HELP SUPPORT THOSE THAT SUPPORT THE SPORT !!!

The following Manufacturers support Milwaukee BMX through donations, sponsorships and with discounted product.

SunRingle BMX

Fly Racing BMX

Waste Management

The following Milwaukee area businesses and bike shops have agreed to lend their support to Milwaukee BMX through their participation in the 2008 Milwaukee BMX HOT SHOP program !!!

For the Moments Photography - John Themmes - 414.333.0686

Crank Daddy's Bicycle Works - 2108 N. Farwell - Milwaukee, WI

Wares Cyclery - 1306 S. 108th St., Milwaukee, WI 414-454-0550

South Shore Cycles - 4758 S Packard Ave - Cudahy 414-831-0211

Ben's Cycles - 1018 W Lincoln Ave - Milwaukee 414-384-2236

Johnson's Cycle & Fitness - 6916 W North Ave - Wauwatosa 414-476-2341

Allis Cycle - 9622 W. National Ave - West Allis 414-327-1290

Emerys Cycle and Fitness - Milwaukee / Glendale / Menomonee Falls 414-463-2453

Ride Extreme Sports - 14666 West National Avenue - New Berlin 262-789-7433

Wheel and Sprocket - Hales Corners, Brookfield, Delafield, Fox Point, Oshkosh & Appleton

Have all signed on to the Milwaukee BMX HOT SHOP program. These are the local shops that support Milwaukee BMX and we encourage our riders to get your goodies at these places first. Note, every sponsor phone number above and below starts with a 414 area code ... just like our track ... COOL !!! Remember ... think global, buy local.

MEETING UPDATE:

TONIGHT'S MEETING AT BENNO'S WILL TAKE PLACE AT 7:00 P.M.

Happy New Year Everybody !!!

MEETING NOTICE:

Those who can are asked to attend an update meeting this Wednesday night at Benno's on Greenfield Avenue in West Allis.

Jersey Update:
MilwaukeeBMX.com jerseys are in and being distributed first to those who we took pre-orders from. Thanks for your patience. In the next couple of days, I'll have an update with remaining colors and sizes and we'll sell those that were ordered as extra for $20 / each ($1.95 under the MSRP + shipping - if necessary). The project has been more successful than we imagined. We've now got more than 30 out there. Seeing all the Milwaukee-BMX logos at the track is personally gratifying. We appreciate your continued support.

$$$ DONATIONS:
We heard that a cash donation was sent to the track address in the "directions" area of this site recently. Please do not send your donations meant for MilwaukeeBMX to Crystal Ridge. There will be a new website coming soon with additional information on how to make cash donations. Please bear with us as we make this change and thanks for your patience in the meantime.

EXPANSION OF FACTORY DIRECT LINK TEAM INVOLVES AREA RIDERS:
Congratulations Mike Froh, Desiree Roeder, and Dallas Wiemer for recently being picked up by factory DirectLink. They join other Wisconsin hot shoes, Tim Eiring, Randy Behnke (TM), Curt Zizzo and Bryan Dickerson, who have been scoring well in the factory team cateory at the ABA nationals they attend.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN:
All of the riders above, + Fred Yanke, Jason Leikam and a few others, will be heading South for next weekends ABA Volunteer Nationals in Tennessee. Good luck, you guys.

That's it for now ... we hope we'll be seeing a few of you Wednesday at Bennos.

Kevin O'

BMX News ... Congratulations Ryan Birk!


Kuwahara Factory BMX Team adds Upshaw (re-posted from BMXNews.com)

Kuwahara BMX Bikes is proud to announce the US debut of the 2007 Kuwahara Factory BMX Team at the upcoming NBL Christmas Classic race on Dec. 26. And what a marque team it's going to be. Original team pro Matt Pohlkamp will be joined by Australian Warwick Stevenson who will be returning to the US to compete for both the ABA and NBL titles this season.

Also signing with Kuwahara after coming off a nasty wrist injury and making his rookie pro debut at the Christmas Classic in front of his home state fans is Jeffery Upshaw. Sun Ringle's Ryan Birk will be mixing it up in the vet pro class for Kuwahara as well. And even Natarsha Williams, Kuwahara's US Sales and Marketing Manager will be back out mixing it up in the women's pro class on occassion.

The 2 lone amateurs on the team will be national #1 13expert Justin Posey and little 8expert radster Luke Howse.The Kuwahara Factory team would like to thank it's 2007 co-sponsors, Maxxis Tires, Sun Ringle', Funn Components, Fly Racing, and Tangent Products.The team will be riding the all new 2007 line of Kuwahara race bikes available in complete bikes as well as frame only. So stop by the Kuwahara pit at the Christmas Classic and check out the 2007 line of products and meet the team.

It's going to be a big year at Kuwahara with this lineup of bikes and riders.For more info on Kuwahara BMX Bikes check out kuwaharabmx.com.

In other Kuwahara BMX news, US Sales and Marketing Manger and Girl Pro Natarsha Williams and Sun Ringle' BMX Director and Vet Pro, Ryan Birk were married on Christmas Day and will be spending their honeymoon the way any BMX crazed couple should....at a BMX race. So if you see Ryan at the race ask him how the heck he pulled that off and if you see Natarsha...wish her good luck.

Happy Holidays and Merry BM-X-Mas !!!

Time for bikes to hit the racks, and rakes, shovels, and paperwork to get set aside for a few days and enjoy time with our families over the holidays.

But, first, another update for you guys!

