August 6, 2019 at 1:26 p.m.
20 years in, Hodag BMX still pedaling strong
20 years in, Hodag BMX still pedaling strong
Deede is the track operator and coach for the Hodag BMX Club, which is celebrating its 20th birthday this year. A banner on the track's website describes it as "Twenty years of Hodag BMX radness," and the club shows no signs of slowing down.
"It's 20 years onward and upward. We want every year to be better," Deede said in a recent phone interview with the River News.
He and the track - located in Rhinelander's West Side Park - have grown together over the past two decades. Deede remembers begging his mom to ride during the track's first year. His family finally acquiesced to the plea a year later and Deede's been around the track virtually ever since.
"It's kind of crazy isn't it? Time flies especially when you're having fun," he said. "You know I've been doing this since I was 12 now and - I still feel like a 12-year-old kid out riding the track and that's really cool to see."
"You see the next generation coming up. We have parents now that raced when they were kids and they're getting their kids into it and it's just super cool to see. Guys I rode with and girls I rode with when they were kids, their kids are getting into the sport now, really surreal."
The track itself has come a long way as well. Deede quipped that the club's old slogan was "Got Dirt?" because the club need a supply of earth just to build and maintain the racing surface.
Deede, who has raced at the regional and national level, took over as track operator in 2013. Since then he, along with the club's group of volunteers, has continually worked to make the facility better.
"We've got a really good volunteer base and we have even better donors and supporters," Deede said. "The community's awesome behind us. I know the mayor and the parks director, Jeremy Biolo, they always got our back on stuff. it's been a tremendously helpful over the last few years continue to advance the progress.
Deede's vision is clear - to have the Hodag BMX track continue to evolve to the point where it's not just one of the best in the state but in the country.
"I've raced all over the country and in other countries as well too. For me, I want to bring what it looks like and what it feels like to go to one of those events. A kid could go to our track and it feels like racing a national-caliber or a world-caliber, world-class facility without ever having to leave the confines of their own home."
'Seal' of approval
The actual Hodag BMX track has seen a laundry list of improvements over the past few years. The track was reconfigured prior to the 2016 season and the turns paved in 2017. Additionally a new starting gate was added.
The most recent improvement to the track might not be as noticeable, but it came in handy earlier this year during the track's big triple header weekend of state and regional events.
The club has applied an anti-erosive material to the non-paved areas of the race track. The material looks like a glue-like slurry when applied to the track and, once it has hardened, basically makes the areas of dirt used for the straightaway and jumps almost as impervious to rain and water as the asphalt-banked corners.
The material basically paid for itself on the final day of the event when rains threatened to wash out a Gold Cup qualifier with well more than 100 riders in attendance.
"I tell you that sealer, that anti-erosive material, worth every penny that we pay for," Deede said. "It rained, gosh, between and inch and two inches, that Sunday morning and we had the leaf blowers out after the storm got over, and the track was dry and 15 minutes like nothing that happened. Years past that race would have been canceled. There would have been not much we could do."
Future plans
The Hodag BMX Club is not done growing and expanding. The goal would be that infrastructure improvements, along with the improvements made to the track over the last few years, would make the track a desirable candidate to host a regional or national-level event in the future.
"I think it's there, and we had that conversation with the city, that there's a couple of things that we have to do from a facilities and grounds standpoint to make it get to that point but, you know, it's all attainable and we're taking the steps to make it happen."
The next big-ticket item the club is eyeing is the construction of a new concessions/restroom building at the track which, at present, does not have running water to the outbuilding that serves as the tracks concession stand and registration booth.
"We would basically quadruple the bathroom space in West Side Park," Deede said. "We would be able to give ourselves a concession/registration (area) with actual running water. (Right now) we're limited. We have to bring in all of our water, potable water, and then remove all the non-potable."
Additionally, Deede said he would like for the building to include an educational space that would allow the racers an opportunity to learn how to work on their own bikes.
Deede said the club has the funds to make the building a reality and, with the city's blessing, could break ground on the project this fall or next spring.
Warnicke race upcoming
This Friday night will be the club's annual Warnicke Scholarship race at the track.
"The Bob Warnicke Scholarship race is a race that's held by USABMX. It's a fundraiser race basically promoting continuing in secondary education," Deede explained.
This past year alone two Hodag BMX Club members benefitted from the Warnicke Scholarship fund.
Brock Walkowski received at $3,000 college scholarship through the program while Raven Sturtevant received a $1,000 scholarship.
In addition to excelling on the track and in the classroom, both also stood out in other athletic endeavors.
Walkowski was a three-event state qualifier for Three Lakes High School for the WIAA Division 3 state track meet this past May where he competed in the 100-meter dash as well as the 4x100 and 4x200-meter relays. Sturtevant was a WIAA Division 2 state gymnastics qualifier as a junior for Rhinelander and the Great Northern Conference Small Division champion on balance beam this past winter.
That does not come a surprise to Deede, given how he describes BMX racing.
"It's a mix between ballet and gymnastics on bicycles in a 100-to-200-meter sprint. It's fast paced in high adrenaline but then just beautiful at the same time," he said.
Attracting new riders
While there's no age limits in BMX, the vast majority of the club's riders are kids. Therefore, a pipeline needs to be established for new riders when turnover takes place among the rider base.
The club has undertaken two initiatives to help grow the sport. First, it has taken what used to be gate practice on from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and transformed the event into what it calls "Community Ride nights." While club riders will practice on those nights, the events are open to all who are curious about the sport.
"You don't have to be a racer you can just come down and enjoy yourself and figure out what the sport's about," Deede said.
The second initiative is the expansion of the club's new rider clinics, which have been held once a month. The last new rider clinic of the summer will be held from 10 a.m. to noon this Saturday at the track.
"We've been really lucky with the new rider clinics that we brought in a bunch of new families," Deede said. "BMX is truly a family support. It's so cool to see - especially this year - there's a lot of new parents and moms and dads that are involved in a bunch of the moms the started racing you now. That's really cool to see the mom's class and that they're out there enjoy riding bikes with their kids."
Those looking to check out the sport are reminded that, for safety purposed, long sleeved-shirts, pants, closed-toed shoes and helmets are required to ride the track.
Races will take place every Monday during the month of August. The Club will also run Friday Aug. 23 and 30 ahead of the season finale Friday, Sept. 6. Registration takes place from 6 to 7 p.m. on race nights, with races beginning shortly thereafter.
For more information on the track, visit www.HodagBMX.com, or search Hodag BMX on Facebook.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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