Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

BMX club making jump to new park

The site is a bit off the beaten path, but many dedicated riders say that doesn't matter. They love the additional space.

By ROBERT SAMUELS
Published January 23, 2005

With the paperwork finally complete, the local BMX club will soon have a new place to call home - complete with lots of space for cyclists and spectators alike.

Construction for the St. Petersburg BMX club's new track on 28th Street N. should start in April and be finished in time for the new biking season next fall.

Gary Terpak, track director of the BMX club currently at Walter Fuller Park, said he finished off the bulk of paperwork for the track's move to a space across the street from Pinellas County's waste recovery site. The club's 500-plus members will be able to ride in Walter Fuller Park until the move is complete.

"We're extremely excited about the move," Terpak said. "It will provide a better experience for all our members."

While some riders said the new site will be a little out of their way, members agreed they were willing to make the sacrifice for the love of biking.

The location for the city-owned property at Walter Fuller Park isn't optimal for the sport, Terpak said. Cramped spaces made the dirt-filled track uneven. In addition, it's location on the lakefront prohibits spectators from watching cyclists run up and down hills from all four sides.

Terpak also said teenagers enjoy using its current location at 26th Avenue for drag racing. However, high-speed contests in cars pose potential danger for members, who park their cars alongside that street.

The new site at 28 Street N., near 118th Ave. N., should help with those problems. The club will have its own parking lot, Terpak said. The 10-acre center should have a longer track with a leveled landscape.

More spectators will be able to watch from any angle they want to at the new park, Terpak said. This will allow the track to host bigger biking competitions more frequently.

A new skate park will replace the club's old home, Terpak said. Skaters will not only have to thank the BMX club for moving and providing the second skate park in the area, but also for the orange clay the BMX club will leave behind.

Bicycle motocross is becoming increasingly popular, Terpak said. Registration numbers are up and the average age of participants is going down. Jacob Carter, the club's youngest rider, is 3 years old.

"He just loves doing the tricks," said his mother, Ashley Carter, while watching him speed scale the dirt-hills on the track Tuesday night. "We even put up a ramp at our house, so he can practice."

Ashley Carter comes out Tuesday and Thursday evenings to watch Jacob and his 6-year-old brother Zack. When her sons became interested in becoming club members, her husband, Jim Carter, also donned a biking helmet and began to tag along.

Carter said she wasn't enthusiastic about the extra drive that will start next year. But a better track will better prepare the boys for their competitions.

"My boys want to be good," Carter said. "So it's worth it."

[Last modified January 23, 2005, 00:14:21]