The second batch of FLY jersies have arrived and will be taken to the printer next week. We'll definitely have 'em ready in time for the 2007 season opener at Walworth on January 7. I ordered a bunch of extra's in the adult L / XL sizes ... so, if you didn't get in as part of the order, fear not ... we may still have you covered.








The meeting with Milwaukee County this week was both informative and productive. We should have the County contractual language in place by mid-January and then be ready to proceed with the final use-approval process with the City of Franklin. We were also advised that our 501c3 application has been received by the County and may be approved as early as January.

This has been a super exciting year (more on that next week) and John and I just want to say thanks again to all those who have helped advance Milwaukee BMX to this point.

Kevin O'

Milwaukee BMX 2007 Schedule Progress:

John Mittelstadt has arranged a meeting with Milwaukee County Parks, Trails Coordinator, Guy Smith, to move forward with the contractual language that will allow us to race in 2007.

We've also had continued discussions with other local track operators to coordinate schedules, and, by the time you read this, John will likely have submitted to the ABA a schedule that includes racing on Tuesday nights and every other Saturday next summer, during the months of June, July and August. We have no weeknight races scheduled for September, but, plan on a couple of Saturday races to close out the season. Gate practice will be run on Thursday evenings. We plan to get things started with a couple of new rider clinics in late May and early June.

Bench racing:

I've been a part-time competitor, but mostly full time observer of BMX racing for decades. Looking back, the most memorable moments in BMX racing involve rivalries. In the formative years of PRO racing, it was all about Stu Thomsen (#1) and Greg Hill (#3).

It's not like the supporting characters in pro racing we're giving Stu and Greg anything easy. Scott Clark, Brent and Brian Patterson, Kevin McNeal, Anthony Sewell, Tommy Brackens (the Powerlite rider leading the pack in the image above) Frank Post, Clint Miller, Turbo Harry Leary (amazingly still at it in Vet from time to time ... Leary was the "old" guy then!) and Perry Kramer were all amazing riders that could kill it on any given day. But, consistently, race after race, for year after year ... it was “Stompin'” Stu and the "Business Man" Hill that always seemed to factor in for the number 1 plate.

There have been other classic duels between then and now. Pistol Pete Loncarevich and Ronnie Anderson is one example that comes to mind, as do: Gary Ellis and Charles Townsend; Mike King and Eric Carter; Danny Nelson and John Purse ... all good battles. But, none really consistently measure up to the wars held between Hill and Thomsen. Maybe it's because they are actually family (through the marriage of Hills' sister to Thomsen). Perhaps it was that they were once team-mates on Redline. Whatever the reason, these two clearly set the pace for several years in the early 80's.


Fast forward to this moment. For several years now, Bubba Harris (Redline) and Randy Stumpfhauser (GT) have gobbled up the #1 or #2 plates in the two major sanctions. This year at the ABA Grands was an absolute classic showdown between the two. Harris was hurt for a while early in the season, but steadily worked his way back up to (his normal) speed. Stumpy, on the other hand, had been killing it at pretty much all the NBL races and always in the mix at the ABA events that he made. We invite you to check out the mains, captured by Millineum BMX by saving the files to your hard drive with a right mouse click and "save target as".

The pair split the first and second rounds of the mains, setting up main #3 with the two tied at 3 points each. We can only imagine how that third lap would have gone down if it were not for Bubba clearly coming unclipped right out of the gate. Yeah, Harris finishes the lap fourth, but, down the first straight, the pack has hit the big double by the time Harris is at the drop off.

Harris, who is now the first three-peat #1 AA Pro in the history of ABA racing, has been a phenom since he was a kid, and has been a consistent winner throughout his career. We’ve seen him grow up in BMX, and noticed his work ethic and commitment a long time ago so it’s really no surprise that he’s achieved so much so quickly.

Stumpy, predominantly a player in the NBL until the last year or two, on the other hand, seems to have clearly stepped up his game.

Looking back, it seems evident that Hill and Thomsen were the first to recognize and fully capitalize on the rapid growth of BMX in the early 1980’s. When Stu was on Redline and Hill was on GT from late ’81 through sometime in ’83, the two were the first six figure salaried pros in the sport.

Today, it seems pretty evident that the addition of BMX Racing as a medal sport at the 2008 Olympics is playing some role in the continued commitment of these two riders. Harris and Stumpy both want it … and it shows. Not to take anything away from other contenders, Donny Robinson finished third at the Grands, and Kyle Bennett is a consistent front runner when he’s healthy.

Stumpy and Harris, at the moment, however, just seem to want it more. That’s what rivalries are made of, and theirs is a good one for sure. There’s a lot to look forward to in 2007.

More NAG(ging)

We're happy to pass along the following note from Mike Welch -- who reminds us that the WI-01 riders profiled in a previous post are not the only Wisconsin riders to earn NAG honors this year ... We send our congratulations to both Dallas and Desiree for top finishes against national competition.

____________________________________________


Hello
Just thought I'd mention that two other Wisconsin riders ended the year with some
super strong nationals this year to end up with NAG plates.

Dallas Weimer is NAG 7 on his cruiser (13 year old) and Desiree Roeder is NAG 3 in 11girls. Those are two kids that pretty much everyone racing in Wisconsin knows. Dallas started racing when he was 4 and i think Desi has been racing for at least 4 or 5
years now.

Mike Welch

____________________________________________

Thanks for the heads up Mike.

BMX'er in need ...

