Osoyoos will soon once again have a BMX bicycle track next to the high school.
A group of volunteers will be spending Saturday and Sunday restoring the bicycle track on town property behind the tennis courts at Osoyoos Secondary School.
“It’s been neglected for many, many years and we thought it was too good an asset for the town, especially for the kids to have a place to ride,” said Len McLean, who formed the Osoyoos BMX Club and is spearheading the initiative.
BMX stands for “bicycle motocross” and is a sport involving racing bicycles on dirt with obstacles such as berms and jumps.
“It was overgrown with weeds,” said McLean. “With rain over the years, everything’s washed out and it needs a major facelift really.”
Some volunteers are already lined up to work this weekend, but McLean said more are welcome. People can help out for one or two hours – they don’t need to commit for the entire weekend, he said.
Heavy equipment has been donated by Osoyoos Ready-Mix and RnR Rentals, but McLean said much of the work will still need to be done by hand using rakes and shovels.
“What we’ll be doing is reshaping most of what’s existing and getting it back to a safe and useable level,” he said. “We’ll also be adding a few jumps and obstacles to it as well.”
Over the longer term, McLean hopes to make it similar to a BMX facility in Whistler that has areas for younger children as well as much more challenging obstacles for experienced riders.
He would also like to see sanctioned races and other events in the future, which could draw out-of-town visitors to Osoyoos. This could be an economic driver for the town, he said.
McLean said he’s hopeful there will be enough volunteers to finish the job this weekend, but if not, he expects only one second weekend would be needed.
BMX racing has its ups and downs in popularity, but McLean thinks the time is right for it to make a comeback in Osoyoos.
“BMX is much like skateboarding really, where it kind of comes in waves,” said McLean. “It becomes this huge thing and then dies off for a few years and then comes back again. It’s starting to become a lot more popular again.”
Those willing to volunteer can come by on the weekend, or can email McLean at: [email protected]. There’s also a Facebook page under Osoyoos BMX Club.
