Holy Long Overdue Posts - Batman !!!
This might be the longest of long overdue posts in the history of MilwaukeeBMX.com. But, here are some great shots taken from over the summer and submitted about a month ago by Tina Gillis on behalf of photograher John Katner.


There's just something groovy about this late afternoon shot of Dan Blink, Brad Olson, Brennon Manske and an unidentified rider on the gate at Milwaukee BMX. I guess maybe it's because of the chill vibe these riders are giving off. Milwaukee's relaxed attitude is something you really begin to appreciate the more you travel around from track to track.



Twilight flag bearer - Ben Kohls.



Kohls again, this time surrounded by Groms that all dream of someday having his speed, style and skills.

Going fast and getting just a bit tweaked ... if you ask Ben ... the sideways in this shot is probably about scrubbing speed. Yup, I'm jealous !!!

There aren't many gals lining up to hit up our track in the 36-40 women's cruiser class. Tina Gillis doesn't just gate up ... she gets out there and absolutely kills it.

Pictures in black and white always let you see things that aren't nearly as obvious in color. For instance, look to the immediate left of Tina's hip ... and then to the immediate left of the middle of her back. What I see is two really grooved lanes in teh second turn that I had never realized were there before. Cool.

Peyton Dickerson, obviously on a practice lap and coasting through Milwaukee's second turn.

Dan Blink, at much altitude, little turn bar and seriously eyeing up his landing spot. Sitting in a flourescent lit office at 4:30 on a friday afternoon in Early January and realizing that it's nearly dark out already ... it's easy to float off into one of a million or more riding dreams while staring at this photo.

Eric Hahn is my second pick "most improved" rider in 2008. He'd be number one, except ...(scroll down)

Jacob Hinzpeter has become such a dialed rider that I don't think anybody ... and I mean even me ... got a bad photograph of the kid all season long at Milwaukee. This shot is a metaphor, because, for this young guy, the sky is the limit in BMX.

Who would believe that Bryan Dickerson "bumps up" to the 46-50 cruiser class in 2009? He's one of several riders at Milwaukee that were among the early pioneers in the sport ... and totally trashing conventional wisdoms about athletic output and aging. It's easy for me to remember the "old man" cruiser classes in the early 1980's ... Dads in their late 20's and early 30's who couldn't hold a candle to the type of riding that Dickerson is delivering each and every time he racks up today. Good on, ya, Bryan.

Yup, Chris Brotz got bit by the BMX bug real hard this summer. His riding continues to improve ... and his interest in the sport is about to carry him beyond competitor. Chris is going to be helping out more and more at Milwaukee BMX ... and we're super lucky to have him on board.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS NOMINATIONS NOW BEING ACCEPTED!

Milwaukee BMX seeks your nominations for the following positions for Board of Directors for the 2009 season. These are all "working" positions, and nominees will accept the responsibility of working at the majority of events in the 2009 season. Please be sure that those you would like to nominate are willing to accept the responsibilty and will take their positions seriously.

Please call or e-mail John Mittelstadt at MJMittelstadt@Yahoo.com or 414-429-3485 -- or e-mail Kevin O'Donnell at lavacycles@SBCGlobal.net with your nominations.

These are our ideal recommended positions per discussions with other tracks and as discussed at our last club meeting in November. This list may continue to evolve prior to the beginning of the 2009 racing season.

Voting for the new board will take place at the January 6th club meeting at Benno's in West Allis.

• President – Face of Milwaukee BMX – this individual will be the primarily responsible for building good will toward Milwaukee BMX in the surrounding community through solicitation of other community service groups including, but not limited to – Chamber of Commerce organizations, Business Improvement Districts, seeking opportunities for “non-traditional” marketing (ie parades, bicycle shows, etc.) Provide oversight and guidance for strategic initiatives implemented by the club.
• Treasurer – Oversee the financial operations of Milwaukee BMX. Report on budget at all Milwaukee BMX meetings. Cut checks for track operator and make deposits from individual donations and underwriting and advertising sales. Balance accounts.
• Secretary / Sergeant at Arms – schedule board member meetings and publish meeting agendas in advance, along with recording and distributing meeting minutes to BOD.
• Track Operator – Direct oversight of all track operations ranging from volunteer recruitment and training, to race day staffing (registration, sign ups, new rider orientation, staging, starting, corner workers and scoring) and operation. Will need be present at 80% of Milwaukee BMX racing and practice events. Procure event awards. Oversee team competition.
• Communications / PR / Marketing – Provides publicity and promotional efforts for Milwaukee BMX. Website maintenance, as press liaison make media contacts, assist in new rider recruitment, sell underwriting and advertising and encourage sponsor participation in Milwaukee BMX activities.
• Assistant Track Operator – Director of Track Layout / Maintenance – In addition to collaborating with track operator to oversee track layout, preparation and volunteer coordination – will oversee operation of 20% of racing and practice events.
• Concessions – Responsible for staffing race day events and maintaining food and beverage supplies. Also responsible for setting pricing and working with club treasurer to assure that there is adequate profit margins.
• Youth Representative / Liasion - Will be one of our regular race competitors who demonstrates leadership skills and is inclined toward volunteerism. Will help recruit and train along with the director of track layout and maintenance to assist with raking, sweeping, cleanup, etc. Additionally will act as "new rider orientation" person. All new registrants will be offered the opportunity to walk through the registration process, reading a moto board, staging, etc. and learn basic track skills from this individual.