Steve Spencer, who designed and constructed the original layout Milwaukee BMX track, recently sent out the following plea for financial support for his good friend, and integral member of the BMX racing community, Greg Leasure.

I made a small personal donation earlier this week, and would encourage any of you who know Greg to also help out. To be mis-diagnosed as potentially having cancer during the holiday season would be hard enough to cope with ... and, we can only imagine how devastating the crushing reality of the financials associated with this untimely hospital stay must be.

Below is Steve's message.

___________________________________________________________


This is a call out to the BMX community in general. It is time to come together and help out a great friend to all.... Mr. Greg Leasure. Many of you may have been following the reports on Greg since falling ill in Tulsa. To summarize what Greg has experienced:Greg began to feel ill on the Friday 11/17 while driving with the ABA crew to Tulsa. It started with chills, fever, and nausea. The next day it continued and Greg figured it was the flu and with some fluids and rest it would run its course. On Sunday night he started to get shortness of breath and asked to be taken to the hospital.

While in the hospital Greg was placed on IV's and after a brief evaluation it was determined he had a bad case of pneumonia. He was issued antibiotics, inhaler and pain med's. He felt slightly better on Monday but was still unable to hold down any food and most liquids. Early Wednesday morning Greg woke up his room -- Dan Mooney and said he felt worse than ever and needed to go back to the hospital. Dan rushed him over and Greg was immediately admitted for observation. New xrays showed that the liquid in Greg's left lung had increased significantly. At this point a ... doctor ... stated that Greg may have cancer and would have to have a biopsy performed! This news escalated Greg's anxiety along wiht those of who are close to him. Greg's girlfriend Lizzie immediately flew out to Tulsa to be with him.

Greg was released on Thursday and flew back home to Phoenix in hopes to get in to a doctor at one of the premier medical facilities in the country, the Mayo Clinic. Greg's condition was not improving all while in the back of his head he kept hearing the word "cancer". Greg's attempts to get into a doctor were delayed due to insurance changes that were taking place with his recent move from San Diego to Phoenix plus the Mayo Clinic's scheduling did not have him due to come in until sometime in January!!! Greg's mom and Lizzie were persistent in communicating Greg's condition to the Mayo Clinic which led to Greg's appointment today, 12/06.

The examination concluded that Greg did not have cancer but did have what is called Valley Fever ( http://www.dhpe.org/infect/valley.html ). The condition is sometimes fatal but Greg is in the right hands now. Greg is at ease with the cancer-cloud no longer looming over head.The whole ordeal did not come without a price. Greg has amassed a substantial medical bill while in Tulsa. Greg is presently in between jobs since moving to Phoenix and is very concerned about addressing the medical bills. This is where we come in. Please find it in your hearts and wallets to help Greg out. Any amount will be glady accepted and greatly appreciated. Those of you who know Greg know that he would be the first one to spearhead a fundraising effort if any of you needed the assistance.

Greg lives and breaths BMX and is a friend to all in the BMX community. He is the US Marketing/Advertising Director for BMX World Magazine, an avid contributor to the VBMX forums, one bad-azz racer for Factory Avent/Bombshell who had his Grands/NAG dreams knocked out from underneath him this year and is ONE HELL OF A FRIEND and a human being.

Please, let us band together and help out our brother in need. You can send your donations via PAYPAL to: gregleasure@hotmail.com If you do not have a PAYPAL account they are very easy to set up so no excuses. Thank you in advance for your help. - Steve Spencer

Miscellaneous December News:

There are just two races left at the Walworth Indoor this season and they are going off this Saturday and Sunday, December 9-10. The 2007 Wisconsin racing season kicks off at Elkhorn on Sunday January 7.

Final jersey orders for 2006 have been made with Ray Hudson at Fly ... we'll have several extras available (kids small / medium + L & XL) if you missed out and are still interested ... please don't hesitate to contact us.

Bubba Harris re-writes the history books, becoming the first the first AA-Pro in ABA history to win THREE consecutive titles.

The Grands Report:
It takes a tremendous amount of speed and poise to make your way through the rounds and rounds you face to advance to the mains at the grands. The format is progressive, where every lap after qualifying motos pits you against faster riders, who have a more cut throat attitude, and even the slightest bobble can eliminate you from heading to the next round. Of the riders we profiled last post, here's how things wound up for them at the grands:

Tim Eiring - although solidly advancing through the early rounds on both his 20 and cruiser, Tim's season came to an end having made his Semi's on both bikes. Nevertheless, the affable Eiring will be running #4 Gray Nag plates on both bikes in 2007. Tim has plenty of highlights from his '06 campaign and we figure it's a safe bet he'll be right back in the mix for the #1 plate in 2007.

Randy Behnke - pulled his way into the main where he finished with a fifth. Behnke was the only rider to hail from East of the Missippi River to make the main in the 23 rider field. Funny to think that I've known Randy since he was getting started with bmx, a scrawney 14 year old riding second and third hand stuff, and 20 years later, he's totally killing it on a national level. Behnke's NAG plate for '07 is the lowest NAG number that will be represented by the state of Wisconsin ... #3. Congratulations on an outstanding season, Randy!

Curt Zizzo - is another Wisconsin rider that will have a gray #4 NAG plate on his bike in '07, having finished sixth in the 36-40 cruiser main that had a super competitive 32 rider field. Zizzo told me that of all the times he's been to the grands, this was the first time he's held it together and made his main. "6th felt like a letdown", Zizzo said "It was hard keeping my head straight, I guess I felt a sense of relief that I had made it to the main". Well, ya did make it, Curt ... great job.

