A Northerner's BMX Paradise - Land o' Lakes Nationals

A Northerner’sBMX Paradise There’s something about the cool late summer mornings that make racing a little more exciting than usual. It could be that fall is close which means that the number of nationals is quickly dwindling, and the Grands are near. In Minnesota this used to mean that the end of the season was just a stone’s throw away but thanks to the mega facility known as Rum River BMX, that no longer applies.

Words & photos by Gmo

f you’ve never been to this facility just imagine your local outdoor track as it sits, then imagine constructing a building right on top of it. That’s exactly what you’ll find in the small town of Isanti, right down to the asphalt corners and covered starting hill. It’s truly an amazing place to visit.

The Land O’ Lakes national was originally scheduled to take place back in May but fell victim

to coronavirus restric-

50

USABMX.COM H VOL. 10 / ISS. 9

tions. That being said, this may have been the first national indoor BMX race in the world since spring and it could not have happened without the awesome volunteer base that Rum River has.

The track boasts one of three Sqorz timing systems in the US and it demonstrates the future of our sport. We’re not sure exactly when timing systems will replace the traditional scoring methods currently used, but it will certainly happen at some point.

The track even offered an extra bit of cash to the Pro Open class during the national to show off the system. Supercross’ Kamren Larsen put on a clinic nearly every lap and took home all the cash.

If you live outside of upper Midwest you may have never heard of the flying Theisen brothers but trust us, you will. This duo calls

RIGHT: We haven’t seenthe Birdman in a while. Hehad some amazing battleswith Charlie Biggs.

Rum River BMX is a shining example of what indoor BMX should be.

The Major had a bit of trouble staying clipped in this weekend but it didn’t stop him from winning 13X.

Andrew Weunschel closes the door up tight on Danny Waters. Amazingly Waters rode out of this.

PULL Magazine

51

Saint Cloud, Minnesota, home, which is just a short drive from Isanti. The younger of the two, Jacob, was the star of the weekend with triples each day (he was the only rider to triple all weekend). We’re pretty sure that he never lost a lap. Big brother Lucas also made sure his presence was known by winning 9X on days one and three and winning Open on Sunday, making it a double for the day. These kids work extremely hard at their craft and it definitely showed this weekend.

Powerlite’s Lola Jonjevic also displayed dominance in Minnesota. The part time speed skater is no stranger to going fast. She also practices Jiu Jitsu and is used to choking out the competition. She rattled off a perfect weekend by winning 12 Girls Expert and 11-12 Mixed Open each day.

Two wheeled superstar, 12-year-old Ryder Lawrence, also had a perfect

52

USABMX.COM H VOL. 10 / ISS. 9

weekend with six wins of his own. We’re not sure if he has more fun winning races, going big at your favorite freestyler’s backyard dirt jumps, or hauling the mail at a downhill race. He does it all and is great at each.

Local hotshot Bryce Blumer has put in more laps at Rum River than most and it showed in the 13 Cruiser class. He won each day and put himself in serious contention to turn his plate gray in just a couple of months.

Another racer that caught our eye was Oregon’s Deegan Russell. He rides for Legacy Racing and took home all of the big trophies in the 8 Intermediate class. He’ll probably move on to Expert by the time you read this and should be mixing it up with the best in no time.

The 7X class was owned by this month’s Carve feature, Tucson’s Anthony Agraan. This little guy rides with a purpose and

TOP LEFT: Hyper’s Kole Berg grabbed a few more before moving on to the 10 year old ranks.

ABOVE: “The Cyborg” Julian Basaj is just about impossible to beat on his 24” CEO.

RIGHT: Jacob Theisen ruled Rum River . Can you say

Triple, Triple, Triple?

that purpose is to win. He’d do just that each day in the class and two days on his cruiser. Expect big things from this one who hails from the home of Corben Sharrah.

Nag #1’s Landon Burian and Kaitlyn Larson did a bunch of winning over the course of the weekend. Burian added three wins in the 10 Girls Expert class and a pair of wins on her cruiser. Larson did one better and added six wins to her 2020 campaign. Both of these ladies were impressive every time the gate dropped.

LEFT: Full Tilt’s Mckenzie Gayheart is always styled and dialed.

RIGHT: Tyler Klumper threw down some hot laps in the Pro open class.

If you’ve ever wanted to visit Rum River BMX and haven’t yet, you need to do it sooner than later. The place is simply impressive and the people make it a spot that you’ll want to keep coming back to. Hats off to TO’s Josh Robinson, Alissa Chartrand and their army of volunteers. Your efforts will certainly keep kids, young and old, having clean fun in the dirt for many years to come.

