2012 Olympic hopefuls & BMX Racing at its finest - Pineview Park BMX Saint Cloud MN
For some strange reason one of our areas coolest features is still relatively unknown, Saint Cloud has what is considered to be one of the finest BMX race tracks and facilities in the world, Pineview Park BMX.
Pineview Park BMX Track started when the parents of two 14 year old boys decided that they really wanted to get into BMX racing. At the time, 13 years ago, the BMX racing track that was available to the 2 young men was located in Brainerd. After months of heading up to Brainerd several times a week with their bikes and equipment to practice and to race, the boys and their parents thought that it would be a good idea to start a track here in Saint Cloud. What started as something a couple of local moms & dads thought would be a passing phase in a young man's life has now become a a fantastic local attraction for our area.
The parents of the 2 young men, Mark & Cheryl Post and Gil Umerski, started a petition to get more people involved and to raise awareness on a city wide level. Several articles appeared in the local paper and the land at 6655 Saukview Drive was acquired and in 1999 opened as Pineview Park BMX. They are very proud of the work they are doing out at Pineview Park BMX, as they should be, they are enriching lives. It is a labor of love for these parents, doing everything from training the children to community education classes.
The Pineview Park BMX racing track will be hosting International BMX Races with Olympic qualification implications next summer. We are also very proud to say that one of this countries leaders in the initial qualifying for the upcoming 2012 Olympics is a local young lady named Alise Post (the daughter of Mark & Cheryl.) Alise is one of the top qualifiers for BMX racing in the United States and is looking forward to attending the Olympics in London in 2012.
Every race out at Pineview Park BMX is televised on their website. There are only 2 more races left this year but next year should prove to be very exciting for the sport and for our central Minnesota's BMX enthusiasts. Next summer 2011 on July 8, 9 & 10th (the Friday, Saturday & Sunday after the 4th of July) at Pineview Park BMX they will be hosting the International Races, UCI National. We wish Alise the best of luck and know that her years of training and hard work will pay off, we are looking forward to seeing a local face at the Olympics in 2012.
If you are interested in joining the fun group at Pineview Park BMX and racing you can call Mark at (320) 260-6702 or go to their website at http://www.ihigh.com/pineviewparkbmx/ and email or you can just show up out at the track on either a race Sunday or a practice Wednesday. If you are going to show up make sure that you are wearing long pants, a long sleeve shirt and bring your bike (if you do not have a helmet they have several on hand to loan you one if needed.) There are 2 classes for the riders: class racing and cruiser class. Cruiser class if for those of us that have a mountain bike with wheels that are 24" or larger and the class racing is for the smaller BMX style bikes with tires 20" or less.
The 2 young men have now grown up, but Pineview Park BMX is still going strong, everyday they are open Pineview Park BMX gets between 2 and 20 new riders. They are Keeping Kids on the Right Track. All ages are welcome to participate, currently the youngest rider at the track is a mere 3 years old and the oldest rider is a well aged (and fit) senior citizen. Everyone gets to race at their age and skill level, so if you are new to BMX Racing it is a very welcoming environment, a great way to get or stay in shape and a whole lot of fun.
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