National #1 Girl Cruiser !!!

If you are a regular reader of MilwaukeeBMX.com, then you know that I recently published a column following the results of some of the competitors who have hit up Milwaukee BMX througout the year. And, to my credit ... I must have done okay, because I didn't receive a whole lot of corrections. One that I did miss, however, and it's a biggie ... because we're talking ABA National #1 Girls Cruiser ... which went to Felicia Stancil.






Jamie Stancil sent this photo of Felicia with her sweet new ride that she picked up after decimating her class and taking the national title. Can you say, "Brrraaaappppp !!!"



Just awesome, Felicia. Congratulations!

Local Riders Grands Results

Big props to the following riders who did super well at the Grands.

Tina Gillis, a regular competitor in our cruiser classes (probably 3 times out of 5 she's gating up against the guys for lack of a full women's class) made her mains in both the Friday night Race of Champions, finishing 3rd in a group of 5 ... and then backing that up with a solid run at the grands, where she finished 5th out of 9 women in the class. She was also the only "privateer" unsponsored rider in the main -- far out !!!


Tina relayed that the sweet new Fly uniform was more of a necessity than a luxury. "I left all my gear at home by accident, So I had to get to the track at 6 am on Practice day and BUY all new stuff from helmet to clip shoes!!! With 5 min to spare I made it to Practice at 7am!!!" Gillis said after returning home.

That's amazing, Tina ... way to keep your cool ... and look good while you were doing it.

Other local riders that went on through to their mains were Kenosha's Curt Zizzo in 36-40 cruiser class ... which had a huge group of more than 30 riders that he fought his way through to qualify.

Dan Tritz, who occassionally runs Milwaukee finished 5th in both 14 cruiser and the ultra tough 14 expert class ... that's an awesome accomplishment ... team managers, take notice.

Felicia Stancil, the first girl in the history of Milwaukee BMX to jump our "big set" of doubles at the end of the first straight took down a nice win in 13 girls.

Sun Ringle sponsored Desiree Roeder nabbed a 3rd in the 14 girls class.

Sussex NAG powerhouse, Cory Caliendo came home with a 3rd in 13 cruiser (sure would be good to see you at Milwaukee sometime, kid!)

and Troy Krause of APEX BMX (Oshkosh) made his main in class.

Bryan Dickerson missed mains in both cruiser and class by one spot, finishing 5th in both of his semis despite having the track dialed and riding some super fast laps all weekend. In 41-45 cruiser, there were more than 40 riders signed up!

Congratulations to all the other local riders who made the trip ... we were watching almost all weekend.

Click Here for LIVE ABA Grand Nationals Coverage  SUNDAY

Once there, you can set up a profile for yourself and then get live - streaming coverage from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Today's coverage includes 3rd Round Motos - Quarter Mains - Semi Mains and Mains.

National Champions will be crowned today.

How will our favorite local riders do?  We'll find out !!!

Far as I can tell, so far (through early in the third round) --

Bryan Dickerson has advanced in both cruiser and class

Ed Morris has advanced in both cruiser and class

Curt Zizzo has advanced in cruiser and class

Jacob Hinzpeter is through in cruiser

Happy Thanksgiving

So, what are you thankful for at the beginning of this holiday season. I have many things that easily come to mind ... but, somewhere near the top of that list would have to be the many great friends I've made throughout the years of involvement with Milwaukee BMX. I appreciate your help and continued support - volunteers, sponsors, moms and dads and enjoy immensely watching the kids having fun with the sport of Bicycle Motocross. It's what keeps us goin' over here. You guys keep ridin' and we'll keep trying to keep the races coming.

Kevin O'

Hot Shots:

Local superhero Ben Kohls dropped his cape just long enough to have these jump shots taken last fall at Milwaukee BMX. Lighting is pretty moody ... and the style is typical Ben ... always the showman.