PULL Magazine 53

DATA:

Date: September 11-13, 2020 Location: Rum River BMX City/State: Isanti, MN States Represented: 35 Moto Counter: Fri: 113 Sat: 138 Sun: 124

Kings of Pro Open Elliott McGrath (Friday) Kamren Larsen (Sat & Sun)

Team Winners (Bike Shop & Factory):Fri: Black Widow & Factory Answer

54

USABMX.COM H VOL. 10 / ISS. 9

Sat: Black Widow & AlphaSun: Black Widow & Full Tilt-Radio

TRIPLE-TRIPLE! (three wins all three days)JACOB THEISEN

7-8 Xopen, 8cru & 8xDOUBLES X 3 (two wins all three days)KAITLYN LARSONLOLA JONJEVICROWDY HOLZERRYDER LAWRENCE

21-30 WX & 26-30 Mixed11-12 Mixed & 12 Girls11 Cru & 11X11-12 Xopen & 12XDOUBLES X 2 (two wins on two days)ANTHONY AGRAANBRANDON CRAIN

7under Cru & 7X

15-16 Xopen & 16XJACKSON ELLIOTT 21-25 Cru & 21-25XJOHN KERR

6under Xopen & 6X

LANDON BURIAN

10under Gcru & 10girls

MARSHALL GEHRKE

13-14 Xopen & 13X

DOUBLER’S (two wins, same day)

ISABELLA NELSON

13-14 Gcru & 14 Girls

JEMMA TOLLEFSON

7-8 Mixed & 8 Girls

KOLE BERG

9 Cru & 9X

LUCAS THEISEN

9-10 Xopen & 9X

THIAAN HARDIE

9-10 Xopen & 10X

TYLER NELSON

17-20 Cru & 17-20X

Rum River and Sqorz BMX Timing

BMX racing is always tight and a few milliseconds can make the difference between transferring to the next round or going home early.

Riders are always looking for the competitive edge

Every rider and every track is different, without good feedback it is impossible to determine the best bike setup or whether training is working.

A good timing system will provide definitive measurements that can be used to help with changes to bike setup, training regime, and riding style. The data will allow comparisons, trend analysis, and will help riders determine if equipment or riding changes are making a difference.

Furthermore, live data adds an element of fun and makes training sessions far more engaging for riders and parents alike.

Case Study - Rum River BMX

Rum River BMX in Isanti, Minnesota installed the Sqorz BMX timing system in February 2020. We asked Track Operators Josh Robinson and Alissa Chartrand why they installed the Sqorz Timing System and we also found out a little about the timing system itself.

What made you decide to install a timing system?

We know timing is important and have been using a timer for some time but it only recorded the first rider’s time and we had to write the times down on paper which seemed prehistoric. Riders are on the same track day in and day out, we needed to provide a training tool to help improve our riders and make it more engaging for riders and parents.

How long did it take to install?

We did a lot of preparation up front so

the installation itself was easy. From the start of the install to getting our first rider times took five hours, there were five of us working on this. Our president Sean Wilson helped with the IT component and Justin Miller from BMX Track Supply https://bmxtracksupply.com/ advised with the connection of the start pulse box so we get a signal when the gate drops. It’s a simple system to install.

What benefits are your members seeing? l Riders come to our track day in and day out and all they can judge success by is comparing to other riders — now they can individually race themselves. l No need for mom and dad to stand there with a stopwatch, now they get hard times direct to their cell phones. l Parents / coaches can see how many laps riders have done and whether or not they are putting in the work. l Immediate feedback when changing bike setup like longer cranks or gearing changes.

The Sqorz Leaderboard

The Sqorz Leaderboard, is an online timing platform that uses a rider’s times on your local track during non-racing sessions

to publish data to a Leaderboard.

Riders can visit any track with the Sqorz timing system and take on the lap times of friends and rivals, pushing themselves to get the best time in their age group or even the whole rider base!

It’s Virtual Racing — a bit like Strava for BMX …..

The platform helps riders and coaches create data driven training sessions to better understand individual performance, bike set up and add an often-needed competitive boost to nonracing sessions.

People have been astounded by the instantaneous feedback on lap times the Leaderboard system provides, which has been significantly beneficial for gate and practice session nights with lots of tracks noticing more riders attending.

On top of increasing rider participation, it’s also changed riders’ motivation as they focus less on their place and more on beating their own times and improving in certain areas of the track.

Message for Track Operators

Finally, we asked Josh and Alissa from Rum River BMX Track if they had a message for TO’s who are thinking about installing a timing system.

“You can think about it all you want, at some point this is going to be the standard for BMX,” said Robinson.

“Lead from the front, take THE LEAP OF FAITH, you will be happy that you did,” said Chartrand.

Robinson and Chartrand both agree the Sqorz timing system is a great way to engage those national calibre riders and a fantastic training tool for them Further information can be found here:

Website: www.sqorz.com/training Testimonials from managers and coaches here: https://www.sqorz.com/testimonial.html

PULL Magazine 55

Current National Pointsleader Alexandra Hill is lookingto seal the deal in Tulsa.