Does anyone have kids that do BMX? My 4 year old just started this summer at New Paltz BMX (just won his first first place trophy tonight!) and I was curious if anyone had any experience with any of the tracks in NJ in terms of how they are run and maintained. They're all a bit of a hike but we are looking for a place for him to race on weekends which NP doesn't do.
OT: BMX racing.
- Thread starter LevaosLectures
- Start date
I raced in Howell 30+ years ago. After taking the whole shot out of the gate and through the table top, the inside corner will set you up to clear the whoopty-whoops so you can come off the berm high and jump the camelback heading into the home stretch.
HaHa. It seems impressive until you go to a bmx track and see a dozen 4 year olds who can smoke grown men. But as someone who learned to ride a two wheeler around eight i get a kick out of it.
We started BMX racing when my oldest was 5. Both tracks (all three, including Egg Harbor) are excellent facilities, with Egg Harbor and CJBMX (Howell) having a smoother racing surface. HCBMX (Flemington) races Saturday and CJBMX races on Sunday. The pump track in West Milford is a great place to play, too. There is a group that you may see in Flemington that is working toward a track in Passaic County.
I'm teaching my 5 year old to ride the regular 2 wheeler this weekend. He's a beast on the balance bike and loves blasting down hills. He's crazy competive (to a fault, which we are working on) and doesn't seem like one for organized sports (likes flag football only because at his age it's just 10 kids chasing him, couldn't give a crap about t ball). Maybe bmx would be good for him. I had friends when I was younger who raced, i never went further than the dirt track in the woods though.
It may be fun for you to stop at a track, too. All tracks now have a strider bike class for little ones to race on balance bikes. If the weather does not fail, we will be in Howell for a race and practice tonight from 5:30- 9.
We are at the pump track twice a week at least. It's awesome for practice and just messing around. He just switched from a regular 16 inch all purpose bike (a hotrock specialized) to a DK Micro Sprinter last week and the difference was amazing. It knocked about 20 seconds off his track time at New Paltz! Man, it would be great if they got a track running in Passaic County because about the only thing we don't like about BMX is the long car ride to every track from upper Passaic County.
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The balance bikes are amazing, aren't they? My son's coach Justin Ledoux was talking about how much the they've changed youth cycling because kids can now pick regular two wheeling so young after starting on a strider. In a few years, training wheels will be relics of history.
FYI, you can try out a BMX track, as they all have strider divisions now. The strider races at New Paltz are a lot of fun.
I used to ride for fun at the dust bowl in Deptford, NJ. Pretty sure its closed now, how i miss those days of my sweet mongoose flying over those monds with my CW racing bars (now mongoose went cheap and sold to Kmart or something not the same quality)
Watching the movie Rad.. (Lori Loughlin then, but Nicole now- she looks like a serious freckily Ginger in that movie poster)
I remember those bikes, Diamondback, GT , GT Dyno, CW, Hutch, Haro, Mongoose, redline... what other brands did I did i miss?
I used to ride for fun at the dust bowl in Deptford, NJ. Pretty sure its closed now, how i miss those days of my sweet mongoose flying over those monds with my CW racing bars (now mongoose went cheap and sold to Kmart or something not the same quality)
Watching the movie Rad.. (Lori Loughlin then, but Nicole now- she looks like a serious freckily Ginger in that movie poster)
I remember those bikes, Diamondback, GT , GT Dyno, CW, Hutch, Haro, Mongoose, redline... what other brands did I did i miss?
You got most of them - except one: Elf
Two kids from my old neighborhood had parents with enough dough to afford an Elf. They were over $700 a piece and that was back in 1984.
(I'm surprised I remembered that.)
Skateboards are very much still a thing. BMX does have bit of an 80s feel I admit.
Growing up in the 80s, I did skateboarding for a bit, but then we adopted dirt bikes/motocross as our favorite, mostly illegal past time. Had a blast for years and raced at Englishtown for a few season. I wish there were more legal places to ride in NJ. I'm just to old to be dodging cops anymore!
Go to SoCal as infrequently as possible and when there, just do my business and leave!
That's because you live in a troll bubble ... apparently for 30 years.
Skateparks are everywhere, much more so than the 80s.