ABA GRANDS NEWS:

The INTENSE BMX PIT BIKE CHALLENGE-

This year for the first time ever we'll have 16 specially prepared 16” Intense pit bikes added to the nights entertainment. All 16 qualified riders will be entered into two 8 man semi-main taking the top four to the Intense Pit Bike Challenge Main event. How do I qualify you ask? During Friday's R.O.C. event there will be lots going up stairs in the manufacturer and vendor areas as always. This year the Sun Bru crew will helping both Intense BMX and ABA BMX out with running a couple of scheduled qualifying sessions up stairs. You'll need to bring your pit bike, then stop by the Sun Bru booth for all the details about getting qualified for the Friday night Intense Pit Bike Challenge!

The Side-hack Challenge-

Come one, come all. If you've never seen the hacks race, it’s a site to behold. It’s a no holds bar crash and bash fest and the fans love it! Last year we added them to the Friday Night excitement and it went over really well. With a few more it should even be better. Roseville still holds the record of 17 hacks thus far, but things look good for the Friday Night event to break all records. If you've got a hack bring it on down. Didn't make the NAG 5 cut?? Well, this is YOUR chance to be involved in the big show! All hackers must be ABA members to compete. Other then that bring your hack and your best monkey to represent your team, track, or company and you are qualified!

Rockin' the "HOLESHOT"

Kelley Kelley (professional songwriter/producer, father of twins, and long time BMX racer), will be in the house rockin it out with his new song "HOLESHOT". If you haven't had a chance to here his song you can swing by myspace page and check it out. www.myspace.com/kelleykelleymusic or stop by www.go211.com to see an interview that rich and the gang did with him.

Kelley Kelley is pumped to perform "HOLESHOT" Live at BMX racing's biggest party/event, the ABA BMX Grand Nationals Friday Night PRO Spectacular. Rumor has it, he’s been cookin’ up a “special” METAL re-mix of his song just for the ABA Grands event!


More Fire Magic Grills to Give-A-Way!

All season long we've been hosting the Fire Magic Grill off series and it’s been awesome! I haven't eaten so good in a long, long time. All season long you've been racing the ABA National series and a select few classes have been chosen to be awarded another Fire Magic Grill.

Eligible Classes are as follows-

28-35 men
36 & Over men
26-60 Cruiser men and women
31-35 Cruiser men and women
36-40 Cruiser men and women
41-45 Cruiser men and women
46-50 Cruiser men and women
51-55 Cruiser men
56 and over Cruiser men

If you are in the N.AG.. 10 after the Disney Cup event and coming into the ABA Grands you are eligible for this Fire Magic Grill drawing so be sure to be there just in case you’re name gets pulled out of the hat! We'll also be drawing a winner from all the left over entries form the Fire Magic Grill off events earlier this season. So, if you entered at one of the grill offs, but didn't win, you still have a shot at another Fire Magic Grill!


More Olympian medalist at the ABA Grands!

You saw 2008 Olympic Bronze medal winner “dR” Donny Robinson in Reno, NV. You saw 2008 Olympic Silver medal winner Mike Day in Lancaster, CA. Now Team USA rider and 2008 Olympic Bronze medalist Jill Kintner will be in the house Friday Night. ABA BMX has been rewarding the Olympic medalist for all their hard work in the 2008 Olympics for the Team USA. Donny and Mike have already been presented their reward.. Now it’s Jill’s turn. Jill will be on hand for her special recognition reward Friday night, so if you'd like to see Jill and give her a bi thanks be sure to be there Friday night!


As always I'm sure the Go-4-It Gopher will be in the house mixing things up for the fans on Friday night. If you've got a mascot that can take the Go-4-It gopher, he says bring it on! We'll have lots of T-shirts to toss for the fans from all your favorite companies, the Sun Bru girls will be on hand for the fans as well. I'm sure there will be more excitement to the event then what’s been listed. Crazy things always seemed to pop up at this event and we expect this year to be better then ever! We hope everyone has a great trip out to the ABA BMX Grands and we hope to see everyone at the Friday Night PRO Spectacular/NAG 5 Challenge event!

ABA BMX would like to thank all the 2008 National Series sponsors:

American Suzuki-(http://www.suzukicycles.com/ ) Dan’s Comp (http://www.danscomp.com/)
Jig-A-Loo-(http://www.jigaloo.com/) BAWLS Guarana (http://www.bawls.com/) Bawlstyle (http://www.bawlstyle.com/)Redline Bicycles-(http://www.redlinebicycles.com/) FLY Racing-(http://www.flyracingbmx.com/) Sponsorhouse-(http://www.sponsorhouse.com/) Tangent-(http://www.tangentproducts.com/) ABABMXRACERS- (http://www.ababmxracers.com/) Intense BMX-(http://www.intensebmx.com/) T.H.E. (http://www.bmxthe.com/) Fire Magic Premium Grills (www.rhpeterson.com/firemagic/) Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex (http://www.disneysports.com/) GO211.com (http://www.go211.com/)

Without their support, we couldn't make the 2008 ABA racing season such a huge success. Support the sponsors that support ABA BMX racing.

