10 / 24 / 2006 Update:

MEETING NOTICE:
All hands on deck for an update meeting Thursday, November 2 -- 7 p.m. at Bennos. Track Operator Mittelstadt has an update to provide, and we will begin to plan our 2007 racing schedule. There has been significant movement in favor of our track since the last meeting.

Milwaukee BMX jerseys should also be ready for distribution at that time.

Walworth BMX Update:
There seems to be some confusion as to the race and practice fees for the upcoming indoor season at Elkhorn. The rumor mill came back to us that the $15 single point race fee and $10 practice night fee reflect some major increase in cost over last year. I recalled those fees from when I was still racing in spring '05 and decided to get to the bottom of it with a call to track operator Candy Karau. She confirmed that the prices are the same this year as last. They recognize that moto-counts have been a bit behind this year and were mindful that an increase in price could keep even more folks away. So, that's the story there, folks ... let's get the word out so that rumor goes away ASAP. I never thought that we'd become the SNOPES of the BMX world ... but, we're pretty keen on facts around here.

Oh yeah ... Candy welcomes any future questions about Walworth BMX at (815) 874-8719, Weekdays between 10am and 4pm.

Personally, I'm absolutely looking forward to the opener there in just more than a week (Saturday -- November 4)

Bench Racing:
While talking with Candy, she asked how things were progressing in Milwaukee. I communicated that starting a track took far more committment than I ever imagined. She chuckled and told me about their early days running the Rockford track. Jake was handed the keys, a couple of clipboards and a few rakes at the conclusion of a racing season in the mid 1980's ... and, before the sentiment of the "good luck" wishes of the former track operator had even worn off ... a couple of bills that totalled in excess of $800 arrived in the mail. The early years were spent in beg, borrow or steal (well, I'm pretty sure just like us they never actually stole anything) mode ... which, for those that have pitched in to build Milwaukee BMX ... will sound awfully familiar. Candy told me about the earliest Rockford BMX concession stand, a metal shed affixed to Jake's snowmobile trailer, to provide a "movable" solution that the Rockford Parks District found acceptable. And, also about a stack of telephone poles that Jake procurred one afternoon after spotting them stacked behind a local filling station. It took a ton of patience and fortitude to make it all work out.

Fast forward twenty years and Rockford BMX is a model of success. We've always said that we aspire to be like Rockford BMX ... little did we know how much our start up actually reflected their formative years.

Milwaukee BMX volunteer, and Direct Link factory team 28 expert, Tim Eiring announced a recent engagement to his g-friend Kristyn. Congrats to the entire Eiring clan on that one. Sandi, one down ... three to go, eh?

That's about it for now ... C-Ya at the finish line.

Kevin O'