The Bijou Bike Park proposal is up for discussion as part of South Lake Tahoe Parks, Trails and Recreation Master Plan Survey. The Bijou Bike Park nonprofit hopes to move and expand the South Lake Tahoe BMX track onto four acres at Bijou Community Park.
A little rain brewed up some perfect track conditions this week and BMX biking is about to officially take off.
The South Lake Tahoe BMX track will held its first practice of the season Tuesday. The practice gave riders a chance to warm up for today, which is when the first race of the season is scheduled to go down.
New track operator Jason Toutolmin moved the weekly races from Thursday to Friday evenings so as not to compete with Wednesday night stand-up paddleboard races or Thursday night Reno races and concerts at the Lakeview Commons.
So starting this upcoming week, races will now be held every Friday at the South Shore BMX track, located behind the South Tahoe Middle School and near the Boys & Girls Club.
Race registration costs $10 and runs from 5-6 p.m. Races will start at 6 p.m. or after registration concludes. Racers must be members of the USA BMX organization, but the races are open to riders of all ages and levels. There is even a category for kids 5 and younger.
“There’s no minimum age and there’s definitely no maximum age. I race in the 41 and older race group,” Toutolmin said.
This year, racers can register online at www.tahoebmx.com.
“Hopefully that will allow people to get up here from Reno if they get off work at five, so they can just start racing as soon as they get here,” Toutolmin said.
Practice will be held every Tuesday, starting this week, from 5 p.m. to dusk. Riders of all ages and skill levels are welcome, but again must be registered with USA BMX to ride the track. Practice costs $3 per rider.
Strider practice, for riders 4 and younger, will start on Monday and will be held weekly. This year, there will also be a strider category in the Friday races for kids two and younger, as well as 3- and 4-year-olds.
Most bikes are allowed on the track, but no chain guards, no reflectors and no open-ended handlebars bars are allowed.
The track is also available to rent for birthday parties and Toutolmin is thinking about starting up Wednesday clinics.
“We’re just trying to get the most use as we can out of the track in the short season that we have,” Toutolmin said.
For more information on the track, schedule changes and upcoming events check out www.tahoebmx.com. The South Lake Tahoe BMX track is a nonprofit and all proceeds go to the USA BMX organization for insurance fees and track maintenance.
The state championship qualifier will be held Aug. 3.