Milwaukee BMX (cycling club) Meeting Notice

What:
General Club Meeting

Where:
Benno’s Genuine Bar and Grill
7413 West GreenfieldWest Allis, Wisconsin414-453-9094

When:
7 p.m. - Tuesday November 18th

For more information contact:
John Mittelstadt – 414-429-3485 (phone)
mjmittelstadt@yahoo.com

Primary Agenda Item:
Formation of Milwaukee BMX Board of Directors
We will present our thoughts on the formation of a Milwaukee BMX Board of Directors based on recent conversations with Central Wisconsin BMX (Wisconsin Rapids).

If there is consensus among members present that a Board of Directors is something we want to pursue, we will begin the process of identifying board positions and taking nominations to fill those positions.

Please plan to attend if you are interested in the future of Milwaukee BMX.

Kevin O'Donnell

Crystal Ball Gazing ...

Yeah, one of the perks of having a successful little online BMX column and community is that occassionally you get a glimpse of the future. This time, it's the future of Kuwahara ... Natarsha Williams-Birk (one heckuva BMX'er in her own right - now retired) was cool enough to send along these super cool 2009 Kuwahara spy shots. Some sharp new graphics are heading up the changes for '09. Can't wait to see 'em on track.

No word on the exact spec. on the bikes to us yet ... but, I am noticing that the Laserlite 24 in the top image is rolling on a totally dialed Sun Ringle Envy wheelset. This is the same wheelset that was used by all the US Olympians, so you know they are fast.

MILWAUKEE BMX NETWORKING SITES

Social networking sites are a cool way to meet new friends with common interests ... yeah, we've had a little presence on MySpace for a while now ... but, we've also had some videos up at YOUTUBE which, as you can see have gotten a ton of hits.  Yesterday, we added a FaceBook page.  Sites like this are cool because it's a great way to know what your friends are up to ... make new BMX friends from around the country ... or, possibly hook up with your favorite manufacturer or BMX Hero.  BMX Parents ... if you let your kids on YouTube or FaceBook ... make sure they set their profiles to PRIVATE ... and make darn sure that you have the log in codes so that you can keep them safe out there.  Properly used, the web is super cool ... Have fun ... and surf safe !!!  

click here for MilwaukeeBMX on FACEBOOK

click here for MilwaukeeBMX on MYSPACE

click here for MilwaukeeBMX on YOUTUBE

SPECIAL MEETING NOTICE:

Please mark your calendars to note that Milwaukee BMX will have a special meeting on Tuesday November 18th at Benno's in West Allis beginning at 7:30 p.m.

The purpose of this meeting is to begin the process of the formation of a new Board of Directors (BOD - yeah, you could be a member of the ultra cool, super hip Milwaukee BMX BOD Squad !!!). We'll post more information about the positions the BOD will include not later than Tuesday November 11th. Nominations and resumes can be tendered the night of the meeting or via e-mail in advance.

Viva la BMX !!!

Kevin O'

State Fair Park Indoor Practice Facility is a NO GO.

Despite the best efforts of Milwaukee BMX, our sponsors and the dozen or so volunteers who chipped in their dedication, time, sweat and energy to make an indoor BMX practice facility in the Milwaukee area a reality ... the plug is being pulled on the Wisconsin State Fair Park practice facility for safety reasons.

We apologize to our volunteers and competitors that we couldn't make this work, but as the track was being completed, a variety of potential rider safety conditions within the building (that couldn't be reconciled through track re-design) became evident.

Milwaukee BMX remains committed to advancing BMX racing in Milwaukee and we will continue to work hard to realize our mission.

For those of you who would like to continue practicing and racing through the winter, please be reminded that the Walworth County Indoor BMX facility in Elkhorn is just 35 minutes SW of Milwaukee off Interstate 43. The indoor / winter racing season began at the Walworth indoor last weekend and will continue through mid-March, 2009.

Milwaukee BMX Club Meeting Announcement:
Later this week, remaining 2008 club meeting dates will be determined and published (right here) and we will also be creating an organizational "cabinet" for the club, which is entering its third year in existence, with elections held at our December meeting.

For more information, or if you have questions, please don't hesitate to contact John Mittelstadt (Track Operator) at 414-429-3485.

Forward Progress:

Word coming down from Milwaukee's most famous T/O, John Mittelstadt is that the indoor practice facility is under construction and we're looking to make a big push through the weekend to get that beast ramped up and dialed in. A couple of the straights are already roughed in compliments of Fond du Lac T/O Paul Weimer and a fearless crew of volunteers who punched in early Saturday morning and called it quits late Sunday afternoon. It's still top secret, so I don't have any photos yet, but, will after the weekend.

And, with that ...

We could use a few volunteers over the weekend to help dial this beastie in.

Please contact John Mittelstadt at 414-429-3485 if you can help this weekend. We'll be working most all day Saturday and Sunday.

