Photos by
Anthony E. Forney
Story by
Dave Charbonneau
(Far left) Seven
year-eld Brian na
Jones, covered
head-te-toe In
mud, awaits her
next race.
(Left) eric
Grandaw rounds a
comer In Thurs
day's Main Event.
A young BMX racer, silhouetted egelnst the setting sun, contemplates the nest race Irom the starting gate.
“I hit my head on the pavement on Monday. I got a concussion, but that couldn’t keep me away.”
-EricGrandaw
A race had yet to be run,
lhe rain was coming
down, and Nicole
Brown was already
covered from hood to toe
with spook I os
of dirt
"1 like
when it
rams botauae
I got to out
mud," the
i n nocanl
looking nine
year-old said.
As the races
started up. the
conditions only
got woree. Midway
through the 20 or so
races Thursday
night, the track an
behind Autzen Stadium. Kvory
Thursday and Saturday (with the
exception of two
^A weeks in Decent
her) kids from all
over the bugene
area load up the
hik.es in their
parents' vehi
cles and head
for the track.
To these
kids, being
raised in
"Traci City.
USA,” has
a whole
different
meaning.
They
come in
a 1 1
nouncer yelled over
the P A. system: "It's
slicker than snot on the \
doorknob."
But by that point, no
one seemed to core.
Rain. snow, sleet and
occasional injuries con I
keep the kids away from
Emerald Valley BMX Track
David I vson (all 3-loot-3 ot
him), to 16-year-old high school
student Ken Day, to 12year-old
Nick Phillips, whose flannel
hooded sweatshirt, raggedy jeans
and hair draped over Ins eyes
made him look as if he had just
walked out of the pit at the most
trendy of Seattle rock i.lubs.
They have catchy nicknames
like “Rock and Roll’’ Nicole
Brown, Nina ■ Racer" Brown,
Ryan “The Missle” Fishel. Sta
cy "First Place" Hakes, and
"janimin" |esso Howes.
Some have hikes costing
upward of Sl.MX). and oth
ers ride S50 bikes they
picked up at a garage sale.
The one thing the kids
all have in common is
dedication.
For many kids (as /
freshman at North Eugene High
School, would have been well
advised to sit it out Thursday
because of a head injury, but he
was there
"I hit my head on the
pavement on
Mon
/
well as their parents)
bike racing is their
lives. The Brown sis
ters. for instance, are
Ixith among the nation's
best in the their respective age
groups, and their parents spent
more than $10,000 lost year to
give the girls the opportunity to
compete in national competitions
in Bakersfield, Calif and Reno.
Eric Grandaw, a 14-year-old
day.” he said.
"I got a concussion, but
that couldn’t keep me away.”
Although Grandaw anil the
Brown sisters have earned spon
sors to help pay for their titani
um- and aluminum-made hikes,
others i,(f(iie out to cace u^orn
poruhly modest looking versions
Bryan Kernutt. fi and Jesse
Reveal. 8. both of Irving Ele
mentary in Eugene, were finally
able to talk their parents in to tak
ing them out to the track. Thurs
day was their first shot
-__ at the windy, bumpy
I track, and both car
ried smiles from ear
toear before and after
their races.
"He's been bugging us
for weeks to bring him
out here." Kernutt's dad
said. "He's having a great
time."
It took Revoal consider
ably shorter time to con
vince his mom.
"I kept nagging her for
about three hours." he said. "I
finally got her to say OK."
Registration for the racing
starts at 6 p.m. every Thursday
and 10 a.m. every Saturday, with
races starting at 7 p.m. Thursday
and 11 a.m. Saturday.