Random Thoughts:

Here are a few things that caught my attention in the last 24 hours or so -- they are so dripping with goodness that I just had to share.

1. Jeff Upshaw, who is one of the squad of AA pro riders who will be leading the Kuwahara clinic in June, is highlighted in this you-tube video. Upshaw is joined by Tommy Board - a vet pro from Indiana (in white) and Marty Wisehart in the vid. The track is Derby BMX and is easily one of the finest in the nation. Funny, as a racer, I'm all about looking over the layout of the track, and I see a bunch of super smooth looking jumps that look like they would be a total blast to ride. Meanwhile, the track volunteer in me notices things like the wooden fence lining the perimeter of the track, the paved berms, the perfect grass on the infield and around the grounds. Pretty much, everything about this video is rad.

This is a screen-cap of Upshaw laying a sweet flattie on the last jump down Derby's smooth looking rhythm section



2. Bonus contest -- a couple of FLY stickies to the first person UNDER 40 -- who can correctly identify the band - song - and lead singer from the music that goes with this clip.

3. While reviewing the news that our friend Jack Hirt -- who's been working with the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin (BFW), and despite being new to BMX, is a dedicated cyclist of all sorts, has been promoted to Executive Director of the BFW -- I came across this summer employment opportunity. It might be a perfect fit for one of our young Milwaukee BMX racers.

4. We're wishing the best of luck to the racers we know who are heading down to the Cajun Nationals in Louisiana over the weekend. Mike Froh, Tim Eiring, Greg Eiring and a few others will be heading down to represent with a little Midwest Pull in the Bayou state. Go get 'em - fellas.

Thanks again to everyone who came out and helped over the weekend ... add to that list in the post below our pal Brian Schulz, who helped out yesterday. Progress shots will go up soon.

Thanks !!!

For maybe the most productive track work day in the history of Milwaukee BMX.

Among the volunteers helping throughout the day: (I'm hoping I'm not missing anybody -- but, I'll gladly add names if I forgot!)

John, Michelle, Leah, and Dana Mittelstadt
Tim and Greg Eiring
John and Lewis Wethall
Todd Zimmerman
Michael Froh
Bill and Sam Rupp
Brennan Manske
Mark Kluth
Ryan Mcabee

What we accomplished:
-General track maintenance and improvements
-renovated gate drop reinstalled
-sure start system and air ram installed and tested (freakin' YES !!!)
-staging lane posts set
-many rocks picked and dumped

Sunday we will:
-square and level the gate
-water wheel pack and roller pack all straights
-continue setting remaining staging lane posts
-post up some photos of the updated track and improvements

We're sure to be trackside by 9 a.m. ... but, very likely to be calling it a day by early in the afternoon. Milwaukee BMX is right on track !!!

Thanks again to everyone listed above for their help.

Kevin O'Donnell

4/4/2007 MEETING NOTES:

Last night's meeting focused on final track modifications and preparation, and a few of us will be meeting trackside the morning of April 14th to mark off the areas where the fence will go, locate the staging area, as well as adding another drain tile to relieve the first and last straight.

The work weekend is scheduled for April 20th thru April 22nd and we'll appreciate all the help we can get. Please shoot us an e-mail at lavacycles@sbcglobal.net if you think you can help. Volunteers are needed to help with the handwork associated with final shaping of jumps, shoveling, raking, etc. Also, if anybody has a four wheeled ATV that we could use for track packing purposes available on that weekend ... we'd love to hear from you. We have one, but, at the rate that Mike Froh can run the loader, packing with two ATV's would be helpful.

We should also have the air ram, sure start and compressor by that weekend, so, with a little luck, we may try and drop a few gates late Sunday afternoon.

Thanks to all for your continued support and we're definitely looking forward to getting back track side soon.

KUWAHARA CLINIC -- Wednesday June 13 - 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

One of the most legendary brand names in the history of BMX, KUWAHARA, has recently resurfaced, and with former ABA #1 Pro - Warwick Stevenson (left image) leading a team loaded with talented riders including Pros -- Matt Pohlkamp (right image), Jeff Upshaw, Natarsha Williams and Ryan Birk -- are poised to return to the position of dominance held by the brand when team roster included Anthony Sewell, Frank Post, Lee Medlin, Gary Ellis and Clint Miller. Team KUWAHARA will be running a BMX racing clinic benefiting Milwaukee BMX (all proceeds go to Milwaukee BMX) on Wednesday June 13th, 2007 from 6-8 p.m. Cost of this clinic is $20 per rider and we have spots available for ONLY 30 riders.

Spots can be reserved on a first come / first serve basis. You can e-mail me at Lavacycles@SBCGLOBAL.net to hold your spot. Please include your name, age, class you race in, mailing address, phone # where you can be reached with your message ... and be sure to include KUWAHARA CLINIC in the subject line of your e-mail. Payment in full need to be made to John Mittelstadt by Friday May 4th to guaranty your spot. Checks should be made payable to "Parks People" and you can note Kuwahara Clinic - Milwaukee BMX on the MEMO section of your check.

For more information on Kuwahara BMX ... please visit http://www.kuwaharabmx.com/

Miscellaneous:
If anybody is planning a visit to the Wheel and Sprocket bike expo this weekend, stop by and say hello to the guys at Metro Mountain Bikers. They will have a limited supply of 2007 Milwaukee BMX Schedules to share



Roxanne Schneider continues working on the final version of the Milwaukee BMX schedule and reminded us that we hadn't noted any fees for "Open Class" ... good catch Roxanne !!! We definitely will have open class, in addition to the regular classes, and the cost will be $3. You must be signed up in a regular class to run open.