___________________________

Mucho thank yous to our newest friends at Wheel and Sprocket who stepped up big time to help underwrite the practice facility. Making this move took some pretty serious huevos and somehow, our fearless leader, John Mittelstadt just keeps making things happen.

By the way ... this joint will be ready for business (we built it for you to ride, that's how it works) on NOVEMBER 11th ... so, circle that date on your calendar with a big fat red marker and we'll see you then.

Little Hombre - Big Hardware:

We received this picture from Steve Nelson, who sent this image from the Redline Cup Finals Central (yup, the make up race for the rainout - thanks a bunch, Hurrican Ike!) this past weekend in Missouri.

Steve writes:

"Connor Nelson (Big Cheese) won the 5 & Under Novice Friday night prerace. He was leading the Redline US open on Sat but crashed on the triples and took 7th. He won the rescheduled Redline Cup Championship event this past Sat Oct 25 beating the local favorite (Jammin) Jake Scronce.

Many other WI riders finished well. The state of Wisconsin was well represented.

Pictures attached of Connor getting his trophy and of him with Nathan Davids who won the 6expert class."

That's a pretty rad trophy Connor ... sounds like you guys had a super weekend !!!

What a Day !!!

Here are a couple of images submitted by Randy Olson (Mr. FireMagic!) of the little cook out that we threw together on Saturday to show our appreciation for everyone who's participated at Milwaukee BMX througout the 2008 season.

This sequence of photos shows the FireMagic gas grill perched high in the bed of the deisel powered, outrageously raised white Ford Superduty crew cab -- right on through the brat and hot dog post race Milwaukee BMX fiesta. Yup, just like my on track experiences this season, I pretty much wound up at the back of the line, but still managed to score one of those super tasty brats.

Just another outstanding day at Milwaukee BMX.

Wrapping it up With STYLE !!!

Dan Blink tests the limits of laying it over as he transitions from the first straight doubles into the last corner.  

Dana Mittlestadt makes a close inspection of Jacob "Hot Rod" Hinzpeter's rear tire.  Mittelstadt later reported that it's an Intense Micro Knobby - 20 x 1.5" and added that he's pretty sure that Jacob's running about 75 psi.  Nice.

Curt Zizzo, the meat in this sandwich, is a few years on the plus side of the combined ages of Brad Olson (15) and Ben Kohls (17) ... but, don't tell him that.  I'm sure Curt would just be cool with me referring to him as -- The World's Oldest 17x.

We had a great day to wind things up ... I want to thank everyone who made the 2008 Milwaukee BMX season possible ... and, in the coming days, I'll be naming names.  For now -- we'll keep it to our Hot Shop Sponsors, Sun Ringle, Kuwahara, Milwaukee BMX Super Chef - Randy Olson, The American Bicycle Association, our AWESOME Volunteers, Craig over at PRO ELECTRIC, Ray Eckert and the fine folks at Waste Management, and especially all of you crazies who gated up with us throughout year and made the 2008 season the best yet for Milwaukee BMX.

Many More Pictures from our October 4th Race are HERE:

Thanks again !!!    

Last Call

This Saturday will be the last call for racing in the 2008 season at Milwaukee BMX.

After racing, we're planning a cookout with brats, burgers and hot dogs on the menu. Grill Master Randy Olson will be handling the sacred Milwaukee BMX Golden Tongs ... Olson won the Fire Magic grill off at the Midwest Nationals earlier this season and scored himself a choice grilling setup worth in the neighborhood of $4,000 !!!

Please bring a dish to pass if you wish.

We also have had interest in holding pit bike races. What's a pit bike? Any bike with 16", or smaller, wheels that your kids like to mess around on back in the pits -- thus, the term, pit bikes. Kids and adults alike are invited ... but, you must be an ABA member to participate.

Registration and racing will all happen at the normal Saturday a.m. times: Pit bike races will be held either during intermission ... or, maybe after the mains ... we'll figure it out!

Signups: 9:30 - 11 a.m.

Racing: ASAP

News That's Sure to Heat Things Up !!!

The flow of ideas that get cooked up high in the hilltop headquarters of Milwaukee BMX is just remarkable (remember, we're the ones that brought you Milwaukee BMX in the first place!) ... and, we're going to have some BIG news to announce in the next couple of weeks. For now, the clue and the tease is that we might not be stuck parking our BMX bikes for the winter here in Milwaukee. Sound cool? Talk to us this weekend, e-mail us, or contact John Mittelstadt at 414-429-3485 -- of course, you can also keep checking www.MilwaukeeBMX.com for additional details.

The Kids are Allright!





Keeping right up with the weird WHO (that's a band from the 60's kids ... go ahead ... google them) theme that I seem to suddenly be on with the last couple of posts ... Lynnea Rankins sent along these pictures from the Wisconsin State Championships a few weeks ago in Wisconsin Rapids.

