Local BMX group wants to get you on a bike
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IDAHO FALLS — Skills aren’t as important as having fun to Snake River BMX. The group is hosting various activities this summer to get people involved with the sport, regardless of experience.
It is hosting the 2019 Olympic Day Race on June 15, where anyone can ride one of the largest BMX tracks in the country, regardless of experience. And it’s free.
“We have a bunch of demo bikes they can take and go ride the track,” Snake River BMX track operator Tyrell Thorngren said.
The event goes from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Snake River BMX track on 4701 North Yellowstone Highway in Idaho Falls, but Thorngren said organizers will keep the event going if people want to keep riding.
“I don’t kick people off the track. If kids are out there enjoying it, I want them to stay out there and enjoy it so that their parents have to pry them off, and they’ll go home and say, ‘Hey, I really want to do that. Let’s go back,'” Thorngren said.
And if kids are interested in BMX but don’t think they have the skills or experience, the Snake River BMX Rider League is also an option.
“What the Rider League does — it’s completely separate from the kids that race regularly,” Thorngren said. “It’s basically like a six-week boot camp where we teach them how to ride a bike on a track, the fundamentals of riding a bike on a track, to get them up to speed.”
After the six weeks, those kids join the other riders and race every week.
“It basically transitions them into the sport a lot smoother,” he said.
Registration for the Rider League is open for kids between the ages of 4 and 15 and will go through June 19. Click here to register and get more information.
“The motto that we strive by is, ‘Nobody rides the bench in BMX racing.’ Everyone gets to participate. There are no tryouts. There’s no ‘Only the good kids get to do it,'” he said.