Bryan Dickerson - As we predicted a couple of weeks ago, Bryan was indeed a top contender in the 41-45 cruiser class, and in fact was the top point earner going into his main. Bryan told us that he felt like he got a bit mentally balled up going into the main. In any event, Bryan came out with a sixth place grands finish and a #4 on his 2007 NAG plate. To put things into perspective, Bryan is a vice president at a software development company for the healthcare industry, is the team manager for Direct Link BMX, helped us build the Milwaukee BMX track this summer, and found time to have a house built to boot. Amazing.

Fred Yanke - was our darkhorse pick and according to Dickerson was going fast all weekend long, but having some difficulties with the 900 foot long rhythm section at the grands track. Yeah, you read it right, the rhythm in Tulsa must have felt like it just went on forever. Trying to get your cardio up for the grands at Elkhorn is like practicing for nuclear war in a romper room with a yo-yo. The two just don't relate.

Cory Caliendo - Slipped a couple of spots in both 11 expert (#10) and cruiser (#7) but finished with NAG plates in both. He capped his impressive season with a seventh place finish out of 42 (!) riders in the 11 expert class. Nice going, Cory.
____________________________________________





Sun Ringle' BMX Press Release:
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably already know who took home the big shiny cups from the ABA Grands last week in Tulsa OK. What you may not have known is that all 4 Pro Titles this year were won on Sun Ringle’ wheels. It’s no secret that Sun Rims (headquartered in Mequon, Wisconsin) can be found on almost every top BMX racer on the track so we’re used to our riders winning and having success. But sweeping all the Pro Titles for the year is definitely something to brag about.

CMC/Tangent’s Alise “the Beast” Post had an incredible rookie year in Girl Pro, taking the Golden Crank Award for Rookie of the Year (beating out the guys for this award) and then winning the ABA Girl Pro Title a few days later. Alise rides the Sun 4Stroke Race wheelset.

“Redline’s “Black Jack” Jason Carnes came back from early season knee surgery to take the ABA Vet Pro title for the fifth year in a row. Jason rides the Sun 4Stroke Race wheelset.

“The Little Engine that Did” Formula’s Donnie D.R. Robinson capped off his awesome 2006 season by winning the Golden Crank Award for Pro of the Year and the ABA Pro Cruiser Title. Donnie rides the Sun CR18 1.5 rims.

And some guy they call “Bubba” made history this weekend by becoming the first Pro in history to win the ABA Pro Title 3 years in a row. Redline’s Bubba Harris has ridden the Sun Pro Super Stock wheelset to all 3 of his ABA Pro Titles. And not to be forgotten, Sun co-sponsored Redman/Yamaha Waverunner won the Factory Team Title for 2006 as well.

Submitted by Ryan Birk Sun Ringle' BMX Brand Manager
___________________________________________________________

Big props to Ryan and the entire Sun Crew ... we totally appreciate your support of Milwaukee BMX.

Thanks for reading Milwaukee BMX ... we'll see you at the track this Sunday.

Kevin O'

Fred Yanke has the Walworth BMX field covered in 28+ expert ... is Fred a Grands darkhorse? We'll know Sunday afternoon.

Happy Thanksgiving !!!

Also, good luck to all of our volunteers and friends who have travelled to Tulsa Oklahoma for the ABA Grandnationals.

Right off the top of my head, here are a couple of local stories we'll be watching through the weekend.

Tim Eiring has a great shot at a Nag 1 plate in 28-35 expert, sitting just 13 points behind the ABA's all time leading amateur Brent (Pee-Wee) Lee (who has earned more than 500,000 points in his career !!!). On his cruiser, Tim is currently NAG 3 ... but, the leader, Jacob Hensley, from Folsom, CA, is likely out of Tim's reach. Tim has a couple of national wins this season on both bikes with perhaps the most impressive coming at Rockford's Midwest Nationals, which is one of the premier stops on the ABA national circuit. Guys who win Rockford can pretty much win anywhere.

Randy Behnke and I talked about his chances of a Nag 1 on his cruiser in the super competitive 31-31 cruiser class. He's 48 points out of the top spot, but his first straight pull will definitely put him in the mix come main time. Behnke has also scored a number of national wins this year, including two wins in January in Florida, had solid finishes at Rockford, won twice in Minnesota, won Sunday's Volunteer National in Tennessee and most recently scored a win and third at Brighton in August, the last time he raced a national. Behnke is also likely to have to get around "Pee Wee" Lee if is to earn the NAG #1 plate.

Curt Zizzo gave me a first hand demonstration last weekend at Elkhorn of why he's currently sitting in the #4 spot among the national age group leaders in the tough 36-40 cruiser class. Curt's starts rock and he's got the track skills to turn a holeshot into a national win. And, he's got a bunch of national wins this year. Curt doubled down at Rockford, then followed up with two wins each at St. Cloud, MN and Brighton, IL.

Bryan Dickerson is sitting 3rd in 41-45 cruiser and with the way he's riding at the moment ... it wouldn't suprise us at all if he didn't improve a couple of spots and land a #1 on his plate as well. Bryan's been in this position before, but, unfortunately was dinged up pretty badly at nationals time. This time he's healthy, pulling hard, and riding as well as I've ever seen him. No question, when the gate drops on Sunday's main ... Bryan will be not only in the mix, but a top contender.