These dudes and dudettes are sportin' some serious hardware for sure.

In the top photo, one of the dinky darlin's of Milwaukee BMX, Rachel Rankins is showing off her new State #1 plate, while those boys muggin' in the bottom photo include (left to right) pocket rocket Max Schmitt, Jacob Hinzpeter, RJ Eckert and Reece Rankins. Max and Jacob also both earned #1 plates, while Reece scored another #2 -- and while we know that RJ finished second on the day -- we're not sure quite where that left him in the overall. Ray, if you're reading this ... give us a shout ... I will definitely make the correction!

Great job, guys and gal ... you sure make us "home track" types proud ... not to mention, you represent us well.

Aint No Cure for the Summertime Cruise


Well, there's just one race to go in the 2008 season at Milwaukee BMX and with the official end of summer happening yesterday ... we're slowly winding down and beginning to turn our thoughts to the upcoming indoor season.

We want to thank everybody who has made the 2008 Milwaukee BMX season such a great success, despite the best attempts of Mother Nature to wash us away this past spring.

To all of our loyal and dedicated Milwaukee BMX Volunteers, donors, sponsors, competitors and parents ... please accept our ongoing gratitude ... we couldn't do any of this without you folks!

October 4th will be our next, and last, scheduled race, and we are planning our season ending "bust up" for that day as well ... we'll be grilling burgers, brats and hot dogs and serving up cold beverages as well ... if anybody is interested in bringing a dish to pass ... please do. Otherwise, just plan to come on out ... race and spend a great Saturday afternoon at the track.

And, for those of you who couldn't join us last Saturday, a new photo album with plenty of racing action has been added here: http://albums.phanfare.com/5720121/2761260#imageID=47812801

We hope you enjoy it !!!

SCHEDULE UPDATE ANNOUNCEMENT

Spread the word -- Milwaukee BMX is adding the following fall races.

Saturday - September 20th
Saturday - October 4th

These will both be single point races and sign-up times and race fees are the same as they have been all season for Saturday racing.

Reg.9:30-11:00 AM Racing ASAP

Fees - Single Point Races - $10.00

WE ARE RACING !!!

Though there are a few widely scattered showers in the area, there has been no rain at the track as of 10 a.m. and the forecast shows improvement throughout the day.

We hope to see you at the track.

Kevin

NBC Olympic - BMX Coverage

Clearly, 5 minutes of just the medal rounds of BMX racing last night was less than what we were all hoping to see ... but, kudos to NBC for downloading video coverage of the semi-main events to their Olympic Cycling website.

We're encouraging you to check them out, if you haven't already, because it's presumable that the higher number of hits on the website may provide NBC with enough incentive to bring us continued prime time coverage of BMX in the Olympics ... and perhaps lead to something akin to the Dew Tour coverage that skaters and park riders have been enjoying for the past couple of years.

Clicking the image below should launch the player in a new window.



The direct link to the NBC Olympic Cycling website is: http://www.nbcolympics.com/cycling/index.html

Thursday Gate Practice Cancelled:

Those of you who raced last night are aware that we had a small issue with one of the gate hinges that was temporarily repaired. It is, however, a bandaid, and since we won't be able to get to a permanent fix until Saturday a.m. (before our single point race) - we have decided to cancel this Thursday's (August 21) gate practice.

We'll resume our normal practice and race schedule Saturday morning, August 23rd.

A Fond du Lac Invite:
Fondy is running a single point race Sunday August 24th and would like to remind all Milwaukee BMX riders that they are indeed back open for business. We did a few "combined" weekends last fall with some nice success, increasing rider and moto counts at both tracks. Hopefully, we can rock that same situation out this weekend and into the fall.

Olympic Update:
All of the American men riders have advanced through the field of 32 to the group of 16 heading into tonights semi-finals and Olympic medal race. Of the three, Mike Day looked the most solid, setting quick time during the time trial to "rank" the riders going into motos, and then pulling away from the field on each lap of his qualifying races. Donny Robinson also made it solidly in. Kyle Bennet looked to be in great shape until the lead rider in his third moto washed out right in front of him, causing a hard crash involving multiple riders, and leaving Bennet with a separated shoulder and multiple lacerations. This is BMX and the Olympics, however, and Bennet had his shoulder popped back into place (presumably under the direction of a physician) and plans to ride in the semi-finals tonight. Several Latvian riders and an Australian were also going fast. It should be exciting.

For a more full story and video highlights, click here: NBC Olympic Website

ANOTHER PHOTO ALBUM LINK:

This one is for all you BMX'er dudes and dudettes who don't have a myspace account -- Click Here for the SCQ Slideshow.

We hope you enjoy 'em!

