Reply To: Ok, you guys made me do it, lol. Jump Poll

[bmiddaugh]

Hi Karen,
Welcome to the site and like I said, everyone who helps out gets special status, so look for an upgrade on that rookie thing…
I hope your son is gonna be fine (actually I know he is, ’cause he’s a BMXer!) and like you said a crash can happen anywhere on the track…I know this too dang well, lol!
The rest of this is not fully directed at replying to Karen but getting the consensus viewpoint of a current situation out there.
I finally see that jump at CJ as what it is, the dividing line, the point where everything changed in my mindset as far as BMX racing is concerned.
I actually mentioned this to Vinnie on the 5th and I just saw the Jason Richardson interview today, (J-Rich is an ex-EHT local, and of course a top pro) and he said exactly what more than a few people have been saying.
The time has come for us to have national level tracks where stuff is big, gnarly and “pro-level” and local tracks where kids “cut their teeth”.
I was at HC today Hayden and Matt were there, with a bunch of “average” kids fixing the track, the reason they refused Rich C’s money…he wanted to dictate the layout of the track. They refused, of course, because they do what is good for the majority of the people who come to the track. The track looks great and rideable for all.
As of right now, the hardest track to ride in the state is CJ. I stopped there today, (the freaking track looks incredible, the dirt on the sides of the jumps, great touch) and I looked at the doubles and I realized they are at my eye height. That is 6′, Vinnie did EXACTLY what I tried to tell everyone he would and mellowed out the middle so you don’t crash banging into the other side if you don’t clear it.
But then I started to think about it and realized, 6′, 23′ apart, I can’t send beginners here to race. I can’t, it will turn them away.
I respect all of you at CJ, but that jump belongs on a track that is for top expert and pro level riders. (yes, Vinnie I am saying your son jumps at the top expert level, proven by that FLAWLESS, turndown backflip I saw him do at Incline…AWESOME!)
If the intent at CJ is to become a place where basically top guys show up to ride and race then that is cool, but if we are trying to grow racing, then not only are the big dubs too big, but the ones before the final turn are a bit too lipped out.
Can I sit here and say all kinds of B.S., do this , do that, heck no, I’m not there all the time! But I can give you the perspective of what every average giving their dime to track racer is saying. This problem is indicative of the problems facing BMX today.
My god, the NBL has you parents chasing nationals all over. When there is a Nat almost every weekend, there is a problem someplace. Myself and probably many others see this as a detachment of the NBL from the local scene. It bothers me to no end.
I applaud all the National riders from NJ past and present, but we are shooting ourselves in the foot, can someone speak to the NBL and make them realize it is time for major top level changes.
Oh and I would be more than willing to teach clinics, but you all have no idea how intimidating a track like CJ is to a beginner, it’s just, it’s hard to explain. I’ll see you tomorrow.