This column is beginning to feel a bit like an advertisement for Direct-Link BMX as all four of those guys are on the Direct Link factory team. Together, they won several team trophies this season, but, they'll have their work cut out at the grands because of the massive rider counts in 16, 17, and 18 year old expert classes. Dickerson mentioned running a Direct-Link rider clinic at Milwaukee BMX next season ... we hope they will !!!

Fred Yanke, who's name and image you've seen in this column in the past, and has been absolutely, totally, freaking killing it in 28+ expert at Elkhorn this season, plans to race in 28-35 expert. Fred gave everyone who would notice a glimpse at the possibilities when he made the B-Main for the 30+ BS Stops open at Rockford this year. The BS Stops race typically has 50+ riders of all abilities, from Novice to Pro, vying for 16 spots on the gate through several qualification rounds, in an A-Main B-Main format. If Fred's got the legs to finish the grands track, and we think he does, he'll be on the gate late Sunday afternoon ... against 7 of the other top riders in the nation.

Fred is self-employed and runs a company called Sandpiper Landscaping and is a guy that we owe a lot to. His volunteer efforts helped enormously to buff out the Milwaukee BMX track, taking it from rough layout, to raceable condition, this summer.

Cody Caliendo, I'm sort of bummed that I haven't written about this kid yet. All he does is go to nationals and make just about every main he enters. Caliendo is sitting NAG #9 among 11 year olds and #5 on his cruiser. Caliendo is from Sussex and I imagine we'll see a fair amount of him in 2007.

The Grands track build is coming along well and looking like a really cool layout.

For those of you sticking around Wisconsin for the weekend, there is a single point race Sunday afternoon at Elkhorn. Registration, as always, closes right around noon and racing will begin ASAP after.

As always, keep the knobby side down and we'll see you at the races.

Kevin O'

Mike Lundy has had big leads since returning to PRO racing at Walworth BMX in early November. In this image, taken November 19th, he's leading A-Pros James Carter, Nate Schaeffer, Jeremy Kaht and others.

More Donation News ...
John Wethall from Lake Mills who races in the OM cruiser classes (and, don't forget, this column is written by a guy who occassionally races in the OM cruiser classes) passed along a brand new multi-channel mixer for the public address system. This is not an inexpensive piece of equipment that John passed along. As I wrote John earlier today to relay how grateful we are that he made this donation, it occurred to me how totally in awe I am at the number and types of donations we've received ... many from folks we're meeting for the very first time.

MilwaukeeBMX.com jersey's -- the sequel
We've got a couple folks interested in a few more jerseys ... so we're going to try and get together a second run. Fly's suggested retail on the jerseys is $21.95 ... which is what we'll sell them for. 100% of the profit from Jersey sales will go to support Milwaukee BMX. These would make kind of cool Holiday gifts, but, I need a minimum order of a dozen by Thanksgiving to make it happen. e-mail me at kevin.odonnell@zastudios.com with your size, prefered color (red/black black/silver) and contact information if you are interested.

Walworth Indoor Observations
Having finally made it out to somebody else's track on an event day, I got a chance to run into a bunch of people I hadn't seen since working on the Milwaukee BMX track this summer ... or, from even further back than that. Always super cool to feel welcome at the track ... whether as competitor, as "Dane's dad" ... or as some crazy dude with a website who likes to take a lot of practice laps. Only thing I regret is that I didn't bring a camera yesterday. If anybody's got pictures to share here ... I'll be happy to post 'em.

It was rad to see Mike Lundy racing pro again yesterday. Mike was going super fast and his leads reminded a few of us of his amatuer days racing at Elkhorn ... when he could pretty much goof off down the third and fourth straights and still win by four bike lengths. Lundy had a bad wreck earlier this summer and had to have a kidney removed as a result. So, it's a major achievement, in my mind, that he not only got back on a bike, but got back out on track ... and, got back out in front. Amazing. ISTV has a Mike Lundy interview online that was written shortly before he turned pro at Rockford's Midwest National in 2005 ... where he didn't lose a lap all weekend !!!

It was likewise good seeing Nathan Labecki killing it with his brand spankin new MilwaukeeBMX.com jersey on. Mark Kluth's son was also dudded up in our threads. We're stoked that you guys were flyin' the MilwaukeeBMX colors ... we hope you like the jerseys.

That's all for now ... we'll see 'ya at the track.

Single / Double Weekend at the Barn



Walworth BMX is running a single / double weekend this Saturday and Sunday. Saturday practice and registration begins at about 2 and registration closes at 4 ... racing begins ASAP. Sunday registration is from 10 to noon with racing ASAP after registration closes.

2007 Milwaukee BMX Schedule

We are very close to submitting our schedule to the ABA. We are taking a very careful look at running a majority of our races on Weeknights, like the Metro Mountain Bikers. A handful of multi-point (state championship) races and other special event races would be held on weekends. Feedback is, of course, welcome ... but, the way things look ... we're looking closely at racing Thursdays and having track gates on Tuesdays ... that would run through June, July and August. There are two weekend races in both September and October. And, the schedule kicks off with one or two new rider clinics in May.

That's it for now ... c-ya at the races.

Kevin O'

Donor Recognition

Thanks to the generosity of a few key individuals and organizations, here are the items that have been donated to Milwaukee BMX to date.

