults.
Riders progress through the ranks within their own age group, from novice, to intermediate to expert status, based on a riders number of career overall victories. This year, Deede said the number of intermediate and expert riders is on the rise.
"We have a lot of kids that have been in it for a couple of years now and it just kind of feeds on itself," he said. "We have riders that have been around. They show the other kids and the little kids want to be like the bigger kids. It just feeds on itself."
The Hodag BMX Club is the volunteer organization that puts on the races at the Hodag BMX track, which is located on the far end of West Side Park, located on Lynne Street. More information about the club and this weekend's events can be found on the Hodag BMX Club's website, www.HodagBMX.com.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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