Olympic BMX Racing NBC Television Coverage Schedule:

Below are the airdates and times listed by NBC. We just wanted everyone to be aware of the dates and times so they don't miss out. Please forward this on to all your friends and family to spread the BMX word. GO TEAM USA!!

Aug. 19th 8:00-9:00pm, Primetime, Live ET/CT
Men's BMX Cycling

Aug. 20th 12:30-2:00am
Men's BMX Cycling Quarterfinals

Aug. 20th 2:00-5:00am
Men's BMX Cycling, Primetime Replay

Aug. 20th 8:00-10:00pm, Primetime, Live ET/CT
Mens and Womens BMX Cycling Finals

Aug. 21st 2:00-5:00am
Mens and Womens BMX Cycling Finals, Primetime Replay

___________________________________________________


"Hey, What Kind of Bike is That?"


Nope, it's not the infamous "Sledgehammer" from Napoleon Dynamite -- it's Mike Day's sweet new Olympic racer, decked out in a sweet USA-1 paint scheme that would be sure to make Evel Kneevel proud. Though this bike is dripping with all the cool stuff ... make special note of the ultra cool Sun Ringle ENVY wheelset. You eagle eyed types are going to notice a whole lot of Olympian's bikes rolling on the new ENVY wheels. The set in this photo was probably laced up right here at the Hayes Cycle Group in Mequon, Wisconsin by our good friend -- and sometimes competitor -- Russel Jobs.

And, let's not forget that the GT brand is wholly owned by Pacific Bicycle Group, which is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. Olympic BMX parts and bikes being rocked from America's Dairyland -- now that's awesome !!!

SCQ PHOTOS NOW POSTED:

Nearly 150 photos from last weekend's State Championship Qualifier race have been posted at our MySpace site.  You will need to be logged into your MySpace account to view the photos.

We hope you enjoy them.

More Jumpers !!!

Below are a few of the many photos submitted by Sam Gillis, who spent his entire last weekend getting fried out in the sun, and fought off fatigue and "shutter finger fatigue" ... yes, Sam sent us like 500 photos from the weekend !!!  We'll try and post up what we can soon.

Nick Campanelli with the old school style ... laying a little flattie for us ... Nick is a superb jumper and a fast young racer.  He's definitely one of the young shredders to keep an eye on at Milwaukee BMX.

Brandon Ceslock gets his cruiser laid over and dialed down the second straight.

JUMP SHOTS:

Although I wish I could claim it as my idea ... the single best thing the track crew did in revitalizing the track this past spring was to eliminate the wedge out of the last turn and turn the last straight table into a tall, but short and flowy double. We've got a ton of great photos from over the weekend and a few that I grabbed last night to share. Look for more to be added to this post very soon.


I know I've written about a million times about the level of competition in our 41-45 class at Milwaukee ... but, when you consider that Bryan Dickerson, Mike Froh and Ed Morris all solidly made their mains at Rockford this year ... which is arguably the strongest non West Coast national on the ABA national circuit ... well, that's about all the proof anybody really needs. When they aren't beating each other up on the track ... these guys really have a chance to showcase their skills. Here's 45 year old Ed Morris, a couple years closer to collecting social security than being a high school graduate, flowing along like it's 1982, when he was undoubtedly equally fearless at all of 19 years old.


42 year old Brian Woods has some fun stories about his years as an older expert (from late 1970's and early 1980's, jeez ...) along with his days as an A-pro in the early and mid 1980's. He ran laps with guys like Tim Judge, Eddie King, and Mike Paulson back then ... which would be roughly equivolent to gating up with Denzel Stein, Kris Fox and Joey Bradford today. A 20+ year break from the sport, lasting from the late 1980's to last year, obviously didn't slow him down much. This shot shows Brian's still got, as we used to say when we were kids, style for miles.


Not to be outdone by "old dudes", 17 year old show-off Ben Kohls, threw out some awfully rad stuff of his own, including this super-high full-tuck huck ... and, it's a dandy for sure.

State Championship Qualifier Image Gallery:

First of several to come -- CLICK HERE

A few words of Thanks !!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you ...

... Okay, I think you are probably getting the idea here.

First to John Mencheski from Wisconsin Rapids, for his exceptionally generous donation of enough tarps to cover our entire track ... they have already been put to the test and really saved the day when the track took a short hard burst of rain late Saturday afternoon.

Holding those big beasties down were several hundred lbs. of sand bags generously donated, filled and loaded by the fine folks at Rivers Edge Farm Market and their staff strong men, Bryan Wendt and Ethan Gerhardt. Laura Kohls went to the trouble of trucking them from River's Edge in Jefferson to the track. AWESOME !!!