* Sun Ringle (Corporate donation) - lots of swag and goodies to help support the cause

* Kuwahara Bicycles (Corporate donation) - donating an upcoming BMX Skills clinic with all proceeds going to Milwaukee BMX ... Matt Pohlkamp, Jeff Upshaw and Natarsha Williams will be the primary instructors

* Sandpiper Landscaping - Fred Yanke (individual Donation) - time and expertise with final track design

* Bill Rupp (individual donation) - Laptop Computers (2)

* Sentry Fence, Waukesha (corporate donation) - 500' - Chain Link Fence

* LF George Equipment Supply, Oconomowoc (corporate donation) - Use of Professional Landscaping Equipment
* Mark Kluth (individual donation) - Heavy Timbers for landscaping + Posts and Cable for Staging

* John Wethall (individual donation) - 4 channel mixing board and cables for public address system

* Dayton BMX (Bob Bruns) (individual donation) - complete starting gate

* Milwaukee County Zoological Society - unused ticket booth now used as start hill structure

* Zimmerman Architectural Studios - (individual donations) - cash donations for air compressor

* Pro Electric (electrical run from Chalet to Milwaukee BMX start hill ... installation of two 20 amp circuits trackside)

Items in the works:


Items we can still use:
- T-Posts (I'm going to be donating a bunch ... but, I figure you can never have to many of these)
- printer
- equipment shed
- chalk liner
- outdoor lighting
- grass seed (fescue would be best as it's hearty and will practically grow in concrete)
- public address equipment - amplifier, speakers, microphone ... what have you got sitting your attic?

ABA Fall Nationals Live Webcast !!!

CLICK HERE to link to the ABA's live webcast of the Fall Nationals from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The FALLS are being run at a new facility that was constructed as part of a youth complex near the University of New Mexico and is being constructed as a joint effort between the City of Albuquerque and the State of New Mexico at a cost of $5 million. While I absolutely applaud progressive thinking of the politicians who demonstrated the forsight to construct this facility targeted at the areas youth ... I am nevertheless extremely proud of the fact that to date, Milwaukee BMX has been constructed utilizing only donations, volunteer $$ and event fee funds ... we have not received any taxpayer funded financial support.

We'll be watching the webcast and paying special attention to the 28-35 expert class. Tim Eiring, a Milwaukee BMX volunteer, who currently sits second in the ABA 28-35 expert National Age Group and third in 26-30 cruiser, is racing this weekend ... in an attempt to gain a few valuable points as he heads into the grands and with his sights on those highly coveted NAG #1 plates.

Pro-Gates are about to drop ... so, it's time to stop writing ... and time to start cheering.

YEAH ... BMX !!!

Kevin O'

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'

10 / 19 / 2006 Update

Learning to Fly ...

So, some big old box full of goodies shows up the other day from WPS (Western Power Sports) in Idaho ... which can only mean one thing ... the FLY RACING / MILWAUKEE BMX jerseys are here. I stopped into the screen printer today to finalize the artwork requirements and get a better sense of the pricing. Printing will add a whopping $4 / shirt (I'm skipping Super-Sizing for a week to pay for mine !!!). Schedule wise, it looks like I'll have the shirts back in my hands by this time next week ... so, I should be able to get them out to most of you in plenty of time for you to wear 'em with pride at the Walworth County opener on November 4.

Mark Kluth, I owe you a call ... but, let's just say I think we've gotcha covered.

Track Items and Progress:
Craig from Pro Electric is figuring to start running power either later this month or in November to the starters shed and to another box on the North end of the starting hill in the area that the announcers / scorers will ocupy. John and I have been learning more about compressors than I ever thought I'd have to know ... HP, tank capacity, CFM refresh rate, max psi, etc. I think we've got a pretty solid handle on what we need to run the gate and between the two of us, we'll have something in place by spring.

Mark continues his work on the staging area posts and we'll start driving those in just as soon as we get some decent weather.

The track seems to be holding up really well despite not getting any attention for the past month.

That Was a Good Question:

Somebody recently wrote an anonymous note asking weather we are planning to put some "committees" in place to help "organize" our effort. The reason I held back on your post was because it went on to cite another track where the perception is that just one person is trying to do everything and the not-so-hidden message was that that track is faring poorly as a result. On this point, I'm not going to waver, we are about building BMX here at Milwaukee BMX ... not about sanction wars or criticizing other TO's.

On to the answer to your question ... the core group that pitched in to construct our track has discussed orgnizing ourselves into an executive group to watch over the money and the facilitate the volunteer activities (recruiting, training, scheduling), a marketing group to help tell the story to the community at large and sell advertising to potential sponsors to help pay for the operation ... and a track committee that makes track related decisions. All are dependent on one another ... and we all need each other to succeed to keep the lights on at Milwaukee BMX. Since we thought your question was a pretty good one, we decided to send you a couple of "Fly Racing" stickers ... except that your note was signed anonymous ... so, we're just going to have to keep them for the person who asks the next really great question.

Hey, if anybody's heading down to the ABA Fall Nats in Albequerque, NM ... drop us a line here at MilwaukeeBMX.com. We'd love to hear your stories.

Kevin O'

10 / 16 / 2006 B.M. X-Up-date

Walworth Build is Ready !!!

Received word late this afternoon that the Walworth County Indoor construction crew wrapped up work late yesterday afternoon completing the track for the 2006-2007 indoor racing season. Mike Froh, Bryan Dickerson, Fred Yanke and Todd Zimmerman, who all are key players in the development of the Milwaukee BMX track at Crystal Ridge, also made the Walworth track.

First race is scheduled for Saturday afternoon, November 4.

Looking forward to seeing a bunch of you that we got to know this summer there.

