You know BMX is an addiction when normally sane and rational people are willing to spend 12 hours in the car, be at the race for 12 hours, collectively, hop back in the car after Sunday’s mains, and spend another 12 hours en route home. Well, by that standard, the Eastern Interstates were packed with crazed BMX addicts this weekend as all roads led to the Washington, DC suburb of Woodbridge, VA for the NBL Freedom Nationals. With rains pounding the East coast for two weeks prior to the race, a lot of people were betting against the fact that this race would even happen–going so far as to pull their registration as late as Friday night after seeing the sodden soil of the second straight. But an intrepid TO and his team let the garden tools do the talkin and, after a slight delay to first gate, the track started to bounce back.

In the Top-Classes, Saturday saw a classic comedy-tragedy situation for Matt Kelty, hold the comedy. In leading the SuperEx Main (above) from the gate mesh to the last turn, he got bogged down in the soft stuff still plaguing the outside line, and lost momentum as if he were trudging through a stack of wet blankets. Weston Pope (above, right), who had been diligently pursuing Matt from the second turn on, found the horsepower, and the dry line to make his caviar dreams of the top podium spot a reality (ok, maybe not caviar…perhaps a couple brats and a PBR?). Nonetheless, it was Pope who hoisted the check. Saturday Masters top dog went to Tim Dinger, and Elite Women belonged to Madison Pitts.

Sunday, SuperEx was in effect for Josh Meyers, who put the Woodbridge track back on his “Friends and Family” list, and got the job done with a 1-1-(shut ‘er down) 6 and a main win (after a third on Saturday). Masters and Elite Women winners were a copy-paste from Saturday with Dinger doin a double and Madison mandating a steak dinner of BMX Truth TM James Bagwell (thanks to the tower).

Watch for the PDF race report from Woodbridge later this week (stuffed with photos and captions of your favorites). Meanwhile, check out our photos from the weekend:

Photo Galleries

Saturday Gallery	Sunday Gallery

BMX Racing will make its debut at the 2009 State Games of America in Colorado Springs this summer, and racers from 47 states have a chance to see how they stack up during the country’s largest multi-sport event for amateur athletes of all ages and skill levels.
 
They’ll have that chance at the nation’s highest altitude track, the Pikes Peak BMX venue, sitting at just over 6,700 feet at the foot of Pikes Peak.
 
BMX will take place July 31 through August 2. Riders can register at: www.stategames.org, with the deadline for states other than Colorado set for June 1. All residents of Colorado and medal winners in all other State Games are eligible to compete. Complete information is available at this site.

We’re talking about it over on Vintage. Come on over and join in the discussion.

 

After months of planning, the guys in Gilbert have come forth with the 411 on what will be an amazing week for BMX, come September. Not only will we get our once-a-year UCI BMX Supercross fix in Chula Vista the weekend of September 18-20, but ABA is bringing a fresh amateur national format to run in conjunction with the SX. The U.S. Open Amateur National will run the normal ABA national format, minus the pros, and race on a soon-to-be-constructed permanent ABA track on the US Olympic Training Center property. “Permanent” as in local races and the whole shot.

ABA CEO BA Anderson said “This is a very exciting event for the ABA, and the entire BMX industry to be involved with. Holding an Amateur event in conjunction with the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup will only fuel the Olympic dreams of US amateur riders, which will help ensure the continued success of future US BMX Olympians.”

Watch BMXNOW.COM, and our Twitter updates for more information on this exciting event.
View the full Press Release on ABABMX.COM

 

As part of “Announcer’s Tower,” our new Podcast series, we recorded a segment with Allie Dragoo and Rick Moliterno on April 3, 2009. Allie and Rick’s segment was supposed to be joined with two other segments when our host, Mike Carruth came down with the flu and lost his voice. Thus the opening intro could not be recorded either.

Still, on the eve of Allie’s first race in the girl pro class (St. Cloud, FL), we wanted to bring you this segment, rough though it may be, so you could hear what Allie has in store for the Dollar Divas in 2009. Thanks to Rick and Allie for sitting down with us! We’ll be watching (albeit on Go211 and not from the infield) as Allie gates up for her first pro go-round.

Listen To the Podcast Now

 

Flipped on the MacBook this morning to find an email from los numero uno, himself (or however you say that with an Aussie accent), Khalen Young. In preparation for the ABA “US Nationals” in Bakersfield, CA on May 1-3, KY is putting on one of his “Race Ready” clinics at Lake Perris BMX on April 26 from Noon – 3PM. At $45 per rider, this is a rare opportunity to ride with, and be coached by ABA’s top pro in 2008. It is sure to be a very productive three hours for all who show up, covering all aspects of your moto mojo (gates, jumps turns, passing…and that little something extra it takes to get the skinny digit). Mention BMXNOW.COM when you sign up for added cred come clinic day.

Email Khalen directly to sign up, or for more info, and be sure to download the promo poster.

 

Olijuwan Davis traversed the Tri-State Tollway and a dozen speed traps to toast the money open class at Steel Wheels Indoor’s Indiana State Race. A healthy moto count, and more-than-the-usual suspects on the gate made for some great racing at the first ABA Indiana State Race of 2009.

Check out the photos from the evening. Note: Due to the late hour, we applied a standard watermark to all images. Sunday, we will go back in and properly watermark the small-size images, so the logo is in a decent spot. We encourage you to use these smaller images freely in your MySpace, Facebook and Loopd profiles (logo must stay in tact). Larger versions are available for purchase as a digital download, or you can purchase three sizes of prints. These are available by using the link above.

 

With all of the action in BMX Racing happening south of I-80 these past few months, it great to break out the snow gear, and head to the Great Northwest. While BMXNOW is not there in the flesh, we do have operatives on the ground, reporting the goings on, so check back here from time to time for the 411. A big thanks for Randy Little of Supercross BMX for the overview shot!