To Jon Engelhardt, a steady competitor in the 41-45 cruiser class, donated all the jersies that were raffled off on Saturday. Additionally, Jon sat out yesterday so that he could provide necessary medic services for the Redline Cup Qualifier.

to Ray Ekcert who must be in really good standing with his bosses at Waste Management -- for their super generous donation of the dumpsters we filled as a means to keep our track neat and tidy throughout the weekend.

And, to our friends at Sun Ringle who kicked in a the set of 20" Superstock Wheels for Saturday's raffle ... and a bunch of pairs of socks as well.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
If a picture is worth a thousand words, I probably won't have to write a single thing in this blog for the rest of the season ... just as soon as figure out just what to do with all the images we have from various sources that were captured throughout the weekend. With well over a thousand photos to review, even with me working the math, that's about a million words worth. In any event, we'll link 'em up as we post 'em up for sure.

The first group comes from Rosie Jankiewicz ... who has posted up more than 200 shots to her website for your viewing pleasure. The shots were captured at yesterday's Redline Cup Qualifier. We hope you enjoy 'em ... they are pretty doggone cool for sure.

Results and picture postings from Milwaukee BMX are coming ... but, please be patient ... with 69 groups of riders (37 Saturday and 32 Sunday) it's probably going to take us a little while to key in all the names.

Thanks again for a great-great weekend ... and we look forward to seeing all of you again soon.

PICTURE PERFECT !!!

37 motos ... more than 150 riders ... a great day and even more great racing.  ANNNDDDD, we get to do it all again tomorrow !!!  Thanks to everyone who making this weekend such a major success.

We did take a bit of rain late this afternoon ... but, it was the kind of helping rain that we actually really needed.  I sat in the car to see what the track would be like ... after we tarped the first corner and second straight (Thanks John Mencheski - and there will be more on that soon)

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

BMX in the News !!!



Though it's certainly not going to interrupt anybody's daily dose of Brett Favre speculation, Tom Held at the Journal Sentinel was nice enough to put together this little piece on Milwaukee BMX which appeared in his "Off the Couch" blog at JSOnline.com today ... thanks for the ink, Tom. I definitely enjoyed our talk.

There are also a couple other great articles that were recently published that I wanted to share. First, is this lengthy piece from Bicycling Magazine "BMX GOING BIG". This article is such a great read ... and is exceptionally eye opening as to what phenomenal athletes the world's top BMX racers really are. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I did.

Finally, Tim Eiring, who competes with us from time to time, and also helped out on several volunteer days, including our 2008 New Rider Clinic, was recently featured in this cool article in the Small Business Times. We wonder how much Tim's corporate insurance rates have gone up as a result. Great article Tim !!!

Finally, some really depressing news came in from Linda Weimer at Fond du Lac BMX this afternoon. After a botched break in at their track building ... the would be vandal turned arsonist and burned the building down. Insurance is going to help out ... but, the long and the short is ... Fondy BMX is temporarily out of commission. We at Milwaukee owe the Weimer's a lot as they provided a ton of support while we were in the process of getting started. We'll definitely do what we can to reciprocate in this time of need.

Kevin O'

TUESDAY AUGUST 5th -- WE ARE RACING !!!

Directions to Crystal Ridge:

A thoughtful reader alerted me to the fact that my "directions to Crystal Ridge" link over at the right wasn't working properly ... and, that the address wasn't coming up with the link. So, without further ado -- below are the street adress and Yahoo maps location of Crystal Ridge Ski Area. The track location will be obvious when you make the turn into the driveway off Crystal Ridge drive.

7900 W. Crystal Ridge Drive
Franklin, WI 53132

Click Here for Yahoo Driving Directions

Get out your Good Luck Charms !!!

Four leaf clovers, lucky rabits foot, race day socks that haven't been washed in three seasons ... whatever it is that brings you good fortune ... keep it nearby and cross your fingers that we don't take too much more rain tonight.

I was just to the track about an hour ago and it was drying nicely. The straights were mostly smooth and in race ready condition. The damage from the rain this morning was pretty minimal. The start hill remains nicely tucked in by the tarp that we put down on Thursday night, and there are additional tarps (Thanks Randy Olson) helping to protect the second straight. We do have some really minor wash areas ... but, all would be easily fixed by hand with minimal effort. The turns are holding up nicely as well.

Randy Olson, the Mittelstadt's, the Bratz's, the Kluth's, the Schmitt's all lent their hands and backs througout the week last week and over the weekend to get the track in what was perhaps the best condition it's ever been in. Todd Zimmerman was generous enough to once again lend his drag (a device he really ought to patent and sell to every other BMX track operator on earth -- it works that good!) and Bryan Dickerson picked it up at his house and delivered it to us. Huge help and we needed every bit of it. Thanks guys and gals !!!

We'll carefully monitor the weather and do what we can to keep our race program for tomorrow night in tact ... the rest is where the good luck comes in. (Now, where did I leave my lucky valve cap?)

Kevin O'