Kevin O'

10 / 13 / 2006 update:

Big wheels keep rollin'
This is a long overdue bear-hug type thanks to the guys and gals who are involved with Metro Mountain Bikers, the Milwaukee area mountain bike club that constructed the original cross country mountain bike trails at Crystal Ridge ... and ultimately blazed a trail (pun alert #1) for BMX as a natural evolution at Crystal Ridge. Now they've taken things a step further. Metro Mountain Bikers are helping Milwaukee BMX navigate our way through the City of Franklin planning / approval process. We sure owe a lot to Marty Weigel and his crew over at MMB ... and, it's a safe bet that they'll have me huffin' and puffin' my way through their single track next summer. Not to mention, it's almost a lock tight cinch that they just recruited a couple of new volunteers for their major events at Crystal Ridge.

ABA Photo of the Day ...
The cover of the new issue of BMX'er is super rad. I'm not sure who the young Redman rider is on the left of this photo ... but, that cat is going to get some sort of backside pump.

We need MORE POWER !!!
TO-John had plans to meet up with Craig from Pro Electric to get a quote generated (pun #2 -- oh, I'm on a hot streak today!) for running electrical lines to the start hill and possibly run to some boxes out on the track. John, we probably need at least one 220v line for the compressor !!!

Around the area this weekend ...
Jake's track building crew is currently at work moving dirt in the barn to form the 2006 - 2007 Walworth County BMX Indoor track. I'm going to try like crazy to swing by there this weekend to get a couple of digital images to share with ya'll right here ... keep your eyes peeled for updates.

Rockford BMX has a single pointer scheduled for Sunday afternoon ... sign-up's close at noon and racing begins ASAP. For more information, including directions to the track ... check out RockfordBMX.com

Fond du Lac BMX also has a single pointer scheduled for Sunday afternoon ... registration closes at 12:30 with racing beginning ASAP. For everything you could possibly ever need to know about Fond du Lac BMX ... check 'em out at http://www.fdlbmx.org/

Kevin O'

AREA ABA TRACK INFORMATION and WEBLINKS -

WISCONSIN


Walworth Indoor BMX
District: WI01
Elkhorn, WI
phone: 262-723-4626

Contact Information:
Jake & Candy Karau 815-874-8719
email: Candybmx@aol.com
web: http://www.walworthbmx.com

________________________________

Fond du Lac BMX
District: WIO2
Fond Du lac, WI
Track Phone - Race Days Only: 920-266-6317

Contact Information:
Paul & Linda Weimer: 920-921-1976
email: bmxironlung@charter.net
web: http://www.fdlbmxclub.com

________________________________

Winnebagoland BMX
District: WI02
Oshkosh, WI
phone: 920-716-8969

Contact Information:
Meghann Kasper 920-410-5911
email: troyanthony@yahoo.com
Troy Kasper
web: http://www.winnebagolandbmx.org

________________________________

Central Wisconsin BMX
District: WI03
Wisconsin Rapids
WIphone: 715-459-2809

Contact Information:
Mark Statz 715-421-4521
email: info@cwbmx.org
John Bingham 715-424-5520
web: http://www.cwbmx.org

_________________________________

Hodag BMX
District: WI03
Rhinelander, WI
phone: 715-362-2691

Contact Information:
Bill Godin 715-369-1145
email: maynard@newnorth.net
Rob Fredricks 715-369-1464
web: http://www.hodagbmxclub.com/



ILLINOIS

Rockford BMX
District: IL01
Rockford, IL
phone: 815-964-8657

Contact Information:
815-874-8719
email: Candybmx@aol.com
web: http://www.rockfordbmx.com
_______________________________________

The Hill BMX
District: IL02
Elgin, IL
phone: 630-973-0012

Contact Information:
Don Fahy
630-973-0012
email: thehillbmx@earthlink.net
web: http://www.thehillbmx.com

Tuesday 10/10/2006

Racing at The Rock'



Sunday, for the first time in a long time, I loaded up bikes and dragged the family down to Rockford. This time, it wasn't for me to race, but, for Dane, my six-year old son, to take his first shot at competition. Dane has quite a few laps around various BMX tracks, but, this was the first time he actually felt ready to race. He's done well in school over the last month and certainly deserved to get his shot. When we got there, he was definitely nervous about the gate, and, I could feel his anxiety every single time we went up the hill. It became clear to me in a hurry that it's a lot tougher being a dad, sitting in staging with a fidgety kid, than it is doing the same thing as a competitor. Nonetheless, Dane overcame his fear, and rode out three solid laps (there were three 6 novice riders who competed in "olympic" format) finishing last each time ... nevertheless, he gained a bit of ground on the leaders on every lap. John Mauer, a fixture in Rockford's older classes, and a truly great ambassador to the sport, offered to get Dane an award before he learned that his class was Olympic. A truly good example for us all to hang onto ... all first time racers should get some sort of award no matter where they finish.

Rockford crowned its season champions Saturday ... naming the top 23 riders with each receiving a nice trophy for their season long efforts. Team awards were also given during the intermission between motos and mains.



In all, it was a great day for BMX racing. Kudos to Jake and Candy Karau and all the volunteers who make Rockford BMX work so well. The whole operation runs smooth and is the model of success that Milwaukee BMX (and, most others that I can think of) is trying hard to emulate. They are exactly the type of asset to the community that we'd someday like to be.

Walworth BMX '06 / '07 Racing Schedule Released
John Wethall beat me to it a couple nights ago, submitting the Walworth Indoor BMX schedule in a 'comment' to the previous post. I've got the hard copy sitting at home, which was published and distributed at Rockford on Sunday. The schedule looks great. There are multi-date races heading into the ABA Grands which should help our local racers to have a great shot at bringing home some serious hardware from Oklahoma.

Looking forward to returning to the barn after a long season of one sunburn after the next while building Crystal Ridge:

NOVEMBER:
Saturday & Sunday 4th & 5th (single / single)
Saturday & Sunday - 11th & 12th (single / double + team purse)
Sunday 19 th
Sunday - 26th (for those of us who don't make the grands)

DECEMBER:
Saturday & Sunday 2nd & 3rd (Chad Maurer Mem. race)
Saturday & Sunday 9th & 10th (Christmas Classic)
Christmas Break - Happy Holidays !!!

JANUARY
Sunday 7th
Sunday 14th
Sunday 21st,
Saturday and Sunday 27th & 28th (Double WSQ / Team purse)

FEBRUARY
Sunday 4th
Sunday 11th
Sunday 18th
Saturday 24th (BS Shotout), and Sunday 25th (Double Rac For Life / Team Purse)

MARCH
Sunday 4th
Sunday 11th
Sunday 18th
Sunday 25th (TBA)

a really sad note: a few of you know that Denise, Dane and I had my been caring for my mom in our home over the past year. Mom was recovering from a below the knee amputation of her left leg that was required to remedy a diabetes related staff infection in her left foot. My mom was purely old school, deathly afraid of the Dr. visits that might have revealed her diabetes at a much earlier stage and made preventative measures much more effective. A little more than a month ago, it became apparent that mom was going to require an additional amputation to prolong her life. Rather than facing a future of uncertainty as a double amputee, Joyce O'Donnell made a conscious decision to refuse further treatment allowing herself to succumb to complications associated with her diabetes. She was 73 and raised me by herself. Although her life's passion was related to the horses she raised, she did indulge my occassional BMX habit by allowing me to go racing. She later confessed that she never enjoyed watching me race as I almost always wrecked whenever she was trackside. Joyce died Friday at West Allis Memorial Hospital and I will miss her greatly.

10 5 2006 UPDATE:

A family health issue is probably going to keep me away from the track this weekend. If I do get out ... it will just be for an hour or two of therapy to move some rocks and continue to figure out the staging area.

The Walworth County BMX track build will be going on next weekend ... and, I can't wait to see what Mike, Bryan, Fred, Todd and the rest of the track building crew figure out for this seasons track. Jake's tracks have been first rate for as long as I can remember, and, with those guys helping, the secret to his success isn't much of a secret. We've been super lucky to have thier help in Milwaukee.

I have heard that the Walworth BMX opener will be the first weekend in November. Absolutely looking forward to it. I'll have periodic reports up here on how our locals do there.

If you need one last outdoor fix:

Fond du Lac has races scheduled for October 15, 22 & 29.
Rockford is also racing on October 15, 22 & 29.
Winnebegoland (Oshkosh) is closed for the year, but has work days scheduled for this weekend, October 7-8, and next weekend, October 14-15.

All of these tracks have schedules that can be accessed on the right of this website --->>>

Thanks again for all of your support and help. And, keep riding.

Kevin O'

To Contact MilwaukeeBMX.com by E-Mail -- info@MilwaukeeBMX.com

Movin' on Up !!!

This weekend Fred, John and newbie volunteer Mark Kluth worked in the design that Fred generated for the back of the start hill.

First order of the day was to get the gate square with the first obstacle ... we roll measured the distance from gate one to the first lip of the first obstacle, then from gate 8 ... there is less than 3" difference between the two ... so, no griping about gate 8 starts guys.














Next, is the back fill to compensate for the nearly 2 foot rise at the back of the new gate. This is where Mark becomes our new best friend. See, he's got access to old telephone poles through his employer, We Energies ... and, when you are trying to control grades in compound slopes and all sorts of weird stuff like that ... a few telephone poles go a long way (no pun intended).














Fast forward a day ... John's gotten done backfilling the log cut terraces ... and I went to freaking town with a shovel and a rake to get some of the grades worked out. It's not exactly Fred's original design intent, but, that's the beauty of design-build. We're working out the minor stuff right in the field. Note the difference between the knee high step up to the gate in the photo above, and the 6" or so step up to it in the image below ... good stuff.


This view shows the new grade in profile (or 'section' if you are speaking architect, a language unto itself), note the amount of fill that is being supported by the inlaid telephone poles. For how it works, think one moto on the gate, two more in staging on the two terraces. The 10 moto lanes will terminate at the furthest left telephone poles. I made a mini-rock wall to emulate the rock wall that Fred originally put on the hill. I'm definitely not afraid to copy stuff ... as long as it's good ... and we've taken a ton of compliments on Fred's original stonework.














This view also gives a nice look at the starters shack we inherited from the Milwaukee County Zoo. Really nicely constructed and has conduit and a circuit breaker installed in it. We think it looks pretty slick up there.


This is the totally killer view from the starters shack looking out over the starting gate. Seriously, there are probably a handfull of tracks in the US where the starter is treated to this nice a view. I don't think we're going to have too many problems finding volunteers to run the gate.

Again, my sincerest thanks to Fred, Mark and John for the work that was done this weekend ... and, for some reason, it always seems like saying thanks to the you guys is barely enough. Everything looks great and we're moving along well as we wind down the year and begin looking forward to indoor season.

Although I don't think I'll be doing any big stuff ... I'm fairly sure to be moving rocks around and fiddling with grades this coming Saturday ... weather permitting.

Kevin O'